Speed of work!

[obseen16]

hi guys,

i was just wondering if working speed is sometimes a problem for you or is it just me, for example, i was doing a bit of pipework on the first fix for a bathroom. simply hot and cold feeds run across wall for shower bog and basin in copper pipe aswell as waste (the walls had already been chased out the day before), i looked at it and said to the builders "yeah itll take me a couple of hours" how wrong i was, it ended up taking me all bloomin day, dunno how it took me that long when i stood back and looked at the completed work i thought gosh is that all i have done today?

just wondering if this is a common thing or is it just me slacking without realising lol, as i do most jobs on my own i dont have anyone else to compare my speed with.

cheers guys

J

 

[Carl86]

Oh dont worry mate im a good 2 or so years into training and I often get concious and nervous about my speed as well I have my quick and not so quick days and I understand exactly where you are coming from, but I always strive for the quality of the work first I want to make sure everything is in order and it works before throwing stuff in too quick..... Ive always been told speed comes with time and experience get the job neat and correct first and you will come up and along with your own little quips and way of doing things that peel time off tasks. Some people pick it up quicker than others.

 

[uug197h]

It happens, better to take your time and get it right first time than rush and take even longer fixing leaks

 

[buffy27]

whats the craic
excellent topic .exactly the same thing happens me at times especially if im tired or working late .i find that when i think i m doing good in staying on later that is the time i would make a mistake .i plum from the book almost always ,as in the propper way {tried and tested], this takes time ,especially welding and bending copper as u were probably doing..i pride myself on doing things right with attention to detail. time spent comes in a poor second to quality of work in my books.
i put in a back boiler in a house during the week .there was a new dual coil cylinder added with 4 rads added,re pipe hot press,attic work etc. place was prepared with all chasing etc ready for me.the client had a plumber out to price before me who told him that the job would take 2 days.i told the client at least 4.he was gob smacked and hinted that i was dragging it out. i re-assured him that i was very busy and would not have time for dragging it out.he asked me to do the job even though the other guy was slight cheaper. it took me 4 .5 days on my own,without slouching.i questioned my speed also.i swapped bath taps about 2 weeks ago that took me about 6 hrs?????????????????
work that one out.customer could n t understand how long it took and made a smart remark about speed.

 

[Carl86]

Thing is though Buffy Mr Customer probably would have had a living nightmare under the bath trying to get at those taps. Bathtaps are a job Joe public seem to think is easy, and on the topic of speed all the advice given in this thread is sound sound advice. I have my good and bad days, like Uug said taking your time saves you potentialy hours and hours of problems with leaks that could easily be avoidable without trying to rush.

 

[paulplumber86]

Good post. Thought it was just me!!! lol

I seem to talk to alot of the "toppers" where i work (whateva youve done, theyve topped it!!) and hear alot of the 3 bathrooms a week stories etc!

 

[dontknowitall]

My twopenny worth. I don't quote, but estimate and give a ceiling value for my labour. It obviously all depends on the job but if I'm phoned and asked to give a vague cost I reckon on:

Straight swaps: 1/2 day for a basin, 1/2 day for a loo, 1 day for a bath.

If not straight swaps (usually isn't), double those times, then 1 day for drainage and 1 day for supply pipework. So a non like-for-like bathroom will be 7 working days: 1/2 day ripping out, 1 day drainage, 1 day supply pipes, 1 day loo, 1 day basin, 2 days for the bath and 1/2 day contingency.

When it comes to the job the basin and loo are usually in a morning. But I always find fitting the taps (unpacking them, checking the destructions, fitting and testing) takes ages.

Sometimes it's quicker than those times, other times it can take an extra day or two because some carpentry might be involved. If it takes longer I usually still charge for the estimated maximum time, even if it wasn't my fault or I found a nasty (e.g. unexpected corroded pipe which needed the wall ripping off and replacing).

I've never had a customer who doesn't like me not quoting and they seem more confident when I give a probable ceiling price. But I find that most customers are more concerned about a good job, rather than the pounds and pence.

I also get so many customers who say they'll be happy to recommend me as I leave and most of my customers are from a previous recommendation.

I bet some people will read this and think "Blimey, how do you take so long?", but that's me and I'm sure after 20 years I'll get a little quicker. But then the design of some pieces makes it difficult to fit them quickly that maybe I'll continue on at my turtle pace.

My worst jobs are changing a tap washer. Should be a 15 minute job, but I often end up having to take the tap off so I can undo it without damaging it. Just found some taps in my Plumbfix catalogue which are the same as customers taps and wondering if it's going to be quicker and cheaper to replace the tap rather than trying to battle with an old one.

Obseen - don't worry about the time too much - you never know that the builder might well have thought, "Bit slow, but I'm impressed with that pipework and will ask him in again for another job!" Also he might have thought, "Wow - much faster than the previous plumber I asked to do a job for me!!"

 

[leakylea]

Speed,speed speed,...Lads its the quality of your work that will be how you get referals,i have never been refered on price.People are always vague when friends enquire about how much there georgeous new bathroom cost them maybe we are all a bit like that,but tend to gush out the name of the plumber who did such a good job and what a clean and conciencious bloke you were and are.
Its admiral that you all seem to feel that going faster is whats required,it shows theres a passion about you,.. me well i,m just like you boys, the job takes what it takes and the extra time spent trying to make it correct will turn into money one day, as you will limmit callbacks that will free up your time for paying work.
Having been in the trade a while and having worked through the last reccesion, the best thing to do is at this time is to gain experience in producing quality work whilst things are slack you will reap the rewards in a couple of short years

 

[obseen16]

WOW thanks guys its really good to know im not in the boat alone. after reading this it relates (kinda) to the job i did today, just a simple radiator installation in a house with concrete floor. so pipes were to come down the corner of the wall from ceiling down to the rad, i got off to a really good start had the radiator on the wall and the system drained down within the hour with clips in place ready for the copper to go in, looked at my watch and thought hmm 1pm,,,, ill be done by 2.30. had a few un expected hiccups like joists where i didnt really want to find them etc, i took my time and made sure work looked good and finished up at 4pm. (time sure does fly when ur having fun). anyway i finished up tidied my mess and showed the customer the finished job, unexpectedly to me he was so pleased with the quality and the neat tidy finish that he now wants every rad in his house to be replaced with shiny new ones. so i have potentially got more work from taking my time and making sure it looks good, he didnt even mention that it took me all day lol.

so i guess your all very right. its nice to be quick but its nicer to leave a job with neat work correctly installed with a happy smiling customer lol,

cheers fellas.

 

[leakylea]

leaving customers with a smile of contentment and a general feeling of joy is not what we are about.
The next thing you know people will start to mistake us all for being competent and proffesional!..this will no doubt lead to job losses at the BBC Rouge Traders production department...I hope the bloke on the bike gets the chop though

 

[REDSAW]

makes me wonder if i fell asleep or had a seizure sometimes. Maybee its just one of those customers/jobs that you feel really at ease with and possibly enjoying doing it (heaven forbid), polishing the tube ends for fluxing etc.

reminds me of a job i did for a woman once. she told me of her tiler, a rasto-man, he came back on the final day to grout the tiles in her bathroom. he arrived at 8pm she went to work for the morning returned at 12 noon and he was almost finished. any way come 3pm she went to the bathroom and found him of his face on weed in the bath with a big grin on his face. she told him he'd better to collect his tools the next day instead and helped him to his van. come 8pm she looked out-side as she was closing the curtains and he was still there fast asleep on the stering wheel, she called his boss to collect him around 830pm.
one long hard days work sure does fly when your having fun, but try not to smile too much or customers will wonder what your on.

 

[obseen16]

lol oh yes sorry i forgot were supposed to be telling the customers they need a TRV fitting onto their overflow pipe and charge £650 for an hours work,

"happy customers" What was i thinking??? lol.