Garden wall / fence

taxignorant

Had an existing half height wall 24m which I was quoted 1500 ex vat to attach microshades too in Nov 2020.

I had pointed out on the day that walls had some cracking and I was not certain of stability to the landscaper but this seemed to have been discounted.

Lockdown happened the day before we were due to start our job.

Post lockdown when we were about the proceed again, another chap from the company called out who said he has more structural experience and deemed our walls to be unstable.

We were then quoted 7700 ex vat for concrete post and rail with microshades or 8800k for a plain block wall 1.8m height, which included 2k for demolition.

We discussed with landscaper and he agreed that my husband could give removing the walls himself a shot to save the 2k in demo fees over the weekend and that a block wall would be started today.

My husband removed the wall, boundaries of which we share with two neighbours and the landscaper, looking in now says he doesnt know if we need massive foundations so really he cant quote for the job reliably to build walls. They never showed up this morning in any case.

I respect my neighbours and want to ensure that a decent boundary goes up, that is absolute priority, as now there is no boundary at all. We never would have taken the wall down if we knew that the quote was not going to be valid and that the company was not going to show up today as agreed.

Can anyone give recent prices they paid for concrete post and fencing or comment on wall foundations or do things like this often happen on jobs? I am having cold feet and feel railroaded into paying possibly huge money because we are in dire need of securing boundary for our neighbours. HELP.

We are also having the following:

Groundworks - 2020

Patio 40 sqm - 3045

Grass roll out 40 sqm - 720

Topsoil 15 t - 1125

All ex vat.

Pinoy adventure

We recently dug out our own wall foundation which was 300mm wide by 300mm deep and 100feet long.it took 2 people 2 full days too remove old fence and dig by hand the foundation.

we got 2.5meters of concrete delivered in dublin for €270 euro and wheelbarrow true the house 2 people.

a 6cubic feet skip cost us €370 which took 1 full day too full.

so in summary 4 days too prep for wall (no labour charge -we saved €800 by doing it ourself)

and supplies were €640 which is just for the foundation for the wall.

blocks cost us about €1 each delivered in Dublin.

labour cost us €150 a day per person for building the wall.

motor cost us €60 a bag and we needed 3 bags.

op where are you based ?

taxignorant

Wow thanks so much for detailed answer. We are in Dublin so would be paying top dollar, I acknowledge that and appreciate. The quote is now being increased because he reckons we need 1 m deep and 1 m wide foundations which I can't understand. Awaiting the bad news. We had already paid a deposit and agreed the whole job last November, but basically they have increased it by 10k. I don't think they want to do it but wish they hadn't said go ahead and take the wall down we will come and build it on Monday for 8800 and then not showing and saying they don't know how much it will cost.

Your numbers are really detailed thanks so much.

Pinoy adventure

What is the length and height of the wall you want ? Just a plain wall ? Or capped and plastered ?

Ideo

Sounds like you they are trying to pull a fast one to be honest. 1 metre by 1 metre foundation - did you mean 1 foot by 1 foot?

They tell you that they will build a block wall and they don't even know what sort of foundation they should be specifying for the height. Did the specify the interval of piers for the wall?

I would ask for my deposit back if I were you and get somebody else. You can always rent a fence while you are trying to find another person.

taxignorant

The wall is to be 1.8m high. Length of wall is 12 (one on either side so 24 m total but in two parts.) And no, not a typo he is saying a minimum of 1m because he is worried about the port tunnel and he thinks the ground isn't good.

taxignorant

Plain with capstones they said 8800 ex vat and plastered 10,100 ex vat but now they said it will be more because they want the bigger founds.

taxignorant

They have a 2k deposit that we paid last December 8th. We had a wall then. Now we have no wall, now we have a massive pile of bricks in our driveway and holes in the ground and neighbours who will be getting rightly annoyed rapido. And their costs have spiralled. We had a professional drawing and everything done so that we could be clear on everything and avoid a mess like this. I have the original quote in writing. I have honestly no idea what to do.

taxignorant

Our new quote has come in at the following:

Dig Foundation 1m x 1m 5000 euros,

Concrete 4900 euros,

Blockwork 3800

Plastering 1200

Ex vat total approx 15k for 24 m wall to 1.8m height

enricoh

A 1m deep found for a 6ft high wall as he's worried about the port tunnel- sweet Jesus!

Dig out and pour the foundation , buy/rent Harris fencing and cable tie some mypex for privacy. Drop a bottle of 15 year old Jameson into the neighbors and go looking for a bricky.

Ideo

Honest to god, a 1m by 1m foundation for a garden wall 1.8m high?! Has an engineer specd the wall? Either these guys have absolutely no idea what they are doing or they are trying to screw you over. I’d ask for your deposit back. It sounds like they have done no work so far anyway? If they don’t give you back your deposit I’d just take it as a lesson learned and get somebody who knows what they are doing. Even if you are down 2k, it’ll still be cheaper finding somebody else. Not in the trade by the way, but based on my own experience this seems like extortion. 5k to dig a foundation. Sounds about 24 ton which is 2 grab trucks, plus machinery hire for a day plus a few men - 2k, 2.5 tops I would have thought. If you are going the wall route I’d get an engineer to specify the requirements. It’ll remove any ambiguity. Presume you have side access and are not going through your house?

taxignorant

Yep, we have good side access.

Thanks for the input. Engineer it would seem is the next step I guess.

Doing the research the tools and materials and skip hire I figure should be around 2.5k. So labour I am not sure how much is the decent rate at the moment?

The others were charging nearly 8 euro per block to lay and I gather outside Dublin this would be around 1.40.

Pinoy adventure

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117634810#Comment_117634810

they are well over charging you.

Dig foundation is 2 lads x 2 days by hand =€250-€350.

skip €370 + 2 lads 1 day too fill €250-€350

concrete delivered 2 tons €270 + 2 lads too wheelbarrow it in €250-€350.

block work,your talking 700-1000 blocks at about €1 each so €700-€1000.

plasteting 2 lads 2 days €600 + supplies of about 200-300.

the lads we used charged us €150 a day labour rate but myself & neighbour done most of the heavy work.sure we would do it for you for half the money they quoted.

im guessing your getting the wall done in 4 inch solids rather than cavity s right ???

we paid €2200 for a 1.8m high wall by 140 feet long wall

taxignorant

We told them we couldn't proceed at that price, so now will try to engage someone to recover. Thanks so much.

Are cavity blocks or solid better?

There just doesn't seem to be anyone I can find do this for even double that price. I wish we didn't listen to him about taking the old down so naive to trust.

Ideo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117637019#Comment_117637019

I believe cavities are more stable as they have a larger footprint

Would you get somebody in with a digger to dig the foundation? As the other poster said, you can put up a metal fence between you and your neighbours for a few weeks while work is ongoing

taxignorant

We have dug down a segment and it looks like the old foundation is actually adequate to lay new blocks on. Neighbors are being really understanding thankfully.

Explored metal fence rental which was going to be I think 100 euro per week and it appears willow and bamboo screening is out of stock most places!

Happy at this point to go with 1 meter height of 4 inch solids and possibly fix shades to these or use planting to get extra screening where needed.

It feels like 2007 again. Unprofessionalism and price gouging/lack of trust is making us consider doing this ourselves under guidance of a friend.

Sure trades can say it is supply and demand, people are obviously happy to pay rates that are higher than what a hospital consultant would come out with per hour but we just aren't. We will wait or explore other options but refuse to be held to ransom by this kind of carry on.

A number of friends who were considering extensions/new builds are now holding off for at least a year.