Quote · Office · commercial
Q-1172
LostPorter Partners, office refurbishment in Bristol: 213 m² floor. £51,100 ex VAT at 21.0% margin. Lost Fri 2 Oct: project postponed to next year.
- DraftedSun 20 SepBy Neil Barton, hours from the rule of thumb
- SentThu 24 SepTo Paul Dando, by email and in the portal
- Followed up29 Sep1 reminder, by email
- LostFri 2 OctProject postponed to next year
How the price is built
Hours from the old rule of thumb, then materials, subcontract and margin
£51,100
ex VAT
Labour £5,220Materials £20,250Subcontract £14,900Margin £10,730
Labour£5,220
213m² floor×0.9h per m² of floor=191.5 h
191.5 h×£27.24an hour=£5,220to the nearest £10
0.9 h per m² of floor is the old rule of thumb. The 7 offices finished this year really took 0.95.
Materials£20,250
| Partitions, board and ceilings Avonmere Builders Merchants | £7,300 |
| Joinery timber and sheet Kestle Timber | £3,650 |
| Lighting and electrical Voltmere Electrical Wholesale | £4,450 |
| Flooring Cotsmoor Flooring Trade | £4,850 |
Subcontract£14,900
| Electrics and data Andy Rees Electrical, electrician | £8,940 |
| Plastering Mark Dent Plastering, plasterer | £3,730 |
| Floor laying Nick Weller Flooring, floor layer | £2,230 |
Cost£40,370
Price at a 21% margin, to the nearest £50£51,100
Margin£10,730, 21.0%
VAT 20%£10,220
Price inc VAT£61,320
On the true rate, it would have been
Same 213 m² floor, same materials and subcontract
Old ruleTrue rate
Hours per m² of floor0.90.95
Labour hours191.5 h202.5 h
Labour cost£5,220£5,520
Price ex VAT£51,100£51,500
Margin if it takes the true hours20.4%21.0%
This went out on the old rule and was lost: project postponed to next year. Priced on what offices really take, it would have been £51,500.
Where the hours come from
Every office job finished this year: hours from the timesheets, per m² of floor
3995Gulliver Partners, 85 m² floor9 Jul1.04 h88 h vs 77 h3991Orchard Gate Solicitors, 121 m² floor26 Jun0.86 h104 h vs 109 h3986Fenwick Lane Recruitment, 182 m² floor12 Jun0.92 h168 h vs 163 h3982Merriman Surveyors, 238 m² floor27 May, imported0.94 h224 h vs 215 h3967Brightwater Insurance Brokers, 216 m² floor1 Apr, imported0.96 h208 h vs 195 h3962Kestrel Point Software, 199 m² floor13 Mar, imported0.96 h192 h vs 178.5 h3956Harlow Vance Consulting, 194 m² floor27 Feb, imported0.99 h192 h vs 174.5 h
Estimates on these jobs ran 7% over on hours before go-live (4 jobs), 3% since (3). 4 of them were imported from paper job sheets.
Client
Porter Partners83 Gloucester Road, Bristol
ContactPaul Dando
Phone0117 496 0539
First in touch14 Sep 2026