Bricklaying

[nod]

I’ve just bumped into my preferred bricklayer at the gym 

Hes about a dozen bricklayers working for him 

He was telling me the Major house builders  are guaranteeing £250 per day per man Regardless of weather As long as they stay on site and work in and out of down pours 

Something self builders can’t compete with 

Nor  do we want to 

 

 

[Bonner]

We have been competing for our brickies all year. No incentive would pull them off their developer’s job, which I understand. Fortunately the masonry is all done now but I fear the same with other trades.

[nod]

18 minutes ago, Bonner said:

We have been competing for our brickies all year. No incentive would pull them off their developer’s job, which I understand. Fortunately the masonry is all done now but I fear the same with other trades.

You will have the same with other trades with the difference that most of the others aren't as weather dependent

[ProDave]

29 minutes ago, nod said:

You will have the same with other trades with the difference that most of the others aren't as weather dependent

My experience is no you won't.  Well at least up here all the trades I know only do small jobs, by that I mean nothing bigger than a single house and very often even smaller like an extension or alterations.  I don't know of any of these "small trades" that also work on the big building sites and I never meet tradesmen from the big sites.

 

So as far as I see to separate markets served by separate companies.

[nod]

19 minutes ago, ProDave said:

My experience is no you won't.  Well at least up here all the trades I know only do small jobs, by that I mean nothing bigger than a single house and very often even smaller like an extension or alterations.  I don't know of any of these "small trades" that also work on the big building sites and I never meet tradesmen from the big sites.

 

So as far as I see to separate markets served by separate companies.

 Absolutely separate markets 

The guys that do the small jobs Extensions small refurbs Arnt used to working to a good standard and are definitely don’t work at the same pace 

DIY SOS is pretty accurate portrayal of the private jobs 

Bunch of guys having a good laugh 

On your time 

 

It’s always going to be different in very rural areas Where there isn’t much new work going on 

 

But this has a knock on effect 

[ProDave]

5 minutes ago, nod said:

The guys that do the small jobs Extensions small refurbs Arnt used to working to a good standard and are definitely don’t work at the same pace 

The good standard bit I take exception to.  What the small guys can do is is listen to what the customer wants and do exactly that. You won't get that level of detail on a mass build.  I do agree not all tradesmen are equal in quality though, I know about 4 or 5 joiners, but only one of those is good enough to work on my own home for finishing joinery.

[nod]

1 hour ago, ProDave said:

The good standard bit I take exception to.  What the small guys can do is is listen to what the customer wants and do exactly that. You won't get that level of detail on a mass build.  I do agree not all tradesmen are equal in quality though, I know about 4 or 5 joiners, but only one of those is good enough to work on my own home for finishing joinery.

If you read the title  Bricklaying 

Pretty self explanatory really 

Nothing to do with carpentry 

 

I was asked the question and my answer was that the other trades arnt effected by weather 

 

 

 

[PeterW]

1 hour ago, nod said:

Absolutely separate markets 

The guys that do the small jobs Extensions small refurbs Arnt used to working to a good standard and are definitely don’t work at the same pace 

Agree about the markets being separate but don’t agree on quality. I do snags on new builds that the bricklaying is appalling and you can see where multiple gangs have done different parts, and their quality is also variable ! The brick gangs round here are pretty poor overall - I saw 3 packs of facing bricks laying in mud on a site a few weeks ago - mentioned it to the site manager who said in one breath there was a brick shortage, and then said they would get scooped up and put in a skip as waste … apparently one of the brickies got bored waiting for some bricks to be moved so tried with the  telehandler himself ..!  

 

Flip side is I’ve got a 60 year old brickie who refuses to do the new build sites as they want quantity not quality, but his day rate is such that even when I ask for “sloping dentil finish using reclaims” he goes ‘OK’ and the finish is perfection - doesn’t cost me much more and tbh what I’m paying is what he wants and is always reasonable. When he’s on blocks he can definitely keep up with the younger ones yet will usually point all joints where others leave them flush. 
 

I think it’s horses for courses and on a self build having someone a little slower does mean you can adjust and make decisions along the way, which is good if you’re not well versed in the industry. 
 

 

 

[Faz]

There are good trades and bad - just look at the shitshow that has been built next to mine!  2 months post PC and the damp is rising....

[nod]

2 hours ago, ProDave said:

The good standard bit I take exception to.  What the small guys can do is is listen to what the customer wants and do exactly that. You won't get that level of detail on a mass build.  I do agree not all tradesmen are equal in quality though, I know about 4 or 5 joiners, but only one of those is good enough to work on my own home for finishing joinery.

If you read the title  Bricklaying 

Pretty self explanatory really 

Nothing to do with carpentry 

 

I was asked the question and my answer was that the other trades arnt effected by weather 

 

I’m mostly commercial builds 

The standard is much higher than general house bashing and private jobs 

I get plasterers  renderers and tilers asking for work all the time 

The private lads just can’t keep up the pace and there work simply isn’t neat enough 

Our tilers are expected to finish 25 m2 of flooring each day and it has to be perfect 

Same with render We will complete a five bed house in a week and the difference between the private guys is that if there is any problem in the first five years We will sort it out and argue with the suppliers later 
 

We are way off topic 

My original point was that the big companies and there Bricklaying contractors that sub to them are paying Brickies £250 per day waiting time 

Thiis will effect everyone 

Smaller companies that I sometimes do work for Are taking there Brickies on cards in to keep them 

Even though they don’t always have work for them to do 

The mybuilder types that are floating around is what you are left with 

 

 

 

 

[Adsibob]

16 minutes ago, nod said:

Our tilers are expected to finish 25 m2 of flooring each day and it has to be perfect 

What size tile is that?