A little story

[dick turpin]

After doing a 4 week tiling course 2 years ago i decided to give up my job(cement chemist, realy dull) and put my heart and sole into my new career. To say the first six months was stressfull would be an understatement. in my younger years i was a bricky and did a bit of tiling in the winter months, so had a fair idea of what i was doing. having not been in the building trade for 15 years though was definatly a shock to the body,back ,knees etc....I did get a few jobs in the first six months(losed a few on quotes aswell) but never nice easy ones, first job 900/600 glass, then travetine ensuite in very large house, 900/300 with dimond set 100/100 in the middle with bulnose boarders, underfloor heating aswell, think i lost a few pounds on that job, really underestimated how long it would take.....learnt lots from that one (and a few grey hairs). next job was another ensuite with pebbles on the floor and mosaics on the wall....mmmmm, i wont bore you with the others.
for me the experiance of jobs like these can never be tought on 4 week tiling courses I think the bit that worried me was doing the job with a first class finnish, doing the job correctly and having a happy customer. I had no complaints. work was hard to get, and having made hundreds of phone calls and lots of visits to tile shops bathroom shops etc card drops and parish mags work just didint come in. 8 months into my new career i tore the ligaments of my chest and shoulder....ouch...i can no longer tile above shoulder height so pretty much an end to my career. since then i have been making jewllery and breading chickens. in the last few months i have had loads of calls for tiling jobs all floors of which i can do, i have given lots of jobs away (ones i cant do) to another tiler i know who has done them very well.
all the calls i get now are from recommendation from the few jobs i did do.
So all you folks who are thinking of a new career in tiling it can be very hard going, took 2 years for me to get enough work in to make a decent living out of it .having a mortgage and 2 kids gets expensive, just a shame im not in good physical shape to do them.....life goes on, good luck to all newbies,

thank for reading

Dick

[mags]

Good report mate , Im in a similar situation infact im looking for another job in IT . People still want tiling work done but so many people are doing it and doing it Cheap.
Like you I have a motgage and 2 kids and I cannot afford ot work for 40-50quid a day (mind its beter than the NOTHING im getting now).

Hopefully things will pick up but it will ahve to be very very soon. Just been out today and delivered another 500 leaflets , thats 4000 in total so far and have not had ONE reply.

[brian c]

not so good lads,keep your chins up if possible.on me.

[dick turpin]

My chin is up these days and life is good, happy days. I have kept all my tools and enjoying the jobs i can do,

Just like to add to the forum and all the advise i received from your answers in my first few months

[brian c]

Good report mate , Im in a similar situation infact im looking for another job in IT . People still want tiling work done but so many people are doing it and doing it Cheap.
Like you I have a motgage and 2 kids and I cannot afford ot work for 40-50quid a day (mind its beter than the NOTHING im getting now).

Hopefully things will pick up but it will ahve to be very very soon. Just been out today and delivered another 500 leaflets , thats 4000 in total so far and have not had ONE reply.

surely you will get some sort of return on that hard work...make sure to work clean and tidy and leave a good job,then you will get the recomendations.

[dagger]

best of luck... sad story....

maybe you can perfect floor tiling and make a mint!!

i have hurt my back recently carrying SLC, its an RSI thing once a year or two...trapped nerve...a real pain....

best wishes

Lee.

[whitebeam]

Some good points there Dick, Sitting on an office chair and then going into physical work can be painful and will take time for the body to climatize.

Did know a guy nearly thirty who went into plastering, lasted a year until his back gave up

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

old boy here, the body can be a funny thing ,and give pain/twinges at some stages of your lives, but iv'e found if you take it steady,and look after it and not panic!! it can get over some of these things and all is not lost, backpain, knees, sholder, elbows, will give you trouble over the years,allways think first and say how can i make this easier on myself , good luck guys

[guppy]

Hello ,what an interesting story,i was a brickie before becoming a tiler too,i also trained in a similar way to yourself before starting at the age of 38.I didnt tackle anything as involved as you did when first starting it didnt come my way but i dont think i had the confidence at that time i spent most of my time second guessing myself and doing site work.There are still a few things i would like to know more about but as my experience and confidence has grown so has my willingness to tackle more complicated work and also to walk away from potentially bad work and customers,when i was starting i would attempt to do whatever the customer wanted ,while there was no serious disasters i didnt make much money.I have been tiling 5 years now and while there is still much to learn i think in the long run it has been a good idea.

[Rad2474]

Work is very scarce atm,fortunatley i'm only part time tiling is just some extra money for me as i work fulltime as a cnc operator. Tiling is something i'd love to do fulltime but there's noway i could afford to weith work so quiet and my lack of contacts and experience,one maybe.

[Terry Cottar]

Mmmm! Very interesting IMO I think it is important to keep at it. ""When the going gets tough"" ""The tough get going""

It is clear you are one of the latter. It is all too easy to just roll over and give up. I admire your resolve. Well done!

tel