I’ve got a man coming round….

The decorator was on time. He had a quick look around and poopooed my choice of paint. He hinted at how busy and booked up he was and left promising to text a quote.
We might be done by Christmas...who knows???

How did it go Honeysuckle? Or is that young man still there??

Oopsadaisy1

We need a new bathroom, ‘total gut job’ which apparently is what is needed.
Have had many people come out to look and quote, none of them have bothered to come back with a price.
They are all on building sites building new homes.
However, we have a chap coming out next week to have a look and give us a quote to do the job, let’s see what happens,

That is what we are having done over the next couple of weeks or so.

We accepted the quote - which took us ages to get- last September and have been on the list since then.

The plumber was saying that he will no longer be able to book so far ahead as materials are going rapidly up - in some cases as much as 100%- and so his quotes are no longer reflecting the eventual cost etc.

Mind you I suspect that some of his work will dry up as people won’t be able to absorb all the extra cost alongside the massive rise in energy and food.

I think anyone on here with a teenage grandson could do a lot worse than suggesting he maybe try to get an apprenticeship with a good, reputable building firm.
Obviously a lot of youngsters want a career which requires a degree, but anyone who is perhaps wavering, career wise, should think about the building trade.
As well as tradesmen being booked up weeks ahead, they are also struggling to find enthusiastic apprentices to train.

I do wonder where the next generation of builders will come from.

Hurray , the roofer phoned at 7.30 this morning today he was on his way !! Job done 3 tiles replaced , now to find someone to decorate 2 bedrooms ….

Another joiner/handyman has promised to come and look at our summerhouse today. We'll, its nearly four o'clock and he hasn't been yet.
Watch this space!

Where did that unwanted apostrophe come from?

We have a neighbour who is a builder, he's done some very good work for us.

He says he has enough work lined up for at least two years and doesn't know anyone with shorter waiting lists to recommend to people who contact him for a quote.

We're building our new home and prior to covid it wasn't too bad to get workmen. Now, with a massive boom in new housing and improvements, all trades are really busy. All the ones we have found this year to complete our building have come through recommendations and we've waited for them to fit us in. The electrician and carpenters have even come on Saturdays whenever they can and the plumber is ringing me soon and he will spread the work out over a few evenings.

There are opportunities for youngsters to train.

Here in mid Cornwall our local college offers a range of subjects through a variety of qualifications including: Diplomas, NVQs, Apprenticeships and Degree courses. It has a fantastic construction and engineering skills centre.

I have a husband and wife team coming tomorrow to pressure wash my patio and drive. They came last year and were very efficient, so that's one job we no longer have to do ourselves. They even provide the sand for brushing in when everything is dry.

I always use the County Council trusted trader website, so have no problems getting quotes.

Been waiting 2.5 months for the roofer to come out and carry out repairs to our roof. Every time it rains, I get stressed and worried about the damage the rain will cause.

Made an insurance claim for the roof, and our insurer, Nationwide Building Society settled the claim quickly before the works are carried out.

Finally got a date for the installation of a new composite front door. The door manufacturer was waiting for some time for parts of the door from the supplier.

In the past, I have waited 4 months to a year for small works to be done to the house. Our house needs modernising , so have to just grin and bear it.

Well, the latest shed repair man came! He looked at the summerhouse but recommend demolishing it. He said it could be repaired, but to replace it would probably cost about the same or perhaps a little more.
He gave us a date to come back and demolish it.

I'm now on a mission to find a small summerhouse to fit the space.

One of my sons is a carpenter. He really likes work with keen attention to detail. Sometimes he is booked up far in Advance, sometimes less so. He builds a lot of garden rooms. Finished one this week and the new owner had the money in the bank before my son had even got home to make out the invoice. Think he was happy with his new room. Another chap placed an order for two. One for self and one for daughter. I will need to save up for a while before I get mine!

A man came out last night and replaced our kitchen taps, we now have hot water!! And the cold tap turns off!! And the whole thing doesn’t leak water from all of the joints!!

How chuffed am I ??

I have a resident plumber and electrician who can turn their hand to most jobs around the home. They've taken over all the jobs I can no longer do myself. I do still do whatever I can when pain allows.

Result! We agreed to the decorating quote and are booked in for late June.....even though he said there'd be a long wait??‍♀️

Pressure wash man has been and gone, did an excellent job. He's coming back next week to paint the fence.
We used to do these jobs ourselves, oh well, ages and stages.....

It’s good to hear of people’s successes. I finally found someone to refurbish the wooden floors. Still trying to find a decorator. I don’t mind waiting if only someone will bother to quote!

oh gosh, I feel so much better reading this thread, I thought it was just me!! I can quite appreciate difficulties with quoting and getting supplies, but what really peeves me off, is no communication!

Do remember not to pay upfront. Pay when job is finished to your satisfaction.

Well when we're all drained of money paying for food and fuel and can't offer work, they'll be only too eager then!

Just be careful friend of mine as just being ripped off by someone who used someone else account. She got ripped off £1.500 she got his photo off cctv and being to police and he’s known by them for doing it with a few companies and they told her lots of ppl are falling for the same scam

A neighbour was waiting ages on a guy to do a job. Finally he got word of a date so he booked time off work so he would be around only for the guy to phone that he got a bigger job, that paid more money and nearer to home so he wouldn't be coming. Just told him straight, no lies.
A builder friend of mine has gone to work at a new build site as it steady and pays more. He fits wee jobs in an odd day, but mainly for people he knows. His son worked with him for a couple of months, complained the work was too hard and applied for a desk job instead. No wonder tradesmen so hard to find.

It's a consequence of Brexit: all the Poles and other EU tradesmen went home as they felt unwelcome here. Blame Johnson. I have found it impossible to get a joiner, carpenter or floor layer - just one came to view the job and simply never sent in an estimate despite two reminders. We laid an oak floor ourselves as otherwise it would never have happened.

I finally found someone to help in the garden after asking on our local 'Sell and Seek'. He came very quickly and quoted £15 an hour - I nearly knocked his hand off.
He seemed polite, young but very shy.
He did a splendid job clearing my weed infested flower beds, edging the lawn and strimming round the trees, got rid of the brambles coming over from next door.
He had no knowledge of plants however and I had to show him which were weeds and which were flowers. He had no suggestions or ideas about what to do next, no helpful hints or tips.
Then (and don 't judge me on this please) I found out the two people who recommended him were his Mum and his Auntie, and turns out he not qfuite the 'full shilling' and they were desperate to find him something to do. That sounds an awful thing to say, when I don't know what his problem is, I just wish I'd known before I employed him.
I'm very sympathetic about his need to work and earn and keep busy, and I applaud this, I would be doing the same thing if he were my son, and I really like the lad.
But he's not quite what I was looking for.
And I can't tell him to stop coming.
I feel I stand over him and order him about and its uncomfortable. So do check up.