Reply to: Tools Recommendation

[jamesbrown]

Talking of temper ...

When I was quite young (pre-teen), the decorator would come around to "do the distemper" and I couldn't understand why we'd get someone in to spread disease. It wasn't as if we even had a dog.

Every time he came around, my gran would talk about the distemper and I'd be perplexed, but since asking even a simple question was 'cheek', frowned upon and likely to lead to physical punishment, I said nothing.

It was only rather later that I learned that distemper is both a traditional breathable interior paint as well as a canine viral infection. It's curious to use the same word for both, and I found it most confusing. We never had a dog in the house, but I don't think the paint was a repellent.

In a way, distemper paint is kind of like a disease. At least, if you want to skim or get anything to adhere to it

[Protagoras]

Bless, just can't seem to control your temper, can you?

Talking of temper ...

When I was quite young (pre-teen), the decorator would come around to "do the distemper" and I couldn't understand why we'd get someone in to spread disease. It wasn't as if we even had a dog.

Every time he came around, my gran would talk about the distemper and I'd be perplexed, but since asking even a simple question was 'cheek', frowned upon and likely to lead to physical punishment, I said nothing.

It was only rather later that I learned that distemper is both a traditional breathable interior paint as well as a canine viral infection. It's curious to use the same word for both, and I found it most confusing. We never had a dog in the house, but I don't think the paint was a repellent.

[courtg9000]

TBH, I'd take someone crap at the moment. Contacted a guy, who said he was working nearby last week, and would pop round to have a look. Did he turn up, did he feck. I suppose I could chase him up but seriously...

A longer term strategy I have used more than once in more than one location in which I have lived and I appreciate that you might not feel able to copy the strategy for various reasons.

1) find the local pub where the trades drink,
2) go in there regularly
3) get your face known
4) get to know the trades
5) after a good while once you are trusted, have a "quiet word about a little problem you are having with the house".

Replace the pub with the golf club and you can repeat the same strategy for white collar professionals such as accountants and solicitors.

If its iffy cops and magistrates you are after then replace the golf club with the masonic lodge!

[woody1]

TBH, I'd take someone crap at the moment. Contacted a guy, who said he was working nearby last week, and would pop round to have a look. Did he turn up, did he feck. I suppose I could chase him up but seriously...

[jamesbrown]

aye, right.
and you, of course know everything about everything.
pompous twat.

Bless, just can't seem to control your temper, can you?

[sadkingbilly]

It's possible you've been lucky. It's also possible that you don't know what a quality job looks like. Most people don't, which is why your average tradie gets away with it. The more you educate yourself through DIY, the more you realise how rarely the basic building regs are followed, including with stuff that is potentially life or death like plumbing and electrics. I've seen it too often for tradies with exceptional reviews. To take a trivial example, if a plumber is charging you less than £150 to fit an outside tap, they are almost certainly not sleeving it through the wall, fitting a double check valve as required for fluid cat 3 and using a quality iso before the double check valve (and many who charge the proper amount are also not doing that). Unless you DIY, you have no reason to understand the building regs and what a proper job looks like.

aye, right.
and you, of course know everything about everything.
pompous twat.

[jamesbrown]

That sounds like fighting talk

That probably was a bit snarky, but skb can take it . There are some quality tradies out there, but there many more that aren't and becoming good at DIY opens your eyes to how many aren't - especially for the trades that are more technical and less visual. There were always crap tradies, but trades have gone the same way as stuff in general... ensmegification.

[ladymuck]

It's possible you've been lucky. It's also possible that you don't know what a quality job looks like.

That sounds like fighting talk

[jamesbrown]

Wow. i must be in the only town on the planet with good, fairly priced builders.
I have a plumber, a sparks, a chippie, roofer and general handyman/gardener all available to deliver quality jobs at a fair price.
oh, and a painter, and cleaners.
DIY?? bugger that.
I DO repair/maintain motorcycles and old cars and computers, but that's a hobby.

It's possible you've been lucky. It's also possible that you don't know what a quality job looks like. Most people don't, which is why your average tradie gets away with it. The more you educate yourself through DIY, the more you realise how rarely the basic building regs are followed, including with stuff that is potentially life or death like plumbing and electrics. I've seen it too often for tradies with exceptional reviews. To take a trivial example, if a plumber is charging you less than £150 to fit an outside tap, they are almost certainly not sleeving it through the wall, fitting a double check valve as required for fluid cat 3 and using a quality iso before the double check valve (and many who charge the proper amount are also not doing that). Unless you DIY, you have no reason to understand the building regs and what a proper job looks like.

[ladymuck]

Funnily enough my brother might! He's planning on doing a full engine rebuild soon.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Some of us DIY to prove we're not quite dead yet. .

Car maintenance: totally given up on that. Anyone need an engine hoist? One careful owner, never raced nor rallied. .

The last thing it lifted was a Ford Essex 3L V6 and manual gearbox, about 10 years ago.

I wonder how my mate got it back out of the van: I never did ask. Probly walked it down a couple of planks.

I remember walking a much much heavier Rover P4 110 engine up a couple of planks on the the back of a flat bed truck. Now that was heavy.

[sadkingbilly]

Wow. i must be in the only town on the planet with good, fairly priced builders.
I have a plumber, a sparks, a chippie, roofer and general handyman/gardener all available <with notice of course> to deliver quality jobs at a fair price.
oh, and a painter, and cleaners.
DIY?? bugger that.
I DO repair/maintain motorcycles and old cars and computers, but that's a hobby.

[Paracelsus]

DIY is great*, if you have the space for the (ever expanding) tool selection.

I had basically zero DIY knowledge when I bought my house last year, but have since gone as far as fitting new radiators, soldering new pipework in, adding electric sockets, shaving doors down, putting a garage ceiling up and fitting LED lighting etc. The main benefit is not the cost saving, rather I've done a better job than the original builders/tradies on most of this stuff. All taught from Youtube with Claude to help with e.g. what size plug to use here, what thickness wood for that, and the benefit of not rushing to clock off ASAP like tradies would.

A good combi drill, decent quality bit set and mixed box of Fischer DuoPower wall plugs and some decent woodscrews e.g. Spax will sort almost all your mounting needs.
Spanner set, mole grips, pliers, a level, speed square, adjustable wrench for general use.
Caulk gun for applying caulk/sealant.

Then buy as you need for whatever type of job you want to do, woodwork, plumbing, electrics etc.

Halfords Advanced 200pc socket set, when on offer, is the GOAT for car work but a few bits carry over to DIY like small sockets and spanners.

*except fitting carpets. I do it, but it is a PITA and takes me 10x as long as a good carpet fitter. Carpet fitters are possibly the most underpaid people going.

[jamesbrown]

Been trying for the past few weeks to find someone to paint a few 1st floor windows. Talking to a local guy in the building trade, he reckoned most aren't interested in smaller domestic jobs. I did manage to find a couple who said they'd come out and take a look but neither showed up.

It's looking like I'll have no choice but to DIY, even though I hate going up ladders.

--------------

BTW, I wonder if a lot of Polish builders going home has created a shortage of trades people in some areas?

See the first rule of painting up ladders: 1) don't paint up ladders.

Get a tower.

[woody1]

Probably better off trying a handman for that, might be easier to find.

I've been trying them, as well as painter decorators, but no joy.

My wife contacted a few who seemed interested, until they found out she was married.