Quality craftsmanship doesn’t come cheap, if I say so myself
We complain a lot about building costs in New Zealand. For good reason too. A very common story from anybody who has built a house is the one about how the budget blew out, even when a budget blowout was budgeted for.
A perfect example of why this is so, and why affordable houses need to come off the shelf, is provided by a recent building project on our property undertaken by a craftsman of rare ability.
We needed a new house for our letters and deliveries, in other words, a letterbox. This is a job every householder should be able to tackle and, since I enjoy a bit of woodwork, I had just the man for the job.
I certainly wasn’t going to take the easy option and head down to the hardware shop to choose something mass-produced and relatively inexpensive. Far too easy and convenient.
First came a site visit with Mrs VB to determine where the new structure should go. This involved some debate and compromise and eventually a decision was made. Mrs VB didn’t realise but I was already on the clock. I charged our notional joint entity about 30 minutes but, since we live on site, no travel time.
Then came the design phase. I wanted something solid and simple, and naturally went to the reference bible for all handypeople
– YouTube. The platform had a number of options, and I chose one that showed a man constructing a letterbox in fast motion. It took him about five minutes to take a sheet of ply and turn it into a beautiful letter receptacle.
I watched the video about five times to understand every nuance and detail. This was not going to be amateur hour. I added another 30 minutes to the bill.
Further consultation with Mrs VB was required to finalise the dimensions. She was adamant the new letterbox would have to accommodate a standard shoe box and that, of course, required a slight variation of the plan and some extra materials. I charged accordingly.
I had everything I needed for the structure except a sheet of 17mm tanalised plywood. That required a trip to the hardware store. The exercise took another hour of my time, plus vehicle expenses. I hadn’t even started the job and I already had about 21⁄2 hours on the meter, plus disbursements.
The first step was to measure and cut the plywood into the various parts of the letterbox. This required a power saw, one of many power tools that I would use to fabricate the box. None of these come cheap, so a small charge had to be imposed for their use.
With all the bits cut out, the letterbox was taking shape. Already it was clear perfection would not be achieved. Perfection takes time and the charges were already mounting.
For the assembly I needed more materials and tools. Glue, clamps and nails were just the start. The letterbox door also needed two hinges and a catch, so numerous small costs had to be added on.
The roof went on last and, as another slight change from the original plan was needed, a variation was required but no consent (from Mrs VB). Some difficult angles had to be cut, which just added to the time and expense of the job.
The end result was a handsome example of the letterbox craft, but the job was far from done. I needed to fill the nail holes and some other imperfections with that great friend of the handyperson – builder’s bog. All the surfaces needed to be sanded and undercoated, a process requiring a host of materials that went on the list of costs to be recovered from the client.
Now came stage two. I had an undercoated letterbox but it still needed to be installed at the gate.
I had a wharf sleeper I found on the beach in my store of timber odds and ends, so the pole was easy. It didn’t mean anybody was getting it for free, however.
This letterbox wasn’t going anywhere, so I dug a deep hole using a spade, shovel and a big steel rod for getting through the level of stone and rock. All wear and tear on my tools, requiring compensation.
With the sleeper levelled up and braced, I borrowed some builder’s mix from a pile down the road and still had a bit of cement over from another job. Cheap, you might think. Yes, but still chargeable. I mixed the concrete in a wheelbarrow, a small economy but no need to reduce the bill.
Then for the final touches. The letterbox had to be attached – four screws – and needed two coats of quality paint with different colours for the roof, door and main housing. An expensive luxury for the customer, but one that was specified. Finally came the fixing of the number and a clean-up of the site.
All that remained was the bill. With materials and my labour charged out at $40 an hour, we weren’t getting any change from $500. Even if you can’t put a price tag on quality, I was outraged.
I watched the [YouTube] video about five times to understand every nuance and detail . . . I added another 30 minutes to the bill.