House bashing

[Colour Republic]

I started sub-contracting to a tiling firm this week house bashing. I was a bit apprehensive as I have been strictly domestic for the last few years since I left teaching at the college. I am amazed at how it fits likean old slipper. Monday I was finding my feet and tiled and grouted 12m2 floor. Tuesday i did my CSCS test and sent for my card. Wednesday I smashed a 14m2 floor and a 9m2 bathroom. Today I grouted the floor and tiled the 12m2 en-suite. Tomorrow I will grout the bathroom and the en-suite and that will be the Friday job and knock. I have had a good week and I can come home at night and not have to worry about work and *** hole punters.

That's the part which you can't put a price on!! Sometimes you do wonder if that extra bit of cash is worth the hassle

 

[steve187]

that is on the cards m8 :smilewinkgrin:

Was that a bit step to take

 

[TJ Smiler]

That's the part which you can't put a price on!! Sometimes you do wonder if that extra bit of cash is worth the hassle

Spot on mate...... Not once this week have i got home before half eight, then spend ages typing up quotes and sending them out, do sometimes think subbing again would be a welcome break.

Thing is though (when your busy) it is very easy to forget how stressful it is to not have any work. Am earning good money at the mo, but bloody hell i am crashing the hours out for it!

 

[TJ Smiler]

the rate i am on is not bad and the chap i am working for has said if i get a job come in that is tooooo good to pass up i can just have the time off to go and do it then just come back so its all good

That's a touch mate, nice one

 

[Gazzer]

The other thing to think of with house bashing is that for many of the older tilers it was how it was when we started. In the 70s and 80s large housing estates wher going up everywhere and we were running from house to house with a bucket holding a spreader, scriber, nippers, cutting board and a level.
I am just breaking even on this site when I tile the kitchens although I guess that depend what you class as your usual days rate. On the bathrooms, the 1st one was rather slow as I needed to use the same setting out points as the other fixers. The second was a lot quicker and the third which I start today I should be flying.
That said although it works out decent money I will be off this site by monday 12pm at the latest as I have my own work ....private site this time and a much better rate....local too.
Too be honest I miss it in one way but I dont like to feel pressured these days to "have" to complete a set amount.

 

[Andy Allen]

is this the site in Gloucester Dean..? if so which one is it ...Kingsway..?

I learnt how to tile on sites......even worked my way up to getting and running my own sites for wimpy homes, spent 15 years doing it, only thing I found was after a while it became bloody boring, doing the same houses day after day, you could tell the time just by where abouts you were when tiling the kitchen.....and the highlight of the day was when you were ten mins ahead of yourself and beat your record for tiling that kitchen...lol

must admit though it was a lot less stressfull ......turn up, tile...go home and chill..

 

[Andy Allen]

The other thing to think of with house bashing is that for many of the older tilers it was how it was when we started. In the 70s and 80s large housing estates wher going up everywhere and we were running from house to house with a bucket holding a spreader, scriber, nippers, cutting board and a level.
I am just breaking even on this site when I tile the kitchens although I guess that depend what you class as your usual days rate. On the bathrooms, the 1st one was rather slow as I needed to use the same setting out points as the other fixers. The second was a lot quicker and the third which I start today I should be flying.
That said although it works out decent money I will be off this site by monday 12pm at the latest as I have my own work ....private site this time and a much better rate....local too.
Too be honest I miss it in one way but I dont like to feel pressured these days to "have" to complete a set amount.

oh yes, I remember those days.....whats it like on the sites now..? is the power on..? or do you have a generator ...? had nowt in them days....nipped or rod sawed everything, mixed up with a stick, braking the ice on the outside water butt to grout, finishing at 3pm in the winter cause theres no lights.....and don't even mention the porto-loos...took your life in your hands going in there..lol

 

[Dougs Third Go]

I used to enjoy house bashing and I always got a decent rate equivalent to £25-£30m2 in todays terms. What used to make it for me was if there was a decent team of joiners, sparkies and plumbers that knew their job. Not really done any site work for quite a while now as there's very few new houses being built round our way.

 

[The D]

No tiling on the walls in the kitchens

 

[The D]

9 m bathroom !
how big is that .?

1.2 to the girth of the room

 

[bugs183]

As i said to Dean and Sir Amic i binned private mid last year because i was sick of the hassle from customers and all the running around pricing and then up all night pricing.
Yep the rates are lower, but looking back over my invoices i've still done better this year.
Like the older chaps here say i was on sites as a kid in the 80's and they we are right mess, i've enjoyed the frozen water bosh too , rubbish, burning plastic, mud and working with cavemen!
But these days health and safety has worked both ways, the sites now are much much cleaner, have proper loos and are just easier to work on. The lads chip in and even though you still have problems i'm really enjoying it.
I try and avoid private as much as possible now, only do little jobs for mates.

 

[TJ Smiler]

Was a scaffolder for years before a started tiling and done quiet a lot of sight work then, i bloody hated it.

Never done site work as a tiler but i have done a fair bit of subbing and the one thing i loved was the consistency of payment every Friday, didn't get quiet the same rate as my private work but over the course of the year the loss was not too much at all and the stress level was certainly much much lower so it kind of all evens itself out in the end.

 

[Peter]

House bashing is great. Bang 30m down in a day and brush your rubbish into a corner at the end of the day.

Don't do much of it these days but still love giving other tilers a pull out now and again and being part of a squad, just like when I started.

 

[Houston]

I'm going back sub-contracting in May, but the travelling is probably the only down side of it for me.
The company I worked for 10 years ago are still going and payments are every fortnight without fail

 

[aphilp]

We start house bashing for a contractor on Monday.

Haven't done this since 2004 when we did Battersea Reach for St George.

We are starting with the Town Houses, so will post some pictures - they are high end.

Best Wishes

Anne