What price for an aerial installation?
Brian Butterworth published on UK Free TV In responses to the guideline I posted about how much having a new aerial fitted should cost, Ian Grice posted: "£40-£50? Every aerial fitter I contacted wants at least £150+VAT considering you can get a class 3 aerial for under £10 and a class 2 for under £15 and cable is 40p a metre why are they charging so much for 30 minutes work?"
OK, for some places putting up a TV aerial is hard work, such as multi-story properties. As many people will simply be exchanging a Group A, B, C/D, E or K aerial for a wideband type, often without changing the supporting pole or cable, a high price cannot be justified.
I am concerned that some companies will exploit vulnerable groups (such as the elderly).
So, I what prices have you been quoted for aerial installations? What price have you paid for installation?
Do you know of any companies to avoid? Do you know of any companies that are good value for money?
Or do you work for a great aerial installation company?
Help with TV/radio stations?
Friday, 15 February 2013
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John11:56 AM
£40 - £50 pounds so am I to presume you would like an uninsured, unqualified cowboy that probably pays no income tax or vat and provides a guarantee that is not worth the paper its written on? also £10 for an aerial maybe a non approved DIY store aerial nothing that will last and yes cable does cost 50p a meter but that's what the installer pays! so really your happy to pay £1000+ for you Tv and surround system but you expect an engineer to turn up to your house with all the right kit and risk his neck for no return!!.. £150 is a fair price for a quality installation from a CAI approved company that you should expect to last in excess of 10 to 15 years.
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Mazbar3:36 PM
John: you make some great points but as you can see from my posts what you get depends on where you live as you say do some of these riggers have all the right insurance ,pay there tax or have the right equipment. People should only use a land line not a mobile number( I put my landline onto transfer to my mobile so I don't miss a call) I have been rigging for over 25 years the business has been going for over 30 years if I have a recall I do it straight away keep the customer happy. Some of the rubbish I see now makes my heart sink like the use of SSB or wall brackets in chimneys riggers who haven't a clue .
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Sunday, 3 March 2013
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Ryan B9:58 PM
Hi everyone,
Im an installer working in the Leeds area,
iv been in the trade for 10 years now and run my own small business since 2009.
To be honest iv never known things to be as bad as they are at the moment,
I usually charge a flat rate of £110 for a "standard" aerial install, this includes either a chimney lashing kit with upto 6ft mast or a c bracket on gable depending on whats needed etc. I charge £150 for a DMX10 on a 10/12ft mast with a masthead amp if required for weak signal areas,
it goes without saying that CT100 or WF cable is used, galvanised brackets and 12 months guarantee on all my work.
I like to think these prices are fair and im not out to rip anyone off.
i just dont know whats up lately though, im quoting on jobs and can tell straight away that people arent interested, ive had to drop my price down to £85 yet im still struggling to get work in,
The most annoying thing is there is a bloke in my local paper advertising "digital aerials" fully fitted for £40!! how the hell can anyone compete with that? how on earth he manages to do jobs at that price i just dont know.
I had a call last week from a guy saying his aerial had fallen off the roof and how much to fix it, over the phone i told him around £40, (thats for me to drive to his house, set up my equipment, climb on his roof, assess any damage, replace snapped lashing kit or mast, re-align aerial, test and tune TV, pack away all kit, take on any problems that he has for next 12 months free of charge etc etc.
His exact reply to my quote was "fu**in hell £40...il have to have a ring around"
What i want to know from any other riggers is are my prices too high? and how just how cheap can a job realistically be done before its not worth doing!
Sorry about the rant but things are getting desperate to be honest,
Cheers guys, Ryan
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NICK ADSL UK10:13 PM
Ryan
i got ripped off buy a top class installer to the tune of £650 down here on the south coast
they normally charge a minimum of £300 and their still number one on the south coast
a bit odd but people in the south are otherwise they would never have gotten to the number one position and wealth
just do your best and what's right as that's the best way
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Monday, 4 March 2013
Ryan what you are charging is fine. You can guarantee that the guy doing £40 installs is using poor quality components. The problem is getting people to realise the worth of the job! It may be something you have to ride through because eventually what the other guy is doing will go wrong he'll get a bad name and then people will come looking for a real installer who uses the correct equipment.
Because times are hard people are looking for the cheap solution but I can tell everyone now you only get what you pay for, and if you don't want the hassle of having to get your "new" aerial system repaired/replaced after 3 months then I suggest paying more than £40!!
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Tuesday, 5 March 2013
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Mazbar3:35 PM
Andrew Brown: I went to chorley today and they had a keep it local mag in the house in it there was an advert for " arial and satellite " with a local phone number if they carn't spell aerial right would you really want them fitting one to your house.
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Wednesday, 6 March 2013
Mazbar: No I certainly would not! I have seen many (mis)spellings of satellite too! How's work for you at the moment?
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Mazbar7:26 PM
Andrew Brown: very quiet, no wind = no work could do with a good hurricane how is it with you.
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Thursday, 7 March 2013
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Ryan B12:11 AM
Thanks for the replys guys,
well what a difference a few days can make, im now booked up until the end of next week and have a few more jobs to go look at aswell.
Morale is back! hopefully its just a hangover from christmas/january and things will remain "steady away" from now on.
With regards to the £40 aerial tosser, he only advertises with a mob number and this frequently changes, he also changes the company name slightly every few weeks but the advert stays identical.
its just really annoying as prices like that make our trade look mickey mouse.
Hope it picks up for everyone, Ryan
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Mazbar: I'm steady at the moment. A hurricane would be quite nice, you know just a small one. I am lucky as I have a contract with the council (two rivers) to move satellites and aerials when they erect scaffold. I have been very ill over the last 2 days and had to have a day off yesterday! I hated it! Back to it today though!
Ryan: That's the way it goes in this trade it seems it's either all or nothing! I have been self employed for 3 years (in the trade for 6)and find a few quiet spells in the year (about now, summer holidays etc) as long as you do a good job you will always have work, the trick is not to panic and keep yourself busy when you don't have work (fence need painting? your own aerials need attending to? I know mine do!)
Andy
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