To think that tradesmen take the piss with their rates?

[Pomegranatecarnage]

Just that really. I have had a few repairs needed and some DIY recently. I paid £130 to have a leaking toilet valve fixed (it took 45 mins), £75 to have a pull string light replaced (10 mins) and then £270 labour for 6 hours work putting up some shelves, a small area of tiling and replacing skirting boards. He arrived at 10, left at 12 for lunch, back at 2 then was finished by 4pm. I can’t help wondering why I spent 5 years at University to get paid far less per hour as a teacher.

I run a small building company and all my trades get paid between £200 and £300 per day
trades working on pricework are looking to earn more than this
cash or invoice they still have tax and pensions to pay for out of that and don’t get long paid holidays like some teachers do
I currently have two years work booked in at the moment at these rates

Surely OP you are aware this is basic supply and demand, primary level maths and common sense?

In other words, a poorer person who was willing to work for low wages.
I had a Polish plumber who was very cheap - he slept in a van.
If someone works with their hands, they shouldn't necessarily come cheap.

Going against the grain here it would seem , but I agree with you OP.

That's quite a bold assumption of ops values!

As teachers we are fully aware that university isn't for all. Even the school system and GCSEs aren't for all and no one experiences that more keenly than teachers!

I can’t help wondering why I spent 5 years at University to get paid far less per hour as a teacher.

🤣🤣

Why would you think that Teachers should be paid more than a skilled tradesman? I certainly don't.

Or, let's be honest, you think tradesman are intellectually inferior to you, thick little men that talk in grunts and hit things with hammers. It's clear as day in this comment! No, they're as clever as you are, just in differing ways and instead of spending 5 years at university, they probably undertook an apprenticeship at 16 and were earning good money by 20.

4 hours. He had a 2 hour break!

You just sound sour because someone is earning more than you. If your job doesn't pay highly enough, get a new one.

I think tradespeople deserve every pound they earn. Their costs are never ending and on top of it they have to deal with the absolute worst customers known to man.

I suggest you DIY in future.

There's a skills shortage, so the prices will increase. Linked to your point though, teachers (nurses, care workers etc) should be paid more.

This is why it’s worth getting a few quote

then you can see if it’s rip off or going rate 🤷‍♀️

I got quotes ranging from £250 to £500 to put up a blind once. The blind cost £50 😆

I just assume when they quote rates like this that they don't really want to do it?

There is another thread going on which ppl are quite literally saying it’s perfectly acceptable for teachers not to pay tax on tutoring…which you’ve said you do…

do you declare it in your SA?

… yet you pay a tradesman in cash to do a job you can’t do and then complain about it

Why didnt you just do it yourself! Didnt know how / have the tools, knowledge or experience? Ahh..
Should have spent 4 years training to become an Electrician, upto another 4 years to be a plumber, practiced for months/years to get really good at tiling on a day rate of £2-£350 then.
Not even mentioning the costs of tools/van etc

Maybe the grandiose "I spent 5 years at University" doesnt read so well next to the list of relatively simple jobs you make sound so easy but the reality is if you couldnt do any of them, so you had to have someone else to do them for you, and they obviously wanted paid.

Whether you think they have been to university or not 🙄

My tradesman husband spent three weeks before Xmas helping out a friend of a friend at ridiculously low rates because he felt sorry for her. Needless to say he still hasn’t been paid and additionally out of pocket for materials he provided.

That’s why you get a couple of quotes. Although the price would likely be similar.

You’re not just paying for the time. You’ve got insurance, parts/consumables, vehicle expenses, vehicle insurance, tax etc..

On top of that, you’re paying for their experience so it won’t fall apart afterwards and convenience of not doing it yourself.

Good grief OP !

All the jobs you described can be done, by yourself, by googling and watching videos !

It's not rocket science, it's DIY ffs !

The venue was in a city centre where even if he’d been able to park he’d have been charged £12.50 a day to use his work van so I ferried him backwards and forwards.

How many quotes did you get, I find they vary wildly and it's not always the case of trades undercutting each other or the most expensive being the best.

Doesn't matter whether you pay cash or not - request an invoice. Cash is legal payment, the invoice means you can demonstrate you paid for work.

There is another thread at the moment moaning that the minimum wage is too low but on this one people moaning that trades prices are too high, you can't have everything

They are all jobs you could do yourself, why would you pay someone to change a light pull string

My late brother was the same. He had been an aerospace engineer but retrained and founded a small building company. He had two degrees including an Oxford MBA.
One of his greatest legacies was training all the kids in the family. His daughters and my son were his labourers each summer. My DS is currently doing our bathrooms and will then start on his own house. My DS works in Westminster but would always have his building skills to fall back on.

You're not paying for the hour, you're paying for the years of training and experience that mean it only takes an hour.

For the tools that make it a simple job.

For the admin and travel.

Else you'd have done it yourself with your shed full of tools, right?

You mentioned how your hourly rate for tutoring is less because you have to prepare, same for tradesman. For some reason when discussing your work you can reduce your 'actual' hourly rate to allow for time spent around the job doing other things, but tradesman it's just the straight hours they are there.

Presumably you called them and explained the job and they quoted. They ordered and picked up materials. They then travelled to your home to do the actual work. All of that time is time they couldn't spend doing another job, so the complexity of the job itself isn't really here nor there. Don't forget the tools they use they've bought themselves and they would have been expensive.

Quoting takes a lot of time and not everyone who gets a quote goes ahead. So they have to charge high enough for their direct work to cover all the unpaid parts. They also get no paid holiday or sick leave, unlike a teacher. Hurt your arm? No money for you, tradie.

I think we are developing an issue where everyone went to uni sold the promise that's the route to earning well, there's a lack of trades so prices can be high, and people with no practical skills resent the money people without degrees but with skills can earn.

Absolutely what other pp are saying.
You're also paying for the fact that when they're on holiday, their income is ZERO. They don't get paid leave be that for holidays, sickness etc.