Tesco LCD TV Instillation?

[admin_exported]

Hello,

Tesco are offering instillation of 40" LCD TV's for £350.

This includes chasing all the cables behind the wall and tidying it all up after etc.

I'm rubbish at DIY myself so doing it myself isn't an option!

Does this represent good value? Seems quite expensive to me.....

 

[Andrew Everard]

Does that include the bracket? A quick spot of Googlage uncovers at least one company offering to do the job for £290, but that doesn't include the bracket, and you could pay £100 or so for a simple install without the cable-chasing. So I guess the Tesco price is about par for the course...

 

[Anonymous]

That dosnt include the bracket or cables - wouldn't trust a Tesco bracket!!

 

[Andrew Everard]

Then it looks a little expensive, but not excessively so.

 

[Anonymous]

I have chased walls and its a real pig of a job, especially since the cutter broke half way through and had to do it by hand.

If they chase, re-plaster and paint for 350.00 I would gladly pay someone to do that.

But I cant see tesco's getting a plasterer and a lecci in for 350.00 to do all that.

But hey I could be wrong, it has happened once before.

 

[Anonymous]

they wouldnt need a plasterer and a sparks for that , a handyman would manage it , if he couldnt , he wouldnt be very handy

, i doubt they would paint the wall afterwards , it wouldnt be dry enough till the next day , that would make it a two day job , for £350 ?? na , id bet they insist that you paint it , although ive been wrong before too , 3 times i believe

edit , i guess its possible they use some sort of rapid hardening filler and not plaster , so maybe it would be possible to paint it on the day , but i still dont see them doing that , unless the customer supplies the paint maybe , otherwise how would they know what colour to bring along ?? theres so many variations , mixes etc , yea , i reckon they may paint , if you have paint ...

 

[matthewpiano]

Its a pretty normal price for that type of installation and the chances are that Tesco are contracting the work out to other companies. Many authorised repair agents do installation work on behalf of retailers so they might be going down that route - probably worth asking who is going to be cutting into your wall.

 

[Anonymous]

canada16:

I have chased walls and its a real pig of a job, especially since the cutter broke half way through and had to do it by hand.

If they chase, re-plaster and paint for 350.00 I would gladly pay someone to do that.

But I cant see tesco's getting a plasterer and a lecci in for 350.00 to do all that.

But hey I could be wrong, it has happened once before.

Agree with canada, that might be the price for mounting onto a stud wall where you can cut the plasterboard and feed from behind, but if it,s a brick wall then you have to raggle to a depth of 15mm ( nominal plaster thickness in older properties ) and if that is not deep enough then your into cutting the brick as well. Once your cables are fastened to the brickwork then you have to fill your raggles with a coat of plaster bonding, then when the bonding has dried a coat of plaster finish, leave for 30 mins then wet the plaster and polish with your float. If the wall is an outside wall ie above a fireplace, then it could take anything up to 4 days before the bonding is dry enough to plaster over with the finish coat.I have developed and plastered a lot of properties over the years and know from experience that a plasterer wants the mileage ie full rooms to plaster not stupid little raggles, not worth their time.I would ask tesco exactly what you get for your money first.

 

[Anonymous]

they might not need plaster ?? there would only be a small bit of chasing to do , enough for a mains cable , a few hdmis and a coax , wouldnt some type of rapid hardening filler do ??

 

[Anonymous]

maxflinn:they might not need plaster ?? there would only be a small bit of chasing to do , enough for a mains cable , a few hdmis and a coax , wouldnt some type of rapid hardening filler do ??
Probably could maxflinn, but why would you go to all the trouble of buying a nice tv, well fitted bracket and then filling with a compound that would probably shrink or worse still expand as it dried, every time you watched television your eye would be drawn to the bulge that was left by the quick filling job. What if it,s getting mounted onto an original brick feature wall ?, are tesco going to number all the individual bricks, carefully remove then re-point all the bricks back into their proper places with cement thats been dyed to the original old colour, that,s what i would do, but then i prefer to do a job right first time.

 

[matthewpiano]

This is why we don't offer this level of installation. We offer a £100 standard wall-mount (plus bracket) which doesn't involve hiding the cables. For anything more than that we advise customer's to seek out a custom installation or employ the services of a builder. Doing anything in somebody else's home is a major responsibility and jobs such as chasing cables/re-plastering/dealing with brick facings etc. require a different kind of expertise.

Like I said £350 seems reasonable, but you do need to find out exactly what that covers and who is doing the work.

 

[Anonymous]

hmmm , id say whatever they use to replaster would be suitable , would tesco want people ringing up after a few months to demand their money back or have the work corrected ?? if they used bonding , that would take a few hours to dry enough for skimming , and thats another couple of hours drying time , but not dry enough for paint , some sort of rapid hardening filler makes more sense to me ...

and no , if you had a brick fireplace , tesco wouldnt be who to call , obviously....

 

[Anonymous]

Well said matthew, like most things now it seems like tesco are going down the route of the job will go to the lowest bidder, and i assume that tesco will still be getting a cut of that price, so i can imagine what kind of finish you would get for that price, same old same old, you get what you pay for. Just look at some of the topics on this forum now, televisions that are reasonably priced and then you get the same old stories of screens not working properly, back lights not working properly etc etc. Cheap materials + cheap ( unskilled ) labour = cheap product = will last 5 minutes.

 

[Anonymous]

i wouldnt mind getting 200 quid a pop for doing it , you do 5 a week , easy money , and anyway , what would a proffesional require ?? 600 sheets ?? that would be rediculous , and hed probably sub it out anyway ....

 

[Anonymous]

maxflinn:i wouldnt mind getting 200 quid a pop for doing it , you do 5 a week , easy money , and anyway , what would a proffesional require ?? 600 sheets ?? that would be rediculous , and hed probably sub it out anyway ....
Erm, why would you let someone work in your house who wasn,t a professional ?

 

[bigboss]

For a good reliable job, you will need a professional. When I was looking for someone to install my home cinema system, I got 2 quotations: one charged £240 for half a day's job & £390 for a full day's job, & the other was charging £40 per hour. I chose the former & they did an excellent job. No problem with plaster coming off or any breakages.

 

[Anonymous]

The wall I want the tv mounting on, is a stud wall. The thing that appeals to me is that if something goes wrong you can call Tesco and give them a load of grief. I would rather deal with a huge multi-national company than a local builder who is going to tell me to "go away" if I complain.

This is what Tesco say...

This TV installation service is suitable for the wall-mounted installation of 33" TVs and larger, with the cabling concealed in the wall. It does not include the TV or wall bracket itself, the delivery of the TV to your house, any long or extension leads or cables, moving any sockets or redecoration.

Tesco Tech Support will call within 48 hours to arrange a convenient date for the set up of your TV equipment.

We will decide with you the best location for mounting the TV. We will carefully attach the bracket to the wall using the appropriate fixings. We will cut a channel or access slots and route cables within the wall and we will make good afterwards. Note that whilst the installer will tidy up to their best efforts, there will be considerable noise and dust and localised redecoration will be needed.

We will unpack, check and set-up the TV that you have previously purchased. We will connect up your existing equipment such as DVD players, set-top boxes and VCRs. We will tune the TV to digital and analogue channels and demonstrate use of the TV and remote control. We'll then tidy everything up and leave you the packaging. Any additional charges, e.g. for extra cabling required, are paid to Tesco Tech Support over the phone at the time of installation.

If this is your first Freeview TV, please check out the Freeview information at www.freeview.co.uk/availability to make sure Freeview is available in your area and that your aerial and cabling is suitable. We offer a digital aerial installation service if needed. If you have bought a freesat TV and need a satellite dish, please look at our freesat installation services. This service is suitable for domestic premises only.

Further details are available at http://www.tescotechsupport.co.uk/Services/TV_Wallmount.html or call 0845 092 0405 for details and bookings.

 

[Anonymous]

" Cut a channel within the wall and make good afterwards", that could mean anything, would still want a work or method statement before work commenced, you could only get that if tesco did a site visit beforehand which looks like they don,t. Still sounds dodgy to me.

 

[Anonymous]

johnnyjazz:maxflinn:i wouldnt mind getting 200 quid a pop for doing it , you do 5 a week , easy money , and anyway , what would a proffesional require ?? 600 sheets ?? that would be rediculous , and hed probably sub it out anyway ....
Erm, why would you let someone work in your house who wasn,t a professional ?i didnt say id let someone work in my house that wasnt a proffesional ?? installing a tv , chasing walls , a bit of making good , is not going to be done by anyone other than a handyman , do you think a plasterer , electrician , and qualified painter are going to either be needed , or actually arrive to install a tv ??

id agree , ringing and asking exactly what they do for the money is a must , but i wouldnt assume that because its tesco , or its costing only £350 , that it will be a botch job ...

 

[Anonymous]

bluezorro:The wall I want the tv mounting on, is a stud wall. The thing that appeals to me is that if something goes wrong you can call Tesco and give them a load of grief. I would rather deal with a huge multi-national company than a local builder who is going to tell me to "go away" if I complain.

This is what Tesco say...

This TV installation service is suitable for the wall-mounted installation of 33" TVs and larger, with the cabling concealed in the wall. It does not include the TV or wall bracket itself, the delivery of the TV to your house, any long or extension leads or cables, moving any sockets or redecoration.

Tesco Tech Support will call within 48 hours to arrange a convenient date for the set up of your TV equipment.

We will decide with you the best location for mounting the TV. We will carefully attach the bracket to the wall using the appropriate fixings. We will cut a channel or access slots and route cables within the wall and we will make good afterwards. Note that whilst the installer will tidy up to their best efforts, there will be considerable noise and dust and localised redecoration will be needed.

We will unpack, check and set-up the TV that you have previously purchased. We will connect up your existing equipment such as DVD players, set-top boxes and VCRs. We will tune the TV to digital and analogue channels and demonstrate use of the TV and remote control. We'll then tidy everything up and leave you the packaging. Any additional charges, e.g. for extra cabling required, are paid to Tesco Tech Support over the phone at the time of installation.

If this is your first Freeview TV, please check out the Freeview information at www.freeview.co.uk/availability to make sure Freeview is available in your area and that your aerial and cabling is suitable. We offer a digital aerial installation service if needed. If you have bought a freesat TV and need a satellite dish, please look at our freesat installation services. This service is suitable for domestic premises only.

Further details are available at http://www.tescotechsupport.co.uk/Services/TV_Wallmount.html or call 0845 092 0405 for details and bookings.ah , i just read this , they wont redecorate , which means no painting , and it doesnt include the bracket , hmmm , im not sure , its a handy £350 for little work , even hoovering and dusting afterwards is left to the homeowner , however i can see the attraction for people that just want it done , tv set up , blu-ray player etc all connected , and with teacos name behind it , they have some comeback ...

 

[Anonymous]

Hi again maxflinn, even if your job description is Handy-Man, how can you quote for a job that you have not seen yet, material cost , labour, liability insurance etc. What happens if it,s only a 10 foot x 4 inch raggle, but when you start to burst the channel, then a third of the wall is bossed and the plaster comes off that whole area, your not going to be able to make good in one day, what if when you crack the plaster, the crack carries on up into the ceiling, along the coving, are tesco going to make good that too. Sounds like tesco are generalising the fitting of a tv. Unless the Handy-Man has all the skills to deal with all the problems that could arise, then i think not.

 

[Anonymous]

but those are extreme examples of what could go wrong , material costs will be very similar on each job , insurance ?? tesco would sort that , labour ?? minimal , the crew or crews doing the installing would probably breeze through most installations , they may get caught on an odd one like you pointed out , but i still think at £350 a job , there would be enough money in it to make it profitable for the installers , tesco , and ensure a decent standard of workmanship , it should be anyway..

 

[Anonymous]

maxflinn:

but those are extreme examples of what could go wrong , material costs will be very similar on each job , insurance ?? tesco would sort that , labour ?? minimal , the crew or crews doing the installing would probably breeze through most installations , they may get caught on an odd one like you pointed out , but i still think at £350 a job , there would be enough money in it to make it profitable for the installers , tesco , and ensure a decent standard of workmanship , it should be anyway..

Ha Ha, can,t stop laughing

 

[Anonymous]

johnnyjazz:maxflinn:

but those are extreme examples of what could go wrong , material costs will be very similar on each job , insurance ?? tesco would sort that , labour ?? minimal , the crew or crews doing the installing would probably breeze through most installations , they may get caught on an odd one like you pointed out , but i still think at £350 a job , there would be enough money in it to make it profitable for the installers , tesco , and ensure a decent standard of workmanship , it should be anyway..



Ha Ha, can,t stop laughing

are they not

 

[Anonymous]

Doesn,t matter Max my friend, it,s good to be optimistic