We are still building and just had the power cable put in and I insisted on a landline cable to go in at the same time. Living in the country means bad reception or blackspots for mobiles as mentioned earlier and it isn't being fixed none too fast either!! We also have allot of older clients who still prefer to contact us on a landline because they dont all have mobile phones or if they do, they have the isues just mentioned, blackspots etc... and mobiles are still considered by some to be a financially extravagant way to make contact versus a landline!! I guess the young ones don't remember a time when there were local and STD or long distance calls which used to cost an arm or a leg and these STD calls didn't mean you were calling interstate, it could be as simple as being 40km away. I have a fixed landline monthly plan at very little cost which covers all local and STD calls and I could if I chose to, talk for several hours, still at no extra cost compared to a mobile. Mobile plans are at a fixed rate like say getting $300 worth of free calls for $35 but you go over that plan and you can get a fair shock when the bill arrives. Landlines as mentioned earlier are safer to use, always have clearer reception and really are still the cheapest way to keep in touch from home.

I think that your builder's quote seems fair and reasonable, and am surprised it is not actually more. You have an old house with old walls that are not straight or square, and you want to make it all perfect for your square set for your ceiling/wall junction? As mentioned above this is precision work, and needs a fair bit of preparation to get right. Why don't you research Edwardian plaster cornices to see if you like any of them and ask your builder to quote as an alternative to labour-intensive square-set, which has a more contemporary feel? As quotes for variations are not in competition with other builders who are quoting your builder doesn't need to be super-competitive. I know some builders who make a lot of their profit from variations. I don't think your builder is one of them. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls

Hi Sarah It’s really hard to compare as they don’t give you a price per metre. Just quote the job each time. The stone we used, Spirals in Silk finish is one of the very dearest Aurea do so it was considerably dearer than other more common brands. It has just been installed and I don’t regret the cost for a second. I absolutely love it. What swung us was the fact it was a jumbo slab so no join on our island, the silk finish (feels amazing!!) and the colour/pattern. We felt it was nicer than any other engineered stone. Good luck, get as many quotes from different stonemasons as you can. There was significant differences in prices between the companies we were getting quotes from.

if pricing is visible and available, there will be a little „pricetag“ symbol on the image, which is clickable. i have come across it mostly in ideabooks so far, but not often