Why I'll NEVER Hire Another Tradesperson
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 พ.ค. 2024
- I needed to install some channel drains in our front garden which I will be running to a new soakaway to hopefully resolve the issues we have with pooling water during heavy rainfall. And while I'm at it, I'm also going to be laying some fresh concrete on our driveway to replace the failing and crumbling concrete that was laid by a professional a few years ago with the help of some family members.
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Just received the tubs, there was a delay but that was entirely my error. Exceptional quality, been carting hundreds of kilos of concrete up my tiered garden this afternoon and can testify that they are apparently indestructible. Don’t mess about, buy some today. Big thanks to you Keith and the lads at The Building Works. 😊👍🏻
@@MattBerryCustom Sorry to hear that Matt, I'm sending this to my point of contact now and will get back to you
@@MattBerryCustomdropping you an email... 👍
It may not be perfect, but it's miles better than it was before. Considering it's not your trade, you should be proud of what you achieved.
Thank you!
As always, inspirational and helped motivate me to crack on with the DIY tasks I keep thinking maybe I should pay someone. Thank you 🙏
Absolutely agree with that, especially bearing in mind, doing perfect concrete work is a trade that takes years to build up the skills and the feel for the tools, so with that result, I would not stress out about minor imperfections at all.
Earlier today a friend of mine asked me why I'm insulating my garage DIY instead of hiring someone. I told them almost word for word that "I will never hire another tradesperson" as well. The simple fact that I actually care about the quality of the result means that, 9/10 times, I end up doing a better job than a hired tradesperson - despite having little/no experience.
This video really resonates with me. I have had several awful experiences with contractors recently, and I've been using YOUR videos to learn the DIY skills in order to fix them. I'm so grateful that people like you go through the effort to create easy to understand educational videos and put them up on TH-cam so that I don't have to be stuck with half-assed jobs by tradepeople who just don't care.
Last year, I didn't even know what concrete was made of. This year I have:
- Installed my own drains.
- Poured a new garden path.
- Cut out, fit and glazed new French Doors.
- Added a new downpipe.
- Put down new garage flooring.
All thanks (very directly) to your videos. Massive, massive, massive thank you.
♥️ thank you so much
You are bob on. Especially with insulation where the quality of fit and attention to detail makes or breaks the performance of all those expensive materials.
Not only will you learn a new skill, you'll pick up some tools, and likely have more money to spend on better materials.
It's important to remember that poor DIY jobs aren't the end of the world. You'll usually get a good story out of it. You shouldn't expect perfection, and you're rarely getting perfection from the "professionals"
" I have had several awful experiences with contractors " - Haven't we all, completely agree with the sentiment here.
Stunning achievement - well done!
As a 'tradesman' who has done groundwork for 25 year's i can say that our trade is ruined by scammers and halfwits.
There is a lot more that goes into things than people realise from the skills to the knowledge to the tools and other things.
Hate it when people get ripped off.
Happy to advise anybody that wants to reach out.
That's a fair comment. The skill to do it right shouldn't be underestimated - something that's 'Pretty on the eye' isn't necessarily going to last. The vast majority of customers don't want or really can't pay what a proper job really needs, so that's where the chancers step in.
@@TAH1712the trades men want money,so they agree a price then without consulting you work out a way thats cheaper and less bother to them..
Could be just the overordering scam…where they van off with the excess materials you’ve paid for..
We had a good £200 switch disappear which they said needed replacing…but they seemed to find value in it..one minute it was there the next it was gone…if they take something off and you want it ,hide it before they do abracadabra with it…
where are you based Beeftitans? Im on a confusing slope and need some professional advice !
@@CharlieReZa based in Manchester.
Happy to try and help you.
@@TAH1712Indeed, most of them want champagne work done for cider money. Miserable bastards! 🙄🙈
It's a driveway, you're not plastering your living room wall. A few trowel marks don't matter. That's a great job Keith. Well done too to your dad n bro. Bet they're more reliable than a fair few tradies. 👏🏻
I feel the same way about tradesmen. I rather do the work myself and learn something in the process.
The learning to adapt to all the problems unveiled as you proceed is the most rewarding aspect to DIY. Hardwork never killed anyone but don't forget your hardhat!
The smooth border around the driveway definitely makes it look more professional, good call on that one!
Thanks
Jeepers Keith, it looks a million percent better, and it has to be more durable than the shoddy job before! It is so frustrating when you are trying to do up or keep up your home, and you are let down. We are lucky, in that a neighbour and friend is a brilliant and conscientious plumber, so he did a really neat and well thought-out job of installing a whole new heating system for us. A previous plumber had talked about needing to rip out walls and install a huge unit in our main hallway - it wasn't necessary, just the least considered way of doing it. We found a great electrician as well, through word of mouth - again, we were told floors would need to be ripped up, trenches dug, etc - nope, the work could be done safely and neatly without ruining our house. Every other experience though....put it this way, our DIY skills are forever expanding!
"Professionals" cut too many corners from my experience. Unsure if cutting costs, don't care, or incompetent. I once had a fridge repairman leave wet towel in our freezer, repair people decide to not complete work that was in the contract, people argue what the numbers from insurance mean when they are clearly labeled, etc. That's why i do most of my own work, so I can learn, more care is put into work, and cheaper.
That concrete slope is an embarrassment to the tradesman who fitted it. My dad ( who has worked as a brick layer and laborer in his early life) did a ramp in our back yard when i was just a wee baby (so almost 40 years ago now) so my mum could get the pram with me in it to the back door. We ripped that up oo has to be at least 10 years ago now and that concrete was almost impossible to remove the sledge bounced off it hit after hit after hit for about 20 mins before it finally started to crack.
EDIT. What you have done looks amazing, i am sure it will last decades.
Eeee
Yes the professionals use a few less bags of cement than is needed…3 bags times £20 thats £60 extra in his pocket..
And you’ve got no idea hes done it…or 3 free bags for his next job..courtesy of you..thanks Governor..
And you get a big crack in your drive for the frost to work on a few years later…then you employ another cowboy to fix it..for a kings ransom..
I recently spent untold hours online researching contractors for a patio, walkway, landscaping project to finally get to work on some deferred maintenance projects which were put on hold while we were raising the family. We no longer have the physical ability to DIY large projects. Competent, responsible people are out there but it's definitely like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. I have no idea how we would have found the two excellent, local, family owned companies we hired without the internet on which they could showcase their own, legitimate work. The search is much, much longer than the duration of the job.
Your project turned out great! You are very resourceful and have accumulated a lot of knowledge which is your most valuable asset when you attempt these projects. You are slowly turning your property into a valuable asset.
Thank you
To my critical over-judging eyes that driveway looks really good, it has the 60's California bungalow driveway look about it.
Thank you!
I like it when men and women know how to get things done by themselves in different ways. Well done
You did a great job. Great that you have a brother and your dad !
People like your channel because you are open and honest about your experiences. 😊
Thank you!
Don't let perfection be the enemy of good. A good job, well thought out and well executed. You'll probably be the only one that ever notices a trowel line here or there!
I've been doing my first house up and have used tradesman from pretty much all domestic trades in the last 18 months. I can say without equivocation, almost all the tradesman I've used were poor.... The "adequate" ones are the exception, not the norm - regardless of their reviews online. Just yesterday I had an electrician round to spur wall lights from existing sockets and convert them from single to double sockets. At the start of the job I offered my laser level so everything would be in-line and he declined the offer, instead using the existing socket tops as his "base" - of course they were out.... So he managed to miss the fact the existing sockets were not level with one another and even didn't check the chases came to the same height where the paralell wall lights would sit. Their out by around 1.5 - 2 inches and the sockets are out by closer to 3". I'm going to have to correct the problem myself, because I don't want the dope back in the house. I have a story like that for most of the tradespeople I've used - and they were all highly rated. It's absolutely criminal how bad the industry is.
Construction is an unregulated industry which leaves it open to all sorts of chancers. It's been made worse by open borders/mass migration. Unless it goes back to a guild system it won't change. Don't forget the cowboy clients either. Most home owners want champagne work for cider money.
@@TheToolnut - Agree on the guild system - something needs to change. I don't mind paying for good work, but it seems you get cider work in either case. I had hallway landing stairs plastered (skimmed) - cost me £850 and took 1.5 days for 1 guy. After it dried the true state of the finish became clear - looked like the surface of the moon.
I literally could've done a better job and it took me 2 days (and a new large orbital sander) to put right. No point getting the guy back to correct because it would require new skim or sanding and in either case it wasn't going to be a good result.
£850 for 1.5 days work is not cider money, but the outcome had more apples than the local greengrocer, nonetheless.
Alot of them cant be bothered and just want to get to the pub
@@youtoob1811 Did you ask him for his papers? Did you check references? Did he have insurance?
@@TheToolnut - He had over 100 positive reviews on a popular job site in the UK. I always check sparkies are certified (I think they have to be regardless). I also think they have to have insurance to use the website. I forgot to mention that he tried to talk me into NOT bothering with capping - "you don't need it because of the RCBO" I was told. I insisted they were capped.
I had another sparky who did a good job for me a while back, but when he came out to quote for this work he didn't bother sending a quote or responding to messages. Obviously didn't want the work and missed out on multiple other jobs.
These aren't isolated incidents, as I say I've had many tradesmen do work for me - there's a pattern. I won't say all tradesmen are bad, or sloppy, or unprofessional - but a LOT are - like 60-70% - and they've all been highly rated. Getting one of the good guys is pot luck IMO.
I came to the concolusion that most dissatisfied customers don't leave bad reviews through fear of comeback.
Great vid - thanks. I have also turned to doing nearly all my own jobs instead of getting in tradesmen. With so many excellent TH-cam videos and the ready availability of tools and materials, all you need is the time and willingness to learn and give it a go. Over the years I’ve saved tens of thousands of pounds, have confidence the job has been done properly, have a great collection of tools and enjoyed a lots of good workouts away from my desk job.
Turned out great and no doubt looks better than if the tradesperson had ended up doing it. My favourite thing about DIY is that you always know what lies beneath the surface, both literally and metaphorically. If I cut corners I know where and why. If a tradesperson cuts corners (99% will), you usually find out the hard way when it's too late.
Very true
Finding good tradespeople is hard, but there are definately those out there that are both great, and that care. That said, I've now done 3 bathrooms, 1 kitchen, decking, fencing and a shed after watching videos on TH-cam from makers like yourself. Keep up the good work 👍
That looks great! I am impressed with your variety of skills and determination to carry them out.
Thank you!
That looks wayyy better than I was expecting from the disclaimer before the reveal! And from the complexity of the job too. Well done, Keith!
Great Job Keith. I came to a similar conclusion a while ago, about trades people. Unless there's a law stopping me like gas fitting, I'll have a go myself.
And surely it should have been a TRUG of war😂😂
Proper job, mate. I'd be very proud of that.
Something extra satisfying about fixing drainage.
yep - water torture can be very cruel!
Looks fantastic! I hate trades people too! they never pay attention to big or small details
Thank you!
That looks so good. You don't actually know that even a competent professional would do much better - don't beat yourself up. Even as a DIYer if you paint a room, you can see every imperfection but that doesn't mean a professional doesn't have the same - they just don't have to see it every day!
You know, this might just be a regional thing but my Dad always called a Mattock a 'two-bore'. I use it almost universally for any job that involves disturbing earth, they're great even in the garden for digging out compacted soil or breaking up chunks of turf.
An edging tool is just for creating a pretty edge. What you need to keep the edges from breaking is “form oil”. If you don’t want to pay for it, save oil engine oil from changes, or vegetable oil from cooking. Brush it on your forms and they come off like butter.
a slab like that really should be at least 4 inches thick and even reinforced with rebar, at least that's how the guys I usually watch do it (Odell Complete Concrete), but let's hope it lasts.
'Done is better than perfect'
That's how I see it, I'm a perfectionist and would probably die before I complete some projects so sometimes I need to bite my tongue, push on and get it finished! Great job you did there 👌🏻
That turned out pretty good considering the circumstances Keith, it's quite a tricky space and slope(s) to manage, what a great family turning up in your "hour" of need, of course we know you've helped them out too !
Despite all the hard work fitting the soak away, digging up the old surface and mixing and laying all the concrete, of course you then still take on a load of extra work riddling and washing the gravel - I applaud you Keith !
Good work. Feels good to DIY, and you even revitalized the gravel (oh, the tedium!). Keep us posted on the ‘big rain’ test.
I feel your pain. As a landlord and keen diy'er I've had my fair share of regrets having paid for shoddy work; nothing worse when you look at the result and think I should have just done it myself, would have been cheaper, better and done right first time. Nice work on the drive, looks great.
I DIY everything. I like brushed finish, I think it is best not to let the end of the bristles cut into the finish. I drag the brush sort of backwards and upside down so the bristle sides pull along the surface and leave smoother lines, much like laying off paint with the side if the paint brush. Oh and the strong thick plastic bristle type of broom works best.
If you chuck gravel into your mixer and add some water then you can use a sieve to collect the gravel and allow the muddy water to run away - clean gravel!
Looks absolutely immaculate to me Keith awesome job done. Looked like hard graft as well, family to the rescue!!
Great job! I really share your frustration with tradesman - though in my case it's mainly in just getting then to call me back when I'm just trying to hire them. So frustrating how hard it is to find someone who will take my money. And of course, some are less reliable and skilled than others. And your point about how so many tradesman simply will never care about the quality of the work like you will is so true and has a very real impact on what the end result is. Like you, I end up doing almost everything DIY.
The driveway looks like it came out great. The only thing I might have done different is maybe to add some rebar, especially to the long narrow pour along the drain. That might crack on you if a heavy vehicle goes over it - definitely let it cure for months before you put any extreme load on it.
Looks great! Yeah, it sux when the "professionals" do a lousy job for no other reason than they were cutting corners. Job well done . . .
Well done. You are always your own best tradesman. Thats my motto after having to do it all over again after the socalled tradesman was done. Not connecting pipes, screwes driven in air, windows build in and leaking, drive way ( yes me to ) after the rain i needed a canoe to get to the other side. In the end you know who is good, in my case 2 out of 10. So, i'll keep my money and do it myself.
Smashing job, well done to all involved. The problem with the lack of decent tradesmen is a very deep conversation. But in a nutshell not enough young people coming through the system.
Brilliant, excellent job Keith. Well done.
Great job Keith. Couple of thoughts.
On a slope like that, you probably need some sort of reinforcement for the concrete, to withstand the tension of a car driving up. Sheets of mesh might be overkill, but even some sheep wire would add a huge amount of strength.
For next time, it might be worth looking into hiring or borrowing a ‘bull float’ to trowel out about 900mm wide. Extendable handles out to about 5m. You can get a brush attachment for the same system. Definitely available to hire.
You might be emptying out that trap once every 6 weeks in the winter.
Also!! I’ve withdrawal symptoms from the Podcast too. #WorkshopBanter
Nothing is perfect and it doesn't have to be. Good enough is fine.
You took on a big challenge with this one and showed tenacity and resilience to see it through. It's your driveway, you made it and if it needs maintaining in future, you will be able to do it. Great job! 👍
Thanks 👍
Always DIY has an extra feeling that become more value than hire someone to do it. Really like your job. Keep doing like that.
At my age this has been a very useful video to show my wife as she thinks I should be using more professionals. I know what I can and can’t do and some jobs are best left to the professionals. While I have to pace myself more I get regular exercise, some cardio plus the satisfaction of doing myself. Great vid thanks for posting best regards Mike
Total respect to you. Thats a lot of work. But a pick axe would’ve been easier than a mattock hacking through that trough.
That was a bucket load of work! Thanks to family and friends. Take care & stay safe Keith and family.
Great video Keith! I love watching all the different projects you undertake. Well done!
Everything ended up being amazing! Very good job, Sir!
I'm sad to say I too have had terrible experiences with 'builders' and other tradesman, and feel just the same as you. TH-cam channels such as yourself and Robin have been a huge help in learning how to when my own knowledge has reached its limits. Keep up the good work.
I recently see a pro crew do a drive on a build near us and they did the same brushed finish as you di with a trowel edge. They just he'd wide brush with very long handle that looked made for purpose. So I think you were bob on with your method there! Looks neat enough for a drive way!
Hi Kieth, you certainly know how to enjoy yourself😁
Cheers, and keep the videos coming.
I feel your pain, Keith, it's what motivates me to DIY. I'm sure you knew, but to any others you can get SDS shovel/spade bits and at least in my experience they've worked in clay soil. We only used them similar to how you're using the chisel bit in the soil.
The Mattock is my preferred tool since it runs on pizza power 🍕😋
I thought it looked good. Massive improvement on what was there before. Well done!
That is a tough shape to lay concrete. Personally I think it looks way better than what was there before.
Every day is a learning day.
Well done
Lovely job Kieth 👌
Looks great! Hope it is successful with the drainage.
I've got 3 ton bags of gravel just lifted from our garden... glad I'm not the only one mental enough to consider sifting and washing the lot hah!
Been subscribed for a while but haven’t been watching much diy stuff lately. Forgot how much I love this Chanel. Concrete looks great. And you are 100% correct most tradesman stopped giving a 💩 a long time ago it seems.
Refreshing to see content like this, thank you for sharing
Looks awesome! Great job
Amazing job well done!
Hi Keith. I’m with you, I’ll never hire another “professional” trade again. Currently laying the same drains myself around a greenhouse I’m building (half height rendered block). I’ve had to learn block and brick laying myself as here in north wales the only brickies that are not booked up for a year are charging up to £400 per day and looking at their work it looks like they went to the Stevie Wonder trade school.
On the concrete thing you did a great job and that’s a considerable area to do by hand. Something I learned building houses over in the states is to mist over all your concrete with water every day for a week to prevent it from drying out too quickly, I know, it seems counterintuitive. It significantly improves the strength and makes dust free concrete. Take it easy my friend. 👍🏻
As long as you’re happy with it, no one’s opinion matters and for DIY, and for the savings you made great job love your videos
Good on you for having a go. Looks like a pretty decent job
Too late now, but if you've got a situation where concrete is wearing away but not cracked, try capping it with granolithic mortar. It's a fine hard wearing screed made with granite dust, sand and cement.
Nice work. Well done
Hi Brownie that’s helped me a lot buddy, thanks for sharing! 👍
Hey Keith don't knock yourself over the so called iffy look of the driveway, you have to zoom in on a Camera to see if there is anything wrong with it, and there isn't.
You have done an amazing job Keith and the people who did your original driveway should sit in their van, watch your video, and see how it's done and all through hard work as well.
So if there were any imperfections around then they are yours, and yours alone and can't be copied by anyone, which makes the driveway, Unique.
Take Care and Well Done.
Barry (the Wirral)
Like your self I'm a DIYer and to be honest you have done a great job on your driveway and a brilliant job on your drainage. You should be proud on what you have done, Great video
Great job. Fair play to you for undertaking it yourself and well done to your brother and Dad for jumping on board to lend a hand. I've learned so much from this video as I usually do in your videos. Great also to see Mickey making good use of the catio. It's looking great too. We haven't even started ours yet. Trying to save up for the materials but every time we get close something happens like the washing machine or the fridge packing in.
Great work as usual. You have a great understanding of processes required for just about any project, what you don't already know you learn. So you've no need to pay to be disappointed by tradespeople. I'm sure you get a better feeling of success completing a job than writing off more cash to a poor trades let down!
Beautiful. Love the channel drains
Good tradespeople are like gold dust, you are right. Ill only ever use one with recommendations and where theres no option to diy. Big improvement on the drive entrance, definitely looks like itll solve the puddling as well.
Lovely work!
Job looks great to me - well done to you and the team!
Great timing on the trug bucket link - just broke the handles off one last week! Neighbours are growing veggies in it now.
Concrete is such hard work, hats off. And that’s another excellent video as well. There’s a funny balance of good enough, honest, real, choice of content, likeable, trustworthy that prompts me to comment and you do it every time. Since the compressor shed carbuncle. May the force be with you.
Thanks so much! 👍
Wow! That looks great!
You are too hard on yourself, i hvae been inspired to tackle some jobs around my house becase of your channel, as you have said on more than one occasion your are not a professional but you gave it a go. Take solce in knowing you have providesd inspiration for lots of people to give it a go, and we always learn from our mistakes. Keep the video coming. I hvae tackled a number of small projects becasue of you an dother TH-camrs,, you're doing a great job👍.
Keith I'm with you here... For those of us who enjoy trade work as a hobby, I find the extra time is worth knowing it's done right over hiring out whenever possible. Other than a neighbor of mine who did some landscaping for us, I've yet to be satisfied with any work I've hired out
Awesome work, Keith! You guys did a heck of a job there! 😃
And it looks pretty good!
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Great content, great presentation!
You did a good job. I reckon I have a success rate of only 30% of finding good professional tradesmen. I try and do all DIY myself (or use just good tradesmen I’ve used before). My work tends to be better than most tradesmen and there aren’t hidden bodges, and I save a ton of cash. Poor tradesmen are killing their industry!
Great job pal and as a tradesman myself I know the pain a lot of them can be and like yourself I try do as much as I can myself
Good job and it's a similar story no matter where you are in the world with contractors, or just people in general. One thing I think is worth checking is the amount of aggregate you use in your mix. Where I come from concrete has a lot more stone in it. That mix of yours looks more like mortar. That's just an observation not a put down
Love your work, keep up the awesome content
Really love this kind of "around the house" work, you come with some good and doable ideas for the average diy-er. Cheers! 👌
Give it a winter and any misgivings in the way you finished the concrete will disappear
If your gravel starts shifting and gets annoying look into "gravel grids" which you can lay to help retain it
It looks absolutely great
New subscriber here after searching for slab laying videos and then staying for this one too. Like minded it seems when re-using/recycling as much as possible when doing a project. I’ve found a good electrician but try and do most other things myself. I agree that sometimes good enough is perfectly fine too.👍
Looks amazing!! So neat and tidy, can’t believe how easy the old cement came up so easily, so that speaks volumes! Great video as always 😀👏
Looks a bit rough, but will look better over time. Much better than the first attempt which looks like it didn't have enough cement in it.
Tip for putting in the drainage channel - put them on little blobs of ballast, get them in position, straight and level etc. Fill in around after as they won't move around popping up all the time.
Regarding tradesmen one tip is to know exactly what they intend to do and exactly how they intend to do it before the job commences, then there can be no confusion. You can also hold back a third of the money until completion, never pay all the dosh upfront!
So true.. it's very rare to have a tradesman like Robin, who really cares about quality. It's in his DNA.. he can't do a lousy job. I put it down to competitive pressure.. "I really care.." is tough for the homeowner to credit, when the bids come in and one bid is quite a bit higher than the others. In theory... you pay extra for quality installation. But as the late, great baseball player Yogi Berra observed: "It theory, there's no difference between theory and practice... but in practice.. there is." So many times we pay extra in pursuit of quality, and are then quite disappointed by the result. As you say.. for things that matter... probably better to do it yourself, when you have the time to learn and the time (and money) to screw it up yourself... and then do it all over again, right!
Yep, if the sayings "pay peanuts get monkeys" or "you get what you pay for" were true, I'd have no problem spending more for quality work, but it doesn't seem to apply to the trades, sadly
That looks really good!
Really interesting video! Feel I could have a go myself now.
I’m impressed, well done.
Looks like a good job to me! Totally agree with trades people had a plasterer in recently and didn't expect to have to do so much patching after. Only use people you have worked with before and know the quality!
Perfect for a DIY, well done mate!
Well done under the circumstances. Being an old ex tradie (carpenter/builder) I have done many jobs like that single handed due to financial limitations. The difference when I have engaged a good reliable concert e.g. was so nice. Now I am medically retired, my wife will nor let me take on the big jobs around home, just the more or less manageable ones. It is still hard to pay someone else for what I used to be able to do. Good on your brother and Dad for being able to help. 2 of my sons have helped me a lot but they have their own families and lives deal with. I love your TH-cam channel, keep it up.
Looks great mate , im the same i got a driveway done 15k and it was a bit of a disaster, ended up having to fix loads of it and a retaining wall myself , im hetting windows and doors in at the end of the month , fingers crossed everything runs smoothly with that .
So how was your back(s), after all that hard work? I'm with you Keith, I do as much as possible myself. Part of it is because they charge an arm and a leg. No problem with a rough texture finish. It helps with grip. Think about Winter when you have snow and ice.