Getting hold of workmen

I am a member of Nextdoor and that is how I get any work done. Admittedly I had to stand behind the electrician because his idea of re-fitting a skirting board and mine was rather different. He also had never been introduced to a dustpan and brush until he worked here. He even bought his own by the time he had finished here.

I got a good tip years ago from someone who got a lot of renovations done by various work people done on a really tight time frame:

Theyre ALL unreliable, so just pick one and KEEP CHASING.

I mean aeriels..

ps @ J52 My husband is like that . He used to work for Sky - putting up roof ariels.

Very shortsighted Pantglas.
But who would know how things would change?

This is one of the reasons we’ve always strived to do our own repairs/ improvements. Except anything to do with gas.
In the early days it was often linked to financial constraints.
Now it’s because you can’t get the tradesmen. We waited nearl 2 years to get our chimney rebuilt.
I dread the day when we can’t tackle something, if we want to.
DH has just been up on DSs gable roof replacing the rotten barge boards that he hand made.
Life in the old dog yet!

As I recall, the plan was that 50% of school leavers should go to university......

I had the same on a trusted type website.
You put in a detailed description and the traders contact you to offer their services.

8 offered, 4 didn't turn up to do an estimate, 2 disappeared after doing the estimate.

Luckily, 1 of the 2 that were left was reliable.

Getting one estimate would be good in my experience!!

We are the same. We wanted our front garden redesigned this year. It took months to finally get someone to do it. The advise is get at least 3 estimates. What a joke that is!

"Most workmen have more work than they need and a good reliable one is like gold dust."
I agree 100% watermeadow.
So why don't more young people do apprenticeships in these trades? Our oldest GD trained/apprenticed as an industrial electrician and we're so proud of her.
At 22 she has a steady job, a good income and has bought her first house.
We've just had a job done today - moving a radiator - by a young family man. It's very physical work and most young people seem to be scared off by that.

Same here watermeadow; annoying isn't it? I've been waiting since July for someone to come and tile my kitchen. 3 different people have given 3 estimates (all accepted), 3 start dates (all accepted) and 3 plans of action (all accepted). Not a single one has actually turned up. I don't know what the answer is.