Labour contract - what's included, current prices

[rajeevanand]

Hello friends

I hear from people around that labour contract is better to save on costs. With a proper agreement, this would work very efficiently if we are ready to spend time to procure material ourselves.

Can you please share your inputs on:
- how to negotiate labour contract
- what is the breakup in costs
- what is included, what is not
- any sample agreement which can be used as reference
- any disadvantages or chances of being taken for a ride (asking more out of caution, no intention to demean anyone as there are definitely good folks too)
- current rates (labourers vs mestri, etc, are there different rates for different jobs)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Rajeev

[karjagir]

Rajeev,

Some initial thoughts. We can elaborate later based on specific questions

- how to negotiate labour contract

To some extent, labour contract rates vary depding on the part of Bangalore in which you are constructing I think. I am constructing my house in Veerabhadra Nagar near PESIT Nice road junction (near Mysore Road). I agreed to pay INR 265 per sqft for the masonry work whereas the initial quote was INR 270. Don’t negotiate too much since they will either compromise on the quality of the work or try making money in some other aspect.

In this most of the things are included. Digging/JCB charges and watchman salary are separate. Also some people prefer the chain staircase kind of design for which he quoted INR 600 extra per step. I chose to go with the regular staircase design

The above is only for the masonry work and plastering etc. Labour for Plumbing, painting, flooring, electrical, woodwork, wardrobes, false ceiling etc. is all separate

- what is the breakup in costs

- what is included, what is not

- any sample agreement which can be used as reference

Not sure if contractors make an agreement. In my case, it is based purely on trust. Even if an agreement was made, not sure if you can enforce it in India

- any disadvantages or chances of being taken for a ride (asking more out of caution, no intention to demean anyone as there are definitely good folks too)

Disadvantages are that you need to spend time and effort in procuring material. The flip side is that you control the material quality and will be happy with the final product since you chose the materials
Some people tend to overquote labour rates. You can refer to this forum to see if you will be taken for a ride. Also, don’t trust or distrust your labour contractor completely when he suggests places to buy materials. Lot of times those places are genuine. Do your homework and take a decision when you buy materials. Lot of times in my case, I went with the vendor my contractor suggested since I felt the quality and pricing were reasonable. The contractor may make some commission. But as long as the material is of good quality and reasonably priced, that shouldn’t matter to you

- current rates (labourers vs mestri, etc, are there different rates for different jobs)

If you give a per sft contract, you don’t need to worry about different rates for laborers, mestri etc

Karthik

[rajeevanand]

Thank you Karthik. Very useful.

Will the mestri and labourer charges differ when working out labour contract ? The reason I'm asking is one of the builders actually owe us money. Am planning to engage them and adjust the labour cost to some extent as they are unable to payback in cash.

[sudhindrabhatt]

Can somebody please provide few mestri contact. I am planning to construct house in my 20*30 plot near KSIT college, kanakapura road.
Please assist

Thanks
Sudhi

[santro]

Hi Sudhi,

Pls check your msg, i shared one mestri who's currently working near your plot (Narayananagr, Doddakallsandra).

[lnagaraj]

Can somebody please provide few mestri contact. I am planning to construct house in my 20*30 plot near KSIT college, kanakapura road.
Please assist

Thanks
Sudhi

Mohan(9845889193) was the maestri during the construction of my house in B.C.M.C layout, Kanakapura Main road

[Purusoth Ariputhiri]

Dear Sudhi,
Are you still looking for a vendor to take up the construction., you can call on this number 8606970055 for further assistant.
Regards
Purusoth Ariputhiri