Cost of renovations?

[Pamela]

OK I know its one of those 'how long's a piece of string' questions but, ....

when renovating any property - assuming 4 walls and a roof are relatively sound - what do you assess proportion of costs to be related to a) labour b) materials

I have the impression from research, reading various forums and (dare I say it) TV programmes - that the labour element of any project is the most substantive - is this a correct impression?

Assuming you need stone masons, carpenters, plumbers, electricians etc. but you were providing materials - how do you think the costs would split?  75% labour costs?  50% labour?

Any hard facts, gut feelings or "finger in the wind" calculations gratefully received.

Many thanks

Pamela

[Alcazar]

Providing materials? My plumber reckons he can get me any electrical bits MUCH cheaper than I can, and has proved it twice.

When we had windows fitted, the labour was quite a lot less than the materials, but the opposite was true for laying a 75 sq.m. concrete floor, fitting beams, and stoning up a barn door.

Basically, if you're having renovations done, you're going to need some spare arms and legs And look out for the hidden costs like architect, taxes etc.

Alcazar

[LesFlamands]

For most renovations we find that about 75% labour is the norm.. it can easily go either way, for example very high quality bathrooms/kitchens and tiling can easily add 50% to the material cost but only a few percent to the labour bill. We are often asked to restore the existing (windows, doors, staircases etc.) or use reclaimed materials (stone, roof tiles or timber) which often adds significantly to the overall cost but it is all labour making the split 95/5 on some jobs.

 

[Athene]

[quote]Providing materials? My plumber reckons he can get me any electrical bits MUCH cheaper than I can, and has proved it twice. When we had windows fitted, the labour was quite a lot less than the materi...[/quote]

Radiators are cheaper in England and work fine with French plumbing systems. They do not have the fancy ones that we can get in UK.