The most skilled trade?

[diy_fun_uk]

Yes this is subjective and some might be slightly biased however out of the following trades, which one would you say requires the most skill when everything is factored in and why? 'Everything' meaning learning the trade, qualifications required, tools used, accuracy required from the finished result and the breadth/variety of work it typically entails. Think of it in terms of commercial and domestic work and not just someone who buys a van and takes a one line ad out in the free papers

Stick to this list ...

Building inspector
Bricklayer
Carpenter
Electrician
Floor layer
Glazier
Heating engineer
Joiner
Landscaper
Painter & decorator
Plasterer
Plumber
Roofer
Stonemason

 

[Dork Lard]

Subjective / objective, & totally meaningless in the form of the question you present.

I was a painter & decorator, went on to do many great things.

Each of the trades you list, works to an instruction. I feel it is relevant that you don't have any "instructors" in your list.

By far, the most intelligent of building trades I have ever come across, have been 'scaffolders'.

Put that in your pipe & smoke them onions.

 

[denso13]

I was a painter & decorator

I don't personally know any decorators . Do they exist?

 

[The Samaritan]

Subjective / objective, & totally meaningless in the form of the question you present.

totally agree with the above.

The bottoms line is, you can either do it or you can't. What is hard work/skills to one may be peanuts to another, fact.

Personally I'd say a tree surgeon needs a moderate skill set and all of the others could be easily done by 99.99% of able people.

 

[transam]

Tis obvious

plumbers and heating blokes
Are
designers
Specifiers
Tech help
Examined every 5 years
Water regs
Sparkies
Break down

 

[noseall]

Dexterity wise - bricklaying. Its a job for artisans.

Plastering/rendering has its foibles but modern day skimming is repetitive and simple to do. Still easy to do badly though.

Roof building requires lots prior experience or a lot of reading up. A good relationship with math's helps.

Slab laying is a bit like plastering in that done well, it looks beautiful - but easy to do badly.

 

[transam]

Subjective / objective, & totally meaningless in the form of the question you present.

I was a painter & decorator, went on to do many great things.

Each of the trades you list, works to an instruction. I feel it is relevant that you don't have any "instructors" in your list.

By far, the most intelligent of building trades I have ever come across, have been 'scaffolders'.

Put that in your pipe & smoke them onions.

scaffolders these are the blokes
Who follow health and safety to the letter

we work for a scaffolding HSE training centre

 

[transam]

Tis obvious

plumbers and heating blokes
Are
designers
Specifiers
Tech help
Examined every 5 years
Water regs
Sparkies
Break down

and probably the most stress full trade as well ?????

 

[noseall]

Examined every 5 years

Jeezus, our work is scrutinised weekly.

I suppose it helps when a lot of your work is covered up, in cupboards, under floor boards etc.

 

[gas112]

Plasterers even a reasonably good let along a shyte plasterer can ruin the look of everything.
And a proper chippy who doesnt get everything hidden by paint nothing worse than shyte mitres and other joints that fit were they touch

 

[noseall]

I'd say tackling a large cut roof or even a large (craned) truss roof is the most daunting especially the day you expose and cut into the existing roof.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

Tis obvious

plumbers and heating blokes
Are
designers
Specifiers
Tech help
Examined every 5 years
Water regs
Sparkies
Break down

There's definitely an art to it, some of the pipework if done well could almost be considered an art installation!

 

[noseall]

There's definitely an art to it, some of the pipework if done well could almost be considered an art installation!

True dat. I'm not happy unless I have a tablespoon size puddle of solder on the floor, when I do a bit of soldering. There is always water in the pipe when I end up doing an emergency repair, as its always low down in trenches. Many times Ive had to use the suck and spit method.

 

[The Samaritan]

Plasterers even a reasonably good let along a shyte plasterer can ruin the look of everything.
And a proper chippy who doesnt get everything hidden by paint nothing worse than shyte mitres and other joints that fit were they touch

When I worked for the council I saw a lot of crap handiwork by so-called plasters. You're right re carpenters as well

We've had bad luck when we used a platering clown my sibling used where it did an A1 job but as we were on hols, he did a crap job
and would not return so we had to go down his place to get him to come back - a mistake we made is paid up front as he did such a good job at my sivbs before. It's a good job I'm a pacifist.

We had similar experience with the flooring at another house the flooring bloke did a A1 job at one of my sibs and it was almost the whole house but at ours laid a couple of damaged pieces right in the middle of the room. We made him pull them back up and change them. if it had been where the damage was were the furniture was going i would have let slip but not where it could be seen. The thing is the clown lied said it must have happened later but no one else had been in that room other than him and he was still there when i noted it. He tried to charge us extra and that really made me a tad angry but i kept my cool as always. I had to say to him, you either fix it now of get out and we won't be paying you a penny. I made sure I left them both negative reviews and one of them was so upset he made threats and I just lol of as i knew he was incapable otherwise he would have stood his ground initially even though he was wrong.

 

[noseall]

Subjective / objective, & totally meaningless in the form of the question you present.

Not completely. If you are one of those builders that encounter many different trades and skill sets, then you are in a position to give an informed opinion and an interesting overview of all those you encounter. Anyone working with me will experience a lot of those on that list as well as an old fashioned insight into forgotten skills - i.e. like building fireplaces and chimneys, ripping slates and repairing, fixing glass with glazing sprigs putty etc, haunching and flaunching, float & set plastering, and many other weird and wonderful things.