Day Rate or Fixed Price: Which Should You Agree With Your Builder?

A builder offers you a day rate. Another offers a fixed price for the same job. Which should you take? It depends on how well the work is defined, how much trust you have, and who carries the risk when the job runs long.

I am not publishing specific £-per-day figures here. Rates move with skill mix, location and what is included (labour only vs labour plus materials). Ask each builder what a day covers and get the rate in writing. If you want a sense-check on an offer you already have, send it over.

Quick answer

• Fixed price suits a well-defined scope with drawings and a clear schedule of works. The builder carries the programme risk for that scope.
• Day rate (or week rate) suits investigative work, small undefined jobs, or early stages before the design is locked. You carry the time risk.
• Day rate on a large, definable job often costs you more and removes the incentive to finish.
• Hybrid is common: fixed price for the defined build, day rate for opening-up or client-directed extras.
• Whatever you choose, write down what a "day" means, who supplies materials, and how variations work.

Been offered day rate on a big job? For £59 I'll tell you if it suits the work. Review my builder's quote, £59

What fixed price means

A fixed price (fixed quote) is a lump sum for a defined scope. If the scope stays the same, the price should stay the same. Changes go through a written variation. See can a builder charge more than the quote and quote vs estimate.

Best when:

• You have drawings and a schedule of works
• Materials are specified
• Access and programme are clear
• You want cost certainty for the mortgage or savings pot

Watch for: provisional sums dressed up as a fixed price, thin exclusions, and deposits outside the 5-10% band.

What day rate means

You pay for labour (and sometimes a working foreman) per day or half day. Materials are usually extra, on invoices or a cost-plus arrangement. The open question is always: how many days will this take?

Best when:

• Opening up to diagnose (rot, leaks, structural surprises)
• Small repair jobs that are hard to pre-price fairly
• You are still deciding finishes and expect to change your mind
• Trust is high and you can be on site or available to decide quickly

Poor fit when:

• Extension or loft with full drawings (should be fixed)
• You cannot visit or decide promptly (days stretch)
• The crew size is unclear (is a "day" one person or three?)

Day rate vs fixed price comparison

Questions to ask on a day-rate offer

1. What does one day include (hours, breaks, travel, how many people)?
2. Who are the people (skill levels)? Same crew each day?
3. Are materials at cost, cost plus a %, or from your account with merchants?
4. How do you report hours (timesheet shared daily or weekly)?
5. What is the expected duration, and what could extend it?
6. When do we switch to a fixed price once the scope is clear?
7. How are defects after completion handled if there was no fixed scope?

A sensible hybrid

Many good jobs run like this:

1. Day rate (or a capped exploratory sum) to open up and confirm conditions.
2. Fixed price for the main works once steels, foundations and spec are known.
3. Day rate only for true client extras after that, agreed in writing each time.

That protects you from pretending an unknown job is fixed, without living on day rate for six months.

Red flags

• Day rate proposed for a fully drawn extension with no explanation
• No cap, no estimate of days, no review points
• Vague crew ("my lads") with no numbers
• Materials with no receipts
• Pressure to decide same-day without paperwork
• Mixing "fixed price" language with open-ended dayworks for the same scope

Day rate on a large job? Send the offer and any drawings. For £59 I'll say whether fixed, day rate or hybrid fits, and what to pin down. Review my builder's quote, £59

Deposit and payment still matter

Even on day rate, do not prepay large sums. Pay for days worked and materials received, with a clear trail. Retention is harder on pure dayworks; agree a practical completion holdback if the job is sizeable. Stage payments guidance still applies in spirit.

The short version

Use fixed price when the job is defined. Use day rate when it is not, and switch as soon as it is. Write down the rules. If someone pushes day rate on a clear, large scope, ask why, then get a second opinion on the paperwork.

Want a builder to sanity-check the pricing basis?

I've been a builder for nearly 30 years. For £59, send me up to three quotes or day-rate offers for one job. I'll tell you which pricing basis fits the work and what is missing from the terms. Written review and a call within 24 hours. I never quote for the work and take no referral fees.

Review my builder's quote, £59 · See an example review · Compare fixed quotes free