Just had a quote...shock!

[Anonymous]

Due to potential time constrains I obtained a quote to lime render the external walls of The Farmhouse in Swansea.

The only firm I could find was Bricknell Conservation in Cardiff. They have just got back to me with a quote of £8500 inc vat to render about 85 m2. That's £100 per m2 and that's only 1 gable-end and the front elevation. So about £17k in all!!

I'm sure people on this board were getting quotes of between £40 and £60.

It looks like I'll be doing it myself at this rate, perhaps I could hold a lime rendering weekend for anyone that wants to practice, for gods sake it isn't that difficult!

 

[Anonymous]

Gulp!

Have you considered getting someone prepared to work on a self-employed daily rate basis - a student summer job possibly?

As you say - it isn't so difficult!

 

[Anonymous]

I think that when the scaffolding goes up to do the roof I'll have an extra lift put in and get all hands on deck. As long as I can do the front elevation before the winter I'll be happy. It's the most exposed bit of the house.

As long as there's plenty of goggles and marigolds to go around we can all do the scratch coat.

 

[Anonymous]

Good idea - it's best to work from a scaffold, and that's a horrific expense! Two birds one stone etc...

 

[Anonymous]

Much the same for us with internal lime plastering. In the end I pursuaded (it took quite a few beers....) a local builder who had done good work for us in the past to do it for us. His rate was much much less. I bought the plaster directly from Mike Wye so that he could just get on with it. He practiced in one room first, soon got the hang, and has just finished the 10th room (celings included). All at a fraction of the cost quoted by a lime specialist.

 

[Anonymous]

It's worth knowing of the SPAB days where 'modern' plasterers can learn about lime - may even be worth paying for one to go!

Trouble is of course once they are lime 'experts' they then can charge you more!



http://www.spab.org.uk

 

[Anonymous]

All of the builders I have spoken to seem to reel when I mention lime, it's as if I've asked them to put their hands in fire.

Something tells me that folklore has been elaborated somewhat.

I've had lime on my hands and arms loads of times, it's no worse than cement.

You'd still panic if you got cement in your eye!

 

[Anonymous]

I know - I have a friend who has set up a building firm - I've been trying to persuade hin that the money is in traditional stuff! He reeled at the thought of lime too - asked if it wasn't akin to the dangers of asbestos!

 

[Anonymous]

I'll do it for £99 per m2 plus beer.

 

[Anonymous]

David, surely it would have to be around £9.99/m plus beer at the going rate of drinking

 

[Anonymous]

Richard
Go on attack it yourself. I bought a 6 storey windmill and was quoted £50k to lime render the top 4 floors....... I took the courses and did a little tester job , then tackled the whole project myself. Only cost me 10k all in. Also not sure if you have thought of this, but I found a boom more practical and cost effective than scaffolding !

 

[Anonymous]

A little while ago I saw a lorry mounted boom on ebay - it went for very little money (cant remember but under £1000). It was quite big (had been used for chimney lining) Would be worth buying something like that and reselling when done.

 

[Anonymous]

Is that some kind of cherry picker platform?

 

[Anonymous]

That would depend on the beer consumption per m2. In summer it could be as much as m3 per m2!!

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, something like this...


ebay cherry picker

 

[Anonymous]

Richard
You can get them in all different sizes , the added bonus ofcourse being that they are a fraction of the cost of scaffolding.

 

[Anonymous]

You can also hire cherry pickers which will go into small spaces - they are delivered and have their own deisel engines (I'm not too sure of the whole technical details!). The 'legs' fold up and it can be transporeted.

I saw one in action being used to trim a tree, where there was onlt limited access through an old coach opening to a mews, and another to paint a National Trust property attic windows. I think that may be a useful thing to consider also,

Scaffolding has to be hired and kept in situ (unless you buy it) and is being paid for in use or not. With a hired cherry-picker it can be used for a while then re-hired when time constraints permit.

 

[Anonymous]

Don't you start quoting beer in metric measures at me!

A pint (or six) was good enough for me old grandad, and it's good enough for me...

...so long as someone else is buying.

 

[Anonymous]

Yep. All the main tool hire places do them - but the prices vary quite a lot so shop around and look at specialists rather than just hss. Depending on access, the height you need and how long you think it might take you to do it - it may be cheaper to buy and resell rather than hire.

As Evelyn says you can get some rather nifty little ones, even some small enough to go through a domestic door Im told.

I looked into it when I put the chimney liner in, but the cost for a one day hire seemed a bit much (lack of level ground near the wall meant I needed something with a long reach), so you could do what I did and learn a bit about climbing. I now have a couple of goujons fixed on the wall and a harness, ropes, krabs, all of which will come out again when I paint/limewash the render.

 

[Anonymous]

That is a ridiculous price.
I am currently doing an Old Rectory and including hacking off 3inch cement based render and the lime mortar itsellf plus scaffold, I am charging around £40 a square metre.
I suggest you get some other quotes.