To expect the feckIng builder to turn up!

[PrincessWellington]

Made an appointment with him. He is not here! Over an hour late! If he turns up he can bugger off!

[PrincessWellington]

And now the takeaway is late!
What is wrong with people!

[Areallytiredwoman]

They are twats, especially the ones who delay your face stuffing. This would upset me to the point of insane rage

[Purplehonesty]

builders are never on time. its just how they are. then they overcharge you and claim unforseen circumstances. gits

[PrincessWellington]

I have eaten my takeaway and still no builder!

[bumbleymummy]

Do not fecking start me on builders/plasters/joiners who either don't turn up on time (still waiting on one from the start of the week) or do crappy jobs (had to get someone else in to fix it) or try to charge extra as purple has said (no chance - he was paid what he quoted because he knew what the job was when he started). I have seen them all in the last few months and I NEVER want to see another one EVER again. The sad thing is...we're still not finished the bloody house! AAAAAARRRRRRRGHHHHHHH - It just never ends!

[PrincessWellington]

I've written him off now. How the hell they get any work is beyond me!

[bumbleymummy]

I do wonder Princess...you would think with the work shortage at the moment that they would be falling over themselves...

[desperatenotstupid]

My husband is a builder, he is always prompt, polite and does a good job, i really hate the way people think its ok to slag trademen off as if they were some sort of underclass Not all builders are like this.

[PrincessWellington]

Desperate - your dh must be in demand then!

[desperatenotstupid]

Yes, he is,he has never been so busy, he charges a fair price and always does a brilliant job, im very proud of him. If anything he is too bloody soft with clients and bends over backwards to accomodate their little extras that people ask him to "just" do and seem to think he should do just fo the privalige of being in their house. These "would you mind just......." additions take time and they woudlnt work for nothing, but thats often expected. He never complains when people dont clear the work area, never charges extra to move furniture out of the way, but doesnt quote for it either so loses out. I have put my foot down on this now and am very clear about outlining it in my estimates - but it would be very wrong of me to say that all people who had builders in took the piss in this way just because some of them do. There are shite builders out there, especially now with work being short, there are lots of chancers but if you pay a fair price and go with recommendations then you should be ok. Dont be fooled by the trust a trader, FMB type things, all they require is a few letters from friends previous clients and a hefty payment from the builder to say they are trustworthy. We used to me FMB members but now dont bother as there are so many of these things around now and its a waste of our money. DP doesnt adverstise, we get all of the work on word of mouth and recommendations, so yes, he is in demand.

[GoingForGoalWeight]

desparate can i pm you, please? :)

[desperatenotstupid]

yes of course GoingforGoalweight

[GoingForGoalWeight]

Hi desparate, i've tried many times to PM and your name is not an existing name! Strange :(

Is your DH available for work in Birmingham? :)

D.I.Y - decorating, repair garden fence, electrics etc?

Understand if you cannot answer or MNHQ object.

[desperatenotstupid]

lol he does do all of those things, electrics limited as he doesnt have Part-P cert, but academic as you are probably about 300 miles away

That is why he has lots of work though, as he is a carpenter by training, and a very good one but has turned his hand to other trades too.

But thanks for asking, and MNHQ I wasn't trying to tout DPs business, just saying that not all builders are pants, most of them are just like my DP and take pride in what they do.

OP - to be fair, builders not turning up does happen, its soo rude, DP gets that alot where people are actually stunned when he turns up!

[GoingForGoalWeight]

No MNHQ my fault :)

Thank you desparate. x

300 miles drat! :(

damn it

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

OP when I had to have my ceiling repaired the painter/decorator didn't turn up or phone me.
As I'd had nightmares trying to get a P/D I thought "give him the benefit of the doubt"

He phoned the next day- his MIL had to be rushed to hospital and he didn't have my number till he got home by which time it was late.

He might have a genuine reason

[PrincessWellington]

70 - will see if he gets in touch today!

[BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack]

My DH is a builder/plasterer....he is polite, on time, does his estimates and posts them within a day or two.....I too hate it when people slag builders off. It's bloody tough out there at the moment so please dont tar them all with the same brush.

He has had a shit year, not busy at all despite being the best around, people just arent spending money on their houses....it has effected him/us big time and I cant wait for things to pick up.

Princess - sounds like he has forgotten. I am waiting for my guy to come and look at my dishwasher - he is about a year late at the moment!

[desperatenotstupid]

betty - fix the diswasher youreself, seriously, im always fixing mine - no good asking my DP, hes a builder! wait for fecking ever! Seriously, what do you think is wron wiht it? google it and you will find how to fix it in minutes, i did that and would never get the repair man out again.

I really hope things pick up for your DH too, its horrible isnt it when the work is thin on the ground, we hve had a good year last year due to one extremely good client who has had DP working in her house for most of the year. Trouble is, we plowed most of that money into paying the tax bill for the previous year, which means we wont be able to put money away for this years and the work is drying up, so we will have a huge tax bill and be buggered. I dont think people really understand how difficult it is to be in the building trade at the moment. And i swear, if i have one more person say to me, oh, your DP must be loaded then my head will explode. But thats another thread.

I think it boils down to there being bad builders AND bad clients.

[BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack]

Desperate...dunno, it switches on but just smells of burning plastic.....it's been broken for so long now I'm used to it but it would be ncie to have it working again.

Yeah, it's shit. It really knocks his confidence and of course seeing me go off to work everyday and DS go off to school is hard......things are picking up again now, he had a few days last week and has had a couple this week so we are hoping he is on a roll now until next winter. He's thinking of getting a website sorted although I dont know.....word of mouth is how he gets his work, not sure if people would search for painter and decorator on net! That's his trade but he does it all, plastering, fencing, tiling, patios, everything really, his whole family are builders. Nope people dont understand how hard it is - sure when times are good they can be really good but they can also be dreadful too.

Yep, bad builders and def bad clients, lol......when this recession is over DH wants to stop working for the public and go into re-furbs......happy as a pig in shit then :)

[PrincessWellington]

Got an apology and another appointment

[desperatenotstupid]

Betty My first guess would be to check that the pump isnt stuck, then check the motor, the brushes might be worn. If you google your make of dishwasher with those key words you should be able to locate it, the pump could just be a case of dislodging whatever is in there. Certainly worth having the front off to see if there are any loose wires or anything. I get a on a bit of a mission with appliances as we dont have the money to fix stuff - i have fixed last year - dishwasher x 2, first was the pump, then seal of front door. Van - DPs van gave up the ghost, fuse kept popping so got a manual and traced the wires, found a worn wire that was arcing to the bodywork, put a new bit of wire in, works a treat. Fridge - just stopped working, freezer was like the artic (its supposed to be frost free) Defrosted, hoovered out the back, defrsoted again after taking back off and finding block of ice where the defrost element was. Sorted - So quite a bit of money saved .

As for the website, get DH to have a look at Webeden, you can create your own website - and I am a computor numpty so if i can do it, anyone can - there are templates etc, then get him to get some cards out in shop windows with his website on, include some pictures of his work and a brief list of services. Ideally you need to get the site optimised in some way which means google will find it, but you get a £50 Google adwords voucher when you sign up with Webeden. You can do a free website but if you need to pay for the domain name, this only is about £30, then use the adwords voucher to get google to notice you. Its pay per click so you pay every time someone looks at your website, but this gets google to notice your website otherwise you can have the best website in the world and no one will ever see it. Then get him to get a free ad put in the thomson local online, you can include your website, we have had a couple of enquiries this way. Saying that, ive let the website slip and need to re-do it, i keep putting it off. Feel free to PM me if you want any advice. I am a total touting trollop in the school playground too, i make sure everyone knows what my husband does and he has done work for quite a few of the school mums, they have recommended him to each other so what started with one, has gone to about four clients. I have asked people where they look to have work done and most of the people who i have asked say they go for recommendations but otherwise they google.

Sorry for the total hijack OP.

Glad you got an apology - tbh, i'd be wary, its not a good start is it, unless of course he had an adequate reason.

[PrincessWellington]

I'll forgive you yes, I shall be wary but he did a good job of neighbours so he does have some redeeming features I suppose