So much for going down the plumbing route

[privateeye]

As a former carpenter I can say that a lot of my customers were unaware of the actual time/cost of doing a small job. You may say that the tradesman does not have far to travel but if they are doing small jobs then they are travelling several times daily - and you have to include that travelling time in the cost. Unlike those in IT the tradesman has to travel and pick up materials as they are needed and this cost all adds up.

The tradesman also has to own a second vehicle a van which I hope is taxed and insured. Also there is the cost of thousands of pounds worth of tools. These are normally nicked overnight from the van and this cost increases your cost.

Take into account that so many customers although they agreed the price at the outset try to re-negotiate it or refuse to pay it once the job is done.

People seem to think they have a moral right to get tradesman at knock down prices. More so the type of person who is classed as a professional who generally think tradesman are beneath them and shouldn't earn so much. I learnt my trade after 4 years in Technical College - just as good an education as any degree at university that most IT people have. Its not just about hammerring nails there is a lot more to educating a tradesman than you think.

Tradesmen are in my opinion key workers - if you want them in your area to do work then you have to pay them the rate to enable them to live there.

[AlfredJPruffock]

Are you joking or what? This insurance is like magic bullet - when I had some stuff stolen from me the police seems to have assumed I just wanted police reference to claim it on insurance, ffs the job of police is to catch criminals not to take easy route of penpushers!

In this case high rip off charges by those merchants result in high insurance premiums - so YOU who pay anyway, especially with car insurance.

ATw , think of the Police as highly organised criminals in uniforms and you are closer to the mark.

I dont have a car so I dont give a hoot about car insurance, I have my own chaffeurs here on Bus Route 270 and 271 which takes me from my hovel in Bruss to the entrance of my workplace.

High claims for insurance purpose is a way of life in the UK.

[AtW]

As a former carpenter I can say that a lot of my customers were unaware of the actual time/cost of doing a small job.

Dude, lets not forget about context - rectangular 3 sq meter utility room that needs new carpet over it - its not Persian carpet, just cheap piece of stuff you'd want washing machine to be on. £200 for this is a rip off - cost of carpet there can't be more than £10 per sq meter, in fact last time I checked prices a fiver per sq m is more than enough, so its £15 materials, £5 fuel, and £180 time to make it.

FFS, just stop and think for a second - I paid £230 quid for a dual-core processor with feck knows how many millions of transistors packed perfectly, with billions of dollars of R&D and fabs cost billions of dollars too - peopel who design them ain't cheap either, and yet this cost compares to freaking change of carpet in utility room, WTF?

[privateeye]

In this case high rip off charges by those merchants result in high insurance premiums - so YOU who pay anyway, especially with car insurance.

Tradesmen will quote much higher for insurance work - it can take much longer to get paid by an insurance company - and also there is the greater risk that you are wasting your time putting in a quote as you are only there cos the insurance company specified a minimum number of estimates.

Blame the insurance companies for taking so long to pay and wasting peoples time.

[The Master]

AtW, you're not living in the real world. This is a job your mate could easily do himself. He wants a Mr Fixit to come and do it for him. He even, from the sound of it wants the guy to go and buy the carpet for him. That Mr Fixit has to earn a living same as everyone else. You want him to be local. You tell us you live in a swanky part of Brum so I guess that isn't cheap.

Now what does Mr Fixit do? The likelihood is that he won't be able to get another job to conveniently fill out the rest of the day. Does he charge you £15 for the carpet plus £10 for the labour and a fiver's miscellaneous expenses and go home with £30 in his pocket? Don't be daft, he can't live off that. It's a piss pot job so he has to charge a full day's sensible rate as he would otherwise be doing something else.

It's a free market, the choice is your mates. If it's too much he should do it himself, put up with a fcuked carpet or claim on his insurance.

[hyperD]

Dude, lets not forget about context - rectangular 3 sq meter utility room that needs new carpet over it - its not Persian carpet, just cheap piece of stuff you'd want washing machine to be on. £200 for this is a rip off - cost of carpet there can't be more than £10 per sq meter, in fact last time I checked prices a fiver per sq m is more than enough, so its £15 materials, £5 fuel, and £180 time to make it.

FFS, just stop and think for a second - I paid £230 quid for a dual-core processor with feck knows how many millions of transistors packed perfectly, with billions of dollars of R&D and fabs cost billions of dollars too - peopel who design them ain't cheap either, and yet this cost compares to freaking change of carpet in utility room, WTF?

Don't forget the case of one of the loony councils that employed a Dormouse Officer or something to take care of stray rodents around the council buildings, paying around £30k for less working days than a tube driver.

If you don't like it, search around for a more competitive quote. If they have formed a cartel (aka guild) then you're fucked.

[AtW]

Look, its not my problem - its my mate who will have to pay, I was merely commenting on the quoted cost - no doubt that at least some people have to pay quoted price, and I was commenting on outrageous disparity in this low-tech primitive job with low cost materials in comparison with other things that not even Chico's God can make work well (ie Pentium 4).

Does he charge you £15 for the carpet plus £10 for the labour and a fiver's miscellaneous expenses and go home with £30 in his pocket?

The job won't take more than 2 hours - this means 3 jobs a day easy, so 30 quid net profit from each is 90 quid per day, or in other words 1800 quid per month - good enough salary for low tech stuff like this that was done for hundreds of years!

[DodgyAgent]

Look, its not my problem - its my mate who will have to pay, I was merely commenting on the quoted cost - no doubt that at least some people have to pay quoted price, and I was commenting on outrageous disparity in this low-tech primitive job with low cost materials in comparison with other things that not even Chico's God can make work well (ie Pentium 4).



The job won't take more than 2 hours - this means 3 jobs a day easy, so 30 quid net profit from each is 90 quid per day, or in other words 1800 quid per month - good enough salary for low tech stuff like this that was done for hundreds of years!

Quite who you are to judge how much other people should earn is beyond me. Why should a "low tech job" be paid less than (I presume) a "high tech job? Are you saying one works harder than the other? Are you saying that those with technical capabilities have some sort of right to earn more?
Arrogance? You have elevated the word to another plain

[The Master]

The job won't take more than 2 hours - this means 3 jobs a day easy, so 30 quid net profit from each is 90 quid per day, or in other words 1800 quid per month - good enough salary for low tech stuff like this that was done for hundreds of years!

Sorry, AtW, you're living in a fantasy world. Best you stop moaning and tell your mate to do it himself.

[expat]

The job won't take more than 2 hours - this means 3 jobs a day easy

... so at 200 a shot that's 600/day less expenses. Hmm. Why aren't IT contractors piling into this for easy money? Could it be because your calculation sucks dead wombats?