Time Served Tiler's V.s New Tilers

[bignose]

Im going on a course in a few weeks time and I hear what you say about experience but of course being experienced may not mean that a given tradesman is any good. I was overheard talking about my tiling course yesterday by an experienced guy (just what I wanted..not). He said it wasnt that great and that more and more people wanted porcelaine tiles these days. He said he had a job to cut them with his cutter and that he was having difficulty drilling them. Should I tell him of this site and help him out? I dont think so surely he should have the right kit for the job ?

 

[Fekin]

Personally, I wouldn't class him as experianced if he's having a hard time fitting porcelain

Know what tools you need for the job and go out and get them.

 

[enduro]

When i see some of the jobs some tilers do who have been in the trade for years, i think where did they train!!! some of the jobs are really bad as they dont know any different, so new guys who have done a course may be slow but there working methods and choice of materials are better. So anybody who has done training, whether its a week or 8 weeks, could show some of these guys a few things.

 

[DHTiling]

When i see some of the jobs some tilers do who have been in the trade for years, i think where did they train!!! some of the jobs are really bad as they dont know any different, so new guys who have done a course may be slow but there working methods and choice of materials are better. So anybody who has done training, whether its a week or 8 weeks, could show some of these guys a few things.

That is true as long as the course provider keeps up to date with modern materials and practices etc.......some don't!!!......

 

[andy-p]

When i see some of the jobs some tilers do who have been in the trade for years, i think where did they train!!! some of the jobs are really bad as they dont know any different, so new guys who have done a course may be slow but there working methods and choice of materials are better. So anybody who has done training, whether its a week or 8 weeks, could show some of these guys a few things.

yeh , but the reverse side to that is i have had to fix a few botched jobs by 4-day tilers...

 

[Spud]

back in the early nineties and early eighties there were recessions, work was tight alot of tilers got out of the game, alot went to work abroad and some carried on. my son is 16 i am stating him as an apprentice tiler a career lasts you a lifetime not just a few months or a couple of years if you have come into tiling to make a fast buck you are going to be dissappointed ,the reality is i am always busy and can never find any good tradesmaen to work for me the young lads i have seen coming through seem to be inexperienced prima donnas who wont get out of bed for anything less than a grand a week perhaps a quiet period might be a wake up call for a few people

 

[pete fearn]

i have started 3 companys, 1 for tiling, 1 for decorating and one that is a service company, covering all the work i do. Depending on what the client wants to which company they ring either way i still get a chance to quote and hopefully win the job.
3 differant companys 3 phone numbers = 3 bites of the apple so to speek

 

[tiler burden]

1. you'd have to define what is a time served tiler before you can compare anything.
a time served tradesman is a person who does a 3-5 year apprenticeship with a firm and goes to college 1 day a week for 3 years to gain a city and guilds or equivalent in there trade and then a 1 year advanced craft (optional). i havent yet found a tiler who has done the latter??? lots of plasterers, joiners, brickies, plumbers, sparks but never a tiler. that is what a time served tradesman is, so if you havent done that, then your not officially recognised whether you like or agree with it!!

you could be a tiler for 20 years and do the same sub standard work day in day out and then a course guy comes along from a 4-6 week course and tells you something you didnt know about natural stone sealing or ditra etc, so all in all its pretty damn hard to generalise. then again theres people on here who have 20 years plus experience and are amazing tilers with a wealth of knowledge that i could'nt begin to compete with.

the course has a lot to answer for too. if you are claiming to be able to teach some one a trade in 4-6 weeks then i'm afraid your stretching the imagination a bit but, 4-6 weeks will obviously be much better than a 4 day course, well 4 times better at least lol..and then whos teaching you?? are they time served, do they have the rare talent, passion and experience to get a point across in a informative manner that suits the individual pupil??? all these things need to be taken into account, you simply cannot generalise, its an individual assesment.

course guys get a lot of new info and technical training that some older guys dont, they also get taught sales and marketing which is vital. they have website, can market, learn to fit a bathroom suite, plaster a wall etc and they suddenly are more versatile than say just a tiler..so let the battle begin. we can have a massive competition and the last man standing/tiling is the best, whether hes, 'officially' time served, course trained or just a 20yr plus top professional tiler who keeps up with the current tech. my moneys on the 20 yr plus pro with tech spec ;0)

also, i would worry what you call your business name...i worked for carphone warehouse, and they dont sell carphones now, and they dont operate from a warehouse but they still our europes number one mobile retailer due to their reputation and integrity, not what there called..same could be said of radio rentals

what you do tells me more about you than what you claim!!! you can still do wet rooms and plastering and bathroom installs even if your called ''jones tiling'

trying to do everything isnt the answer either..if you tiling is comprehensive and above all excellent then you shouldnt really have to multi task because you should be in big demand for you tiling!! but then again, theres now harm in being able to flatten a wall, screed a small floor, drop a rad and box in a bath either..do what gets in your way but be efficient and concentrate on what your best on..its better to put a few quid on the plumbers bill and let him worry about insurance, leaks, chipped baths that have to be returned whilst you carry on laying 15 meters of granite at 30-1000 pounds per meter lol

ed

 

[mz30]

That's a well thought out and truthful post ed

 

[DHTiling]

That's a nice long post ed!!!....i thought it was Swe to start with....:lol:......but some very valid points...........

 

[mz30]

When i see some of the jobs some tilers do who have been in the trade for years, i think where did they train!!! some of the jobs are really bad as they dont know any different, so new guys who have done a course may be slow but there working methods and choice of materials are better. So anybody who has done training, whether its a week or 8 weeks, could show some of these guys a few things.

I would love someone who had been on a training course for 8 week's to come and teach me something(seriously)i don't profess to know everything,but the method's i use have been tried and tested for almost two decades ,but if there is something new to learn i alway's am intrested in listening.

 

[DHTiling]

I would love someone who had been on a training course for 8 week's to come and teach me something(seriously)i don't profess to know everything,but the method's i use have been tried and tested for almost two decades ,but if there is something new to learn i alway's am intrested in listening.

Mee too............we have to keep up with new products etc etc.....

 

[hillhead]

I'v come across some good tilers,some sh*te tilers,some very good tilers and a couple of unbelievably brilliant tilers!!
I don't care if a tiler has 20+ years exp,if he has the right training and know how after a few years then thats enough for me,
i spent 5 years on a aprenticeship after leaving school(another trade)
waist of time as 10 years in the profession the boss asked me to train a guy to do my job! i said"i served my apprenticeship for this" he told me aprenticeships were history!! just money the companies want!! output output!
Build a reputation is what you need,
my hotel job was started by two well exp tilers!! they lost it and i got all the rest- 700m2 +.need i say more.
Good men hold your heads up.

 

[mz30]

Build a reputation is what you need,
my hotel job was started by two well exp tilers!! they lost it and i got all the rest- 700m2 +.need i say more.
Good men hold your heads up.

Your right hillhead reputation is everything ,just to add to the "need i say more" have you finished the job and have you been paid?

I actually know a few tilers who have been doing it for years and are rough as a bears paw,but weighing up them with rough "new tilers" there is honestly no comparison.

 

[bignose]

You all make some valid points. Just one observation on the longer courses (4 weeks). I visited one a few weeks ago for a nose around before I commited and I wasnt overly impressed. The person that showed me around didnt seem very motivated and they were an instructor ! But the main impression I got was that there was a fair bit of 'padding' in the course. There were a few guys tiling around a dummy window each and well it all seemed a bit too relaxed and slow, considering what they had paid for the course. So its 5 days at NETT for me, I hope Im right. I have my own bathroom to do when I get back.