Scunnered

[Stef]

For the 1st time in the last 10yrs I'm seriously considering chucking the tiling game!!!
I was away looking at a course yesterday for a gas safe course.
I'm getting fed up of people looking for the cheapest quote & I feel I'm having to justify my price to clients & then some one will come in & under cut me & leave a sub standard job.
Our trade isn't regulated & any Tom Dick & Harry can be a tiler after a weekend tiling course & cut costs on any job.
I sacked my "boy" at the start of the week as he stated he doesn't want to work any more.
I fell out with the company I do work for as they want to pay me the same as fixing bumpy whites as fixing metre long Porcelanosa tiles.
I feel as if I've been banging my head against a brick wall & getting nowhere.
I'm mobbed with work, full diary with 16 jobs booked in but I feel as though it's just not worth the hassle any more!!!!

 

[Tony73]

be strong .... if tiling is what you love to do, just stick with it ... there are problems with all trades....

 

[Mr Tiler]

if only there was one of me at each corner stef lol, mate what happened with the site you was taking on?

 

[White Room]

The truth is whatever job you do involved with the general public is going to be a pain in the butt, one day I will say no more but it will be because of my age not the job, working with my hands is what I've allways done.

If your busy you can pick and choose what jobs suit you, if a change of career is on the cards then best of luck to you Rob, needs must.

 

[Stef]

if only there was one of me at each corner stef lol, mate what happened with the site you was taking on?

I've took on another site m8, I'm just a bit dissolutioned with the tiling game at present, I've had a kicking over the past few weeks with customers going for the cheapest quotes, even though I'm flat out with work.
I've been on a downer for a few weeks & don't honestly feel as if my hearts in it as any muppet can under cut you without any come back..
I'm passionate about our trade & leave a top class finish but sometimes the customer just wants to cut & run on the cheapest quote...

 

[Stef]

The truth is whatever job you do involved with the general public is going to be a pain in the butt, one day I will say no more but it will be because of my age not the job, working with my hands is what I've allways done.

If your busy you can pick and choose what jobs suit you, if a change of career is on the cards then best of luck to you Rob, needs must.

Mark I'm just looking at different options..
At least the Gas industry is regulated..

 

[Saltire69]

Not as much as you think Stef. If you fit gas and get reported for not being gas safe they don't do much about it. Drives my plumber crazy. Spotted the guys van last week, got gas safe sticker on it but he ain't gas safe registered.

 

[Stef]

Not as much as you think Stef. If you fit gas and get reported for not being gas safe they don't do much about it. Drives my plumber crazy. Spotted the guys van last week, got gas safe sticker on it but he ain't gas safe registered.

But they will do more than if you say he's not qualified to fit tiles!!
Water off a ducks back m8..

 

[TJ Smiler]

I'd say go for it pal, it's another side line and could fit in nicely with your tiling business......... I have lost count of the amount of jobs that a customer has asked me about a boiler change that i end up giving to my plumber mate.

 

[Andy Allen]

Stef its the way it is with joe public they dont seem to give a toss anymore.
I priced a 18m kitchen and dining room floor last week it was floor boards and I priced to over board with cement boards spent ages telling her how it would be the perfect surface to tile to. She agreed and booked me in. 5 days later I get a text cancelling the job no doubt some muppet is tiling on the floor boards knocking about £400 of my price.....like you this dose my bloody head in makes it worse they can't even speak to you about it......it is a shame we cant all be pricing on the same specification. ...but for now its what we got to work with. I try and not dwell on things anymore just fotget about and move on....lifes to short....work to live not live to work..

 

[John Benton]

We all get days like this Stef, for the first time in 10 years I've got a customer who's not paid me yet after 3 weeks, thinking up a corker of an excuse. He's really happy with the work and asking me to do more work before he's even paid for this one. The guy is on north of £200k a year Merc, 911, and so on, and he could only afford to pay either me or my plumber when the job was done, he was waiting for his pay cheque to come through, and I'm still waiting for mine to arrive from him, I'm away this weekend so I'll see if it's landed when I get home!!!

Do you know any of the tilers who you are quoting against Stef?

Andy even if we price on the same spec you can guarantee that prices won't be the same, Look when someone asks on here about pricing, the prices can differ tremendously, some people want to make a good profit on materials, whereas some are happy with 10% and that can swing a quote on a larger job by a few hundred quid easily.

It's down to how much you are willing to work for at the end of the day.

 

[Perry]

Stef come and fix bricks slips for a week you will feel better see how it can be. :hurray:

 

[Ajax123]

But they will do more than if you say he's not qualified to fit tiles!!
Water off a ducks back m8..

Yes the gas industry is regulated under the current building regulations. However they can only prosecute the fitter if the work he does is sub standard or if someone is hurt as a result. It's generally the client that pays the price as the installation is not signed off and building regulations have been breached which mean selling the house would be nigh on impossible until the building inspector can sign a regularisation certificate.

 

[Chalker]

I am gas safe registered. I do a mix of new build, boiler changes and bathrooms. The only bit I enjoy is tiling.
Plumbing and heating is mainly hiding everything you do.
as for the money side. There is some to be made on materials, but my labour charge is the same for tiling as repairing a gas boiler.
if you fancied getting gas safe registered think again. The courses are just a rip off, you will still need work experience, all in will cost you about £10,000
every 5 years I have to be re assessed, this costs me about £2500 including a week off, registration every year, about £200 then you need a flue gas analyser (£600) and that needs calibrating every year at £ 200 a pop.
So even after you Re registered it will cost £1000 per year, that's a lot to get back.
If you have plenty of work, I would stick to tiling. The grass is never greener on the other side.

 

[Chalker]

Yes the gas industry is regulated under the current building regulations. However they can only prosecute the fitter if the work he does is sub standard or if someone is hurt as a result. It's generally the client that pays the price as the installation is not signed off and building regulations have been breached which mean selling the house would be nigh on impossible until the building inspector can sign a regularisation certificate.

The fitter can be prosecuted for working on gas, even if they have done it correctly. If they are not registered.
theres about 5 a month in the gas safe magazine.

 

[TJ Smiler]

I am gas safe registered. I do a mix of new build, boiler changes and bathrooms. The only bit I enjoy is tiling.
Plumbing and heating is mainly hiding everything you do.
as for the money side. There is some to be made on materials, but my labour charge is the same for tiling as repairing a gas boiler.
if you fancied getting gas safe registered think again. The courses are just a rip off, you will still need work experience, all in will cost you about £10,000
every 5 years I have to be re assessed, this costs me about £2500 including a week off, registration every year, about £200 then you need a flue gas analyser (£600) and that needs calibrating every year at £ 200 a pop.
So even after you Re registered it will cost £1000 per year, that's a lot to get back.
If you have plenty of work, I would stick to tiling. The grass is never greener on the other side.

Good post mate, has answered a lot of questions for me...... Out of interest and i mean this as a genuine question. In your post you say that they only prosecute if the work is sub-standard. Your work is obviously of a high standard as we have all seen what you can do, is it not possible for someone like yourself to not be regulated and save yourself all that money? like i say mate i mean that as a genuine question and not with any smart arse sarcasm.

 

[Chalker]

Without being gas safe registered you can't notify ( register a newly fitted gas appliance). But I know plumbers who are not registered and get a gas safe guy to do the registration. I wouldn't do that as I'm putting my name on the line to somebody else's work that.
In reality the only people that get caught are registered gas fitters doing something wrong and landlords doing their own checks,
without getting technical, there is a lot that can kill with gas installations. So I would recommend no one should attempt work on gas pipe work or appliances.

back to topic tho.
stick to tiling Steff! Better the devil you know!

 

[TJ Smiler]

Fair enough then....cheers mate.

 

[Spud]

it just sounds like you need a holiday Stef

 

[Mr Tiler]

I was gonna say that too gary, fortnight off the tools you will be rite as rain lol

 

[Mr Tiler]

I've took on another site m8, I'm just a bit dissolutioned with the tiling game at present, I've had a kicking over the past few weeks with customers going for the cheapest quotes, even though I'm flat out with work.
I've been on a downer for a few weeks & don't honestly feel as if my hearts in it as any muppet can under cut you without any come back..
I'm passionate about our trade & leave a top class finish but sometimes the customer just wants to cut & run on the cheapest quote...

I wouldn't worry too much just keep ya chin up and keep the quotes going as you say your fully booked, could be worse lol, did your lad really say he didn't want to work anymore? thought you scotts love ya money lol

 

[Stef]

I wouldn't worry too much just keep ya chin up and keep the quotes going as you say your fully booked, could be worse lol, did your lad really say he didn't want to work anymore? thought you scotts love ya money lol

He was getting too lazy Ash, unless I was shouting at him he wasn't interested.
I've wasted a year & a half on him for no return.
He says he's got a job with his uncle doing ground works, he will know how well he had it with me when he's up to his knees in the sticky stuff in the middle of winter.

 

[Stef]

it just sounds like you need a holiday Stef

I'm not long back from holiday, probably need another one.
Will be a weekend in London in the next couple of months as I'm heading to Rays to buy tiles for my bathroom..

 

[charlie1]

Stef, I'm a bit confused? Your loosing out on work because of price but your diary is packed? If I'm understanding you right, your getting most of your work from same source and there squeezing you on price? If this is the case then I'm understanding your problem and I've been their! This is never a good situation if you get it in to your head that they are at it with you. Stef, just take a step back mate and don't let the situation get to you, just get on with what you do and reassess where your going in future, looking at retraining to do something completely different is a waste, try to be more diverse and move in to different areas like bathroom or kitchen fitting or I dono whatever you think you would like to do in the future. You will surprise yourself how much of the necessary skills you already have mate, chin up