My Day

[MauriceMynah]

This reminds me of a recent incident here. Just before he was taken ill, my friend Rufus bought some new taps. A set for the bath and another for the kitchen sink. The kitchen sink is of the old "Butler" design. Rufus couldn't get to the old taps so he decided to get a plumber in to do the job. Whilst he was in the nursing home (where he still is by the by) I decided to get the plumbers in to do the job.

Rufus was correct, it was a difficult one to get to. After banging and crashing about, the plumber decided it would have to be cut off. He had some fancy cutting tool to do this. Two hours later, he had to go to Screwfix or similar, to buy some new blades.

Eventually he succeeded in getting the old taps off. Putting the new ones on was a pretty quick job.

As expected, after a week or so, a man with a large bill came to the door (ok, it might have been a duck wearing a hat )

Pennies short of £550 to change two sets of taps (which we had supplied) Next time I'll get a quote for a job and do it that way!

[BroadAmbition]

So, 3 x Hrs tops and charged £550? that's only £183 per Hr - Wow (Nearly got edache working that one out)

And there was me thinking only boat compound polishers earned that kind of money

Griff

[OldBerkshireBoy]

Did said plumber tether his horse in the garden and remove his spurs before starting work, £550 for three hours work is outrageous.

[grendel]

probably only £50 an hour with a £300 fee just to visit.

I once had an issue, every time someone used the bath the lights tripped out, quick look under the bath, yep its damp under there, ok wheres it coming from- the going to was easy, there was a hole through the floor directly above the light fitting below, eventually traced it to the overflow, it was loose in the bath so when the water level got high enough (ie when someone got in the bath, the water was shooting around outside the fitting, 30 seconds tightening the overflow cured it.

[MauriceMynah]

Being fair to the man, he charged £70.00 per hour, but it took him six and a quarter hours, but then the VAT was added.

[addicted]

We had a simiular problem to this, We had moved into a new  "show"bungalow 6 months before and I noticed a damp smell in the hall cupboard the back wall of which formed the wall in one of  the bathrooms. Standing in the cupboard was a cabinet when I moved it out the carpet beneath  it had all but rotted away and was soaking wet. I contacted the builders  as we were still under guarantee. They sent the plumber who had put all the plumbing in when it was built. He fixed it  fairly quickly. A bit too quickly as it turned out 5minutes after he had gone we found the problem  leakage still there this happened a further 4 times that afternon. When I suggested to the boss of the company who employed him that maybe he wasn't fit for purpose his response was he didn't know what  I was complaining about after all he had come back each time to fix it !

 

 

Carole

[BroadAmbition]

he charged £70.00 per hour,

£70:00 per Hr plus vat?  Is that all?

Don't know how the man survives

Griff

[ExSurveyor]

1 minute ago, addicted said:

We had a simiular problem to this, We had moved into a new  "show"bungalow 6 months before and I noticed a damp smell in the hall cupboard the back wall of which formed the wall in one of  the bathrooms. Standing in the cupboard was a cabinet when I moved it out the carpet beneath  it had all but rotted away and was soaking wet. I contacted the builders  as we were still under guarantee. They sent the plumber who had put all the plumbing in when it was built. He fixed it  fairly quickly. A bit too quickly as it turned out 5minutes after he had gone we found the problem  leakage still there this happened a further 4 times that afternon. When I suggested to the boss of the company who employed him that maybe he wasn't fit for purpose his response was he didn't know what  I was complaining about after all he had come back each time to fix it !

 

 

Carole

I can never understand why these people never put their hands up and say sorry.

I would always admit a mistake by one of my staff and get it put right promptly, usually followed by flowers or wine. It is the only way to maintain a hard earned reputation.

A recommendation is worth a hundred pounds of advertising.

[Lulu]

I moved into a house and soon found the loo was leaking. Found someone who was highly recommended by a neighbour. He proceeded to cut through a pipe by mistake which caused even more issues. He said of course he would fix that error. Finished the job after endless tea breaks. (Good job I only paid him for the actual job and not by the hour) 

A few months later I decided to have the whole bathroom ripped out as it was delightful 1970’s avocado creation.  I employed bathroom fitting company to do the whole job. When dismantling the old loo, they found the waste pipe had been ‘glued together with polyfilla. The floor boards were sopping wet and it was a miracle it hadnt fallen through to downstairs.   The neighbour who the guy had also done work for said he had also made a right pigs ear of whatever she had had done.
 

Since then, Im very nervous of anyone doing work around the house and want endless proof that someone is qualified and knows what they are doing. Thankfully, I now have a Selsie who is a qualified plumber and works in facilities.   

[YnysMon]

We moved into the first house that we bought the day before Christmas Eve (not a good idea). It was a new build and British Gas had visited earlier in the day to connect the gas. Only they didn’t, because they had detected a leak. By that time all trades on site had gone home for their fortnight’s Christmas break.

Christmas Eve Graham went out to buy an extra electric heater and electric blanket. Thank goodness we had an electric cooker, otherwise Christmas dinner wouldn’t have happened. A day or two after Christmas it snowed heavily and it got so cold that it took about a fortnight for the snow to melt. As you will imagine, it was a memorable Christmas! We were fighting over who could have the nice warm dog on their lap. Thermals were a necessity.

When the plumber came to visit a fortnight later he found that the chippy had thoughtfully secured the skirting board that ran underneath the living room gas fire to the gas pipe.

You couldn’t make it up, could you?

[TheQ]

Twice as a youngster when we moved each time  for my dad's job, I was the one who found the overflow to the bath hadn't been connected.. I still like a full bath....

Well, another weekend nearly over, 

The keel was lowered to the floor, somewhat inelegantly, but it got there without damage to it , me , or anything else. The other side got cleaned off, and filleted.

The garage workshop has most of the ring main complete, just an outside socket to reconnect.

The remaining sheet of osb was demolished into pieces to clad the ceiling, on top of which fibreglass insulation was inserted. It needs about another 1 1/2 osb boards to complete.

That allowed the second of three LED batten strip lights to be installed in the workshop, that's now working correctly from a light switch in a lighting circuit .

The old lights were connected to the one mains supply rated for lighting that had sockets in it!!!! As someone said.. you couldn't make it up.

Oh Yeoman nationals,  Snowflake sailing club at Horning Sailing club, the weekend of 5/6 December, Boris and virus permitting.  Expect up to thirty boats but sadly the virus may well make that a lot less..

 

 

[BroadAmbition]

A few years ago now in Donny I was tasked with tiling a kitchen / utility floor.  It was chipboard so this required me to overboard it.  Whilst on my hands and knees I got a whiff of gas.  I mentioned this to the lady house holder who stated that British gas had been round to remove an old gas fire and make safe which they had done only a week prior (Really?)

I told her there was no way I was over-boarding a floor then tiling it when I could detect gas with my Mk1 intakes.  Would she allow me to take up some of the chipboard flooring that had obviously been up before and have a look-see?    - Yes please

The British Gas 'Professionals' had cut a live copper 15mm gas pipe back but instead of capping it off with either a soldered or compression end cap, they had bent it back and crimped it with pliers or some such like - You couldn't make it up! 

She rang them stating she had a gas leak, out they came immediately, turned the main gas supply off, condemned the property, put a threatening notice on the gas shut off valve then promptly burgered off!

That meant she had no heating or hot water and I couldn't get the tiling job done, two days loss of earnings on my part.

I was livid, I got hold of her paperwork from the original works completed.  Rang them, threatened them with reporting them to Corgi (As it was back then) the CSCS folk, local newspaper the lot, unless they were round with the hour not one minute longer and get it sorted correctly

Needless to say they did, they were far from happy with my threats, nor me standing over them watching  them like a hawk,  I didn't give a rats bottom.  It was only a fifteen minute job at best 

Her house was made safe, she had heating and I got her tiling job done on time but with a late evening, nowt new there then

Griff

 

 

[YnysMon]

Griff, you’re a star! Wish you lived near our neighbourhood.

[finny]

There is some true salts of the earth within the trades 

Rare day off today but a good mate fitted me a new boiler a few weeks ago - i would have happily paid him but within the circle its a favor for a favor which got re-called today fitting a very heavy woodburner and liner 

He picked me up on time and whilst on our way to the job his phone went ,i knew by the change in expression he was not happy . we have a detour he said - another plumber has let a old couple down and had left them with no hot water or heating since friday  and its now monday .

we arrive and the lady of the house is at  the end of life stage  .my mate  swings into action .luckily the boiler is in a out house which makes things easy not only to repair but means we can give everything a good clean down from a covid point 

job done an hour so later and the gentleman of the house approaches and asks how much ? my mate plays the job down and says " no charge - it was just something stuck "  on we go . in the van i say correct me if iam wrong but did you not just fit a new central heating pump then ?.....i did ....but iam so annoyed anyone could leave vulnerable old dears like that all weekend 

the language was to strong to word on here

i know not only have i got a good mate but the trades have too

finny    

[BroadAmbition]

Ok I will admit I once lied to a client, an elderly lady. 

All she wanted me to do was to tile less than 1 x m2 behind her cooker so that the wall was easier to clean rather than repainting it. I also knew that her money was very tight, she even asked if I was adding vat on (I'm not vat registered)  I was asked to supply the cheapest 150 x 150mm white tiles I could source.  The whole wall was crying out to be tiled between the worktop and under the wall cupboards.

I took along plenty of white ceramic tiles, got stuck in and tiled the whole wall.  She was so pleased but wringing her hands as to the cost of the tiles / labour.

I know her son quite well, it was him that recommended me to visit her (No longer living with his Mum) he was a year above me at school and not well off either.

I informed her that her son had paid me for the job as a surprise for her and she was to put her purse away.  She was so relieved and pleased

Of course, as soon as I was in my van driving home I was frantically ringing him before his mum did and telling him my lie whilst assuring him I didn't want any money off him.

It's nice to be able to help out now and again

Griff

[JennyMorgan]

On 22/11/2020 at 13:12, MauriceMynah said:

Being fair to the man, he charged £70.00 per hour, but it took him six and a quarter hours, but then the VAT was added.

As the saying goes, you never see a plumber on a bike, indeed one who lives near to me drives around in a gutsy Porsche Boxer! 

[ranworthbreeze]

I guess we have all done favour jobs for the elderly or vulnerable.

 

[OldBerkshireBoy]

If they are nice to me then I`ll be nice in return however the grumpy ones can stay grumpy. Myself as a plumber and a sparky friend would pass little jobs on between us and drop in on the way home just for the petrol money and it helps build up a reputation as someone who can be trusted locally.

[Poppy]

12 hours ago, JennyMorgan said:

As the saying goes, you never see a plumber on a bike, indeed one who lives near to me drives around in a gutsy Porsche Boxer! 

Nothing says 'I couldn't afford a Porsche' more than a Boxer

[TheQ]

[ChrisB]

It is a Boxster with an S and a T.

[Upcycler]

On 26/11/2020 at 15:13, ChrisB said:

It is a Boxster with an S and a T.

Otherwise known as a poor mans Porsche!

[twowrights]

1 hour ago, Upcycler said:

Otherwise known as a poor mans Porsche!

Priced new at well over £60,000 oh to be a poor man! 

[finny]

I think I would sooner have the dog 

[ChrisB]

8 hours ago, Upcycler said:

Otherwise known as a poor mans Porsche!

A old school friend (actually a bl**dy rich and successful Architect) has just paid in excess of £70K for his Boxster 4.0 GTS. 

400ps, 183mph, 0 to 60 in 4.5 sec. Not too shabby a car!

I think you would have to be fairly wealthly to own one, that is purchase, as apposed to lease.