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Tradesman rates


eddoakley
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6 hours ago, Ultrastu said:

Cheers for the kind words winnie / mice 

Much appreciated. Yeah i know i under charge .but i enjoy my work and dont get stressed. 

Its all custom work and hand built onsite .the idigbo  sliding doors were a highlight last month .

The  shoe draw cabinet is also a radiator cover .there is a matching one the other side with coat storage .

I can see where your coming from and if you are surviving then crack on. 

Yeah all mine is all cut and built onsite, don’t have a workshop even though I’d love one. Only been doing this type of work for under 2 years and teaching myself really. 

People say why don’t you get all sheet material cut and edged by a company for speed etc but I just enjoy cutting it all.

Thats all fantastic work and great to see mate. Do you have a Facebook work page or website? 

 

 

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There's some great work on display here and it makes me miss the kind of thing that I used to do.

I'm a joiner and cabinet maker by trade. Moved onto site work and quickly onto general building working for myself.

Used to do some nice work like the stuff on here but that got lost to "standard" kitchens and bathrooms, renovations and extensions and commercial type maintenance. Now we do anything from small domestic jobs like decoration or flooring to bigger new builds (currently have a nice community hall to build and a large pub to turn into 5 flats with a large restaurant extension)

I just can't find decent tradesmen to take on the books or even subbies that I know will produce good work. Even when paying what I consider to be top rates I still seem to get messed about and get work that people just don't care about.

Perhaps it's just me expecting too much but I base my expectation on what I would want to see in my own work.

Maybe there is just a lack of tradesmen nowadays because from what I can see there is certainly not the lack of work to encourage people into the trades.

 

Edd

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4 minutes ago, eddoakley said:

There's some great work on display here and it makes me miss the kind of thing that I used to do.

I'm a joiner and cabinet maker by trade. Moved onto site work and quickly onto general building working for myself.

Used to do some nice work like the stuff on here but that got lost to "standard" kitchens and bathrooms, renovations and extensions and commercial type maintenance. Now we do anything from small domestic jobs like decoration or flooring to bigger new builds (currently have a nice community hall to build and a large pub to turn into 5 flats with a large restaurant extension)

I just can't find decent tradesmen to take on the books or even subbies that I know will produce good work. Even when paying what I consider to be top rates I still seem to get messed about and get work that people just don't care about.

Perhaps it's just me expecting too much but I base my expectation on what I would want to see in my own work.

Maybe there is just a lack of tradesmen nowadays because from what I can see there is certainly not the lack of work to encourage people into the trades.

 

Edd

I took a joiner on trial , gave him a job and said it’s a 40x 15 rebate . 

Whats a rebate ???  No joke. Wanted £15 an hour. Hadn’t a clue.

I supplied m6 toll and the foreman told me he has a chippy fitting 20m of skirting a day . It was straight cuts no joints. £200 a day. They couldn’t find anyone. 

Only last year we showed a 30 years in the trade chippy how to scribe a mitre 😞 

 

Edited by team tractor
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53 minutes ago, team tractor said:

I took a joiner on trial , gave him a job and said it’s a 40x 15 rebate . 

Whats a rebate ???  No joke. Wanted £15 an hour. Hadn’t a clue.

I supplied m6 toll and the foreman told me he has a chippy fitting 20m of skirting a day . It was straight cuts no joints. £200 a day. They couldn’t find anyone. 

Only last year we showed a 30 years in the trade chippy how to scribe a mitre 😞 

 

200m surely? Not 20?

I'd expect at least 100m in a domestic setting. A house in a day is easy.

I often find that "experienced tradesmen" have no idea and won't be told.

I'm terrible for micro-managing jobs and often find myself telling people exactly how to do something. I come back later and they have done it differently and it's wrong!

Why they can't just listen and follow instruction I will never know.

Younger "tradesmen" have often done a college course rather than an apprenticeship and are "all the gear, no idea" types.

And still demanding top rates!

I don't know what the answer is.

 

Edd

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39 minutes ago, eddoakley said:

200m surely? Not 20?

I'd expect at least 100m in a domestic setting. A house in a day is easy.

I often find that "experienced tradesmen" have no idea and won't be told.

I'm terrible for micro-managing jobs and often find myself telling people exactly how to do something. I come back later and they have done it differently and it's wrong!

Why they can't just listen and follow instruction I will never know.

Younger "tradesmen" have often done a college course rather than an apprenticeship and are "all the gear, no idea" types.

And still demanding top rates!

I don't know what the answer is.

 

Edd

I’ve had lads argue over how it’s to be done. It’s simple that I’m the boss and it’s how I say as it’s me that’s taking the hit. Not in a horrible way tho. It’s just I know what the customers asked for. 

The same lad took almost an hour to fit a latch and handles. 

Door frames with 81” by 31” opening ??? And they say I’ll have to make it to fit ??? It was a new opening. 

The same lads have gone self employed and their feed back is eye watering. Kicked off numerous jobs . Handle heights different on doors into the corner.  Theirs no excuse and I’m ashamed I trained them as they know ( lots) better. 

Edited by team tractor
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1 hour ago, team tractor said:

Only last year we showed a 30 years in the trade chippy how to scribe a mitre 😞 

Doubt this is just in your trade mate, we have a guy who is 65 and i doubt he's ever been any good, must have just done simple stuff all his life, if you follow him and others on a machine you just start again its easier.

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19 hours ago, Sciurus said:

All trades are expensive in the Lakes (that is if you can get them to quote!) Anyway after a previous unfortunate messy incident. Last year my wife insisted  next time I call in a professional sweep. I knew the sweeps wife and called her, saying there was no rush and the next few weeks would do,  she replied he was booked up for 2 months and gave me a slot at 8am in 2 months time at a cost of £40 per chimney. I had 3 chimneys swept but got no discount, £120 for less than 1 hours work! The sweep was a nice guy and we got talking, He didn’t want to register for vat, so kept his earnings below £80k and always finished work by lunchtime. Nice work if you can get it! 

tools :-Land Rover Disco, battery drill, lightweight flexible rod and brush and £500 hoover. I later checked with friends who had all been charged £40 per chimney.by other sweeps.

Afterwards, I did wonder, whether I made the wrong career choice...

Ps, this guy only swept chimneys, no repair work. The prices charged by wood burning stove installers is really eye smarting and wallet busting, you have to plead with them to give you a quote. It took one guy 2 months to come out and give me a ridiculous quote, in the end I employed an installer from Lancaster (20 miles away) and saved £1200. It took 3 hrs, including installing flue liner.

 

Oh dear, wish I'd been a tradesman but at least **** Turpin always wore a mask.

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I am a self employed bricklayer and I choose to stay local, I have been working with a couple of builders for £120 a day which I regard as low but they usually find me some inside work during poor weather so in effect £600 per week before tax and deductions. Does not sound to bad to many until you figure in any holidays (unpaid) and weeks like this past one where I have only worked one day due to the weather (no inside work so £120 a week before deductions), The daily rates quoted earlier in this post are not as outrageous as some seem to think.

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Assuming the £180-220 a day is on a self-employed rate? 

What would be the evuivelent or acceptable pay rate for someone on an employer basis I wonder 🤔 

I am currently employed but have the option to to agency/self employed within the next 6-12 months and would be on similar rates. 

 

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16 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said:

Assuming the £180-220 a day is on a self-employed rate? 

What would be the evuivelent or acceptable pay rate for someone on an employer basis I wonder 🤔 

I am currently employed but have the option to to agency/self employed within the next 6-12 months and would be on similar rates. 

 

Half . £90-100 a day is £180 + self employed. 

sick 

paid even if you’ve no work

Holidays 

tax

No accountants

pensions 

insurance if your hurt

would I go self employed again ? NO chance . 

 

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2 hours ago, Sciurus said:

A terrific display of woodworking skills chaps, it must give you great satisfaction to create bespoke work to such a high standard.

As a matter of interest, anyone have any idea of chimney sweeps rate in their area?

I do my own with drain rods and a brush. If you have a wiggly chimney the bendier rods are much easier. Don’t skimp on tape and a bit of tarp or the mess can get spectacular. If you do it 2-3 times a year it is a 30 minute job. 

Total cost of tools (assuming the wife will let you borrow the hoover) about £30. 

Some home insurance policies will want sweeping done by someone with a piece of paper and their own insurance though, usually two or three times a year. If your policy is one of those either shop around or bend over... A mate gets stung £40 a chimney for four chimneys three times a year to keep his insurer happy. 

Edited by Wb123
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6 minutes ago, team tractor said:

I know dude but 20 years of it has aged me fast. Maybe I’d struggle  

I don't think being your own boss is all it's cracked up to be.

When I think back to being on the tools and worrying about customers I think I cared more about the customer than I would have about a boss.

Being solely responsible for the outcome of a job, whether it's on budget, whether other trades that you get involved have done a good job and other stuff is more stressful than any 9 to 5. Assuming you care enough.

I might have been better taking a j9b with someone. Whether I would have stuck it who knows.

Edd

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2 hours ago, Lloyd90 said:

Assuming the £180-220 a day is on a self-employed rate? 

What would be the evuivelent or acceptable pay rate for someone on an employer basis I wonder 🤔 

I am currently employed but have the option to to agency/self employed within the next 6-12 months and would be on similar rates. 

 

If you are currently employed by NHS (which I think you are) never leave it to go self employed. Once you are on the other side the agencies have you by the round bits.

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35 minutes ago, Vince Green said:

If you are currently employed by NHS (which I think you are) never leave it to go self employed. Once you are on the other side the agencies have you by the round bits.

Local government but kinda close. 

Im asking them to put me through some training next year if they declined was going to look into agency as an option for a year or two. 

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