worse trade ever! nowadays

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butterfingers

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No doubt most guys on this site has at some point thought of switching careers over past 4 or 5 years, Iccertainly have. Anyhow am good at my job 12 years exp worked with most of the systems that's realistically all the same except there way of doing it! My question is and to be honest over last year or so have seen some improvement, but its a damn hard trade with pressure , expenses and lots of time spent not earning, through weather , health and safety materials held etc etc! But is considered a skilled trade! I spent originally 6 years doing my time before I was really ready. But eastern Europeans come over yeah there hard workers but use bucket trowels to throw on the wall literally pmsl!! Anyway rant over! Does anyone see it getting better is my question ?? Lol got there in the end.
 
certainly the trade is not like it used to be,, hopefully things will get better but im not holding my breath
 
stick with it, man. things can only get better. if you want the rainbow you gotta put up with the rain ... :RpS_thumbup:
 
Yeah should have a union as far as I know every**** and there dogs got one nowadays. But we got no security at all nowadays most firms on take on self employed rather than books in now, cause they worked out that if it rains etc we are the ones who have take a hit! Plus prices for self employed/sole trader are basically books on prices without holiday pay etc. Don't get me wrong there's weeks we do well but also weeks we do crap, so if ya average it out it ain't that great unless yer a director and trowel getting direct prices! But yeah man 2morros another day lol
 
seriously, i'm guessing your about thirty, if you're that fed up with it, try something new. go self employed doing domestic and be your own boss. my missus went to uni to become a teacher after doing years as a low paid teaching assistant. shes now a deputy head. within six years. it's nothing. i've a brother in law whos retrained as a plumber and is raking it in. he was in IT but lost work in the recession. cost him two grand for a two month course or something. you're still young. if you dont like it try something new. Remember T E Lawrence:

All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.

:RpS_thumbup:
 
Rabbis burns eat yer heart out! Serious point m8 that was a great quote! Yeah am 31 this month lol ! I think its a case of old habits die hard. I genuinely enjoy my work when things are as they should be but you will probs know that ain't how the beast works! Cheers for the quote will remember that one me thinks:)
 
There is a move now to force firms to take people as employees instead of as subbies, this was in motion pre the crash but was put on hold but it's now back on the agenda, firms will resist this with all their might, one guy told me he would stop trading rather than pay holiday/ sick pay etc.
 
Is shi@e! But certainly moving in the right direction over the past 12 months..

I have only ever known SE being a spread, if I were to retain it would be plumber/Gas fitter, but even then I know of a gas fitter who's SE on £13 an hour lol, his own fault as he's to lazy to go chasing work, it's not for everyone and takes time, can't sit on your laurels and wait for things to fall into your lap..
 
@Jurek :RpS_laugh:
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Marshy said:
And Bungle Zippy and George :RpS_laugh:
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george was G**, methinks ... :RpS_unsure:

sorry about that @buttfingers. it was late and id been celebrating and drinking. the ramblings of a madman. but it still not too late to bail out :RpS_thumbup: maybe emmigrate to oz. weather should be fine there
 
butterfingers said:
No doubt most guys on this site has at some point thought of switching careers over past 4 or 5 years, Iccertainly have. Anyhow am good at my job 12 years exp worked with most of the systems that's realistically all the same except there way of doing it! My question is and to be honest over last year or so have seen some improvement, but its a damn hard trade with pressure , expenses and lots of time spent not earning, through weather , health and safety materials held etc etc! But is considered a skilled trade! I spent originally 6 years doing my time before I was really ready. But eastern Europeans come over yeah there hard workers but use bucket trowels to throw on the wall literally pmsl!! Anyway rant over! Does anyone see it getting better is my question ?? Lol got there in the end.
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It's not just plasterers it's most trades are in the **** this last 5 years.
 
This is what I have said in earlier threads about being employed rather than self employed. In the 70,s when I was employed their was a national union rate and most in the trade (spreads, bricks, joiners etc) got an certain hourly rate as a minimum. You then got tool money and travel money albeit the bus fare to get to work but not home.Then anything over was overtime or a bonus scheme. But the point was we where all equal and knew what our bottom line was for a starters. I do not know what the union rate is now but at a guess £17k a year or £340 a week. That is for just turning up in your car with a bag of tools. No van needed not even a whisk and tranny. You are really labour only. As for m2 rate well it had to be that you could earn at least your basic pay so if you didn't you would get paid more than you have earned and would get the boot as you could not earn your keep.

Now today it is dog eat dog. Demand exceeds supply so the cheapest and fittest gets it. Graft away and earn not that much. Take out of that not much your holiday pay, bank holiday pay, sick pay and no work today so no pay a van of course and the power tools and you are actually probably worse of than a employed spread on the council.

We are mugs. If I had my time again I would work for the council like I once did. My partner at that time still works for them although it is now Kier and he earns £18k on a bad year £24k on a good one with a pension and sick days, holidays etc. I regard he is a lot better off than me, 39 hrs a week weekends and nights to himself and life as it should be. Lucky him.
 
The trade is struggling from all sides.

Skimming and boarding are not a hard skill to pick up, I regularly work for a small insurance firm and they have labourers board the job for me and sometime even use their own artexer/plasterer/painter to skim it, at times, they don't even use me, it's all money.

there is little call for 2 coat work around here, most can't do it, but there is no demand for it.

the rendering is ok, but it's hard and time consuming to price, it's heavy work also, I'm finding customers want this cheap, they don't care about meshing, they don't care for proper preparation, just the ££££ and how cheap you'll do it.

the green deal was/is a waste of time a guy I use when I need a hand is now base/mesh coating for £75.00 a day take home.

im defiantly not interested in pricing full houses up at the minute, boarding & skimming 3 bed semis for under £1500 inc mats and lab, no thanks.

im still young and have put a lot of time and money into website, setting up and learning new aspects of the trade, just a case of seeing how it goes.
 
I have won a few jobs this week and have a few insurance jobs to crack on with, the good and bad of it is one customer told me I was the most expensive quote, £100 more than the nearest, but he liked my set up and wanted me to do work, the flip side, I wasn't expensive, so what are these other guys playing at.

it might be the time of year as rigsby said in another thread, it's swings and roundabouts.

one day it's the worst jobs in the world, the next, it's the best
 
Not sure about the worse trade ,but it has gone backwards cant blame the state of the country , im sure it would of happened anyway , just too many at it now , and working for low rates , if it was a thriving trade it would demand its own rates .
 
when I qoute, i put proper prices in, and when I,m slack go scaffolding, good to get a change from each...
 
No disrespect to anyone, you want to try getting on the property ladder now, no more self certs (liar loans) mortgages

the last generation were very lucky, you'll never realise how lucky.

by that time you'll have had you pensions and be 6ft down,

(sits and waits for the shite to hit the fan)
 
i totally agree mac , same as ever thing else that has gone up in the last 10 years , except wages , i can only talk for myself , but builders think 120 a day is a lot of money to pay , you just have to laugh .
 
a plasterer should get 120 a day, without pulling their bollox off, anything lower is taking the piss....
 
Not what you know mate but who you know, that's how you survive if that is the right word. Domestic is cut throat as site work.
The big battle in your mind you hold the key to wealth or poverty your choice.
 
johniosaif said:
There is a move now to force firms to take people as employees instead of as subbies, this was in motion pre the crash but was put on hold but it's now back on the agenda, firms will resist this with all their might, one guy told me he would stop trading rather than pay holiday/ sick pay etc.
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I hope it comes in john all it can do is push rates up
 
spunky said:
More like 140-150, 120 is a ten year old day rate
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Depend where you are in the Country. Can't imagine the north east getting decent money.

And again true labour only (man and a bag of tools) or labour including Ritmo, van and all equipment but materials?
 
Heard of a local brick factory opening up again because demand is going up. Brick layers have had it harder than us. They will be putting their rates up.
 
johniosaif said:
There is a move now to force firms to take people as employees instead of as subbies, this was in motion pre the crash but was put on hold but it's now back on the agenda, firms will resist this with all their might, one guy told me he would stop trading rather than pay holiday/ sick pay etc.
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All this is true what you say John , the problem it has is when is the cut of point ,if a 6 month contract becomes paye or 7,8,9,month , it was debated about 9 years ago , to stop the so called self employed that work for the same company day in day out
 
Rigsby said:
Depend where you are in the Country. Can't imagine the north east getting decent money.

And again true labour only (man and a bag of tools) or labour including Ritmo, van and all equipment but materials?
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The best i have seen up here for true labour only as you say is 13 per hour for one of the local councils for a 37 hr week. Make your own way to depot and their van after that.
 
Rigsby said:
Heard of a local brick factory opening up again because demand is going up. Brick layers have had it harder than us. They will be putting their rates up.
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Also heard this , some firms cant get blocks and bricks in south east .
 
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