AIBU

If you need an improvement or replacement I find it is best to ask in the Autumn and Winter. They do not seem to be booked up then. You cannot blame them for choosing to do a big job rather than a small job when their livelihood depends on what they earn if they are self-employed, so better to deal with big firms I think than little ones.

If you look in the paper there are sometimes adverts that say 'No job is too small' so it might be worth contacting them.

I found a good gardener and a plumber through rated.people.com
It's free, you describe work that needs doing, then three contact you online to offer their services. They all turned up to give a quote.

My local plumber is good . I know where he lives !!!!

My local plumber is good too - in an emergency. We've a great joiner, will do little jobs within a month but it takes him 2 years to replace a window. Don't mention electricians, the house could burn down before we could get anyone to do a simple job. DD in Surrey gets great work done by E Europeans.

I agree, it's al nightmare getting anyone to do work.
Having said that I've just had a lucky break and got someone to make some cupboards for me in an awkward spot, brilliant job too!
We had a small building job a couple of years ago, but non of them would give us a written quote,it was a nightmare finding someone.
And we have in the past struggled to get an electrician,or gardener and luckily so far haven't tried to get a plumber.
You're not alone!

If your area has a local Facebook page, ask for recommendations on there. That's how I found the lovely decorator who's now done most rooms in my house, and the plumber who replaced my bathroom. In each case, I looked at the people recommended, contacted the two who had the most recommendations, and asked for quotes. Because they're local, usually small traders and coming via a named person, this seems to work well (& I've gone on to recommend both of them to others, thus helping them...)

I am looking for someone to replace garage window and door. Joiner. Joiners do not seem to do work from scratch anymore they order the frames etc. from a Manufacturer. How can they call themselves Joiners?

As annifrance says France is just the same. No-one seems to want to work, especially at the moment with all the bank holidays coming up. Monday 1st May is the Fête des Travailleurs, sacrosanct!
We've found that one way to get workers to come is to pay them ASAP. If you get a reputation as a good payer it's not so hard to find someone. So many small businesses are going bankrupt because of bad payers.

Fortunately for me my husband (and was the ex) the 2nd son are all joiners. My Husband is very disabled now so cant do what he did. Recommendation from a neighbour and her son in law who is a gardener/handyman now does for us. Our eldest son best friend is a plumber so we are well covered.

I know what you mean though. When we had a business we used to advertise and specialise in no job to small.

No one else would do these jobs so we were always busy with them. They were our bread & butter and we would put aside days a week to do these jobs. Could fit in quite a few in a day and it was a good days money. Rarely had to advertise because word of mouth worked

I've always tried local businesses, but once the work is done and paid for they are not interested if you find some small thing that needs finishing off properly. How can they expect you to recommend them? Seems they don't think that far and choose to complain about others taking their work. Also on recommendation from a neighbour used a tradesman who was setting up and having reviews posted on a well known "you can trust traders from our list" organisation. I gave him a glowing review only to find, less than 8 months later, when something he had done was faulty he never returned my calls.

Whichever method you use it seems all are short-sighted about future work, and pride in work is a thing of the past.

We live in a village, and although DH does nearly all maintenance work himself, we find recommendations on the village Facebook page are good; also adverts in the Church magazine.

agree that Rated People are a good bet - the setup means they contact you if your job and budget interests them, so you're not doing the chasing. I've had excellent results using them.

We always use a long established plumbing firm, have used them for years, never a problem. We have used Age UK's list of tradespeople twice when we needed an electrician. This is compiled with the Council's Trading Standards and the website lists the qualifications, what jobs the tradesman will undertake and approx charge. The first electrician we had asked me what his charge was on the website (and charged that). I rang him again for another job, left a message, he eventually rang back because he had been on holiday but in the meantime I had found another electrician from the website - so two good experiences.

I find that tradesmen don't want to do small jobs, they prefer big jobs like new kitchens/bathrooms, not repairs. Also, good tradesmen are booked up over a year away. It's a nightmare getting jobs done. Luckily I have a good gas man.

Sounds like there are many marvelous opportunities for our young women and men to learn a trade and earn a decent living just by being reliable.

A lot of so-called 'builders' are not builders at all. Our daughter and son-in law wanted an extension to their house loft and kitchen. One man said it would cost £120,000 another said £90,000 they paid a surveyor £100 fee to advise them who told them it should not cost more than £50,000. In the end one chap did the job, (an excellent job) for £38,000. The others we're bandits.

I recently found a good plumber to do a small job by asking on Nextdoor. I specified a 'small job' and a 'reliable plumber' and had three replies - all naming the same local chap. He came, did the job and that was that.

Might be worth a try as word of mouth is always best.

We do have our own tame builder, who is excellent, but (probably because he's in such demand) we have to wait ages for him. He's due to alter our living room fireplace 'as close to August as he can make it' so it will take a wood burning stove.

About 18 years ago I decided to get a small patio laid. I rang and asked for quotes - I knew what it should cost, roughly £300, and I still remember the smirk on the face of the man who quoted me £600.
In the event, word of mouth got me a young lad who did it for £180, with I later discovered, equipment temporarily borrowed from his workplace (!)
The patio has been trouble free. I hope my handyman made a career for himself in business where he didn't have to borrow.

I've had the frustration of having to pay for a new floor to ceiling double glazed window because I couldn't get someone out to repair the window latch.

When I wanted my kitchen sink, worktops and doors replaced I went with a company that specifically advertised this service. No problems at all.

I got my plumber by word of mouth and although I'm told he's not the cheapest, he has been wonderful.

One company I would never go with again for boiler maintenance is British Gas. I paid a large sum of money for emergency callout cover and for a regular annual service. My annual service was cancelled five times, at vast inconvenience to me and my complaints fell on deaf ears.
In the end I had a new boiler fitted which came with 2 years maintenance.
British Gas were MOST surprised that I cancelled the maintenance agreement. Appalling customer service from what is supposed to be a market leader.

When I discovered that they were behind my energy company I was horrified, but can't escape the contract without penalty. I'm just waiting to see what they do...