stuarty

Ok, so you take your zed in to a garage to get some work done, they quote you a price, then you found out it was an easier fix after all and only took half the time. Would you be pi**ed if you still had to pay the same labour charge. Bearing in mind that the garage does that type of work day in, day out?

I agree with most of your post, but every professional nowadays have to update there qualifications, pay to register with there professional body etc etc. Also most folk have to travel to work in there own cars and supply there own equipment but they don't charge £300 a day for labour. Have a read at my previous post regarding work colleagues that I have such as surgeons who earn £76k a year, which is less than £300 a day and they still have tax, insurance, travel, registration, etc to pay. Then tell me that a joiner should charge the same to do a side, cash in hand.

So by your own admission he did a good job and is a good tradesman, yes? And you'd be happy to pay a good tradesman £150 a day, also yes? And you expected him to take two days, still yes? Now maths isn't my strong point, but I think I see a slight flaw in your argument here... I genuinely wouldn't get out of bed for £150 a day unless it was something I was seriously interested in. Like dressing Mila Kunis. With my tongue. I can sympathise with your argument here, I honestly can. But it's all about integrity! After all why would I "need" to pay him the £300 if he did it in one day, after he suggested it would take two. Fair point?

If there were more tradesmen with the same attitude as The chubby ninja, this country would be booming, as folk wouldn't mind spending there hard earned cash!

I wouldn't trust a surgeon that charged less than £300 per day It may come as a surprise to you but a consultant surgeon in the NHS can be paid as little as £76k per year. That's under £300 per day before tax and insurance deductions! Also a registar can be paid around £40k for carrying out the same duties, as there are limited consultants jobs. Furthermore, I'm talking about excellent medics at the top of there profession. Now tell me a joiner should be equally paid!

Appreciate that mate, TBH if it's cash in hand I'm more than happy to pay a good tradesman £150 a day. I'm not expecting him to kill himself either. I honestly expected it to take 2 days but he did it in one day. You could argue I still got the job done really well irrespective of how long it took. But me being me would have said to the customer "I think I over estimated the time that it took" and have reduced the price. Also the guy would have got loads more work from me as I've recently bought a flat to rent out that needs some TLC, but unfortunately he's buggered it for himself.

On this fateful day I was also working. (I work every Saturday and Sunday). I was chatting to a friend at work during breakfast, who is a consultant surgeon, who specialises in general surgery. Anyway, he was doing an extra Sunday shift for the next 6 weeks to help reduce NHS waiting lists. We got talking about what we get paid for weekends etc and he didn't even receive an extra £300 after deductions.

Hey!! I am a dick! @ stuarty, you're not allowed to like that post!! I'm a dick most of the time too. I just don't like others being dicks! Lol. What makes things worse is that you're a posh dick with 45k worth of cars in your drive Mines only worth £7k and it's hidden away in my garage, in my modest end of terrace house So I should pay more because my cars worth more?

Yes, he did an excellent job, but no joiner is worth £300 cash in hand for a days work! So you would recommend him, "excellent job" but with the warning that he works a bit too quickly? Lol, no he's to expensive. It's only laying some flooring. I would have done it myself but I was trying to help him out giving him a wee bit of work!

Hey!! I am a dick! @ stuarty, you're not allowed to like that post!! I'm a dick most of the time too. I just don't like others being dicks! Lol.

£300 to lay some flooring, I should have bitch slapped him rite out the front door!

Yes, he did an excellent job, but no joiner is worth £300 cash in hand for a days work!

Thing is I earn a really good wage but most folk don't know it, but I think the problem with "these" tradesmen is that there sitting in there shity wee houses, with there clapped out cars. Then they turn up at my house, take one look at it, then see the £45k worth of cars in the drive and think "happy days"! I'm not saying that applies to all tradesmen, but I know the one's I've used!

Flexib, I did shop around for prices and the prices I paid where the best I could get. Also I'm not looking for any retribution here, as I had my retribution cancelling there next job. Fact is if your doing one days work for a friend of a friend cash in hand and you charge £300 in central Scotland then your a dick in my book.

I think the point I'm trying to make in this thread is that I'm sick and tired of listening to friends and family of these tradesmen complaining that poor wee Johnnie the self employed joiner has no work. And that how they wish he had a job like mine where he had a steady wage. Then I think, I need some work done, I'll give poor wee Johnnie some work. Then the dick comes to your house and charges me £300 for a days work, when there's folk at my work bursting there ass to take home £350 for a week.

And that my friend is why this country is in the state it is!!! The average punter works all week takes home £350 a week and trades won't work for less than £300 a day? Also the guy who took the £90 from me for the hours work had another job to do for a family member, cleaning and sealing a roof then supplying and fitting PVC facia and guttering. But unfortunately he received a call an hour ago cancelling the job, hope his £90 lasts him all week now! And by the way, all the materials used in my home are top quality! Mate, I think you need to appreciate that you made the post and therefore others are entitled to their opinions. You need to open your mind to the fact that there are other factors involved here. I appreciate everyone's opinion, but that's my opinion of Ekona's opinion. Also in my particular situation there are no other factors. Example, guy turns up at my house, works at a moderate pace for 7 hours, charges £300, puts it in his pocket, pays no tax or in, walks home, the end. Most of the work I have had done is exactly like that. Also I'm not comparing my situation to someone who has employed a large company with all sorts of overheads.

Okay, let me re-phrase it a bit: If you were offered £40 to work one day extra a week, would you? It's all down to what you earn and what you need to earn that decides whether or not you'd charge high for a weekend work, I guess. Percentages, if you will. Why should I work for peanuts at the weekend if I don't need to? Why should anyone? Also, everyone always thinks that all the materials they choose are top quality. They're usually wrong. I'm sure that's not the case with you of course, just a generalisation. I'm sure most folk who who earn £350 a week would do an extra shift for £70 (£350/ 5 days). Not £40!!

How much you value your own time is a big factor really. I do all my own DIY on the house & mechanics. In my current house, when I bought it, i booked 2 weeks off work and stripped the house down. Redecorated every room, plastering, plumbed and fitted new bathroom, shower, toilet, did downstairs loo, flooring in most of the rooms, tiled floors in some rooms. Boarded loft out, painted & rewired the garage. Worked on it from 7am till 11pm most days. Then spent another week getting home from work at 7pm and working until midnight finishing decorating off. On one hand you can say that i have "saved" a fortune in labour costs. My mate actually paid about £8k for his bathroom and it looks the same as the one i fitted myself which cost me more like £500. But on the other hand, if you think about how much money I lost in wages through having 2 weeks off, then id actually have been better off probably paying professionals to do the work instead! The main reason I do the work myself, like on my car, is that im a perfectionist, and having had so many bad experiences with mechanics and tradesmen, id rather do the job myself and know its been done properly. I did however get a sparky I know to fit a new consumer unit as he`s corgi approved and that cost me £300 for a days work incl the unit. He did have a good 3 hour round trip to get to mine however. I also paid for a mates mate to fit a new boiler which cost me about £600 in labour for him to spend 3 days doing that. So, all in all I felt those were fair prices. Its certainly worth shopping about though and getting different prices. I was quoted upto £5k for a new boiler to be fitted, the average price being about £2500 in the end. Whereas I actually had it done for £1100 incl a £500 boiler. My mate was saying if they didnt really want the work they would quote some mad silly high price so the person wouldnt employ them, but very often the customer would say "yes okay then"!!! EDIT: I actually had a plasterer come out to quote me to skim 2 walls in my living room - each wall about 13ft long. They quoted me £350 for 4 hours work. I went to Wickes, bought a back of plaster, some PVA and a trowel and did it myself. Total cost was £30 or something. Id never plasterered before, but soon got the hang of it and did a really good job. I figured if i couldnt do it, id just call them up, but if i could do it, then i`ll be saving myself £320. If your mate paid £8k for his bathroom and you fitted a similar one yourself for £500 and did all the other jobs in your home in 2-3 weeks, you must have some wage if you would have been cheaper getting someone in to do it all for you. Rather than taking 3 weeks off your work to do it yourself!

And that my friend is why this country is in the state it is!!! The average punter works all week takes home £350 a week and trades won't work for less than £300 a day? Also the guy who took the £90 from me for the hours work had another job to do for a family member, cleaning and sealing a roof then supplying and fitting PVC facia and guttering. But unfortunately he received a call an hour ago cancelling the job, hope his £90 lasts him all week now! And by the way, all the materials used in my home are top quality!

Mate, on a building site most trades get about £10 to £12 an hour therefore a 40 hour week would pay around £400 to £500. Minus from that tax and insurance and your left with between £330 to £400 for five days work. Then they have travel etc and have to supply there own tools. Then they drive a mile to my house do 7 hours work or a days work and take £300 and that was an average quote by the way as I asked a couple of guys. As for the guy who charged my £90 for 40 mins work, he lives 80 meters from me and did it after work. This is only 2 examples I could bore you with at least 10.

What is it with tradesmen and what they try to charge? I've been doing a lot of work in my home recently, therefore been using a lot of trades, joiners, plasterers, plumbers etc. I always have all my own materials, so I'm only paying for labour. Also I try to give the work to local guys, so no real travelling for them and most of the time they have full time jobs and do my work at night or weekends. Anyway I'm constantly getting quoted a weeks wage for a days work or like today a days pay for an hours work. I had a guy who isn't even a joiner lay some laminate flooring at the weekend he quoted me £300 for his labour, then he comes on Sunday and does it in 7 hours. Then today I got a neighbour, who cleans gutters etc to replace 3 joints on my guttering as they were leaking and he took 40 mins to do it and charged me £90. When I pay them it's always cash in hand! All I can say is that all the work I've been getting done is simply upgrades, I don't really need to get it done, but that's me finished giving tradesmen my hard earned cash. Any work that they get from me in the future will only be essential things and I'll be asking for receipts. I hope this current recession lasts another 10 years and they all end up bust! Rant over!

Welcome Syndi!

From what I can tell the difference between an iPad2 and an iPad4 is about £300 Glad you have seen the light Yip, no way back. I think if your computer minded and want to mess about with your stuff then android is the way to go. But if your like me and just want to do the usual stuff then you cany wack them. iPads are the BMW's of the tablet world! Lol.

Take it to an apple store, even if its out of warranty. My friend did and got a brand new replacement for £70. Ou might even get one for free if it looks as if its not been neglected! Also try factory reset but without losing your info option.