House 'Bashing'

[AlanWirral]

Well to help explain what i'm on about...

Over the last 3 years before i got made redundant (boss left to work offshore) the job's i was used to mainly involved Domestic work inc Problem solving/Rewires and working in mansions etc doing posh work if you get me with the odd grotty job maybe once a week. On the Commercial and Industrial side it was the usual stuff like Machine/Motor supplies etc.

I've been doing 'Temp' work for two different contractors over the last 8/9 weeks and i must say i've been doing some proper ****** work

The guys i'm with at the moment are renovating council houses. What they do is the bathroom and the kitchen on the electrical side and also smokes. We have to pull a new ring into the kitchen and then chase out all the sockets/spares inc second fix at the same time....Cooker cable inc switch...change the board...wire in and fit a smoke and heat detector. New pendents and switches on the lights keeping them dropped for the plasterers. All this including cleaning up (which with all the rubble takes ages at times) Loading and unloading the van and of course sorting any problems! Oh and the bodges i've seen already after a week would make you cringe.

How long would that take 3 of you? A day ish? We have to do TWO of these a day or you lose your job glad i don't work for them full time! Now i've done some serious grafting in my last career and also in this one but FFS some lads out there REALLY get crapped on. Not what i imagined how an electrician works day to day. Seriously making me question wether it's worth still doing this job if this is the type of work i'll be doing.

Rant Over...lol

 

[Amp David]

If you're expected to do 2 a day, not supprised their bodging it at times.

 

[Olec]

That must be some rough work

 

[AlanWirral]

Yeah that's the problem David! The two lads i'm working with, although very young (20 and 22) are decent hardworking lads who IMO are still learning there trade but this is making them pick up really bad habits

I should have explained there all self employed and get £160 a house so the £320 gets divided between the 3 of them. Then they have to pay some other lad to screw everything back in and put the lights back up after the plasterers. Told them to try and sort it out with maybe having 2 lads do one a day or two teams of two lads doing the two a day needed, that way they wouldn't need top pay this other lad to screw back etc. They can't see it now but when they get older they will have all sorts of problems i rekon.

 

[AlanWirral]

That must be some rough work

I was in the kitchen today and instead of drilling the joists above us they asked me to notch out the bottoms instead as it would be quicker. To me that's a No No but not sure if it's against any regs and i'd never do it personally.

 

[Amp David]

Someones taking the you know what somewhere i think

 

[AlanWirral]

Someones taking the you know what somewhere i think

The lads hate it and the boss it meant to be a right 'You know what' if you get me. Bugs the hell out of me this game sometimes! You have decent lads working for you...have regular money coming in off the council for all the work and just treat your hardworking lads like rubbish.

 

[ian]

I briefly did something similar. A team of 3 would desend on a house at 8am, two of us would start on the upstairs lighting, took around 2 hours, upstairs sockets (20 amp radial) by lunch time, down stairs lights by 2ish then the sockets by 5. the 3rd guy would sort out the kitchen and consumers unit.

The joiner would have been in a couple of days beforehand to lift boards etc, and some labours the day before to chase etc.

It was probably the worst job I have ever done, no capping, extract fans, not a clip to be seen anywhere, sockets at any height and not a straight on in the house. It was a nightmare, we would arrive on the job and someone would still be in bed, you didn’t have time to let them get up, just worked round about them.

I lasted around 3 weeks, it was the worst subbing job I have ever had.

 

[AlanWirral]

Yep sounds similar Ian! That sounds crappy too! I think if the chases were done etc then it would be a lot easier but then again you guys did a lot more than us.

Dreading work in the morning :-(

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Just read through this thread....OMG..(as the youngsters say)....presumably they have to test and cert too?......(and there's me thinking I had it rough sometimes)

 

[Spudnik]

Chin up Al, you hopefully wont have to do it for too long.

 

[robsparky1975]

Awful,rubbish work,i am working employed for a firm and they expect me to wire up 2 central heating systems in 8 hours,miles apart,taking the p,once this recession is done with i will go it alone properly and firms like this will pay in the end as they wont be able to find the skilled labour,imo the only wothwhile sparking would be commercial/industrial as it would appear to still hold some skill value from the unskilled fatcats eyes.

 

[bugsy]

Obviousley council work, but who Id llike to know signs the certs , and further more who are they registered with?

 

[AlanWirral]

Thanks Jason, I hope not mate

In regards to the certs and testing I forgot to add the paperwork for the client/company has to be all filled in and also the test certs on the day. I don't go near them thank god but the lad who does is only 20 and not 'Fully' qualified. He looked at me a few days ago and he had the last years test sheet in his hands, he just copied the readings down Inc ZE, r1 r2 etc and said...'They won't have changed much from last year anyway' my heart sank when he said that.

 

[bugsy]

LOL so much for part P who the hell are they registered with, on the next one mislay the previuose test sheets before he enters - copies the results and see how he gets on!