Anyone having trouble getting quotes or trades people in

kenneth77

Recently bought a house which needs the odd bit of work doing on it, roofing, driveway and other things doing on it. We're in Shropshire. The issue we're having is getting trades people to either come out to quote or when they do come around  then actually send the quote to us. For everyone that's come round and bear in mind there's a mix of big and small jobs and we're ready to get them done we are constantly emailing when will the quote arrive or when can you let us know when you can come? Ones that have said quote will be with  with you tomorrow and then never arrives and one who quoted arranged to do the work and then never turned up?! Are we having bad luck or are they all just incredible busy at the moment?
It's frustrating 

TELLIT01

Working with 'trades' is more often than not a nightmare experience.  The good ones are busy so quoting for new work often isn't high on their proirity list.  Most would much rather be working on a job than working on the paper side of things.

We are having work done at the moment and the electrician was supposed to do some installation work 2 weeks ago.  Our main contractor has been chasing them and getting constant promises that they would be here the following day.  They finally arrived yesterday.

cattie

I've been having trouble getting people to come look at a tiling job I want doing in my kitchen. Only had one guy turn up so far & he spoke the job up, mentioning a multitude of issues he might encounter once he started work & gave a time estimate of the work taking 2 weeks, whereas to my mind it should be done & dusted in 1 week & his estimate was close to 3 times what I expected.

A couple of people I contacted have responded that they are very busy & not available for a few months. I can only assume that the good people have plenty of work to keep them going at the moment & no time to even come & view the job.

Penguin_

Down West Wales, I am finding most tradesmen are booked up for the next 5-6 months.

EssexExile

It's always been like that Kenneth. Once you find a good reliable tradesman never, ever lose their phone number!

twopenny

Yep, going through it now. Everyone has been home looking at what they'd like with the travel money they haven't spent.
Plumbers 6mts. Picky odd lob men etc. Can't blame them when work is so in abundance.
But soo frustrating.
I've been waiting 2yrs for a bathroom. Then the guy didn't want to do it. Now quoted October.
Some have said they're not happy to be booked so far ahead but need to do it. 
It's the no replies after a visit that gets annoying.

TELLIT01

My brother-in-law and most of his family are in the building trade in one way or another.  They never need to advertise as they are well known for the quality of their work.  They are booked up months in advance but would try to fit in small jobs for repeat customers.

A friend of a friend of theirs wanted some work doing, chased them up for the quote on the day after their visit to check out the work, and then expected to have the work done the same week.  He was p'd off when they said it would be several months before they could do the work - quite a major job.

donemedosh

I am in shropshire too. The problem is some trade people do not want the little odd jobs as they make more money doing the larger projects & as people are not spending on going out or on hols they want house / garden doing so there is a lot of work around then they try to spread that work around so they have jobs lined up for the futre. Plus shropshire is a rural area & there is not the quantity of trades like the cities have. Just keep trying & look for sole traders who are one/two man band & as essex said find a good one keep the number.

ComicGeek

While not a tradesman, I do work in the construction industry. We're so busy that I can only follow up about half of the enquiries. I have to cherry pick the ones we follow up on, so won't pick anyone who seems pushy, who needs something really quickly, or jobs that might not be profitable.

But as others have said above, the good ones are ALWAYS busy - we finished our extension today, and we booked our builder 8 months beforehand. Be wary of anyone who isn't busy...

Emmia

We're looking to replace several sash windows in our flat.  I've got 1 quote following a visit, which is fine - but I'd like a comparison!

1 person has photos/description but I've got to pay him 30% of the cost before he'll turn up for a visit.  

I've contacted 3 other companies to no response.