Edinburgh Tradesperson Prices

On this page we’ve shown the rates for some of HomeForce’s most popular tradespeople and job types. We hope this is useful.

Please note the following:

• With the exception of emergencies no trades impose an automatic call out charge
• Unless otherwise stated all trades apply a minimum charge of 1 hour
• Any materials used will be additional to the labour rates
• Other trades not shown on this page are available (see Our Services)
• Additional notes on miscellaneous costs, our pricing policy and estimates follow this table
• Please also read about Payment terms

Estimates

For some jobs, particularly smaller jobs we may be able to provide over-the-phone estimates. Please note however that we cannot provide quotations over the phone.

Quotations V's Estimates

Confusion can arise regarding the difference between a quotation and an estimate. It is useful to understand that these are two different contracts in the eyes of the law.

A quotation is a fixed price to carry out agreed work. As long as no additional work is required there will be no additional cost. Equally you should not expect a reduction in price if the work is completed more quickly than anticipated.

An estimate is a rough guess of how much work will be needed and therfore cost. If the work takes longer or requires more materials then the price will go up, equally if it takes less time and uses fewer materials the price will go down.

Whether you recieve an estimate or a quotation we would always advise that you should request this in writing.

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Miscellaneous and additional costs

Materials

You can choose to supply your own materials or ask the tradesperson to supply them.

• Mark up and Commission

  Tradespeople will usually hold trade accounts with suppliers. These accounts enable them to buy materials at a lower price than retail price i.e. what you - as a “member of the public” - would buy them at. In some cases this may be up to 60% cheaper. As with any supplier it is standard practice for the tradespeople to mark up the cost of materials purchased on your behalf. This is usually around a 25% – 35% mark up on purchase price.

• Collection and Delivery Charges

  Trades suppliers may make a charge to deliver materials to your property, or the tradesperson may have to visit the supplier to collect the materials. In both cases the cost may be passed on to the customer.

• Buying your own materials

  If you choose to buy your own materials you should discuss with the trades person exactly what is required. Keep in mind that it will be your responsibility to ensure the materials are on site when they are needed and if they are delivered incomplete or damaged it will be up to you to sort things out. You may be liable for tradespersons idle time if materials you are supplying are not available when required. Where a matter of a particular style or design is to be chosen we would always recommend that you choose the item your self.

Parking

Charges for parking in Edinburgh vary widely.

Where a tradesperson is required to pay for parking these charges will usually be passed on to the customer.

A residents permit holder can obtain visitor permits from Edinburgh City Council for use by tradespeople. These permits are not free but are at a reduced cost to the metercosts.

Travel Time

This applies to jobs outwith the city by pass and it’s immediate surrounds

For larger jobs tradespeople will build in the travel time costs to the total cost of the job.

For smaller jobs there may be a charge for the time taken to get to and from the job. Usually this will be around £20 - £25 / hr. As well as covering the time travelling when a tradesperson could be working at another job it also covers the cost of fuel and vehicle running costs.

Debris Disposal:

As a resident and / or property owner you can arrange for a special uplift by Edinburgh City Council, over recent times the council have tightened their policy on what can be collected, limiting the amount, type and size of items that they will uplift, as well as the number of uplifts per year. They have also introduced some charges. Please contact Edinburgh City Council for more information.

You can take any debris from works carried out at your property to the council recycling centre on Seafield Road.

Tradespeople are required to pay for the disposal of debris whether that is by using a skip or by taking debris directly to the Seafield Recycling centre. If you would like the HomeForce trades professional to arrange for the disposal of debris from the job please be aware that there will be a charge for doing so.

Key Collection:

As with travel time the cost of collecting keys to gain access to a property may be built into a price for a job. However, if a trades professional is required to make a special trip to collect keys it is only reasonable that there may be a charge to cover their time.

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Pricing Policy

HomeForce’s goal is to provide reliable Edinburgh trades people who carry out work to a high, professional standard. In our experience of tradespeople cheap does not usually go with quality and reliability.

That is not to say that HomeForce tradespeople are expensive, far from it, 96% of customers tell us that they recieve good value for money from HomeForce tradespeople.

The 19th Century Philosopher and Social thinker John Ruskin made some aposite comments on pricing. It’s around these principals that HomeForce tradespeople base their prices:

" It’s unwise to pay too much, but it is worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money — that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do”

“The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot — it can’t be done.”

“If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.”

“There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only, are this man’s lawful prey.”

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Payment Terms

Unless otherwise stated payment terms for HomeForce tradespeople are seven days from from invoice. In some instances you may be asked to make payment at the time the work is completed. If you would prefer alternative payment arrangements please ask the tradesperson carrying out the work prior to commencement of works

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