At Compact surfacing we are committed to providing a quality service and customer care is at the heart of our business from initial survey through to completion.
Our professional surveyors will spend as much time as is needed in advising you to ensure you reach the best decision.... for you.
Once you place your order, a fixed installation date is agreed and the work is carried out in one visit.
Most customers, especially during the early stages of an enquiry, just want an estimate in order to judge whether the project is 'within budget'. You will find that quotations from companies vary greatly – from those who use poor quality products and labour (and invariably ask for 'cash' payments), to those which pay high sales commissions to their self-employed sales staff and generally use 'hard sell' techniques only to sub-contract the work to the 'lowest bidding installer'.
In order to assist you, we can advise how much you should expect to pay based on 'best practice' in accordance with the specification on our 'what comes as standard' and 'processes' pages. The following is a breakdown of the costs associated with the installation of Pattern Imprinted Concrete for a fairly average sized 60 square metre driveway: -
Survey |
|
Design, quotation and survey(Including two site visits - initial design & final survey - preparation of a scaled drawing and written quotation.) |
£160 |
Materials |
|
Stone for the sub-base(at least 6 tonnes) |
£240 |
Concrete(6 cubic metres, min. 320kg cement per m³, fibre reinforcedand with air entraining agent) |
£720 |
Colour surface hardener(7 – 8 x 25 kg drums, at 8 m² per drum) |
£160 |
Antique release agent(1 x 10 kg container) |
£60 |
Sealant and anti-slip product(1 x 25 litre container) |
£160 |
Sundries |
£200 |
Removal of spoil |
|
2-3 large skips or land fill costs |
£400 |
Labour |
|
Excavation, removal of spoil from the site (3 workers for a day) |
£300 |
Concrete formulation(3 workers for one day to pour, colour and print the concrete) |
£300 |
Wash and seal(2 workers for one day to clean and seal the concrete) |
£200 |
Travel costs(based on 5 return visits, totalling 500 miles) |
£200 |
Contribution to company overheads |
£300 |
| Total cost, net of V.A.T. | £3,400 |
| V.A.T. @ 20% | £680 |
| Total cost, including V.A.T. | £4,080 |
This represents a cost of £68 per square metre, which we consider to be a fair and reasonable price for a new 60 square metre Pattern Imprinted Concrete driveway in one colour and any pattern, and with no major complications.
The costs of any steps, drainage and manhole covers would of course be in addition to this but the price should still be below £4,500 including V.A.T.
(All prices for materials used in this example were correct at 20th January 2011 and prices for larger areas will generally be charged at a lower rate per square metre).
SO ASK YOURSELF.....
If the quotations you've received elsewhere are lower than ours: -
Is the company operating to the same high standards as set out in our 'what comes as standard' and 'processes' pages?
Is the company operating to the same high standards as set out in our 'what comes as standard' and 'processes' pages?
- Is the company operating to the same high standards as set out in our 'what comes as standard' and 'processes' pages?
- Are they using sub-standard materials?
- Are their surveyors and installers properly trained and qualified?
- Is the company going to be around long enough to honour your warranty?
If the quotations you've received are higher than ours: -
- Are their surveyors really salesmen on high commission?
- If the labour and material costs are the same, how much profit is it fair for them to make out of you?
In the words of John Ruskin: -
"It's unwise to pay too much, but it's 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."
In the words of our Managing Director: -
"First make sure the product is right and that it will be installed correctly – then make sure you don't pay too much for it!"
