I’ve got a man coming round….

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

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!

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!

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.....

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

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.

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 ??

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Where did that unwanted apostrophe come from?

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!

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 ….

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.

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.

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

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???

Have had some new cushionfloor installed recently, the fitter said he is reluctant to go far to do quotes as the price of petrol means if he travels very far but doesn’t get the job….

B9exchange

The handyman coming next weekend asked us to provide a price for what we thought the job was worth, that threw us! Looked up handyman rates, went for an hourly rate in the middle, and he was very happy with that!

B9exchange we have a lovely handyman who is very reliable, takes pride in his work and always does an excellent job. He’s been our ‘go to’ for so long that now we never even have a quote as we know he’s the one for the job.
After he did quite a big job for us I went to pay him and he said ‘Just pay me what you think is okay.’ ?‍♀️
After a bit of a discussion we settled on a price we were both happy with and I paid. When my husband found out the amount he said I’d robbed him blind.
Luckily the next week he was working next door and I was able to give him more money ..... which he was very loath to take.
Reading other people’s problems I feel we are very lucky.

Basically anyone who is any good is anbsolutely booked up for months on end catching up after the pandemic, it's horrendous! My Mum desperately needs a new kitchen as it turns out all the plumbing runs uphill behind the cupboards, we have found someone but they are expensive and it won't happen for months yet!

I am on the books for a builder to do some alterations to my house so that I can have some space to myself and a downstairs bathroom - his costs have also gone up from when I first spoke to him last year by £1k a square metre!

There are just not enough skilled tradesmen to do the work, East European migrants have also not returned which makes it worse.
Far too many children are going to university when they could earn at least as much being a plumber or electrician etc

Honeysuckleberries
Read this. It might help you to understand how Checkatrade works. TrustPilot operates in exactly the same way. They are businesses.

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5507384/checkatrade-is-it-reliable