One tradesman for the whole day

Nothing is paid on this website and the yard does not take cards.

A short visit is paid when the tradesman finishes, in cash or by transfer, against a job sheet that lists what was done and what was used. A whole day is invoiced the evening it ends and settled inside seven days, and guesthouses and contractors with an account with us are invoiced monthly instead.

Materials are quoted before they are bought and are charged at the yard price with the supplier's bill attached to the job sheet. Steel, sheet and cement move in price here more than people expect, so a material figure older than two weeks is requoted rather than honoured, and we say so in the quotation itself.

Work away from Hithadhoo carries the boat. It is a separate line, it is the actual cost of the crossing and the fuel, and it is told to you before anybody leaves the yard. We run to the outer islands on Monday and Wednesday, so a job on one of those days shares the crossing with whatever else is aboard and costs a fraction of a special trip.

For a job over ten thousand rufiyaa in materials we ask for the material figure up front, because the yard cannot carry that much steel on behalf of one job. Labour is never asked for in advance.