When Wet-Pants does the Muc-Spreading

-Matt · Feb 14, 2019

Got to a job of a second fitting this morning, and went from a rather good mood to ----ing ----ed off when i noticed all my sockets were completely full of plaster and most of the light switches where completely filled and plastered over.

There was a data socket to the right, completely hidden!

I immediately went to drag the main builder so he could explain to me what the ---- he had done, to be told “the plumber was short on work, so did the plastering”

I stole 2 of his lads to dig my boxes back out for me, after re-locating where i had put all my sockets and switches etc.
Who managed to break the lugs on 2 sockets after smashing them with a chisel.

I had even gone to the effort of making sure all my cables were nicely coiled up inside the boxes, i should have left them all stucking out!

Just what do these people think they are doing???

telectrix · Feb 14, 2019

you can't educate pork or plumbers.

ackbarthestar · Feb 14, 2019

Don't leave them sticking out whatever you do.....Plasterers really do have something missing, plumbers too have something else missing but not the same way as the wet trades and keep away from the P&Ds .

Dave OCD · Feb 14, 2019

The general dumbness and couldn't care less attitude that's everywhere now is so frustrating, just today I was fitting a built in oven to a new housing -left a note for the kitchen fitter to leave the backboard out as the housing would then be just over 500mm deep and the oven is 560mm, guess what he did ??

The_apprentice2.0 · Feb 14, 2019

Dave OCD said:
guess what he did ??

Did he get an early dart because he forgot to get his Mrs flowers?

littlespark · Feb 14, 2019

For a plumber, he's made a remarkably good job of plastering. not including filling the boxes.
Unless the wall isn't as flat as it looks on the pic

telectrix · Feb 14, 2019

littlespark said:
For a plumber, he's made a remarkably good job of plastering. not including filling the boxes.
Unless the wall isn't as flat as it looks on the pic

watch out or you'll be getting mentor status on the wet-pants forum.

buzzlightyear · Feb 14, 2019

I rember a few years ago the builder put the oven housing unit up side down and fixed the wall to other units. , they put the wrong tall unit in and the back of unit was closed .
you should have seen them taking the units out , pratts.

PEG · Feb 14, 2019

You could have brushed a bit of mold release,in them boxes,which works a treat and is cheap enough. This,i prefer,as you end up with nice,crisp,square edges,for your faceplates.

Plasterers don't all like 4 sweeps,from every opening,and float and skim,needs something to sit on,if it is to stay flat,whilst hardening.

I realise a lot of the banter on here,is in regard of plasterers you have no control over...but doing a little extra prep,for one that knows his job,pays dividends.

I have just finished my youngest's bedroom,which me good friend,plastered. Double sockets,switches and media outlets,everywhere....and not a single one,where you could put a ruler across and slide in a 25 thou feeler guage

cliffed · Feb 15, 2019

Had the same on a job,plaster & screed filling boxes.
Bloke in charge said it was my fault,should have put cardboard in the box on 1st fix to avoid it.
I lost it with him.
Filled a day work sheet,passed it on to the builders,still didn’t get paid though.

stevethesparks · Feb 15, 2019

Just been doing a kitchen refit myself. Similar thing, not only boxes full of plaster, but cupboards fitted over the top without cutting out for the accessory, or even marking out where they were.

Oven/microwave cupboard similar with back in place.

Pelmets falling of when installing led strip.

Dot and dabbing a wall where originally it was to just be plastered, leaving my back boxes seemingly in the next room.

Plastering up to and around a temporary socket I left for the customer/builder.

Builders tools spread everywhere, along with boxes of kitchen cupboards, all in the work area

The kitchen in question would now be finished, had the builder not cleared off, leaving tiling to be done so I cant fit the new accessories.

The idea of a visit for first fix and another for second fix went out the window ages ago.

stevethesparks · Feb 15, 2019

A previous job, I'd used the "blank-it" cardboard covers, and the chippy again put a cupboard over the top with no cut out.
When I approached him about it, he said I thought it wasn't needed as I had a cover over it???

Deleted account · Feb 15, 2019

I find this normal for plasterers. It doesn't take much to knock the edges off or quickly go round edges with a multi tool.

telectrix · Feb 15, 2019

a decent plasterer will go round with a knife and trim when still slightly soft. (well, we can dream).

Taylortwocities · Feb 15, 2019

Did a nice job a while ago. House ground floor opened up and I first fixed with lighting cables through the plasterboard ceiling for about 10 surface light to be fixed.

Returned after plastering and there was a lovely smooth plastered ceiling, with no cables - they had pushed all the cables up into the ceiling void.
No access from above as the underfloor (wet) heating pipes were now in the floor.
I took great delight in chomping great holes in the new plaster to discover the cables.

FatAlan · Feb 15, 2019

Plasterers working on my house have been pretty good and I do feel for the lads that have worked mixing up lime plaster. Even wearing masks they still get exposed to some s**t. Cut my last set of downlights holes yesterday and 100% hit rate for cables being where they should have been.. glad I made detailed diagrams and measurements.
I have one intermediate switch where the cable was sheered leaving me with about 2.5inches to play with

Now waiting for comments on 2.5inches

pirate · Feb 15, 2019

Just do it all yourself! Then all will be ok.
Used these recently...

http://yoozybox.co.uk/

came back the next day...all gone!
Still, the back boxes were clean...

You cannot trust others to do the job...fact!

Oh, if this is seen as a rant, I'm off!

telectrix · Feb 16, 2019

watch out pirate, there's a splicer eyeing up your main halliard

Blissof89 · Feb 16, 2019

Whenever you meet a new plasterer coil the cables up in the box nice and tidy and point out to him you have done so to make his life easier.

If he fills the boxes up then next time he gets 500mm of cable hanging out of every box and flat capping

-Matt · Feb 17, 2019

I think if MR Plumber/Spreader turned up yesterday I would have punched him.

Doing my testing, and had no ring continuity, so clearly there was another socket somewhere.

Being that it was last year that i 1st fitted, I couldn't remember where else there was any sockets, neither could the customer.

So had to crawl through the very tight loft to follow my cables, found another drop, then smashed his ----ing plaster off.

I had to repeat this twice more, and I finally had continuity...
(each time I found one, the customer would go, "ohh thats for the....)

To say I was royally ----ed off was an understatement.......

telectrix · Feb 17, 2019

-Matt said:
I think if MR Plumber/Spreader turned up yesterday I would have punched him.

Doing my testing, and had no ring continuity, so clearly there was another socket somewhere.

Being that it was last year that i 1st fitted, I couldn't remember where else there was any sockets, neither could the customer.

So had to crawl through the very tight loft to follow my cables, found another drop, then smashed his ****ing plaster off.

I had to repeat this twice more, and I finally had continuity...
(each time I found one, the customer would go, "ohh thats for the....)

To say I was royally ****ed off was an understatement.......

once had exactly same. used a Bosch metal/cable detector to find the boxes. cut out carefully with multitool and old blade. no mess, no drama.

brianmoooore · Mar 30, 2019

Don't you lot have 'phones with cameras in your pocket? Always take a pic. of every wall after first fix.
Not only helps locate plastered over boxes, but also studs and joists that you may want to find for fixings.

Toneyz · Mar 30, 2019

brianmoooore said:
Don't you lot have 'phones with cameras in your pocket? Always take a pic. of every wall after first fix.
Not only helps locate plastered over boxes, but also studs and joists that you may want to find for fixings.

I'll have thousands of pictures of walls if I did that!

brianmoooore · Mar 30, 2019

You don't have to keep them forever!

Electric Magic · Mar 30, 2019

Finished a rewire a couple of weeks ago. Use the same plasterer regularly for rewires I do but after this one am not using the moron again. The job he did on filling the chases was fine, however the general state of the existing plaster on some walls was poor so he convinced the customer to knock it off (after I'd completed second fix) and he's been back to board and re-skim. He put a screw through one of my cables when fixing the boards (even though he knew exactly where the cables were -he filled the chase the first time!) but rather than calling me he just carried on regardless. Didn't mention it to me or the customer just left the lights off (not that they'd go on as the screw created a short between neutral and earth). I'd have come out to fix it FOC if he'd have called me (would have taken the p*ss a bit, but everyone makes mistakes). He probably gets about a grand a month's worth of work through me. Not anymore.