Pricing guide
Builder day rates UK: what to charge, and how to work it out
Every published day rate table is written for the person paying it. This guide is for the builder setting it: current UK ranges by trade, then the method for building a rate that actually covers your pay, overhead and profit.
Short answer
Published UK cost guides put a general builder at around £400 a day, with other trades ranging from roughly £112 a day for a labourer to £560 for a two-person bricklaying gang, and London and the South East running higher. Published averages are a market reference, not a rate you can run a business on. Work out your own rate by adding your annual pay target, business overhead and planned profit, then dividing by the number of days you can actually bill. Check the result against current trade ranges, and treat VAT and CIS as separate from the rate itself.
Quick check
- Treat published day rate tables as a market reference, not your rate
- Add up your annual pay target, business overhead and planned profit
- Divide by realistic chargeable days, not total working days
- Check the result against current UK ranges for your trade
- Decide whether this job suits day rate or price work
- Confirm whether your rate is quoted before or after VAT
- Remember CIS deductions are a tax mechanism, not a rate cut
- Revisit the rate at least once a year, not once at start-up
1. Why published averages mislead the person setting the rate
Cost-guide sites such as Checkatrade publish national averages built from jobs their users have paid for. They are genuinely useful for a homeowner working out a budget. They are a poor starting point for a builder deciding what to charge, because they say nothing about your specific overhead, your travel radius, your insurance, or how many days a year you can actually bill.
Averages also compress a wide spread into one number. A day rate that works for a jobbing builder covering a five-mile radius will not cover a specialist doing structural work two hours from home. Use published ranges to sense-check your own figure, not to set it.
Region moves the number more than trade
Every UK cost guide shows the same pattern: London and the South East run well above the national figure, and rural or lower-demand areas run below it. Check the range for your own area before comparing yourself to a national average.
2. Indicative UK day rates by trade
These are published ranges, not fixed prices. Figures are drawn from current Checkatrade cost guides (see Sources) and move with demand, region and experience.
| Trade | Typical UK day rate | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| General builder | Around £400 a day published average; experienced builders around £50 an hour, self-employed builders around £40 an hour | Experience, complexity and location; self-employed sole traders carry lower overheads and often sit below company rates. |
| Labourer | £112 to £360 | Skill required, specialist equipment and location; London adds roughly £80 a day. |
| Bricklayer | £240 to £320 solo, around £560 for a two-person gang | Add roughly £240 a day if a labourer joins them; typical output is about 500 bricks a day on a straightforward wall. |
| Kitchen fitter | £250 to £350, around £300 average | Whether plumbing or electrical work is included, and regional demand. |
| Plasterer | Around £300 a day published average, or roughly £24 per m² for a standard skim | Many plasterers price a skim per square metre rather than by the day; room size and wall condition move the total more than the rate. |
| Carpenter | Published hourly range £30 to £45, which works out at roughly £240 to £360 for an eight-hour day | Bespoke and joinery work sits higher; London and the South East run highest. |
3. Plastering: day rate or price per square metre
Plastering is one of the few trades where a per-square-metre convention sits alongside the day rate, especially for skimming existing walls in good condition. A per-m² price is easier for a client to compare across quotes and easier for you to scale up or down as the room size changes.
Use a day rate for openings, ceilings in poor condition, patch repairs and anything with awkward access, where output cannot be predicted reliably per square metre. Use a per-m² price once you have enough completed jobs to know your real production rate for straightforward work.
Worked example
Converting between the two
If you plaster roughly 20m² of straightforward wall in a day at a day rate of £200, that is £10/m² in labour alone. Add materials, waste and your usual overhead and profit before quoting a per-m² price, and keep a note of the day rate behind it in case the job turns out harder than expected.
4. Build the rate from your own numbers
This is the same calculation behind a day rate calculator: four inputs, one division.
Add the three annual figures together and divide by chargeable days. The result is the rate needed to break even on pay, overhead and profit before you adjust for anything specific to the job in front of you.
- 1
Annual pay you need to draw
The wage, salary or drawings you want before personal tax, based on what you actually need to live on, not a round number.
- 2
Annual business overhead
Vehicle, insurance, tools, premises, software, accountancy and other running costs that do not belong to one job.
- 3
Planned annual profit
What you want left over for taking commercial risk and growing the business, kept separate from pay and overhead.
- 4
Chargeable days
Working days left after weekends, holidays, quoting, admin, training and the gaps between jobs. This is nearly always lower than it first looks.
5. Chargeable days are the number that catches people out
Non-chargeable time is not a failure of planning. It is the real cost of running a business: quoting jobs you do not win, keeping on top of admin, staying trained and covering the gaps that happen between one job finishing and the next starting. Price it in rather than absorbing it as unpaid time.
Worked example
Why the gap matters
A builder with 230 working days a year but 45 non-chargeable days for quoting, admin, training and gaps between jobs has 185 chargeable days, not 230. Using the wrong figure understates the day rate by roughly a fifth.
6. Day rate or price work
A day rate protects you when the work cannot yet be measured. Price work is usually what wins the job and protects your margin once it can be. See day rate vs fixed price for the fuller decision and how to write a hybrid quote.
| Situation | Better fit |
|---|---|
| Scope is not yet defined, or depends on opening up the building | Day rate |
| Client is supplying materials on an uncertain schedule | Day rate |
| Scope and quantities are clear and measurable | Price work |
| You are competing against other quotes for the job | Price work |
7. VAT and CIS change what "rate" means
A day rate you quote to a client is normally a net figure before VAT, and most work to existing homes is standard-rated, though some conversions and qualifying work are treated differently. Check HMRC Notice 708 or confirm with your accountant rather than assuming.
CIS deductions are a tax administration mechanism between contractors and subcontractors. They are not a discount on the value of the work. Price the job at the rate it is worth, and keep the records CIS requires separately from the pricing decision.
Do not net the rate down for CIS
A subcontractor paid under CIS still needs to charge a rate that covers their pay, overhead and profit. The deduction affects when they receive the money, not what the work is worth.
8. Sense-check the rate before you commit to it
- Compare it against current published ranges for your trade and region
- Confirm chargeable days against last year's diary, not a guess
- Check the VAT position and whether the rate is quoted net or gross
- Separate CIS deductions from the value of the rate
- Decide whether this job suits a day rate, a fixed price, or both
- Revisit the whole calculation at least once a year
Common questions
What is a fair day rate for a builder in the UK?
Published UK figures put a general builder around £400 a day, with trades either side of that: labourers from £112 a day, bricklayers £240 to £320, and rates in London and the South East running higher. Treat that as a market check, not your rate: work it out from your own pay, overhead, profit and chargeable days first.
How much should a labourer charge per day?
Checkatrade's current UK range for a labourer is roughly £112 to £360 a day, with London typically adding around £80. The right figure for you still depends on the skill and equipment the job needs.
Do plasterers charge per day or per square metre?
Both. Many plasterers quote a day rate for openings, poor-condition ceilings and awkward access, and a per-square-metre price, often around £24/m² for a standard skim, once they know their real output on straightforward work.
Should I charge more than the published average?
Possibly. Published averages are national and do not know your overhead, insurance, travel or chargeable days. Build your own rate from those numbers first, then use the published range as a sense check rather than a ceiling.
How does VAT affect my day rate?
A day rate you quote is normally a net figure, with VAT added afterwards if the work is standard-rated, which most work to existing homes is. Check HMRC Notice 708 or your accountant if a job might qualify for a different treatment.
Is CIS a discount on my rate?
No. CIS deductions are a tax administration mechanism between contractor and subcontractor. They change when you receive the money, not what the work is worth, so price the job at its full rate regardless of the deduction.
Sources and further reading
Primary and authoritative sources used to check this guide.
- Builder day rateCheckatrade
- Labourer day rateCheckatrade
- Bricklaying cost breakdownCheckatrade
- Kitchen fitting costCheckatrade
- Cost to plaster a roomCheckatrade
- Carpentry prices guideCheckatrade
- Buildings and construction VAT Notice 708HM Revenue & Customs
General information for UK residential building work, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Published cost-guide ranges are indicative averages that move with region, demand and season, and they are not a substitute for calculating your own rate from your accounts. Confirm VAT and CIS treatment with HMRC or your accountant.