jobbing builders

[desrob]

don't you just hate these builders that do every thing,i done a job for one of them, just the gas work mind,i suppose he deserves some credit for that,anyways his background is a electrictian and his partner a labourer,together they do the lot,my point being the standard of work,and i can only comment on the plumbing, leaves a lot to be desired,but they get away with it,don't the paying public not understand that these are skilled area's.and it is very unlikely that there going to be proficient in one area never mind two or three.leave the plumbing to the plumbers, electrics to electritian etc etc.

 

[tamz]

Such is the world of plastic where little to no skills are required.

 

[barronbathrooms]

Disagree I'm afraid I'm time served plumber/gas fitter but we install kitchen, bathrooms loft conversions ect.

I believe you need to be adaptable.
Training for my part p as we speak.
You either have it or you don't.
Finish is everything

 

[secret squirrel]

don't you just hate these builders that do every thing,i done a job for one of them, just the gas work mind,i suppose he deserves some credit for that,anyways his background is a electrictian and his partner a labourer,together they do the lot,my point being the standard of work,and i can only comment on the plumbing, leaves a lot to be desired,but they get away with it,don't the paying public not understand that these are skilled area's.and it is very unlikely that there going to be proficient in one area never mind two or three.leave the plumbing to the plumbers, electrics to electritian etc etc.

I totally agree, I had to install an electric shower the other day, yes, got my part P so was quite happy.

Alarm bells were ringing in my head, spoke to my mate who is a sparky, came down, isolated electric and had to run two new tails to a new box and then re-wire the old box. Would have opened up myself a large can of worms.

Looked at a shower that had awful smells coming from it, the tiler/plumber/plasterer had linked in the bath waste the basin waste and shower waste. Solution re-do the wastes......

I think its good to have an idea of other trades but no your limitations, I can tile of a fashion but a professional tiler is much faster and will produce a better job. My van is geared up for plumbing not anything else. Do have a set of electrical screwdrivers and testers but thats about it.

I wouldn't let a plumber build my extension but I wouldn't let the roofer install my radiator either.

 

[armourer]

I think there are good and bad in all trades.
Some Builders/ Plumbers I know are very good and others not so (that's putting it mildly).

A lot of people are very good mechanically and are more than able to install pipework but the old saying "jack of all trades master of none" rings true.

Just because someone can connect pipes together and they do not leak (to start with) does not make them a plumber.

A lot of this job is like many others , in the fact you are paid just as much for what you know as what you do.

The other saying is true also " a little knowledge is a dangerous thing".

 

[Best]

I have noticed in recent years, lots of bathrooms that are fitted very badly have indeed been finished well. Usually lots plastic plumbing, old pipes reused often, waste pipes not supported, holes in Walls, etc,etc, but tiling usually very good & overall appearance also. Think a lot of installers have realised that the public are finish wise but not install wise. A tiny fault with the finish, like one tile not flush can make an otherwise perfect job, seem poor. Bathroom job is a plumbers job mainly I think but customers like one firm taking whole job, so that is what the future is in bathrooms. - and decent plumbers end up being asked to fix their bad work eventually.

 

[Best]

On the same theme, : I once had to pipe a very small utility extension - just 2 pipes to a new rad & 2 pipes to sink/ w.m. for friends. House is all copper. Their builders asked me was I going to use plastic pipes. I said no. They then admitted they used it on all their jobs but would NOT in their own houses!

 

[AndyMack]

I've never understood why people hire one person to do the lot. I always look at things as specific trades. I was doing a bit of laboring for a bloke and in one house the bathroom was being fitted by maintenance men and every fitting was compression and long flexi's and went into a loft conversion that the joiner had been doing the plumbing and it was a spaghetti juntion of plastic and old copper I couldn't tell what was what it was all intertwined. but like people have said as long as it looks nice. . . .

 

[Phil]

It makes me laugh when builders try and tile a floor in a kitchen or something, on the tilers forum there's all sorts of threads where the guys have had to sort of the builders mess.

6mm plywood under travertine was a good one, as you can expect the tiles were cracking up all over the place.

 

[< 0.004 = :-)]

noticed not many joinbers seem to like using bending machines
flexis tap adapters, pan cons and the plastic fantastic have taken the fear factor away for other trades doing plumbing.
doing mind doin a bit tiling , joinery , sparking in my own place but i couldn t be bothered with doing full bathrooms myself . in and rough it, back to do the finishings when the tilers finished is how i like to do do them.
the public get what the public wants

just to add though, got a sparky mate, a proper trademen, worked all over the world, done it all in his game from house bashing to power stations and the rigs. he can turn his hand to anything. he s doing full bathrooms installs and kitchens, to a very high standard, if he aint sure about something he ll phone a friend and ask. don t see a problem with this, he wouldn t do a job if it wasn t done right.
he s done everything to his old bungalow, from underpinning, building an extension (no labourer, just him and a mixer) forming a sauna, intricate joinery, to hanging the expensive patterned wall paper himself. his work is faultless.

 

[paul78]

at the end of the day the customer turns the tap and water comes out job done in their eyes. if you mentioned conex, endfeed, john guest etc etc they wouldnt have a clue what you was talking about.

agree though that good and bad tradesmen out there and even qualifications dont make you a professional!

 

[barronbathrooms]

Qualification don't mean anything anymore just renewed my acs 6 people on refresher course I was only one who served apprenticeship 4 weeks and 4 grand to get acs 500 quid and your gassafe then they undercut me and make a pigs ear! (Been a long day at the office!)

 

[Guest123]

In todays economic downturn, the ones that can adapt will be the ones who survive.

 

[Best]

In todays economic downturn, the ones that can adapt will be the ones who survive.

Sadly, that's right, the people that are successful do what customers need.

 

[Mr leaky]

no matter what you decide to branch out into there are ten or fifteen other plumbers in your area thinking of doing the same the only thing i can think is do what they do only better

 

[stevetheplumber]

standards have gone especially on domestic and new builds its simple economics at£12 an hour you get what you deserve