Thread: Is this right? Paying 50% Deposit before installation.

Originally Posted by makka619

It is a really good deal, much cheaper then the other quotes and he said he can do it right away, have it completed by next Friday.

Im always carefull when its a good deal, much cheaper and can be done straight away. Most furniture makers have a lead time of 8 - 12 weeks if their any good and have a plentifull supply of work

Originally Posted by makka619

Didn't think I was being a tight ass, paying him on completion.

dont stress i was just having a friendly dig

Originally Posted by makka619

He quoted me $1200 but hasn't given me a written quote. Now what do I ask for in a written contract to be super careful?
Time
Cost
Description of job
Required 50% deposit

I just give a verbal quote and then when they agree the work will go ahead then get a written quote. Generaly its all layed out on the invoice they get when the deposit is payed.

I had to pay a big deposit on the glass I recently ordered for my doors. They seemed like a reputable company and they knew their business. I had a good gut feeling so I just payed the whole lot. I've got no complaints at all with the glass or their prompt delivery.

I also had a slightly nervous situation as a builder once. I signed a contract for a $50,000 job with virtually just a bit of coin to my name and no line of credit organised. I got the ten percent deposit which paid for my materials, and I signed up some subbies on no deposit. Needless to say I worked up a sweat pulling long hours trying to get to my first progress claim so I'd have something to pay the boys with.

Everything went very smoothly and I made a tidy profit on the job, but it was a bit of a risk I took there.

John I know that feeling well! Then you get the client that decides to jerk you around and the whole thing comes unstuck!

you really should be getting a detailed written quotation before you pay the contractor anything ,so that BOTH of you know what is entailed in the job ,by detailed i mean all work and material types that will be used in the job as well as payment shedules ,read it and make any changes you may have on the original both sign and date it then copy it and both have a copy on file just in case something goes wrong ,nothing may but because you are both aware of the other having a signed copy this will give a bit of assurance that nothing can go wrong

Originally Posted by Bleedin Thumb

John I know that feeling well! Then you get the client that decides to jerk you around and the whole thing comes unstuck!

Yes, that's the only thing that concerned me. I had every confidence that I could do the job properly and run the job from claim to claim, but you can't foretell if you're going to get jerked around, as is often the case.
I've found that the richer a client, the more likely they are to jerk you around. Especially with the final payment, since they've got what they wanted then.

Thats why I haven't done a domestic job for over 10 years. and I usually won't go near builders with the proverbial 10' pole. Local government was the only work I'd do (with some private corporation work)
Unfortunately I am coming off a five year hiatus of doing the home dad thing - with some sporadic consulting project management in between - so its back to working for Dodgy Bros. builders again.

I feel like i'm starting out from scratch again, but It won't take long to get back to the feed trough.

For any cabinet work i do, its 50% down 30% on delivery and 20% on completion. If they havent got the 30% when i come to deliver the goods stay in the van.
Have been burnt several times now by non payers.

But then i accepted a good paying contract job so the cabinet making will be now done evenings and weekends just to keep the business going just in case

Originally Posted by Lignum

Im always carefull when its a good deal, much cheaper and can be done straight away. Most furniture makers have a lead time of 8 - 12 weeks if their any good and have a plentifull supply of work

Did you have to say that... I don't know what to think now. lol They have a storefront so I guess when I go into pay the deposit, I can get a better feel of the business.

Originally Posted by Lignum

dont stress i was just having a friendly dig

yeah i know

Originally Posted by Guy

For any cabinet work i do, its 50% down 30% on delivery and 20% on completion. If they havent got the 30% when i come to deliver the goods stay in the van.
Have been burnt several times now by non payers.

But then i accepted a good paying contract job so the cabinet making will be now done evenings and weekends just to keep the business going just in case

Guy can you tell me what type of wood cabinets are made in... are they all done in the same type? Or are there some dodgy materials out there I should be aware of?

I can't work out why this guy has quoted me such a cheap price, when all the others are upwards of $1000.

This is the one we are replacing:






There will be smaller doors up top. Not paying extra for a colour, just going with the standard white doors.
He quoted me $1000 for the carcass and full length doors. With the 3 draws and smaller doors at the top it is $1200.

Yeh that looks about right. That is about what I would charge if I did the job myself. The people charging more probably are doing so as there isn't a hell of a lot of money in the smaller jobs. Just looking at it rom what you have shown it would come in at around 500 bucks for the carcass for the board. The doors and drw fts maybe a little more fr the board and maybe 150 bucks. Th drawers would proly be another 40 bucks or so depending on wheter they use dcent drawers or not then you gotta allow maybe 6 hours labour @ around 65 bucks an hour which wouldbe 390 and then GST on top of that comes in at 1188 so yeh 1200 is about right.

Woot! Thankyou so much Cabbie.

No probs I skimped a little on the labour though just thinking about it. I never allowed for if there may have been a problem with the walls or something when they go to install maybe an extra 2 hours which aint much still anyways Not a big or difficult job and a decent price too in my opinion.

are you going to paint the interior white to make it brighter inside? Just looking at the whole thing, what's wrong with the frame that's there? You could paint it nicely and get some doors made to hang off it, then fit out the interior as you want.

The State Government of Victoria Law says that, upto $20K you may ask for a 10% deposit, anything over $20K you may only ask for a 5% deposit 'before' starting a job. Listen to those words carefully. Whomever asks for more than the Law states, could be in very serious trouble with the Law if found out. Breaking this law actualy means commiting a criminal offence.
You should also be supplied with a contract stating exactly what you are being made and a schedule of payments.

Hope this helps

T