Pricing materials

garimac

Hi,

I have a list of materials for a large DIY job I would like to undertake. I would like to price the materials before going ahead with the job.

Can anyone tell me if there is some online service that could give me estimates for (Irish) pricing of the items, or do I have to go to local providers with the list. It is a long enough list, so would prefer not to be wasting their time.

Thanks.

looksee

We got prices for some rough timber from two local places, one was 25% cheaper than the other. It wasn't a surprise though, one place, Morris's in Waterford, is generally known to have good prices. (They used to have ridiculously low prices, but then they got their act together!)

The only solution is to go and ask for quotes. You could take out small items such as nails and so on, and just get a quote on the main items, but they are in the business of giving quotes.

dolalu

+1 on that, only sure fire way is to go round the shops and ask them for a quote and then go and see if someone else will beat it, everyone is desperate for sales out there so if you play it right you should get some great deals, be prepared to get bits from everywhere

martin46585

[/QUOTE]It is a long enough list, so would prefer not to be wasting their time.


wasting their time, i think not, make a list, photo copy it for every providers, and leave it with them to quote, if its in writing you can firstly compare prices, and also compare brands and quailty, (espeically timber).
in your own time make sure they didnt forget a line on the quote, (very common) making one yard sound much cheaper than other.
include everything,
large order = large discounts.

AckwelFoley

no such thing as wasting their time. Thats their job to price materials and they dont know if you are going to get it or not

BROWNE51

Couldnt agree more,leave it into the sales office of any builders merchant(the large ones),with the office manager and in the smaller merchants leave it with someone in authority.Get a name and contact number with everyone you leave it with and tell them when you need it back by.
Yes these places are screaming out for sales but at the lower levels(internal sales offices/trade counters) you could be unlucky enough to hand it to the least bothered individual believe me,a total waste your time,find an authority figure,they wont want complaints and you will be less anonymous than a one off punter.
When getting your timber rates(rough timber) ask what the price is in m3(cubic meters(current rates should be around €200-220 for quantity,specify imported kiln dried timber if you can)),this way you can establish a minimum at a glance between the quotes rather than working out how much every thing is per meter.

martin46585

BROWNE51 wrote: »

Couldnt agree more,leave it into the sales office of any builders merchant(the large ones),with the office manager and in the smaller merchants leave it with someone in authority.Get a name and contact number with everyone you leave it with and tell them when you need it back by.
Yes these places are screaming out for sales but at the lower levels(internal sales offices/trade counters) you could be unlucky enough to hand it to the least bothered individual believe me,a total waste your time,find an authority figure,they wont want complaints and you will be less anonymous than a one off punter.
When getting your timber rates(rough timber) ask what the price is in m3(cubic meters(current rates should be around €200-220 for quantity,specify imported kiln dried timber if you can)),this way you can establish a minimum at a glance between the quotes rather than working out how much every thing is per meter.

asking for the price by volume will only lead to confusion in most cases for you,
as some quotes that you will receive will have the m3 in the line beside the linear mts, you can work it out if you so wish.
also there are over 20 No 225mm x 44mm x4.8mt floor joist in a cube so i'm not sure if the above price is a true valve of homegrown timber never mind imported.........