Trades are cnuts.
- Thread starter MrBane
- Start date
LE
brettarider
LE
Depends on what you mean by quality, I've seen some good ones in the line of work I'm in and some ******* horrors, crews turning up pissed on plinka, Fighting between themselves, Pissing in public near a school at chucking out time and letching at schoolies. Never mind the shite quality work and hiding behind the no speak English routine,
The Polish builder that bought my sisters house has done a cracking job with it and based on what he's done I'd have no bother in chapping his door and see if he wanted to do a job.
Some of the tales drifting out about how much some of the Romainians we dealt with were earning was shocking and when Poles on site are saying its it true Romainians and Bulgariains are coming to work as this is bad news as they will work for less than us tells you something.
not to mention that we think orginised crime is involved in some of the Uk based firms was well as those from eastern europe as it's an easy way to rinse and clean money.
Romanian tradesman, converted old shop into flats, bloke who owned the place was just interested in profit
I took the faceplate off to ascertain what sort of weird wiring system they had used, as the lighting rose only had one wire ?? should be three cables
and I find this, all of the wires were loose
the CPC ( earth ) was jointed between cables, but it should have been terminated on the faceplate, if one of those wires comes loose and touches the faceplate, it will be live, the person touching it will die, simple as
4 hours work, re terminating each switch, and installing a bond, plus replacing the kitchen ring main
I took the faceplate off to ascertain what sort of weird wiring system they had used, as the lighting rose only had one wire ?? should be three cables
and I find this, all of the wires were loose
the CPC ( earth ) was jointed between cables, but it should have been terminated on the faceplate, if one of those wires comes loose and touches the faceplate, it will be live, the person touching it will die, simple as
4 hours work, re terminating each switch, and installing a bond, plus replacing the kitchen ring main
Boumer
LE
It is genuinely quite alarming.
I put myself through a locksmith course, and was listening to the stories of what the instructor has seen from people in trade. Lunatics going for destructive entry because they simply can't be bothered to understand the lock they are facing, and invest in some tools.
My motivation was mainly being pi$$ed off with the idiot who came out to a mate's place and drilled a lock out and was charging stupid money. I would have done it with a bump hammer for free (doesn't always work).
If you can get £150 per call out and could generally pick or bump it to get people back in within ten minutes, that's a good side income.
Baz p.b.u.h. II
Old-Salt
It’s a decent living, I feel for anyone starting out now fighting over each job - I’m fully booked most days of the week in fact I struggle to get time off.
Destructive entry’s always a last resort but some of these twats get out of their cars with the drill in their hand.
I had a nice complement the other day, a woman called a locksmith and he couldn’t come so she called me. He called her back ten minutes later and she said she had someone on their way - he asked who it was and she told him my name and he said you’ll be fine with him he’s a good guy. I had never heard of the other locksmith but nice to see I’ve got a good reputation.
Why didn’t you pursue it as a career or was it only supposed to be a sideline?
TractorStats
War Hero
Funny you should say that as someone suggested that I do exactly that last week.
Its got so desperate for trades round my area that I was painting my garden wall and gate posts last week and obviously making such a good job of it that somebody came past and asked me for my trade card as they had some painting work they wanted doing. I had to explain to her that I sadly only painted my own house.
Restored a sash window this week and painting hallway with a 20 feet high wall over the stair well next week. I just cant get anybody to do these jobs. I have a platform for the stairs and big can of Farrow & Ball and I know what I am doing. Friend of mine has tried to book painters for the outside of his house and best he can do is someone who might come next year!
I know a few trades people in their mid 50s have taken a step back, reduced the amount of work they take on. A painter, plumber, electrician, fire place restorer, kitchen and bathroom fitter all reduced their work by at least half and let their sub contractors and apprentices go elsewhere. There is a desperate shortage of good trades people has developed over the pandemic. My worry is the cowboys and people doing DIY plumbing and electrics.
irlsgt
LE
Funny you should say that as someone suggested that I do exactly that last week.
Its got so desperate for trades round my area that I was painting my garden wall and gate posts last week and obviously making such a good job of it that somebody came past and asked me for my trade card as they had some painting work they wanted doing. I had to explain to her that I sadly only painted my own house.
Restored a sash window this week and painting hallway with a 20 feet high wall over the stair well next week. I just cant get anybody to do these jobs. I have a platform for the stairs and big can of Farrow & Ball and I know what I am doing. Friend of mine has tried to book painters for the outside of his house and best he can do is someone who might come next year!
I know a few trades people in their mid 50s have taken a step back, reduced the amount of work they take on. A painter, plumber, electrician, fire place restorer, kitchen and bathroom fitter all reduced their work by at least half and let their sub contractors and apprentices go elsewhere. There is a desperate shortage of good trades people has developed over the pandemic. My worry is the cowboys and people doing DIY plumbing and electrics.
Not just in the U.K. major issues in Ireland too
Painters wanting 4 figures to do hall, stairs and landing (plus the paint)… was about €500 pre-covid
Baz p.b.u.h. II
Old-Salt
Funny you should say that as someone suggested that I do exactly that last week.
Its got so desperate for trades round my area that I was painting my garden wall and gate posts last week and obviously making such a good job of it that somebody came past and asked me for my trade card as they had some painting work they wanted doing. I had to explain to her that I sadly only painted my own house.
Restored a sash window this week and painting hallway with a 20 feet high wall over the stair well next week. I just cant get anybody to do these jobs. I have a platform for the stairs and big can of Farrow & Ball and I know what I am doing. Friend of mine has tried to book painters for the outside of his house and best he can do is someone who might come next year!
I know a few trades people in their mid 50s have taken a step back, reduced the amount of work they take on. A painter, plumber, electrician, fire place restorer, kitchen and bathroom fitter all reduced their work by at least half and let their sub contractors and apprentices go elsewhere. There is a desperate shortage of good trades people has developed over the pandemic. My worry is the cowboys and people doing DIY plumbing and electrics.
Covid was a worry for me, I half expected to do nothing for the lockdown but it was busier than I thought it would be. I’ve got a lot of account customers and I look after them well.
I’ve recently put my prices up I know I’ll lose some work but I won’t be running around as much and probably take the same or more.
I’d imagine I’ll be working until I die or bin the mrs and shack up with a rich divorcee with a reconstructed nu nu so I might as well work smarter as much as possible.
single malt
LE
Do you do Chastity belts ,asking for a friend
skimmer
War Hero
I have a socket tester which just plugs in and has led's for incorrect wiring, live/neutral reversed, earth detatched. No touching the 'tingley' end.
Dread
LE
He'll use a lump hammer on yours.
Dread
LE
A small observation as to why a lot of the CEE crowd has gone home: wages have skyrocketed in the sector back home.
If you can paint or render and not make a total arrse of it, you can easily get 75-100 quid a day in/near Budapest. Same for most cities in the CEE region.
Taxes and cost of living out here is a fraction of the UK, and the regulatory burden is also much lighter (income tax is 16%, corporate tax is 9%, and there is even an 'entrepreneur' classification where a small business person can pay a flat rate of HUF 50,000 (100 quid) a month, up to a maximum income of HUF 12 million (GBP 25k) a year.
Prices started to rise pre-pandemic, when a new-build house using decent but non-luxury materials was about HUF 200- 250,000 a square metre. (400-450 quid). Prices are now over 550 - 600,000HUF a square metre for a new-build home (doesn't include the land purchase price).
If you can paint or render and not make a total arrse of it, you can easily get 75-100 quid a day in/near Budapest. Same for most cities in the CEE region.
Taxes and cost of living out here is a fraction of the UK, and the regulatory burden is also much lighter (income tax is 16%, corporate tax is 9%, and there is even an 'entrepreneur' classification where a small business person can pay a flat rate of HUF 50,000 (100 quid) a month, up to a maximum income of HUF 12 million (GBP 25k) a year.
Prices started to rise pre-pandemic, when a new-build house using decent but non-luxury materials was about HUF 200- 250,000 a square metre. (400-450 quid). Prices are now over 550 - 600,000HUF a square metre for a new-build home (doesn't include the land purchase price).
Baz p.b.u.h. II
Old-Salt
Jack hammer
TractorStats
War Hero
Interesting you say that. I advised a couple of my friends who are trades people that I have known for a long time to do exactly as you have done as they were already running themselves ragged before Covid. They were frightened of turning down any work or losing out on jobs and worried it might not last and then be left with no work at all if the economy turned down like it did after the Great Financial Crisis. Now they say they are so burned out they just cant do it any more. Joints ache, just too exhausted and want a life. Not one of them willing to take on an apprentice except one who is training up his son as he is fitting electronic driveway gates and gets so much word of mouth business he cant cope on his own.
Baz p.b.u.h. II
Old-Salt
Once I complete on my house hopefully in six weeks I’ll seriously look at taking someone on, the last time I had a holiday was 2014
Dread
LE
Hire a Gen Z woke justice warrior for a laugh.
Baz p.b.u.h. II
Old-Salt
My mates just hired a friend of the family as a trainee brickie, spends most of his time screaming at him to get off the phone. Twat turned up to site looking like a ‘roadman’ must have been sweltering last week.
The last time I had a sort of apprentice he was ex rifles so we could chat about anything and no joke was too sick. That’s what I need he just didn’t like the job in the end.
Rapierman
LE
In absolute fairness that is utterly fcukin wnak, as mentioned above that paint is shit, just stick with Dulux, even some of the stuff from Wilkos is better. But we know the score Mrs picks up the latest Cosmo or New Woman whatever, oh this is what everyone is using now....... Oh so not the stuff people have been using for years then, this new artisan paint made with ground peanut grains and organically sourced this and that .
That workmanship is absolutely terrible.
Doing a coat and leaving it to go off is fine, same as if you are glossing. You need to prep, let things go off properly. It is a fact.
But dear me. I know we all take the pi55 out of some of your DIY projects and all in good jest but I reckon you could of done better after half a bottle of Jack and a tin of hammerite.
You can buy sets of picks for next to nothing, or bump keys and it is amazing what you can do with a bit of practice. Some of the newer euro cylinders are tricky but not impossible. Most places over 20 years old are a doddle and it frightens the homeowner when you, as you say go da dah after 5 mins or so.
I thought my padlocks on my shed were meant to be good "Masterlocks" rubbish.
old_bloke
LE
It does depend, moved into a new house in Italy, built by the father for the daughter , very nice bungalow.
She was splitting up with her husband , so rented it out.
It was a very nice place, I was amazed as , this was in 2002 , the circuit breaker box was even tagged with what was what. So power sockets, kitchen, bathroom , lights etc.
Needing to put up some new light fittings , tripped the “lights” cct breaker.
‘’Connecting new lights with the new fitting, bang . Fell off ladder”
Dad was not as nice a chap as I thought.
a few years back I was working on a job in town, and I notice a couple of coppers looking at a house, whats up lads??
oh we are waiting for a locksmith so that we can gain entry and search the place, the owner has done a bunk,
how long have you been waiting ??
40 minutes and still no sign
come ere lad I will show thee
lift the grate outside, give the window a gentle boot, and clamber in with a big torch and a few tools
up the stairs into the kitchen and through to the front window and lift it open
it then occurred to me
I never asked if they were expecting to find a stiff inside !!!
found a few sets of keys and unlocked the front door for them as well
they popped over to say thank you when they had finished, and were keeping the keys in case the owner came back
oh we are waiting for a locksmith so that we can gain entry and search the place, the owner has done a bunk,
how long have you been waiting ??
40 minutes and still no sign
come ere lad I will show thee
lift the grate outside, give the window a gentle boot, and clamber in with a big torch and a few tools
up the stairs into the kitchen and through to the front window and lift it open
it then occurred to me
I never asked if they were expecting to find a stiff inside !!!
found a few sets of keys and unlocked the front door for them as well
they popped over to say thank you when they had finished, and were keeping the keys in case the owner came back
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