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What price for an aerial installation?

What prices have you been quoted and paid for an aerial installation?

What prices have you been quoted and paid for an aerial install
Published on by on UK Free TV
In responses to the guideline I posted about how much having a new aerial fitted should cost, Ian Grice posted: "£40-£50? Every aerial fitter I contacted wants at least £150+VAT considering you can get a class 3 aerial for under £10 and a class 2 for under £15 and cable is 40p a metre why are they charging so much for 30 minutes work?"

OK, for some places putting up a TV aerial is hard work, such as multi-story properties. As many people will simply be exchanging a Group A, B, C/D, E or K aerial for a wideband type, often without changing the supporting pole or cable, a high price cannot be justified.

I am concerned that some companies will exploit vulnerable groups (such as the elderly).

So, I what prices have you been quoted for aerial installations? What price have you paid for installation?

Do you know of any companies to avoid? Do you know of any companies that are good value for money?

Or do you work for a great aerial installation company?





Your comments: most recent posts are at the bottom

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Your comments are always welcome. Please use the form below to add your thoughts or questions to this page. We will get back to you as soon as we can.

Michael
Saturday 2 April 2011 3:18PM
I am desperately after a freeview reception, all i can get is a low standard normal TV reception on channels 1 - 5, when i connect my freeview box to the TV i get no reception on it at all "NO SIGNAL" is what it says.

I have phoned and emailed several aerial installers in this area and honestly, they have either answered the phone and hung up straight away, or not bothered to respond to my email for a quote, so i will try to install it myself. Can someone offer me some advice on tools i will need and maybe a link to a DIY aerial installation instruction? I don't fear getting on roof tops and i will have no problem up there, i just need to know where to start, i can get a decent freeview aerial for £20.
Mike Dimmick
Saturday 2 April 2011 4:34PM
Michael: Can you provide your full postcode? It's worth checking first if you're expected to get a service yet, will have to wait for switchover, or whether it will never work that well.

If you're in an area known (or believed) not to be covered, it's possible that the installers won't bother with the query.

You could try looking at the Confederation of Aerial Installers directory at www.cai.org.uk link icon Directory . Search for Type 'Installers: Domestic' in your county. Or, try the Registered Digital Installers Licensing Board list at www.rdi-lb.tv link icon http://www.rdi-lb.tv/

If you're determined to go ahead and do it yourself, I suggest reading www.aerialsandtv.com link icon Planning Your TV Installation (RG47SH)
Ian
Sunday 3 April 2011 8:25PM
Hey buddy if you are worried about getting a freeview reception, it may be cheaper by the time you have paid for in worst cases
20ft pole
Good bracketry to support
Good aerial
Mast head amp etc
Why not look into freesat unless there Is a tree or something in line of sight you will get pretty much the same freeview channels.
Best of luck
Ian 123aerials Oxford call if you want to talk
Avon TV Aerials Of Bath
Thursday 14 April 2011 8:52AM
Well Put Jon
In the west where i operate the normal price for a full Aerial rig is around £150.00 The same as for FreeSat Although some charge way beyond that.
For that off us all mounts are fully galvanized, not painted, masts are min 16g, Aerials Bench marked or top notch spec, All down leads are Tx100 we dont stock any lower standard, Where chimmney fixings are required we use proper lashing assemblys where possable, not wall brackets'' Are parts are mainly Triax, Labgear, ABC. All are work carries a 2 years parts and labour cover.
Im sure you will all agree thats good value for money from a very old established business.

Kind regards
David Pickering
Avon Aerials Of Bath



MikeH
Thursday 21 April 2011 4:10PM
Parts for a full TV aerial £45
Fully covered company insurance £185 a year
Vehicle insurance £425 Road Tax £225
Ladders 3sets approx £400
Drill £185

Oh I know I'll go & install aerials for £55 a go???????

At what point do I get to make a living???

The question at the top of this thread "beggars belief". Who in their right mind would do a quality install to make nothing.

You get what you pay for. If you can get someone to do it for nothing best of luck. Otherwise get a grip on reality. - I'm sure you getting paid when you go to work. Well if you work.
Dave
Friday 22 April 2011 5:54PM
MikeH,

What is a reasonable price then?

When I moved house, I had several riggers around and they quoted me £250+ for an aerial setup. Sent them packing when they showed me the cheap aerials and mylar foil coax they normally use.

There are plenty of cowboys around.

Dave
David Pickering
Tuesday 26 April 2011 4:50PM
There you go Dave I rest my case , In most situations you get what you pay for, But bare in mind that these riggers coming from another town are not going to do it for nothing, Either they are very short of work, or they are going to make a killing, thats why it always payes to stick to local known business that have been around for a very long time.
Remember it takes years of good trading to get a good name, but over night you can get a bad name by the tilt of a hat.
These boys working out of there local citys villages etc dont care because they come and go home, If thing get bad for them they just change there trading names, its been going on since the year dot in most trades.
Regards
Avon aerials of Bath
Ian
Thursday 28 April 2011 4:44PM
Off topic but of interest.

Old lady opposite me locked herself out, she had a key but because she had left a key in the lock on the inside, the outside key wouldn't opperate. It one of these white replacement doors. She called a locksmith who quoted £100, she asked if there was any discount for an O.A.P., the answer was no. She had to give her debit card over the phone before they would call. This she did.

Last November she lost her husband suddenly so she is in a bit of a tiss.

I saw the guy arrive, he looked at the door, went to his van and got out a 'bar device' which fitted through the letterbox. The door was opened in about 90 seconds from his arrival. I heard him say 'I'll just do the paperwork' he went into the house with a clipboard. A few minutes later he was on his way. I timed him, 8 minutes and 42 seconds.

That works out at about £500 per hour and no risk to life or limb.

Elaine
Saturday 30 April 2011 9:21PM
I am looking for quotes for St Anne's, Bristol, which appears to be in a black hole when it comes to Freeview. I currently have no TV at all, having had to bring down both (rather rubbish) aerials when the chimney stacks were being re-rendered.

I've only had one quote so far, which was for a new wide gain aerial (apparently with some fancy self-adjusting booster which could stop boosting when Mendip comes back up to full power next year?), lashed to chimney stack on 1930s house, satellite grade cable, new TV point to lounge and either new point or new wiring to existing point in dining room. The aluminium pole I already have was to be reused. Quote: £290 + VAT.

If that's indicative of what it costs to pick up free to air channels, I'll get Freesat. It'll cost less.

I'm waiting for a couple of neighbours to get back to me with recommendations for other quotes. Anyone else in the area had indicative quotes for that sort of work?
anne pennery
Tuesday 3 May 2011 3:30PM
I bought an new tv earlier this year, & found that it won`t work on an indoor arial. I got a free estimate from one firm, & they said I would have to pay £130 for an outdoor arial to be installed. I`m on benefits, so this is a tall order. I already owe a credit union money for buying the tv, can I get it done cheaper anywhere else?
Briantist
Wednesday 4 May 2011 8:52PM
anne pennery: If you have access, you can self-install an external aerial. You can get aerials from about £12 - www.argos.co.uk link icon Buy Philex SLX 14DW TV Aerial at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for Television aerials and boosters.
 .
Briantist
Wednesday 4 May 2011 8:54PM
Elaine: I would go for Freesat.
p timmins
Saturday 14 May 2011 8:40AM
you chaps are spot on .iv'e noticed this goverment oap help scheme 40 pounds install .the company that got the contract are avc .they are not proper aerial riggers .match stick makers candle lighters .they go around sticking the cheapest crap aerials up on existing 20 year old bracketry.isn't it amazing there installing for the elderly .they actuallythink a professional company is coming round .these guys are the shit end of sky install .cant clip coax .cant drill properly seal holes .how do they get around a aerial install on a stack with a 20 ft steel mast.remember the aerial has to be fitted .this is a skilled job job and some 1 will get hurt .for 40 notes i don.t think so oh yeh by the way these are blokes that work in your house but cant drill an internall wall or go in the loft .bullshit public liabillity is public liabillity hmmmm.
Mark Aberfan Aerials
Saturday 14 May 2011 2:29PM
Hi p timmins,

No decent rigger in their right mind would work for the rates offered by dso contracts, we are still clearing up after them here in Wales, another thing we keep finding is freeview boxes fitted to tv sets with built in freeview, when I questioned about this I got told they dont get paid unless they fit something & the box is the quickest & easiest thing to fit !

Mark Aberfan Aerials
Joe Croft
Saturday 14 May 2011 4:48PM
AA,Aerials Swansea , the guy who said it takes half an hour to fit an aerial is kidding himself , what about the travelling to and from the job , quite often you end up taking old aerials down , then in the the house you end up moving furniture around and in the loft moving there junk they stored up there over the years , the customer takes all this for granted
Briantist
Saturday 14 May 2011 4:50PM
Mark Aberfan Aerials: Congratulations on your 1000th post!
Mark Aberfan Aerials
Saturday 14 May 2011 5:29PM
Hi Brian,

Thanks mate, I hope most of them have been of help or informative !


Mark Aberfan Aerials
Briantist
Saturday 14 May 2011 6:08PM
Mark Aberfan Aerials: I would say they all have, thank you very much.
Charles
Friday 27 May 2011 10:40AM
I checked this site to find out how much an installation should cost and found the reading interesting.
My ancient Ariel fell down leaving the pole and mount Ok. I contacted a local TV shop to recommend a fitter - which they did. He was round in about 1 hour and quoted £150 for a full installation as he said that he would not reuse the old fittings as he firmly believed in doing a proper job and would not want to be called back to repair a bodge.
When I said I had to think about it he dropped to £125 and eventually £120 for cash.
He did the job there and then and it took over 1 hour. He checked signals and every thing seems a pucker job with 100% signal showing on the TV although we are not in a good reception area. I did wonder whether I had paid too much but posts indicate that is quite reasonable for a professional job.
Although I live in a bungalow and have painted up to roof height, to risk going high onto the roof and wrestle with a pole was wholly out of the question.
Briantist
Friday 27 May 2011 3:50PM
Charles: Thanks very much for that, it is good to hear your have reliable reception.
Dave
Saturday 28 May 2011 8:55AM
Ref Elaine
Does make me and the lads grin when we here satellite grade cable quoted, whats all that about?
Its like saying how long is a bit of string.
They should be quoting cable reference numbers, but of course if they did it would open up a different ball game, because half the riggers dont know the difference in grade cables let alone the customers lol.
Elaine
Wednesday 1 June 2011 2:41PM
Dave: in the end I went with an installer my next door neighbour recommended. One new high gain aerial on the chimney stack (they decided they didn't need to reuse the 10 foot pole the old one was on), one four way amplifier, new cabling (not "satellite grade" but rather better than my 30-40 year old co-ax), cable into lounge and connection to existing dining room aerial point. £220 in total and I can now get ITV3 and Five US with no problems - previously impossible.

I can live with that cost and it means I don't have to get Freesat plus a new receiver and then figure out how to run that through the existing DVD / hard drive recorder. That can now wait until I upgrade my TV to HD and my DVD to Bluray in a couple of years.
AdrianSTG
Wednesday 1 June 2011 9:31PM
Hi guys,
I am not so new in business, I have more than 5 years experience in this branch. I used to work for different companies as a subcontractor. sometimes was good sometimes bad. I have started on my own now. I have a quick question.
being advertised in the local newspaper worth the money?
Dave
Thursday 2 June 2011 8:38AM
Yes if you need the work, simple short regular adds in the clasified section.
Thats a blast from the past
Regards
Dave
Tom Fletcher
Thursday 2 June 2011 11:40AM
A question for all the riggers out there, for last few years we have been busy fitting aerials and mast amps for the DSO,we always use a meter and good cable and a benchmark aerial as you do,when the DSO happens here in September they say that the power from the transmitters will be greatly increased after DSO,we get an influx of customers ringing us about problems with there freeview reception? are we responsible can we charge them for any work that we mite have to do,as many of them will be under our guarantees. Tom Fletcher Alpha Aerials Sheffield.
Briantist
Thursday 2 June 2011 12:20PM
Tom Fletcher: Not sure why you would be fitting amplifiers "for the DSO", as they will be unnecessary in almost all places after the switchover, and will be harmful to reception in very strong signal areas.
AdrianSTG
Thursday 2 June 2011 6:11PM
Again me. I have forgotten to ask you about being a RDI registered installer. Being registered with them it helps you in finding jobs?

Best regards,
Adrian
steve h
Thursday 2 June 2011 7:02PM
hi tom, yes i would think you would be justified in charging them as it isnt anything to do with you if signals are increased it, you installed what was needed at the time of install. but in the meantime i would give customers the choice of having amps or not then at least you have covered yourself against any future comebacks
KB Aerials Sheffield
Friday 3 June 2011 12:28AM
HI Tom Its Keith KB Aerials, In Sheffield weve bumped into each other a few times,
To explain to other aerial installers first- Sheffield varies vastly in signal strength the city is huge and has 2 main transmitters Emley moor and Cross Pool (sheffield Transmitter) it is also covered by a host of tiny relay transmitters that after switchover will transmit 3 muxes only, As Sheffield is on 7 hills it is difficult to get reception in a lot of places and its not uncommon to turn to using the Belmont transmitter or even waltham, so using mast head amplifiers in and around sheffield is very common, Yes the signal strength will get lifted after switchover to a point that some masthead amps will be driven into cross modulation and will need removing,
Basically the fact of the matter is that the amplifiers were needed to receive reception - a customer would not want an installation that does not work, due to the nature of the job we have to make it work NOW , things will change after switchover - the work that needs doing to rectify the transmitters lifting the signal by I believe is 12db will HAVE TO BE PAID FOR by the customer - at the end of the day it is another call out- swap an amp for a splitter or fit appropriate attenuators to each tv - you should not be out of pocket for these jobs
KEITH KB AERIALS SHEFFIELD
Tom Fletcher
Friday 3 June 2011 12:28PM
Thanks for your comments lads,Brian I have only fitted amps when needed or when doing a multi room system,its just I can see a lot of narky customers wanting things done for nothing in a few months and I just wanted someone else's opinion on it,
alan
Monday 6 June 2011 7:41AM
Tony: i have a digital aerial runing to a bed room who can i get this signal to my kitchen would a booster do the job
AdrianSTG
Monday 6 June 2011 10:36AM
@ alan

if the digital signal power is strong enough you can install a 2 ways splitter. I assume that the cable from your bedroom to the kitchen is not too long. this is the cheapest option (a 2 way splitter is around 2-3 pounds) and you can try this first.
A. Newsome
Tuesday 14 June 2011 6:35PM
I live in a grade two listed house, is it permitted to fix a satelite dish to the chimney.
ian
Tuesday 14 June 2011 8:16PM
It is prefered to fit to a rear chimney if you have one so that it can not be seen from the road or in main view of other houses.

generally a garden mount or a hidden dish install is better as you will always get one old person that is older than the house itself complain to the council about it.

all the best
ian 123aerials oxford
Pamela
Thursday 16 June 2011 9:03PM
When it rains I loose all my free view channels on all tv;s in the house. We have standard ariel on chimney. Is there a break in the line somewhere?
Mazbar
Saturday 18 June 2011 6:07PM
Just a little note went to a customers house the other day to fit some hdmi leads . Over the phone the lady had told me her husband had been to comet and got a 4m long one for £129.99 this made me laugh. First i told her to take it back and get her money back. First reason she needed a 5m cable not 4m ans secondly it was £129.99. This was for a childs play room and she will need 3 making a grand total of £389.97 then she needed me to fit them through a wall and in behind the wall mounted tv i did the whole job for a lot less than just the 3 cables.
Mazbar
Sunday 19 June 2011 7:22PM
Pamela it could be one of two things either the cap has come off your aerial or your cable is broken. Have a look at your aerial plug if it comes straigth from your aerial if it is rusty or milky white you have water in it get it seen to as quick as possable before it does any damage to your set top box or tv
Ian
Sunday 19 June 2011 9:04PM
Hey mazbar
I had an av customer who said he supplied all of mr beckhams tv cables through out hit house loads of tv's all tv needed god knows how many scart leads (going back some years) he told me he had sold him each scart lead for £150 each
It's hidious what people will pay

All the best
Ian 123 aerials Oxford
Ian
Sunday 19 June 2011 9:09PM
Pamela the break if there is one will be in the loft or somewhere that there is a tv link amp or splitter box,
Be carefull because if water is getting into the amp this will also be plugged into the mains

Find the amplifier splitter box take off the connector and bang the bit of cable against a bit of newspaper if the paper gets wet you will know if there is water in it

If not some loft amplifiers allow you to turn up the gain with a little know on it, if it has one of these turn it up a little bit and retune the tv.

Hope all goes well
Ian 123aerials Oxford
Ian
Sunday 19 June 2011 9:16PM
Ooooo my bad spelling, teach me to use my phone to do updates.
Flippin predictive text

So sorry peeps

All the best Ian
KB Aerials Sheffield
Sunday 19 June 2011 10:15PM
Pamela - what Ian says is right in some way- but Ian is assumong there is an amplifier somewhere maybe in the loft- not all Aerials need an amplifier a lot of aerials are on the chimney the cable comes straight down the roof over the gutter and is tacked down the exterior of the property- what happens with old cable is that it gets brittle because of the suns UV rays - as it becomes brittle it cracks and lets water in - also the cable rubs on the roof and the gutter and slowly over years cuts into the cable - if the aerial is old enough for this to happen then I suggest start from scratch , new Bracket mast and aerial with fresh cable - I may be right - ian may be right - as to where the water is getting to but I would say 90% that its deffinatly water somewhere thats causing the problem

Keith KB Aerials sheffield 01142514389 07946481125
Ian
Saturday 25 June 2011 6:42AM
Hi All,

I'm an electrical contractor in west mids and can do aerial installations, I have picked up a job that requires an communal system on 11 apartments each apartment has 2no sky cables the building is wired back to a riser cupboard and all it requires is an aerial and satelite.
I thought I will get the materials and pay someone a fair days pay plus fuel costs, after phoning around for quotes it's become apparent that the installers are asking for footballers wages for one days work which they would get done in half a day, quotes I had was £800 £1000 £700 qualified skilled electricians struggle to get £150 a day and they have done 4 yrs at college
Not a 10 week course.
So Question!! Why are these prices so high?
Also we have customers!! Not victims!
KB Aerials Sheffield
Saturday 25 June 2011 6:10PM
Ian I think the reason would be that we can go and install 5 aerials in that amount of time and earn more money so what your asking for is someone to turn down doing 5 domestic jobs which can easily be achieved in a day which is equivelent to the time alloted to complete your job, plus doing commercial work is a pain as you dont get paid on the day (which you would if you was doing domestic) plus at the moment were all busy doing the digital switchover
I know its probably not what you want to hear but your not going to get an aerial installer to work for £150 a day when they can earn that in an hour or 2 and travel 3 miles doing so
Mazbar
Saturday 25 June 2011 8:24PM
Ian if the job is so easy do it yourself . I have been doing the job for over 22 years and i still learn things i also saw my father fall 30ft off a ladder and almost kill himself so that is why the costs can by high and by the way i have yet to find a spark who can fit an areial right i dont know how to re wire a house every man to his own job
Mark Aberfan Aerials
Saturday 25 June 2011 9:05PM
Hi Ian,

There could be many reasons, not least that most of us have been to jobs wired by electricians to find things like aerial & satellite have been wired like a ring main or that the cheapest crap cable has been used (unlike twin & earth cable quality is very important) the same goes for faceplates the quality of some we see is worse than the the stuff seen in diy sheds (unscreened stuff of unknown origin etc.) We work with some local sparks & have taught them how to do it right with the right materials & the partnerships work well, but if a guy is going into a unknown sparks work, you cant blame him for quoting for the worst case senario to protect himself. Im suprised that current economic situation you are not doing this work yourself as you say you have the skills required.
As for a 10 week course if you think that is all the decent installers have undertaken you are very mistaken, yes there are some switchover contractors who have a lot less training than 10 weeks but there are also many professional riggers who have as many if not more years in the trade as many sparks & a hell of a lot more than the 4 years at college that you quote.

Mark Aberfan Aerials
KB Aerials Sheffield
Sunday 26 June 2011 11:56AM
Mark, Mazbar, - yep i think Ian can understand now - thanks for backing me up I missed the "ten weeks training~" -ive been doing this 10 years on my own and have a bckground in the industry going back to when I was 14 so thats 22 years in total - I am still coming up against things that I haven't seen before and have to overcome - one person put it aptly - aerial installation is a black art no 2 jobs are the same - i tell my customers when they are moving into a new build when they ask why has the housing company not installed an aerial - they install gas water and electricity- all these can be guaranteed that they will be on site and work - the one thing they cannot guarantee is if an aerial will work - will those trees block the satellite signal or cause interference with the transmission of the uhf signal - thats why new houses don't have an aerial as standard - its just about the only thing you don't get when you move in - that and a bed!
Ian
Tuesday 28 June 2011 11:12PM
Ian, being as you would be purchasing the kit I guess that you will be marking it up and taking the profit. So I guess that if a customer was to buy everything required for a re-wire you'd be happy just to charge a daily or hourly rate and in the meantime
loose other jobs where you could be making a profit. Yes of course you would....not. Can't blame any good rigger for wanting top money for fitting somebody else's kit, but if you were to come to me I'd send you on your way. You keep to sparking and I'll keep to aerials and satellite.
(my van stock)
Wednesday 29 June 2011 10:43PM
@ Ian (the electric contractor)
I think that the prices asked were right. I would say at least £800. I have done recently a 4 flats communal system and I have charged £400 for the labour and the kit was bought by the contractor. What happened? Before starting the work I have sent the contractor with half of the materials back and he brought what I have asked and I have told him if he wants to do others jobs like this with him to let me buying the stuff. and I almost forgot: if you think that after a 10 weeks course you can do a communal system why you do not go for that?
regards
Ian
Thursday 30 June 2011 5:58AM
Thanks all for your comments,
I suppose your all right in some way as we are all out to earn a living, we can wire a hse in a day as we are highly skilled in what we do!
We don't use that scenario to ask for more money per day though, any install we do in your field we use the correct materials for best results.
We do the new hses and wire internally and leave cables in loft but most developers don't ask for aerials as they have bad experiences with the costs so
purchasers take this on when they move in.
After your comments I take onboard and think as a company should get involved with the switch over as we have the skills to do the installs but lack the knowledge of what the meter is saying maybe it will become more clear after the course.
Craig P
Sunday 3 July 2011 10:40AM
I would Personally Say that for an average Freeview Antenna Installation you should be looking at approx £100 (which includes a good quality digital Aerial, mast / pole and associated braket's and cabling) this is based upon the average time of approx 1.5 hrs work.

Obviously in some extenuating circumstances the install may be "difficult" due to position and / or customer requirement's but it is rare that this should cause a great ammount of price variation.

So All in All I would say that the average price people should be looking at is £100 (inc VAT) for a standard install.
Ian
Sunday 3 July 2011 11:03PM
I was reading your post Craig and then you wrote 'Digital Aerial', it was at this point I realised that you don't know what you are talking about and are therefore are talking out of your backside!
jb38
Monday 4 July 2011 8:45AM
Ian; Surely Craig P's comment re "digital aerial" was simply a slip of the tongue, so to speak! as otherwise to that I thought that what he had said was representative of a fair minded person working for what can only be classed as a very modest profit.



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