# Forum Home Renovation Brickwork  Compare Bricklaying  Prices

## jako58au

:2thumbsup:  I was just wondering what prices Brickies are getting in other areas.We are currently getting $780.00-$800.00/1000.Plus extras ie:$20/metre sills & headers,$100.00/1000 double face,$200.00minimum for gables,$70.00/metre for 45 or 135degree cornersetc etc.How does that shape up in other areas.I'm sure any other brickies will agree it still is not enough when you take into account how hard we have to work compared to sparkies,plumbers,chippies & even painters whom all have gone around us in terms of earningsfor amount of effort!!!!

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## jako58au

> I was just wondering what prices Brickies are getting in other areas.We are currently getting $780.00-$800.00/1000.Plus extras ie:$20/metre sills & headers,$100.00/1000 double face,$200.00minimum for gables,$70.00/metre for 45 or 135degree cornersetc etc.How does that shape up in other areas.I'm sure any other brickies will agree it still is not enough when you take into account how hard we have to work compared to sparkies,plumbers,chippies & even painters whom all have gone around us in terms of earningsfor amount of effort!!!!

  Dont any other Brickies on the forum want share their prices?

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## ozwinner

> Dont any other Brickies on the forum want share their prices?

  
Not really. 
The job determines the price. 
Al  :Smilie:

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## Blocklayer

Not many bricks layed round here (North QLD) but I think they're getting about the same here. And around the $3.00 a block, supply mortar, for 200 series blocks. 
I only wish it was like it was 20+ years ago. If it was indexed to inflation from 25 years ago, it would be well over $1000.00 / 1000 and $5.00 a block.

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## OBBob

I'm not a brickie and have never had a brick house ... how long does it take to do 1000?

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## Terry1

G/day jako,The rates that you quoted are about the going price here in Wagga mate.Funny how it works out like that even though we are not in contact with each other.I have a few mates in the game in different places and generally the prices are close,except in the north coast region where they are lagging behind pretty badly (around $680 per 1000 +extras they are saying in  the Coffs Harbour area)We are laying quite a few rockface blocks on housing (390mm*190mm*90mm)and are getting $3.60 +GST for them,which works out ok but they are hard going.My nephew is in Perth and he is getting around the same money as us but laying alot of guts bricks (all solid brick over there)so it works out alright money.Regards Terry

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## ozwinner

I cant for the life of me work out why brickies have to discus rates in the open world? 
No other trade does it?? 
You are bringing about your own demise by doing so. 
The clients will say, so and so only charges $xxx per thousand, can you beat it?
This is probably why the rates havent risen realistically for the last 30 years. 
Al  :Confused:

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## Terry1

Al,I can't see any problems with it at all.If a bloke in Mudgee wants to know what we get here it is no big secret. Bricklaying prices are and always have been very transparent.Most people know that bricklaying is quoted per 1000 bricks,and while it is quoted that way it will be hard to improve the conditions in the game.What other job quotes you for 20 sq mtrs of surface area.Tiling is per sq mtr,carpenter's frame and trusses,fix-out etc is per mtr,cement rendering  the same.I'm not sure if prospective customers in Wagga will check out the Woodworker's forum for an update on rates in Mudgee before they get us to do their brickwork.We usually know pretty well what blokes are getting in most areas but it is subject to supply and demand and we understand that it doesn't affect us all that much favourably or otherwise.Not quite sure if our demise is imminent Al as there doesn't seem to be alot of good boys coming through in these parts,I chalk up forty years next year so won't mind too much anyway.Regards Terry

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## bitingmidge

> Not quite sure if our demise is imminent Al as there doesn't seem to be alot of good boys coming through in these parts,I chalk up forty years next year so won't mind too much anyway.

  Not sure that you are altogetherly correct there Terry. 
I have nothing against bricklayers, some of my best friends are bricklayers, but if you can tell me where the sense in paying someone who may not turn up if it's a bit cold or wet or the fishing's too good  :Tongue:  to lay 1000 little things, then pay someone else who may not turn up to plaster over them, when I can just drop in a single panel that looks the same, but was made in a factory where no one cared about the weather, and it's cheaper and it isn't going to crack because the stuff's going to shrink at a known rate, not grow twenty years later  :Eek:  .... 
Aaaarrgh! 
Bricks were great things when we didn't know any better!  It may not happen in our lifetime, but Ozwinner's quite correct! 
Cheers, 
P :Biggrin:

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## ozwinner

Midge, I can just see you and some other builder/developer's getting together to discus prices and profit margins.  :Shock:  
It wouldnt happen.. :Biggrin:  
Al  :Smilie:

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## Big Shed

> The clients will say, so and so only charges $xxx per thousand, can you beat it? 
> Al

  Al, are you seriously saying that you haven't asked the same question of another tradie or person in a shop? 
When I built my house some of the quotes from tradies were totally outrageous, in some cases the highest quote was more than double the lowest. 
And yes, when I gave the job of laying my bricks to a 2 man brickies team, they had the lowest quote, but I had also observed their work on the block next door, very neat work and they always turned up when they said they would. 
They finished on time and on budget and the brickwork is as neat as a pin.

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## Blocklayer

BitingMidge 
Ever heard of cyclones? 
Steel reinforced, ugly, concrete filled, rough as guts block walls win hands down  :2thumbsup:

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## ozwinner

> Al, are you seriously saying that you haven't asked the same question of another tradie or person in a shop?

  I discus rates all the time but not on an international open forum. 
I couldnt see Ford comparing rates with GMC or Mercedes on the open internet. 
Al  :Smilie:

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## bitingmidge

> BitingMidge 
> Ever heard of cyclones? 
> Steel reinforced, ugly, concrete filled, rough as guts block walls win hands down

  I'm not saying we don't use core-filled block structures  :Biggrin:  we do (because like you blokes we're stuck in the past!) , only that I reckon their life-span is nearing it's use-by date!  :Biggrin:   
Cheers, 
P

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## bitingmidge

> Midge, I can just see you and some other builder/developer's getting together to discus prices and profit margins.  
> It wouldnt happen..

  Of course it wouldn't, for starters it would be a breach of the Trade Practices Act!  :Eek:   :Eek:   :Eek:   
Cheers, 
P  :Biggrin:

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## Blocklayer

Biting Midge 
So what is your alternative, cyclone resistance wise, to the old (tried and true) steel reinforced, ugly, concrete filled, rough as guts blockwork?

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## bitingmidge

For commercial building, tilt slabs.  That's the stuff they make bomb shelters out of! 
For home units, there are a number of systems avialable, like Rapidwall as an example, which require minimum scaffolding, and have the potential to create huge time savings. 
These seem expensive if you just compare square metre rates, but take off the plaster work, scaffold, install them a metre higher than floor level in one hit and you don't even have to provide handrails. 
It will be a while before these systems are economical on housing generally, but once block rates get to a certain point there will be a crossover. 
Anything that can reduce the number of hours of on-site work for wet trades (brickies, plasterers, tilers) will reduce building costs!  (sorry!  :Redface:  ) 
Cheers, 
P  :Biggrin:

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## Grunt

I think the pertinent question here is how much would you pay to have Al for an hour?

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## Blocklayer

BitingMidge 
Oh No! Its just like 20 years ago when they said Hebel blocks would put us all out of business!!
Funny how steel reinforced, ugly, concrete filled, rough as guts block walls always end up outperforming prefab recycled coke bottle walls in cyclones.
Ever been through a cyclone?

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## journeyman Mick

Blocklayer,
have you heard that Tommy Hedley has got a permanent tiltslab yard going? I've also hears that someone (can't remember who) is doing prefab tilt slab panels for project homes in Cairns. Good thing you're not laying blocks anymore  :Wink:  I'm sure there will always be work for brick and block layers, just as there will always be work for carpenters, but the nature and amount of work has certainly changed and will continue to change, and not neccesarily for the better. 
Mick

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## bitingmidge

> BitingMidge 
> Oh No! Its just like 20 years ago when they said Hebel blocks would put us all out of business!!
> Funny how steel reinforced, ugly, concrete filled, rough as guts block walls always end up outperforming prefab recycled coke bottle walls in cyclones.
> Ever been through a cyclone?

  Funny thing about Hebel, it was designed to be layed by unskilled labour, but initially they only licensed brickies to do it!  :Confused:   :Confused:    Hebel wall is making a comeback so watch your back! 
I'm curious about your "outperforming" comment.   If it didn't fall over it performed, and there are lots of walls that have stood the test of time.  I do believe Innisfail has a few old timber houses still standing after Larry, not just block walls?  Did any tilt-ups fail? 
And to satisfy your curiosity, I'm not sure how me being there will help the cause of the block wall, but I am actually a NQ boy.  Althea I believe was the biggest thing ever to have hit the coast apart from Tracy, and I lived in Townsville at the time.  (search Althea 1971 for an idea of the damage) 
More than a few block walls fell over then as I recall, but there's more attention to core-filling and ring beams now than there once was! 
Cheers, 
P  :Biggrin:    :Biggrin:   :Biggrin:   :Biggrin:

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## jako58au

> I discus rates all the time but not on an international open forum. 
> I couldnt see Ford comparing rates with GMC or Mercedes on the open internet. 
> Al

  Ok, Ozwinner you may be correct about not discussing YOUR rates on the forum,but the rates I've put down are minimum & I agree that the job determines the price.But having said that mine are minimum means I'm not going to go below that so if the job so warrants a different rate I can assure you that it's going to be bloody higher.If you don't want people to know what YOUR charging, well & good but don't criticize those of us who are not as insecure as YOU!!!!!

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## ozwinner

> Ok, Ozwinner you may be correct about not discussing YOUR rates on the forum,but the rates I've put down are minimum & I agree that the job determines the price.But having said that mine are minimum means I'm not going to go below that so if the job so warrants a different rate I can assure you that it's going to be bloody higher.If you don't want people to know what YOUR charging, well & good but don't criticize those of us who are not as insecure as YOU!!!!!

  Hey Jako, youre funny.... :Biggrin:  :Biggrin:  :Biggrin:  
Al  :Sneaktongue:

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## Mcblurter

Thank god for having some tradies in the family.  SWMBO Uncle's friend is building a 6mt long x 3mt high double brick wall for around $1000 (+ cost of bricks).  Want cheap bricklaying/concreting, marry an Italian!!!!

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## ozwinner

> but don't criticize those of us who are not as insecure as YOU!!!!!

  Twasnt I who had who had to check with other brickies to see if I was charging enough.  :Wink 1:  
Al  :Biggrin:  :Biggrin:

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## jako58au

> Twasnt I who had who had to check with other brickies to see if I was charging enough.  
> Al

  I still can't see your problem with discussing prices on the forum.To me you sound like a heap of  ********* brickies I know who are to embarrassed to let everyone else know what your charging because you guys are the ones who are doing it cheaper than the rest of us & devalueing this great trade.By the way I lose more work than anyone I know because I refuse to drop my price!!!Also I did my trade 30 years ago on Facework not on walls 18 inches thick & all rendered!!!

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## ozwinner

Jako youre sad, and you also need to lose the racist attitude. 
Al  :Smilie:

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## lnt9000

> I still can't see your problem with discussing prices on the forum.To me you sound like a heap of  ********* brickies I know who are to embarrassed to let everyone else know what your charging because you guys are the ones who are doing it cheaper than the rest of us & devalueing this great trade.By the way I lose more work than anyone I know because I refuse to drop my price!!!Also I did my trade 30 years ago on Facework not on walls 18 inches thick & all rendered!!!

  There is a fine line between being proud and being poor, I know a fencer who was exactly the same, would not budge a dollar from his quotes, out of every 12 quotes he would only get one job, and although he wouldn't let on I would think that he only got that job by being competitive, how much you get for a job is not nearly as important as being constantly employed, what you make per 1000 bricks is irrelevent, look at the total figure at the end of the financial year and adjust how you do business to make it more profitable each and every year without ripping any individual off, beats taking sleeping pills and you certainly feel much more relaxed and in favour with the better half. :Smilie:

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## jako58au

> There is a fine line between being proud and being poor, I know a fencer who was exactly the same, would not budge a dollar from his quotes, out of every 12 quotes he would only get one job, and although he wouldn't let on I would think that he only got that job by being competitive, how much you get for a job is not nearly as important as being constantly employed, what you make per 1000 bricks is irrelevent, look at the total figure at the end of the financial year and adjust how you do business to make it more profitable each and every year without ripping any individual off, beats taking sleeping pills and you certainly feel much more relaxed and in favour with the better half.

  Call me afool if you must but to me dropping your price which you've worked so hard to attain is devaluing your trade!!

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## echnidna

> There is a fine line between being proud and being poor, I know a fencer who was exactly the same, would not budge a dollar from his quotes, out of every 12 quotes he would only get one job, and although he wouldn't let on I would think that he only got that job by being competitive, how much you get for a job is not nearly as important as being constantly employed, what you make per 1000 bricks is irrelevent, look at the total figure at the end of the financial year and adjust how you do business to make it more profitable each and every year without ripping any individual off, beats taking sleeping pills and you certainly feel much more relaxed and in favour with the better half.

  That really applies to every trade  :2thumbsup:   :2thumbsup:

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## autogenous

> I'm not a brickie and have never had a brick house ... how long does it take to do 1000?

  If someone asked you to build a lunchbox with wheels and a mercedes benz at the same rate what would you do? 
So many variables. Piers take longer. So many variables. 
I currently get $1.50 per brick 
The issue with laying lots of bricks is that the more you lay the more labourers you need because they cant keep up. 
I have laid 2000 bricks one day in 9 hours with "3" labourers on a dead straight retaining wall. I couldn't walk for 2 days. Understand the scale of economics going on here?
More pain, worn out mixer, same money. 
Theres not a shortage of them because the money is so great, you know. 
Its not the first day, after 6 months of 50 hours a week and youll be eating a bowl of Naprosan and Panadol for breakfast as the scar tissue on the tendons builds up.

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## autogenous

> I have nothing against bricklayers, some of my best friends are bricklayers, but if you can tell me where the sense in paying someone who may not turn up if it's a bit cold or wet or the fishing's too good  to lay 1000 little things, then pay someone else who may not turn up to plaster over them, when I can just drop in a single panel that looks the same, but was made in a factory where no one cared about the weather, and it's cheaper and it isn't going to crack because the stuff's going to shrink at a known rate, not grow twenty years later  ....

  Tilt panel started in America some 35 years ago. Theres reason the Americans don't use it in cyclone areas. 
Its not financially viable on anything under 700m2.
Tilt panel had to be licenced because people were Aralditing the nuts back on the cleats.
Theres virtually none in the UK.  
Its just a matter of time.  :Smilie:  Bang bang! 
And the ACCC is very good at triangulation  :Biggrin:

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## autogenous

> For commercial building, tilt slabs.  That's the stuff they make bomb shelters out of!

  That would be insitu, definitely not tilt panel 
It would blow apart like a cardboard box.

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## autogenous

> And yes, when I gave the job of laying my bricks to a 2 man brickies team, they had the lowest quote, but I had also observed their work on the block next door, very neat work and they always turned up when they said they would.

  This is infrastructure costs. 2 man partnership doesn't have the overheads. 
Workers comp for an employee brickie run at about 17% 
New career for me to start in 6 weeks. Less pain, more net pay at the end of the year.

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