SimonD Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 (edited) So, after building most of the house entirely myself, I finally succumbed to getting some trades in to help finish things off. Main items were a chippie and electrician. I agreed start dates and scope of work with chippie, ordered all the interior doors and then the day before he was going to start he asked if he could reschedule for the following week. I said okay and then the follwing week he texted in sick and I haven't heard from him since. Next the sparky. He was coming in a day or two per week. Has done 1st fix downstairs ring main, kitchen and a few other things. Now needs to to ring for upstairs and then lighting circuits. I've paid him promptly and just let him get to doing the work. Now I haven'r heard from him in a few weeks and he hasn't returned my calls. I don't treat my customers in this way and am totally bemused. Am I doing something wrong and if so what could that be? I'm now starting to wonder if I need to do the electics myself and pay building control for sign off.....☹️ Edited July 13, 2023 by SimonD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HughF Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 Yep, unless you're brown/blue colourblind just do it yourself and pay BC for a sign-off... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 It’s why builders tend to get a bad press, yes I never treated my customers that way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Punter Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 They all seem to want £300 a day guaranteed for an easy days work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markc Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 Maybe they are working from home! On a serious note it’s probably not you, most tradies have had it too good and gotten used to picking and choosing what jobs they work on. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyT Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 Are you hanging over them all day, ‘supervising’ That can be a tad tiresome, clockwatching lunch breaks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonD Posted July 13, 2023 Author Share Posted July 13, 2023 8 minutes ago, TonyT said: Are you hanging over them all day, ‘supervising’ That can be a tad tiresome, clockwatching lunch breaks? No definitely none of that. I'm mostly running around doing my own stuff and out to work myself. I just leave them to it! Never clock watch just allow the progress to happen as it happens too and trust them to do what needs to be done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discoeye Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 Ever heard of a hospital job it could be yours, Through various trades I heard this spoken often as the tradesman would take the job on and use it in emergency s only i.e: if they were let down on their current job with materials being late or other tradesman not finished so they couldn't do their work or a rain stops play work day then it would be lets go to that job and keep him happy for a day . On a serious note I feel for you and its not good practise when they don't even contact you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonD Posted July 13, 2023 Author Share Posted July 13, 2023 23 minutes ago, markc said: On a serious note it’s probably not you, most tradies have had it too good and gotten used to picking and choosing what jobs they work on. I do wonder about that. My sister said the same thing, but the electrician dissappearing is mostly what's confounding me as I even did him a full day's work trenching as a favour when he was let down by a ground worker he'd employed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonD Posted July 13, 2023 Author Share Posted July 13, 2023 2 minutes ago, Discoeye said: Ever heard of a hospital job it could be yours, I know it well, I'm in the trade too nowadays hence my reference to treating customers. You could very well be right on that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BotusBuild Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 I "lost" a steelworker. Never found out whether he didn't like the site, the prompt payments, or met with terrible accident. Fortunately found a new one. It's why I specify the work to be done and when I expect it to happen by( if that is a reasonable ask). If neither happen, I state it will be considered a breach of contract. No, the first steelman never got his final payment 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Jones Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 subbies. 2 sides to every story mind. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonD Posted July 13, 2023 Author Share Posted July 13, 2023 1 hour ago, HughF said: Yep, unless you're brown/blue colourblind just do it yourself and pay BC for a sign-off... Have you done it yourself? I'd be interested to know any experience of the BCO process of this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted July 14, 2023 Share Posted July 14, 2023 Your experience is normal. The term Good Tradesman means: good at BOTH the job as well as being a good communicator. A straightforward manner helps too. On our job, most were excellent. One or two weren't. But you always think that you are the one at fault and not them. I'm very lucky in as much as the locals who walk past our site to whom I chat, have exactly the same moans and groans about exactly the same trades people. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HughF Posted July 14, 2023 Share Posted July 14, 2023 17 hours ago, SimonD said: Have you done it yourself? I'd be interested to know any experience of the BCO process of this I've done loads of illegal electrics over the years 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone West Posted July 14, 2023 Share Posted July 14, 2023 19 hours ago, SimonD said: Have you done it yourself? I'd be interested to know any experience of the BCO process of this I did all the circuit design, first and second fix myself. The BCO told me they didn't do electrical certification so I sorted beforehand for my son in law's friend to carry out the required checks after each stage and issue the Part P Certificate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now