Paying builder upfront?

oclugg

A builder's asked for 2,000 upfront to pay for 3 RSJs, each 6ft, and has told me it will take 10 days for them to be made, the job total is 4,500. I don't mind paying and will get reciepts etc, are there any other precautions I should heed?

secman

Simple rule of thumb ..... DON'T pay a builder up front ..... DON'T


Secman

muffler

As said - do not pay up front. Wait for delivery of the RSJs and pay then.

Martron

dont pay in the trade its called a retention fee and is well known. if y=he was a good builder he would have no problem footing the bill until they werre installed.

2000 for 3 rsj sounds steep too.

slavetothegrind

Can you post the size of the rsj's?
They must be large for that kind of cash!!!

bandit197

They are each 6ft. The OP stated that already. That is an afull lot for 18ft of RSJ.

slavetothegrind

Yes but if they were 6ft of 25mm thick I beam 300 mm wide x 300mm high holding up a gable wall that would be different to 6ft of 6mm x 150mm x 300mm:p

bandit197

That would be a small gable 6ft? (hen-house maybe??) only messing.
You have a point about the thickness tho, but I bought 20ft 200x200 25mm galvanised
angle for stonework last year and it was no way near as expensive as that....looks for receipt

slavetothegrind

Jaysus, nearly guilty of trolling there!!:eek:

Tell him you pay for em COD and see reaction.

Inform him that you have been done in the past, which proves that you are no judge of character and he shouldn't take offence.

If he does send him off on the horse he rode in on!:)

bandit197

^^ +1
OP, you mention it will take 10 days for them to be made. Do you know if they are standard RSJ's from a supplier or do they have to be modified by a fabrication company for your needs? If the latter is true this could be driving the price up. Id also recommend letting the builder order them but pay for them yourself.

archtech

As others have said, don't pay for the work up front. 3No RSJs won't be considered a special order or anything, in the normal run of construction. Me wonders if the builder is looking for money for RSJs upfront is he a bit tight for cash at the moment.

Martron

archtech wrote: »

As others have said, don't pay for the work up front. 3No RSJs won't be considered a special order or anything, in the normal run of construction. Me wonders if the builder is looking for money for RSJs upfront is he a bit tight for cash at the moment.

thats what i was thinking and i would be wary that that 2 k would not be used to pay someone else while he looks for a new job to pay for your rsj's

Quazzie

I work in the steel supply business where we specialize in the manufacturing of steel beams, and I can safely say that for that amount of money you could get roughly 1.6 tonne of fabricated beam. I can also state we as a rule always supply a grace period for payment to reputable contractors. So if your guy needs money upfront then I'd be questioning why. Just a thought.

LoopyBum

I got about 50ft of 46kg 203x203 for 1000euro within 2 days of ordering it. I reckon this is pretty good...?

worded

The rules for paying a builder up front:

1) Never pay a builder up front
2) Never pay a builder up front
3) Never pay a builder up front