Would you expect work men to clean up afterwards?

lessonlearned

phoebe1989seb wrote: »

That's why I'm sooooo pleased that DH does all our plastering - not his trade at all (he was in interior design till recently) but was taught years ago by a former girlfriend's grandad - as he's very neat and careful. We've tackled several projects ourselves over twenty years and being able to do our own plastering has been a godsend.

Today he was plastering a(nother!) ceiling and only dropped one teensy speck of plaster on the floor....... He might be a bit slower than a professional, but he more than makes up for it in the tidiness stakes and must have saved us a fortune over the years

The trade we've had most issues with over the years is plumbing. Not only are most plumbers that we've encountered - with the exception of our current guy who is lovely, if a trifle OCD - a miserable, moaning bunch, but they invariably manage to cause damage as a result of *unexpected* water leakage :mad:

My plumber is fab. I might adopt him - a third son would be nice.

Our electrician can be a bit serious but he's pleasant enough. He is very OCD but then again I suppose he has to be. According to our plumber when our leccy guy is not working he is a real party animal - so perhaps he is just a bit quiet because he has a hangover.

How great that your husband can do all the plastering - you will save a fortune. Both my sons are teaching themselves the basics.

DS1 is about to tackle a curved wall!!! Luckily it's an old building so a few minor imperfections will only lend to it's character and charm. Well that's what I tell him to give him confidence.;)

Like your husband my sons are very slow but as they are working for free (well all they can eat - which is a lot) I can't really complain.

Right I'm off to go back "on site" - plasterer due on Friday so need to get everything prepared. Was hoping to do some gardening but my knee has given way again so I daren't do any kneeling until I've seen my physio on Wednesday.

I'm getting too old for this game…….

I should be swanning around on a yacht in the Med - not up to my eyes in plaster dust. :rotfl:

phoebe1989seb

lessonlearned wrote: »

Philosophical yes, negative no. You have a point.

A lot of youngsters don't get the opportunity to do stuff to help them learn.

I allowed my boys to "help" with diy when they were around 6 or so. If they were strong enough to hold a paint roller I let them have a bash. I did of course have to redo their bit when they were in bed:rotfl: - after they had had a long soak in the bath - they got more paint on themselves than they did on the wall.

Same here Lesson - DS (now 24) had to *put up* with his childhood years living in all manner of building sites whilst DH and I tackled our latest project

From a similar age to your boys we always allowed him - under close supervision of course - to assist with the task at hand. A few weeks after he turned eight he moved with us into our biggest project, a Victorian house that had spent the last forty-odd years masquerading as four flats - friends thought us bonkers as we set about converting it back to a single dwelling whilst living on site with a small child, but DS had a whale of a time! We, however thought it would put him off old houses for life, lol!

Fast-forward to 2011 and at the tender age of 22 he took on his own first project and has tackled virtually every aspect himself, from plastering to plumbing to designing lighting solutions. Despite an expensive and very good education - paid for by his indulgent grandparents - achieving AAAB at A level and a degree in Philosophy, he recently set up a furniture restoration business whilst holding down an office job. In addition - thanks to skills learned helping us over the years - he now gets asked to do entire interiors projects by his friends for which he gets paid handsomely.

I hasten to add that apart from occasionally looking at YouTube guides he has never resorted to DIY guide books, although I don't deny their usefulness

Obviously not everyone is DIY minded - his hyper intelligent GF, despite being with him since the age of 16 and being roped in to help with various decorating tasks, is still unable to wield a paintbrush without getting more paint on herself than the subject of her attentions. OP, you are obviously likely talented in other areas so don't beat yourself up over it, just treat it as a (steep) learning curve and hopefully next time know better than to pay in full if not wholly satisfied

phoebe1989seb

Duplicate post........blasted iPad!

tiggerkid

Hi, I think I can understand why you didn't ask whether they would clean up. My personal experience has always been that they've always cleaned up and TBH it never really occurred to me either to ask or confirm that. Unfortunately it would seem that not everyone is willing to be professional, so I guess the lesson for all of us in the future is to get everything in black and white before we start the work! Really sorry that you were left with the mess.

lessonlearned

Now I know this is going wildly off topic - but bear with me JAS - you might find it interesting.

Something Phoebe said about her son and his expensive education triggered my memory.

By the way I agree with Phoebe - you probably have other talents that more than compensate for your current lack of diy skills.

Note the word "current"……

You are obviously intelligent so I see no barriers to you acquiring skills and knowledge - if you want to.

Anyway ……..

I can throughly recommend a book entitled "The Case For Working With Your Hands" by Matthew Crawford. Matthew's main career is as a well respected academic philosopher at a top US university who just so happens to have a nice little sideline business as a motorcycle mechanic.

The book examines the world of academia, the traditional graduate employment routes and the effect that global capitalism is having on graduate careers, as well as closely examining the role of the artisan in modern society.

I make the book sound rather dry and academic but it is written in lay persons terms so is very accessible.

Both of my sons are also well educated and both are naturally cerebal academics.

DS1 has a Phd in Maths and works as a research engineer in alternative fuels - yes it really is rocket science. :rotfl:

DS2 has a degree in film production and is a complete electronics geek. He also has a designer's eye (inherited from yours truly).

Although it was obvious from an early age that they would go to university and study esoteric academic subjects I wanted them to widen both their skill sets and their interests. I didn't want them to become "one trick ponies".

My approach to their education and my long suffering patience putting up with all the mess they created in their early diy attempts has paid off.

As well as the practical skills I've taught them, DS1 is also a very keen and competitive sports man (a real adrenaline junkie) and DS2 has a love of art and design.

Oddly enough, like Phoebe's son they are both amateur furniture makers too.;)

JAS - you are only 30. You've obviously been busy doing other things thus far, however it is never too late to learn new things and acquire new skills.

You have years ahead of you yet - so don't panic - just take it one task at a time.

JustAnotherSaver

Just to say -

The wife has tried contacting the guys who did the work (the boss) & i tried contacting them too. They don't return the contact.

Funny, since when she tried booking in, they got back to her same day & within the hour often. Now it's just not at all.

That's the mark of a good tradesman as far as i'm concerned. It's easy to take peoples money but what about when things go wrong - are you still there for them?
If yes then no doubt you'll get their custom for years to come.

If you simply cannot be bothered because you're a cowboy outfit, then there's certainly no 2nd job for you!

lessonlearned

Sorry to hear you are being given the cold shoulder but, tbh, it's more or less what I expected to hear.

As you say you won't be giving that company any repeat business nor will you be recommending them to anyone else.

Ultimately - their loss not yours.

I've had a working relationship with my plumber for over 10 years, with my chippie for about 20 years, with my all singing all dancing genius master builder/mentor for over 20 years ………

I get kisses and hugs from them now.;)

My electrician is the new man in my life - the previous one had to give up for health reasons. I've only known this one for about 6 months. My plumber recommended him. Not had any hugs or kisses yet - don't want to rush things:rotfl:

Once you find one good trades person who you know you can trust you will find that should you need other trades then your first guy (or gal) will have a circle of people that are known and trusted colleagues.

One thing that might help next time you need to engage someone - apart from "testing" them with small jobs first - is to find tradespeople who both work and live in your area.

Have you got to know any of your neighbours yet - they might be able to point you in the right direction and help you find the right people.

Before I get shot down in flames for being sexist - you might consider employing a female crew. Women are still comparatively rare in the construction industry but that is changing very quickly.

However, because women are still struggling a little to get a foothold you might find they work just that bit harder and are often prepared to go the extra mile.

Women trades are often also more willing to take on the smaller jobs that the boys consider to be too demeaning and "not worth the effort".

Just a thought.

JustAnotherSaver

lessonlearned wrote: »

you might consider employing a female crew.

Interesting you mention this.

The electrician we got in & are using is actually female. She's a friend of my cousins, which is how we were put on to her.

My cousin said "my mate is an electrician" when we were looking for one & i just thought oh ok, we'll give him a go. Then came "i can give you her number if you want".

I must admit i was a bit surprised. I didn't expect a female electrician. I know there will be them, just like there's female lorry drivers. You just don't expect it though, or at least i don't.

I wasn't put off by thinking - hmm, she may not know as much as a bloke, how some other narrow minded folk may have reacted. On the contrary. I was actually more interested - because i thought (rightly or wrongly) - i feel LESS likely to get fobbed off here. I also felt that she'd be more inclined to do a job by the book & be thorough, rather than take shortcuts which i'd suspect a bloke would be more likely to do.

All the judgement calls you make, rightly/wrongly.

She came out at short notice on Xmas Eve & was great. Very pleasant, chatty & explained things well.
We've used her since. My wife called her out & met her for the first time & was equally impressed. All small jobs & she didn't charge the earth (no pun intended in earth there mind ).
We'll be calling her out again soon to wire in some lighting which we're not wanting to mess with (electrics is one thing i refuse to even have a bash at. I did well with everything at school, except electrics).

So after my waffle there ... i'm most certainly not against having a female team. If anything, i'd prefer it. I think they're more approachable, clearer & honest.

lessonlearned

There are actually loads of female trades people out there although so far I have not yet seen any female roofing contractors but then again "roofies" are a breed apart anyway.

One of my happiest memories of working for big developers was on summer days watching and listening to the roofing crews. They would run around the scaffolding and scamper about on the roof tops like a troop of monkeys. When the job was going well they would sing their hearts out.

Along with a total absence of fear I think having a good singing voice must be one of the qualifications for being a "roofie". :rotfl:

I've yet to meet one who can't sing.

We've got the scaffolding up on Prop 1 and the roofing crew start next week. I shall be on site most days - I'm hoping they will be in good voice.

I won't be joining them on the scaffolding - I can't sing.

JustAnotherSaver

This is drifting so far away from the opening post now, but as you asked about the damp patch near the fire, i got a photo this weekend...



It's a strange one.

It wasn't there when we got the house. It wasn't there before the work men started.
Now i'm not sure whether it was there after the plasterers started but before the driveway man started, or after both of them had been working. I THINK it was after the plasterers had started but before the driveway man. I'd need to ask the boss to see if she can remember.

It was certainly after the chimney had had its flaunching re-cemented. A good bit after.

And of course it was after the living room radiators had been removed, which i was supposed to put back on this weekend, but i'm painting behind them first. Just got the mist coat on today.

I've stuck my head under the boards (but as my knees are goosed, i can't physically get under). It is wet underneath that patch. It looks quite dark. One of the joists running in the centre of the room a little away from that is also wet. I'm going totally by sight but it looks approx 4ft in length on the joist & the joist looks about a 6"x2" - 8"x2" (again - guessing) & i'd say the width is about 80% wet.

The water in the subfloor is nowhere near touching the joists. There's no inlet pipes. No plumbing pipes running around there.

So it's a mystery. The water has 'just appeared'. I know this isn't possible & that there'll be a reason, but it seems quite random.

Some days we wonder if it's drying out & then returning or whether it's our eyes/memory.

I should get the radiators back on to see if it makes a difference. Doubt it, but you never know.

That's all we need - joist replacement. I know folk will say that's OTT, but as clueless as i am, even i know that if it stays piddle-wet through for a long time, it's bad news.