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.

Had a lot of work done recently and those are really good rates by my reckoning.

The alternative is to learn how to do it yourself, spend a shedload on decent tools (which you then need to be able to store) and even if you know what you are doing, unless you do it every day, it will always take you 3-5x longer to do it yourself. We have a couple of tradesmen that we use for absolutely everything now. Quicker, looks professional and saves me listening to my DH swearing all weekend (or having a row when he critiques me doing the job).

If I had my time again I would! I knew a plumber who earned £90 a hour for emergencies back in the mid nighties. I asked how he could justify that and he said ‘if water is pishing through your ceiling at 11pm you’ll pay me £90 to stop it!’

Next time, get a quote. £475 to have all that done is a lot, and particularly £75 to replace a pull light string is absurd.
You Tube is your friend to show you how to make minor repairs.

This looks pretty good on the light switch.

usually leaky toilet valves just need the flapper valve replacing. It can take a little while to diagnose, so 45 minutes isn’t too bad for the time it takes to diagnose.

OP, I was a university professor before I retired, and I learned how to do this stuff myself..paint rooms, hang shelves, refinish floors, put in toilet mechanisms, do basic tiling. Saved me a mint. Teaching as a whole doesn’t pay that well.

That said, I will hire a skilled person to do things like make hardwood windows to replace rotten ones…he’s coming next week to replace our bargeboards….I suppose I could have had some boards cut and hired a cherry picker, but I’m getting a little old for those heights.

Good luck

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.

He sounds pretty skilled and efficient if he could do all that in 4 hours. You're paying for a job well done.

It's strange he didn't want to use his own tools, you'd think a tradesperson gets used to their own things.

Cash in hand. I don't get morally involved in why they're asking for cash.

You should always get a quote.

In response to your query - my year 11 son is considering learning a trade rather than A levels. Anyone we've mentioned it to has been very enthusiastic about how much work he'll have and how he'll be financially secure way sooner than his peers who go to uni etc.

This in spades

You should get a price in advance, then if you think it's too much go elsewhere. Good trades are in high demand, it's going to get worse, so.if you find a good one look after them.

Seems fine to me. I use tradesmen all the time

I totally support their salaries they deserve them entirely, I could never do it full time! I v nearly killed myself over the stress of renovating this house, and am not moving any time soon again. Unfortunately theres a lot of rouge/awful ones locally despite using trust a trade reviews, that we just became petrified to look for people after a few ysars. Found an amazing tiler and carpet fitter and recommend them to everyone. After 3 plasterers I finally found one that didn't leave the wall a total state needing hours of sanding and filling, thankfully as we wouldn't have managed to plaster the hallway!

Just saying on £23ph as a Dr (I'm 10y qualified so not a newbie) I couldn't afford the costs of most things, hence self taught absolutely anything we hand any hopes of doing (fitted new bath/sink/loo as just replaced like for like, many test runs of turn the mains on, still leaking, mains off, try again haha oh it gives me nightmares!

I've saved a fortune over the years by learning how to do stuff myself (I was lucky - my dad taught me most things and gave me the confidence to try).

It's well worth learning these skills.

a good, reliable tradesman is a very valuable thing to have though!

I pay £55 per hour for my handyman. I make sure to call him when I’ve got a few jobs lined up. They are always small (easy to the right person) jobs that would take me ages. Last time he put up some blinds, 2 shelves and fixed my dishwasher in an hour. I’d have probably spent 5 hours doing those jobs badly. It’s not his fault he’s efficient and fast!

If it's not worth it to you, don't pay it 🤷🏻‍♀️

Hairdressers, chefs, mechanics - they all train for a long time to do whatever in an hour that most people can't do. I respect their skills and hire people I trust to do whatever I need done. Just like accountants and lawyers and all the other things that happen - it's not an hour in a vacuum, it's the result of years of training.

My daughter is in high school and I'm very much encouraging her to take a wide view on what she's like to do in the future. There are so many options besides university.

What annoys me is how so many refuse to utilise what you’ve got and will only rip out entire bathrooms and charge you £10k for a new bathroom when it isn’t needed. It’s so bad for the environment and pocket. In frustration my husband now follows YouTube and does it himself. Rewiring spot lights, redoing silicone, fixing taps, skirting board etc. it costs a fraction of the price, looks better and is better for the environment.

My ex window cleaner ( he got got so busy he just stopped doing out street) has his work van, two new cars (owned not least) & bought a £400k+ house he is 26. He didn't go to uni but seems to be doing alright for himself.
I know his mum, she can't believe his well he's doing, when at school he was basically told he wasn't bright enough for uni.

My DF is a specialist electrician, his day call out rate is £2k not including parts. Anybody could do it but there is a massive shortage because it isn’t particularly interesting or well thought of.

Do you think a trained professional working on vital utilities in your home should be on minimum wage? Or do you think they should make a decent living after paying insurance, travel, tax etc? I hope you aren't teaching your pupils that university is more worthy than apprenticeships...

I think training as a trades person is now just as good option as university, although you do need to find the right apprenticeship. Also finding a good tradesman you can work with is like gold dust.

I mean this nicely, but I don't think going to university or training in an area that isn't well known for its pay is comparable to people who have hands on skills that there are is a lot of demand for.

OP, you’ve spent more time venting about the guy who dared to take a lunch hour (who was charging you £45.00 per hour) than the plumber who charged you £173.00 per hour (although he probably also charged you for parts) and the electrician who charged you £450.00 per hour (although a light fitting probably formed more of the cost of that 10minutes in that case)
I am guessing that your five years at University didn’t teach you any respect for the people who do jobs that you can’t do yourself, because of lack of knowledge, lack of practical skills and seemingly, an inability to determine how much a job should cost upfront, while getting quotes from more than one independent trader to get the best deal?
I’m always reminded of the late, great Lawrence Olivier, who, when praised by a fan for his “important” work, responded something like “my dear, my work isn’t important - plumbers are more important than me”
A little humility required here, I think…

When people think about hourly rates, do you think about:

Time to the job / the next job
Time when not working - waiting for jobs
Admin time
Time to get materials
Holiday time - self employed don't get paid holidays so they have to increase pay so they can take holidays
Pension contributions
Overheads
Advertising
Training costs
Certifcation
Trades bodies
Insurance

Or do you just look at your pay versus their pay?

Wow you paid cash on request. Not a good look for someone getting paid due to the UK tax take.

You are paying for their skills, their public liability insurance, their tools, materials, their van plus van maintenance, tax and insurance and their hourly rate.
I used to do a lot of tailoring, dressmaking, alterations and repairs but packed in because people didn't want to pay the going price. One customer came to me with photo of a dress she had seen in a shop - she asked me to make it because she "knew it would be cheaper than buying it"! I told her to leave and don't come back!
I never "worked cheaply", my designs and craftsmanship were exemplary although I do say so myself. If you want 'quality' you have to pay for it.

Absolute snob. Are you just looking down on trades because the rest of your university mates look down on you for being a teacher?

also, if we take in your actual capitation you get paid far far more - your capitation includes employers pension contributions, a portion of the cost of the school building, the whiteboards, continuous prof development, OFSTED and the textbooks etc. how much do you think all of that is???

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

This says it all. You’re suffering from elitism. You look down on tradesmen because they chose to spend time learning a skill rather than partying away their young years at uni writing essays.

It’s quite simple. They learned a trade. A skill. Something which you’re not capable of. They specialise in something that you can’t do yourself and they charge you the appreciate rate to provide that skill for you.

It’s incredibly arrogant to state that you’re wondering why you spent 5 years at uni. Are you saying you could have used that time to learn a trade instead? What makes you think you’d be capable of it even with training? Not everyone has the basic skills you know-just like not everyone has what it takes to become a teacher. Attending uni doesn’t make you or your time more valuable

Maybe the OP should set herself up a small business, look at the income she would like to take home in a year and then calculate the hourly rate she would like to be on.

Then do a cash flow forecast, with all the expected income, the expected overheads and see where that leaves her with actual income.

(A lot of people who say they run "small businesses" should do this to get a more realistic expectation of their actual income)

I know many teachers who have advised their children to take up apprenticeships as joiners, etc. (I'm a retired teacher who occasionally does supply. Certainly from the point of view of a supply teacher, you'd be much better off having a trade.)

What's the old adage? Something about the pay not being for the job that you do, but knowing how to do it?

And six hours is effectively a full day’s work, as they are unlikely to be able to fit another job in around it.