Plumbers - just WTF is wrong with them?

[Vron]

GG89 said:

Vron said:

GG89 said:

Fermit The Krog and Sexy Sarah said:

GG89 said:

Name and shame for what exactly? Not doing your poxy job for the poxy 20 quid you wanted to pay him?

Why didn't you buy the tool and do it yourself?

There's nothing worse than someone calling you either telling you how long the job will take or even worse telling you what they are willing to pay. I don't care if I live 50 yards or 50 miles away don't tell me what you're going to pay me if there's nothing in it do it yourself.

See my last post. Another plumber was happy to do it the same day, and it was possibly the easiest £20 he'd ever earned.

Good for him. The vast majority would tell you to fk off.

Approaching a near neighbour for a quick favour and a bit of beer money hardly the crime of the century. It says more about what sort of plumber he is. A polite sorry 'can't too busy' would have been enough. GG89 is typical of today's tradesmen attitude. Before you start I've bought sold and renovated 15 properties and built new from scratch so I've got more experience than most with all the trades. I can honestly say there is only one who I would recommend to others - the renderer. When I asked him to quote he said he couldn't call Saturday morning as he volunteered in an old people's home but would call that afternoon (and he did). I knew then he was a decent bloke and not the usual money grabbing wanting to net £50K a year and do a DIY standard job you usually get. He is booked for the year from March each year.

Some of us are old enough to remember when decent trades existed for a good wage. You only have to look at the quality of older houses - straight walls, door frames, neat brickwork joints etc. Take a look at houses built in the last 30 years and see the difference. Same as the influx of plastic plumbing pipe - for those that cannot solder and do a proper job. Everybody knows rubber will perish at some point in the future and plastic will go brittle but by then the plumber is long gone with your money not that they EVER come back to rectify anything anyway.

Not sure what your point is?

I know a lot of very good tradesmen who are always busy, turn up when they say and do a good job, the thing they have in common is none of them are cheap. I have also seen my fair share of fly by night cowboys working for beer money. Are you implying when solid brick houses were the norm there wasn't any dodgy tradesmen about? Nothing has changed there is still very good and very bad out there. The people who have had bad experiences shout about it more, that's all.

Just to add - he wasn't really a neighbour, he was doing a house up for sale so he didn't know the plumber from Adam.

Edited by GG89 on Sunday 12th February 12:01

Show me any houses built before the mid 70's with poor brickwork. Look at the average Victorian terrace or 1930's bay fronted semi, brickwork all better than you see today. Show me houses built nowadays with faces that aren't flat, messy pointing or the worst - stripes of different coloured batches because nobody can be arsed to check and mix first. You say 'good or very good' I expect an excellent job when you're paying out thousands of pounds a week. That is the crux of the problem. Today's standard is 'good' not excellent. Not acceptable for the amount money they expect.

[ex1]

GG89 said:

Let me guess, you're a suit wearing pen pusher who has never done a days graft in your life but think you know how much people should be earning outwith your boring profession.

They are overpaid relative to the level of skill required. Laying bricks is something most of us mastered as toddlers.

They are not unlike the aborigines or native americans in that we have ruined them by making things to easy. Most lack pride and are simply driven to the easiest way to exist and get enough money together to get pissed and keep the bills paid. Those that actually have any drive end up as "property developers" aka slum landlords.

[technodup]

GG89 said:

Alucidnation said:

technodup said:

Although my hour will be considerably more expensive than his.

I bet they will be knocking your door down.

Like I said, open minded. So many trades think they know everything, when in reality they know fk all. I don't profess to know anything about plumbing, but trades seem to be experts in everything, from web design to accounts.

I'm not interested in guys 45+, they'll never change. Reality is younger guys are more open minded, more switched on to online and social, more interested in working smarter, not harder. By the time the dinosaurs figure it out, just like in recession it'll be too late.

[ex1]

Spudler said:

ETA: I am still on the trowels because even after all these years I still cant find reliable people who turn up even after St Patricks day, birthdays, weekends etc, etc, etc. Some days its just easier to drag my tired broken body up the scaffolding and do it myself. At least I get paid well enough to afford some nice wheels for my transit.

[GG89]

technodup said:

GG89 said:

Alucidnation said:

technodup said:

Although my hour will be considerably more expensive than his.

I bet they will be knocking your door down.

Like I said, open minded. So many trades think they know everything, when in reality they know fk all. I don't profess to know anything about plumbing, but trades seem to be experts in everything, from web design to accounts.

I'm not interested in guys 45+, they'll never change. Reality is younger guys are more open minded, more switched on to online and social, more interested in working smarter, not harder. By the time the dinosaurs figure it out, just like in recession it'll be too late.

We have an accountant to do our accounts and if I wanted a website I would get one made for me. What is it you do?

[LookAtMyCat]

Alucidnation said:

I wouldn't even get out of the van for £20.

Bang on. My rule is if I get the toolbox out of the van it's first hour charged; £50. Most people seem to think that's very cheap. I'll look for free but I won't bring my toolbox!

Doing anything for £20 as a qualified plumber/heating engineer is stupid.

But on the main subject of the thread; it is the fact that while most of us are very practical and good at our jobs, on the whole we're not that great at running a business. It also doesn't help that we can earn fantastic money in a short space of time, so it's quite nice to go home and spend time with our children/wife/hobbies/go on holiday than it is to do more work. I very often pay my 2 mortgages and all bills and outgoings etc in the first 3-4 days work of the month.

[Spudler]

ex1 said:

Spudler said:

ETA: I am still on the trowels because even after all these years I still cant find reliable people who turn up even after St Patricks day, birthdays, weekends etc, etc, etc. Some days its just easier to drag my tired broken body up the scaffolding and do it myself. At least I get paid well enough to afford some nice wheels for my transit.

it took you that long to come back with that!

Actually the brand new Transit came with alloys

Got to say, you're giving me a damn good chuckle.

[GG89]

Spudler said:

ex1 said:

Spudler said:

ETA: I am still on the trowels because even after all these years I still cant find reliable people who turn up even after St Patricks day, birthdays, weekends etc, etc, etc. Some days its just easier to drag my tired broken body up the scaffolding and do it myself. At least I get paid well enough to afford some nice wheels for my transit.

it took you that long to come back with that!

Actually the brand new Transit came with alloys

Got to say, you're giving me a damn good chuckle.

I think EX's Ex wife ran away with the bricky

[guindilias]

I'm a Mechanical Design Engineer, and laid 2 courses of bricks today to begin a small wall to border my front garden, maybe 20ft long and 2 courses high.
It looked great at the time, now when I look at it from further away, it looks shit. Taking it down tomorrow and asking my neighbour (not a brickie, but sells bricks and can lay them better than most) to do it for me - he'll get the bricks free, and do a good job - better than my pathetic effort!
And will take payment in beer...

[scottdm3]

guindilias said:

I'm a Mechanical Design Engineer, and laid 2 courses of bricks today to begin a small wall to border my front garden, maybe 20ft long and 2 courses high.
It looked great at the time, now when I look at it from further away, it looks shit. Taking it down tomorrow and asking my neighbour (not a brickie, but sells bricks and can lay them better than most) to do it for me - he'll get the bricks free, and do a good job - better than my pathetic effort!
And will take payment in beer...

Got to be worth £20

[guindilias]

I look after his dog when he is away on holidays - so beer and dogsitting (sounds a bit filthy) it will be!

[037]

Best thread in ages!

[anonymous-user]

Fermit The Krog and Sexy Sarah said:

Spudler said:

Yep.
Good few of them on here by the sound of it, especially the dick offering £20 for a job

So what do you deem two minutes work on your way home to be worth? That's £600 an hour. Two or three turns of a spanner. Funny how another plumber came out the same day on route to somewhere else and was happy to do the 'job' and take £20 for the trouble. But maybe he was a dick hey? Would you pay someone £80 for a few turns of a spanner?
Save the name calling for the playground hey, it's churlish.

If it was only for 'a few turns of the spanner' why didn't you get your spanner out and do it? Oh cos you couldn't and then moaned about someone wouldn't come round and do it for £20

Your a berk

[anonymous-user]

And everyone insulting gas engineers too?

You lot are more than happy to post up when your boiler breaks or for us to work out over the internet why your fking radiators don't work?!?!

fk this section, I won't be helping out a soul in here anymore,

As you were chaps.

[magooagain]

This thread is amazing!

C'mon guys have some respect for each other please and don't feed the troll.

[ex1]

GG89 said:

Spudler said:

ex1 said:

Spudler said:

ETA: I am still on the trowels because even after all these years I still cant find reliable people who turn up even after St Patricks day, birthdays, weekends etc, etc, etc. Some days its just easier to drag my tired broken body up the scaffolding and do it myself. At least I get paid well enough to afford some nice wheels for my transit.

it took you that long to come back with that!

Actually the brand new Transit came with alloys

Got to say, you're giving me a damn good chuckle.

I think EX's Ex wife ran away with the bricky

Last time I checked she was still here. The bloke who agreed the job still hasn't turned up!

[GG89]

ex1 said:

GG89 said:

Spudler said:

ex1 said:

Spudler said:

ETA: I am still on the trowels because even after all these years I still cant find reliable people who turn up even after St Patricks day, birthdays, weekends etc, etc, etc. Some days its just easier to drag my tired broken body up the scaffolding and do it myself. At least I get paid well enough to afford some nice wheels for my transit.

it took you that long to come back with that!

Actually the brand new Transit came with alloys

Got to say, you're giving me a damn good chuckle.

I think EX's Ex wife ran away with the bricky

Last time I checked she was still here. The bloke who agreed the job still hasn't turned up!

I wouldn't turn up at your job either.

[Fermit The Krog and Sexy Sarah]

Learn2MergeInTurn said:

Fermit The Krog and Sexy Sarah said:

Spudler said:

Yep.
Good few of them on here by the sound of it, especially the dick offering £20 for a job

So what do you deem two minutes work on your way home to be worth? That's £600 an hour. Two or three turns of a spanner. Funny how another plumber came out the same day on route to somewhere else and was happy to do the 'job' and take £20 for the trouble. But maybe he was a dick hey? Would you pay someone £80 for a few turns of a spanner?
Save the name calling for the playground hey, it's churlish.

If it was only for 'a few turns of the spanner' why didn't you get your spanner out and do it? Oh cos you couldn't and then moaned about someone wouldn't come round and do it for £20

Your a berk

• You're.

And I'm the berk.....

Did you read my initial post?

It was too narrow an opening for any tool I had. The guy lived a matter of doors down, no special call out needed, a two minute job. Another local plumber happily took the cash, and received further work from me.

Owning a business myself, I would never be as rude to a customer as this guy was to me.

I think the name calling that some PH threads can descend in to is really pathetic. By all means no one has to agree with me, just say you think I'm wrong, I'm a big boy, I can deal with it. Name calling belongs in the playground, I presumed we're all adults.

[roofer]

GG89 said:

Efbe said:

There aren't enough tradespeople, so the ones that are there can charge far too much.

IMO it's part of the problem that led to the recession and our housing issues.
In what world a brick layer can be paid so much for such an easy and unskilled job is beyond me: http://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Bricklayer...
The same goes for the other trades.

I used to be a plasterer. It took about a month to get up to the general level of competance of plasterers out there. Yet I was told to be quoting £150 day rate labour straight out of the blocks.
a 30,000 job (200 work days) for such a job is really crazy. I won't even get into how much tax is actually paid.

A month to learn to plaster to high standard? You're full of st, what aspects of plastering did you learn in 1 month as there are many?

I started 12 years ago and am still learning new stuff and getting better all the time - and why are you not still doing it if it was that easy? sounds like you tried it and failed..sour grapes?

Brick laying isn't unskilled either - far from it.

This Gentleman is 100% correct.

[roofer]

ex1 said:

GG89 said:

Let me guess, you're a suit wearing pen pusher who has never done a days graft in your life but think you know how much people should be earning outwith your boring profession.

They are overpaid relative to the level of skill required. Laying bricks is something most of us mastered as toddlers.

They are not unlike the aborigines or native americans in that we have ruined them by making things to easy. Most lack pride and are simply driven to the easiest way to exist and get enough money together to get pissed and keep the bills paid. Those that actually have any drive end up as "property developers" aka slum landlords.

One must wonder if you have a toilet roll holder screwed to you're chin ? because if you talk as much st as you write, you need some shares in Andrex .