just come back from the pub and decided to let off some steam these are the things that p me off
Buses
I stand at the bus stop, everybody else stands on the pavement near it and expect to get on first.
A bus I do'nt want come's and parks so that when my bus come's I have to run up the hill to catch the drivers attention
There's a laywer's office next to the bus stop, and they come, in their flash car and park on double yellow line's and I have to run up hill when my bus come's
The bus never come's when it should!
The driver can't drive round corners without mounting the pavement!
The driver can't stop at the bus stop only near [usually past] it.
There are allways at least four buses of every other number except mine I could'nt care less if my bus is pink, salmon,or green, [by the way who thought up these stupid colours ] line I only want to know where it's going
There's a notice on the bus saying stay in your seat till the bus stop's but the bus take's off like a getaway car before I'm sitting down?
Work
I'm a plumber [he must be loaded] and not only do I have to pay c.o.r.g.i. several hundred pounds a year, for doing nothing, but now I have to pay n.i.c.c.e. several hundred more pounds to be able to do what I'v being doing for the last 30 yrs

Oh I know! :o

It's the same here when a plumber calls at my house,
'clocks' the street & quality neighbourhood...
Charges £50 for a ten-bob tap washer...

well we can afford can't we????

(stay cool :wink: )

Phew,
I know you wanted to let out steam but CHILL OUT!!!!!
Just think about the good things in life....

Originally posted by H_E_M
Phew,
I know you wanted to let out steam but CHILL OUT!!!!!
Just think about the good things in life....

If their is two words in the English language that are a dead certainty to give someone a early heart attack!
Chill and Out are them.

Originally posted by haggis
do'nt come's come's drivers
line's come's come's allways could'nt stop's take's I'v
Well haggis. I have deleted all the words in your post which are spelled correctly. Or correctly expressed with an apostrophe, and now I am happy too.

Happy Plumbing :thumbsup:

I tend to find that the more posh the area the more likely the people are to argue about, the price, the work agreed apon, and the less likely they are to pay, in the hope that I will give up, because it takes me so much time, and expense to chase what, to them is a days wage, but to me is my bread and butter
By the way I'm a plumber not an writer!

Originally posted by muddycoffee
Well haggis. I have deleted all the words in your post which are spelled correctly. Or correctly expressed with an apostrophe, and now I am happy too.

Happy Plumbing :thumbsup: :confused: Was there a point to that? :confused:

Originally posted by haggis
I tend to find that the more posh the area the more likely the people are to argue about, the price, the work agreed apon, and the less likely they are to pay, in the hope that I will give up, because it takes me so much time, and expense to chase what, to them is a days wage, but to me is my bread and butter
By the way I'm a plumber not an writer!
Maybe because the people in the 'posh' areas have more nous to spot when they're being taken for a ride perhaps?
After all, their 'days wage' is also their bread & butter?

The example I gave; £50 for a 50p tap washer which took 10 minutes to fit is not an urban myth.
It happened to me when I first moved into my current house, at a time when every penny was precious as all my everything had gone into the house purchase.
Simply because I neither had the skill nor the tools to do the job I was ripped off, I feel, because of the street I'd chosen to move to, and how my 'affluence' must have 'appeared' to the plumber... :)

Originally posted by Strix
:confused: Was there a point to that? :confused:

Was this comment tongue in cheek Strix? :blush: I seem to remember us having a right old rant about 'their' and 'there' a couple of nights ago! :thumbsup:

K x

Originally posted by Kristian
Was this comment tongue in cheek Strix? :blush: I seem to remember us having a right old rant about 'their' and 'there' a couple of nights ago! :thumbsup:

K x
I think people think I'm just pedantic about spelling. Not so. I only grizzle when the meaning is lost or I have to read it 3 or 4 times to decipher it.

Originally posted by Don_Kiddick
Maybe because the people in the 'posh' areas have more nous to spot when they're being taken for a ride perhaps?
After all, their 'days wage' is also their bread & butter?

The example I gave; £50 for a 50p tap washer which took 10 minutes to fit is not an urban myth.
It happened to me when I first moved into my current house, at a time when every penny was precious as all my everything had gone into the house purchase.
Simply because I neither had the skill nor the tools to do the job I was ripped off, I feel, because of the street I'd chosen to move to, and how my 'affluence' must have 'appeared' to the plumber... :)

You said it "I neither had the skill or the tools" I have the skill and the tools, and I'v been to the merchants and bought the washer and I take the risk of breaking the tap, sink, pipe, basin which if I do I'll replace/repair at my own expense.

Originally posted by Strix
I think people think I'm just pedantic about spelling. Not so. I only grizzle when the meaning is lost or I have to read it 3 or 4 times to decipher it.

At least you grizzle hon! I normally just passive-agressively 'tut' at the screen :D

K x

Originally posted by haggis
You said it "I neither had the skill or the tools" I have the skill and the tools, and I'v been to the merchants and bought the washer and I take the risk of breaking the tap, sink, pipe, basin which if I do I'll replace/repair at my own expense.
Agreed. If you added up all of the time in travelling and admin, and added it to your overheads (van, tools, insurance, etc.), people would be surprised at how much of that £50/10mins would be left in your pocket as an hourly rate.

Originally posted by haggis
You said it "I neither had the skill or the tools" I have the skill and the tools, and I'v been to the merchants and bought the washer and I take the risk of breaking the tap, sink, pipe, basin which if I do I'll replace/repair at my own expense.

Damn right.
About time we in the building trades got some real £££'s recognition.
How many years spent at colledge/apprenticeship (on next to nothing pay)?
Working in all weather conditions(Summer aint all it's cracked up to be when your slogging your asse off!).
Tools aint cheap if your a competant professional.
Potentially working in dangerous situations.
Vehicle running costs.
Public liability cover.
No holiday/sick/inclement weather pay if your self employed.

Then, eventually when you you get home, how many hours are spent doing estimates, invoices, tax, VAT etc?

Pay peanuts, expect a monkey:roll eyes:
Beware of the cowboy element:suspect:
Go on recommendations but expect a wait (I never advertise and I'm booked up till 2006:clap: ).

Oh and yes, I do enjoy my job................ unless it's raining, a bit mucky, crap earner, too hot etc etc:hihi::wink:

Too true, Claycraft. That's why if I've got a bitty job or only one day's work for a tradesman - I offer to be put on a 'short notice' note in his diary, so if he's e.g. rained off on a job, he can use me to fill a day that would have been slack. :thumbsup:

It usually gets the job done quicker, and ensures I don't get 'overlooked' when something better turns up!

PS - NEVER leave your carpenter with an empty tea mug. Sawdust dunt alf mek yer coff! :D

Originally posted by haggis
You said it "I neither had the skill or the tools" I have the skill and the tools, and I'v been to the merchants and bought the washer and I take the risk of breaking the tap, sink, pipe, basin which if I do I'll replace/repair at my own expense.

I do now have the skill and the tools because I looked it up in a book.

It's quite simple really. Which rather adds salt to the wound.

Can't quite see how charging me £50 'just-in-case' you broke my tap, pipe, sink etc holds any water (no pun intended).
That £50 /10 minute job would equate to £300 per hour- just how much does ?Working in all weather conditions(Summer aint all it's cracked up to be when your slogging your asse off!). Cost???

So if you didn't break the tap, sink, pipe could I have a refund?
And isn't that what insurance & personal professional indemnity are for?
:confused:

Do it yourself next time then, and when you make a complete balls of it phone a tradesman and he'll sort it out for you,but it'll cost more than £50 quid!

"Working in all weather conditions (Summer aint all it's cracked up to be when your slogging your asse off)"


Originally posted by Don_Kiddick
Cost???


My point being that when the weathers crap (As it can be over the winter months), you can't work, so you dont get payed.
(Make like a squirrel and store some provisions:wink: )
I make an allowence for this throught the year within my pricing.

The Summer referance was to be taken a little tongue in cheek.
By trade I am a bricklayer and you do kinda get a little miffed when the suns blazing, hearing "Aw! You've got a great job!"

Yeah, dust sticking to the sweat, dehidration, sunburn etc:lol:

Originally posted by Don_Kiddick




So if you didn't break the tap, sink, pipe could I have a refund?
And isn't that what insurance & personal professional indemnity are for?
:confused:

Like other insurances these days, motor vehicle for example, you have them to cover yourself by law. You wouldnt claim if you scraped your wing mirror on your garage door frame would you?
So say you were quoted £100 labour to replace your sink and whilst undertaking this task the plumber broke a tap, would you then be happy to be charged an extra £20 to replace it?
I doubt it.
Said plumber is runnung a business and can't cough up for every unforseen problem.
Hence you cover yourself in your pricing:thumbsup:

Originally posted by Don_Kiddick
I do now have the skill and the tools because I looked it up in a book.
It's quite simple really.
Hi Don,
Your book learnin' is a good bit of a hobby, but I am sticking Up with Claycraft here because I am a bit of a craftsman with my work too. There is nothing that can compare with the time served experience of a plumber.

What are you gonna do when you can't shift the nut on the tap to replace the washer? Despite a spanner in a piece of pipe for leverage, and a split bath top?
when your gas fire in the back bedroom needs it's gas line capping off in the cellar?
The gas cooker pilot light doesn't work any more?
The front room gas fire has a red flame and lots of soot on the ceramics, you may be affecting your children with carbon monoxide, which is a nerve gas.
The old boiler which heats up your hot water supply can't keep it's pilot light on, and you spend 5 minutes every evening relighting it.
Think about it, the experience and training of a proper plumber is the only solution to these little annoyances. Lots of these spares may be in his van already, he can do all these jobs safely and legally in an hour. They will take you, an amateur plumber, weeks to get the various spares out of the plumbers supplier. How much is your time worth?

very true muddycoffee I once read a book but I do'nt think it qualifeys me as a secret agent!!!

Originally posted by haggis
very true muddycoffee I once read a book but I do'nt think it qualifeys me as a secret agent!!!

Nice one Haggis :thumbsup::hihi:

why do triangle sandwiches taste better then square ones...that ******s me off haha

Yes i rant when i see that advert on the tele.

Taxing doe'snt have to be taxin

PS wot is it then?