Tiler for £12 an hour??

[paulthe spark]

Whats everyones views on other trades rate? Must say it annoys me a little the fact we seem to be on the same par as plasterers, painters and tilers now. No disrespect but these trades are not as technically skilled as electricians so why is this not reflected in the rate? We have to pay and study for courses and liable if someones house burns down but other trades not subjected to this are paid the same or not more? Ive heard electricians were always the best paid years ago so whats changed? I cant see the justification, sorry rant over but would welcome peoples views

 

[SEC-Tom]

I'm in the wrong trade.

 

[Dave]

All trades are worthy of a good pay packet..

Electrics has it's speciality area's that not all sparks do, same with plumbers, not all can do gas etc..

I am a Tiler by Trade and i specialise in Natural stone work, tiling is a lot more specialised than it was say 20 yrs back.

Every trade has it's average Joe's and they will just want to earn a wage and then go home,, nothing more..

You charge what you think you are worth.. and i know some sparks that are on very good money... so don't undercut your selves charge proper rates.

 

[joethepudding]

I believe that to justify wages you need to look how long it takes to become proficient at a trade.
If you look at the average 3rd year electrical apprentice he could probably rewire a house with his eyes closed.
But on the other hand plastering can take 6 years to become proficient at.

So if you put them together the plasterer should be getting more.

This may upset a few people because sparks are renowned for thinking we at the top of the tree because we can do a few calculations and can read.

But do a full day laying brick or skimming ceilings and you would be wanting the same if not more than the electrician sat wiring a cu.

 

[rocker]

Good point, but then on the other hand you're less likely to be killed skimming a ceiling. Swings and roundabouts is the term, but I do feel that sparks tend to be taken the mic out of on site, just seems like we have to work around everyone else, and I think an equal pay amount would be fine, but we are definitely being undervalued.

 

[DiscoDave]

The working around other trades debate is a whole new kettle of fish! I've lost count of the arguments i've had with site managers because they would rather have the floor laid, than have the lights on or the central heating commissioned!

 

[jammysparks]

I believe that to justify wages you need to look how long it takes to become proficient at a trade.
If you look at the average 3rd year electrical apprentice he could probably rewire a house with his eyes closed.
But on the other hand plastering can take 6 years to become proficient at.

So if you put them together the plasterer should be getting more.

This may upset a few people because sparks are renowned for thinking we at the top of the tree because we can do a few calculations and can read.

But do a full day laying brick or skimming ceilings and you would be wanting the same if not more than the electrician sat wiring a cu.

If it takes someone six years to learn plastering then they must have an arm missing.

I started my electrical career when i was 17 in 1993, ive been employed for my apprentership and some 6 years after by a large company where i done a lot of everything, industrial/commercial as well as a little domestic, run sites with 10+ sparks under me, bank refurbs,office blocks bowlplexs etc etc...im ranting here.
Ive earnt some damn good money before the recession hit and probably averaged 800 take home pay a week employed but ive had to do average 80 hours a week for that and a lot of nights.
It got to the point where id had enough of the cutbacks to my pay which resulted in me doing same hours for half the pay nowadays so i left in august last year and have gone self employed, im now niceic domestic registered and things are slow, but luckily due to my wife going back full time after our daughter we manage just about.

Im ranting but ill get there, bare with me

The point is because work is not as frequent as id like ive gone on the tools with a plasterer as a m8 and been taught, now im not as quick as a guy who does just plastering day in day out but my finish is as gd as most and i regularly get paid more to do this than spark, i went with the guy for 2 weeks ffs and can pass off as a plasterer amongst the fulltimers.

My brother is a floorlayer and in between electrical jobs and plastering jobs to make ends meet i do some labouring for him and his crew in airports on big contracts and get paid £180 oer day.

The whole thing is mucked up and trades such as plasterers and floorlayers walk on a site and the area is mostly cleared for them "so they can get on" whilst we get pushed to a side and have to work around everyone.

Theres no respect for sparkys, loads of people have a go themselves. Doesnt help that anyone can buy electrical materials/accesories without having to show some kind of competence or qualification.

 

[paulthe spark]

Have to agree with jammysparks there I've losses count number times walked into a house to 1st fix and have to clear partitions, insulation, crap etc out of the way also bending under scaffoldings to get into the house only for the scaffolding to be cleared at the door as soon as joiner comes in with his sheets frustrating

 

[martysparky]

True enough any body can buy plaster from B and Q cheaper than the builders merchants and have a go like I did recently.

I plastered a ceiling and a few walls ( first time after reading a thread on here ) ok not 100% on the finish but ok and a lot cheaper buying a few bags of plaster than plaster plus the plasterers fee. No risk of death!!!

say, this was electrics and someone done a 90% good job... that 10% could very well be fatal

Ok we could do one of those in a week courses

Plastering
Tiling
basic plumbing
Electrics
Blah blah

Yes you could do a course and meet the grade etc but you could not do electrics even if just domestic and meet that grade unless you had studied for a few months before hand unlike the others.

So, although all trades have value and deserve to be paid well I think it is clear that electrics is more technical and dangerous.

Having said that i have worked in many areas in my time including: Glass, Carpentry, Tiles, Engineering,
I suppose it comes down to the level of craftsmanship / degree of skill / expertise etc.

If your a carpenter is your capability making and fitting a window or making and fitting a bespoke kitchen.

tiler, installing a simple splash back or complex Victorian designs

When the demand is there you can charge as much as you can get.

I think though at the mo with so many ppl out of work the public knows they can get some unemployed person to do work cheap. And what unemployed skilled person would refuse cash for there skills.

From what I see the public will either want to pay peanuts for the world or pay an arm and a leg for nothing. I.e. either have a really cheap job done or pay a huge amount of money playing safe with a big company.

the smaller companies seem to be between a rock and a hard place although will probably do a better job than both above.

So, the way I see it is you'll alway get someone saying how much money they earned.

The prob with sparking is as long as the customer gets that cert they think they are safe and that cert is also a means of bargaining for the customer as said earlier wires aint a visible or cosmetic attraction etc.

a cert means safe and thus bargain hard for lower prices.

Why oh why Part Public is not Public aware or is there a ploy in place creating a demand for the cert.

When the public are demanding the cert and made aware as with Gas safe surely the value of the spark will return.

god what a ramble

 

[stretchyboy]

If it takes someone six years to learn plastering then they must have an arm missing.

I'll be laughing about that on and off for the rest of the day

 

[joethepudding]

Guys I am afraid we live in an aesthetic world. If you are a finishing trade you wll be more valued by the customer.

I priced some work for a women last month, she was very happy to pay £1,500 for the fitted wardrobes. But she didn’t want a lintel over her new French doors because of the cost!!

She didn’t care that half her house could come down as long as her bedroom looked good.

That’s why I love lighting design as it gives us a chance to get in on the finishing touches.

 

[stretchyboy]

This is so true, we have an intruder alarm side of the business and i recently went to a guy in Barking who is a friend and he had just had his window double glazed in a lovely wood effect, been broken into for the second time in two years yet wouldn't part with 400 quid (which was parts only!!!) for a wirefree system with six sensors, three door contacts, gsm dialler(no phone line in house) to protect it all ................ I think we are all living in bizarro land at the moment. Too many "deals" going round people are just waiting for someone to do things at a loss all the time.

 

[aptsys]

...wouldn't part with 400 quid (which was parts only!!!) for a wirefree system...

Neither would I. No one with common sense would opt for a wireless alarm system!

 

[ezzzekiel]

took 4 years to complete apprenticeship as plasterer, although after 6 months i was out on my own.
mind you rendering, pebble dash etc to a while longer to master

 

[stretchyboy]

Neither would I. No one with common sense would opt for a wireless alarm system!

I used to think that for the last 17 years i've been installing wired systems, but if you buy good kit there is nothing wrong with them. This kit is Grade 2 so it can connect to a central station/ police if you want and has 5yr battery life on sounder, 3yr battery life in panel and 2-3 years on detectors depending on usage....... half day install and no mess.

 

[cantabrian9]

yeh i can believe this kind of rate like one member said they normally work on price ,joiners on shopfitting normally get around 150 per day +30 to 40 per day Xs and they are only sticking a bit of wood up!!!! then you get some dipstick job foreman(joiner)shouting c;mon sparks yer holding the job up when they have finished banging their nails in ETC we are just starting second fix + commisioning!!!!!