Tiler or Builder?

[Sean Kelly]

I just got back from pricing a job. 16sqm of bathroom tiles 500x250x9mm to be tiled on top of existing tiles. I pointed out to the customer that his door frame is not deep enough to hide the thickness of the new tile and it would be easier & cheaper to remove/replace frame than it would be to remove existing tiles. He wanted me to put up a bathroom cabinet and shelving unit, plus toilet roll holder etc. The radiator was too close to the wall too. I also pointed out that the toilet waste pipe is currently too close to the wall (it runs parallel to the wall), and I would not be able to tile behind it. So I suggested that I tile before the plumber fits the new toilet & sink. Customer did not seem too happy with this. Considering he also had a toilet downstairs! Anyway, I'll get to the point. At the end of our meeting he told me that he was now thinking of asking a builder to do all the plumbing, woodwork, shelf erection & tiling, as he thought it would be too much of a headache to try and tie in all the trades himself. This frustrated me because I now feel that I have talked myself out of a job. Should I just keep quiet about such matters and leave the thinking to the customer? I was told on my tiling course to only deal with tiling. I am not supposed to lift toilets, trim the bottoms off doors or put up cabinets etc . I honesty think people would rather pay a middle man (project Manager) lots of money just to save them the hassle of making a few phone calls. I also lost a job a couple of weeks ago when I told the customer that tiling on a wooden floor I would have to use 6mm hardibacker plus the thickness of adhesive plus a ceramic tile. They did not like the fact that the kitchen would be slightly raised to the dining room. They opted for laminated (tile effect) flooring instead!:huh2: :mad2:

 

[enduro]

I would walk away from this one.

 

[robbo]

The Job that you lost a couple of weeks ago sounds like it wasn't your fault anyway, if the customer doesn't like the room being raised when you are using the correct method to fix the tiles then so be it. This customer would have been on the phone like a flash if the tiles had started cracking!!

 

[Fekin]

I normally inform customers when Im measuring up on whats what with things like floor levels changing, which In a way could be a bad thing as you have found out, though doing the job then the customer asking why one floors higher than the other could be a tricky moment too :lol:

 

[frostfree]

I too have had a similar experiences over the last few months. Lost out on 3 bathroom jobs in one house due to the fact the customer wanted one tradesman to do all the work. I can do plumbing and tiling but not plastering, explained to customer i could organise a reliable plasterer but were not happy with this. I had previously done a cloakroom for this customer and they were very happy with it. Cloakroom was done on time and on budget and I had provisionally booked time to do these bathrooms as customer wanted me to do them until plastering issue arose.
Consequently now learning to plaster and considering doing a part p electrics course.
Speaking to other tradesmen in the area this would appear to be a growing trend. Customers wanting one multiskilled tradesperson/ company to do all the work!!!

 

[Dirrty]

I too have had a similar experiences over the last few months. Lost out on 3 bathroom jobs in one house due to the fact the customer wanted one tradesman to do all the work. I can do plumbing and tiling but not plastering, explained to customer i could organise a reliable plasterer but were not happy with this. I had previously done a cloakroom for this customer and they were very happy with it. Cloakroom was done on time and on budget and I had provisionally booked time to do these bathrooms as customer wanted me to do them until plastering issue arose.
Consequently now learning to plaster and considering doing a part p electrics course.
Speaking to other tradesmen in the area this would appear to be a growing trend. Customers wanting one multiskilled tradesperson/ company to do all the work!!!

I think you are right.....and you have to try to give the customers what they want. I have teamed up with a plumber, plasterer, chippy and electrician. If they want it all done then take all the details of what they want done, get all your allied trades to tell you what they want, add on your profit, then give the customer the quote. I didn't really want to go this route for all sorts of reasons, but it seems to be what a lot of people want. The upside is that you can put more profit in for yourself this way. The downside is the hassle is all yours. Otherwise just accept that some jobs you just ain't gonna get......different strokes for different folks.

 

[IvegotsTILE]

I've found bringing up these issues makes the customer realise that I know what I'm talking about because they had never thought of these problems.

Better to be up front from the start IMO

 

[tfs]

The risk of getting in all these other trades is that you are increasing the likelyhood of something going wrong. There can be risk in any trade, if not immediatly then a year down the line.

It is your responsibility to correct these issues as the contractor and at your cost. Do what you do best. Tell your clinets that no person on earth is a hilghy competent multi trader as any qualified tradesman must serve several years undertaking an apprenticeship. (I assure you no builder now everything about every trade and can overcome any problem in any trade with there own hands).

If they choose to get a multi skilled tradesman then they are really only getting a second best finnish (if lucky).

If you choose to go down the multi trade route, I would suggest you use time served and reputable tradesman to sub contract work to and ensure they garauntee there work.

It is ok to do bit of this and bits of that but, there comes a point when you need to get the proffessionals in.

Any cutomer that expects a person to have the abilty to complete any building task competently must be off there nut anyway, dont get involved with nutters.

If you are a good tradesman and want to keep your good reputation then remember, you are only as good as your last job. Dont take the risk of damaging your rep just to keep a customer happy.

 

[salmonfisher]

Tell your clinets that no person on earth is a hilghy competent multi trader as any qualified tradesman must serve several years undertaking an apprenticeship

How many tilers on here have served an apprenticeship in tileing? Not many

If they choose to get a multi skilled tradesman then they are really only getting a second best finnish (if lucky).

I have been self employed for 5 years fitting bathrooms from start to finnish all trades with 90% of my work coming from recomendations with a 1st class finish

 

[Dirrty]

I can see where you are coming from trying to educate the customer and I am sure that that will work in some cases, but people want what they want, and if you are not prepared to oversee the whole job, then they wiil simply find someone who will. And there are plenty of people who are willing to take the risks and corresponding profit.....time served or not. I am not saying it is neccesarily right, it's just how it is.

 

[White Room]

Most of the work I do is through plumber's, That's the plastering, dry lining and tiling and people seem happy with that, Okay the plumber's can plaster to the quaility for tiling or fill a large hole but when it come's to having to get a finish to paint the wall's they won't touch the plastering with a barge pole or if there's something more complicated.

 

[tfs]

Tell your clinets that no person on earth is a hilghy competent multi trader as any qualified tradesman must serve several years undertaking an apprenticeship

How many tilers on here have served an apprenticeship in tileing? Not many

If they choose to get a multi skilled tradesman then they are really only getting a second best finnish (if lucky).

I have been self employed for 5 years fitting bathrooms from start to finnish all trades with 90% of my work coming from recomendations with a 1st class finish

Hi mate,

I have no doubt that you could do these bathrooms to a high finnish but, I bet you couldn't deal with every aspect of plumbing, electrics etc and have the correct answer and understanding of most things involved.

I agree that you dont realy need to be fully qualified in a trade to do a good job. Im not qualified but, you cant be fully competent in everything. There is more to plumbing etc than connecting a bath etc.

kris
----
I must point out,

I am not against multi trading, I do it alot myself. I did want to highlight the risks though and to explain that clients cant expect every tradesman to multi skill.