Are you sub contracting or working privately

[cowgomoo]

Hello everyone out there, are the most of you working for private clients or, like me, sub contracting on sites ?? I am hating it at the moment and just wondered how many people are in my position and do you hate it if you are.
David

[enduro]

I did one day site work, never again only work for a couple of developers and a few architects the rest private.

[Oli]

Private

[LM Ceramics]

now i only do private but i would never rule out returning to site if the money was good

[cowgomoo]

The money is my main beef at the moment, we are getting £12 per m2 for 600 x 330 porcelain wall tiles !! Lots of cuts and difficult to get a lot done.

[atec]

private, but would not rule out sub contract work

[DERBER]

Private only, except for other tradesmen,plumbers, plasterers etc. I aint working for £12 a m2 for nobody........

[enduro]

The money is my main beef at the moment, we are getting £12 per m2 for 600 x 330 porcelain wall tiles !! Lots of cuts and difficult to get a lot done.

Christ i wouldn't get out of bed for that money, how do you survive on that money?

[tile55]

was working for 12 per mt way back in 93, wouldn't work for anything less than 20 per mt now.
Don't do site work, been there, done that, haven't got the t-shirt.

Private jobs are 90% of my work now.

[pjc]

ok on a large floor but not on walls :Pete

[whitebeam]

Done both but stick to private now, Site work on walls and floor £15m and that was a couple of years ago

[doug boardley]

site work mainly, for most part I enjoy it, £30pm, main gripe about domestic is the unexpected after ripping out, will customers be prepared to foot the bill for extras?

[BDS]

Only do private/domestic,when i give quote in writing i stipulate that any additional/unforseen work will be charged at an extra cost to the customer,and as long as you tell them and pre warn them they are fine,turned up at one job an ensuite to quote,it was bad and customer who had just bought property had agreed it was bad,turned out that a fair bit of the stud work had to be ripped out redone and reboarded opposite side replastered etc etc etc,i love the challenge and that all the different jobs i go to are never the same,different scenario`s etc etc etc,keeps me on my toes and keeps me learning new things every day.

[cornish_crofter]

I do private. When I quote I make sure that the customer understands exactly what I'm quoting for.

For example, I quoted to remove and retile around a shower area. I quoted to redo one wall in Aqua Panel before tiling and simply retile the other wall. However when I removed the tiles from the second wall I found that the whole inner leaf was wrecked by some numpty chaising in a whole shower and associated pipework into a 4 inch inner leaf. I couldn't believe it. The previous installer had two stud walls either side that he could have put the shower in! The quickest solution was to overboard with battens and aquapanel.

In addition I had to do loads of extra work including repairing the floor before the tray was installed.

Both of these were extras and the customer reluctantly understood.

[tile55]

site work mainly, for most part I enjoy it, £30pm, main gripe about domestic is the unexpected after ripping out, will customers be prepared to foot the bill for extras?

WHAT! £30 per mt,. I bet you don't have much competition up your way.

[doug boardley]

WHAT! £30 per mt,. I bet you don't have much competition up your way.

Nope!!

[grumpygrouter]

Guys, please try and keep pricing out of view of the "public" forums unless it is really unavoidable. Thanks

[medlar]

Done both,prefer to do private,as stated,there is not enough money to be made on sites,however i do work for a few developers every now and then and have no qualms over price work with them

[dts]

As medlar, do both prefer domestic as you generally get a better rate and you haven't got other trades chasing you for start and finish dates.

[mikel]

Private if enough work. Feels like you are more in charge of the job. Nothing worse than a busy site with other trades tripping over,moving,and worst of all using your tools without asking.

[medlar]

Private if enough work. Feels like you are more in charge of the job. Nothing worse than a busy site with other trades tripping over,moving,and worst of all using your tools without asking.

good point that mate about others on a site just picking up gear and using it,when it dont belong to them,i have had gear nicked off sites,although nothing big,just the likes of parrot nippers,water level,grinder.could have been worse though

[2Balls]

Hi,I do both , Private and as sub. I like both types of work Because I like giving quality and the chance to blow out the cobwebs and make some meters!! Prices are between 20 -45€. I tend to take the rough and the smooth. At the end of the day the bank balance is always moving!

2Balls

[cowgomoo]

You are well right about getting stuff nicked but the most annoying thing I find is when the nick the water you have lugged from miles away. Had all my tools taken once, plus all the tiles in the plot plus adhesive and grout - busy site and no-one saw anything !! What a life.

[Bolter]

I do both. Subby through the week, and I get 2-3 calls a month regarding private work of which I may get 1, 2 if Im lucky.

Every single private I go to quote for, ask me to just "tile over that stuff" or "can't you just mess around with your adhesive to sort that out" etc. They don't normally understand at first that there may be hidden extras, and corners cannot be cut. I am getting better at explaining the process though, but people call me with a budget in mind.

Site work is cack. Dont get me wrong, I love my job, and Im totally appreciative of the work, but general site work is monotonous, and with this credit crunch business, Site Agents are employing some crap cheap trades, and its starting to become a problem for the finishing trades like tilers and painters. Walls are all over the shop, window sills always a joke and things done in the wrong order like getting on site, and the bathroom is fully painted!! Raaaarrrrgh!!

[Dave Ramsden]

Constant site work nearly 90% stone at a steady rate. Been 7 days a wk since September!
Can be a pain in the butt sometimes but it keeps me out of trouble!

[Bolter]

Constant site work nearly 90% stone at a steady rate. Been 7 days a wk since September!
Can be a pain in the butt sometimes but it keeps me out of trouble!

Thats awesome! Very jealous of course

[2Balls]

Constant site work nearly 90% stone at a steady rate. Been 7 days a wk since September!
Can be a pain in the butt sometimes but it keeps me out of trouble!

Hi Dave,
7 day weeks are long! Take it while you can, as you never Know when a dry spell comes.Dry spell = Holiday! All the best for the new year mate.

2Balls

[doug boardley]

worst thing about site work is having to pack away at site closing time, could of just done with a couple more hours today to get a room finished..........!

[robbbin]

Only do private now. problem is some people dont understand how much materials can cost in certain situations can be a pain, when in UK rates from £18 when im in Spain £15 euros including mats overthere everyone use powder 3 euros a 25kg bag

[2Balls]

Hi Robbbin, Hell, 15€,hope thats for your back pocket!!2Balls