Which Trade?

[DeltaT2]

Hi all, I have used this site many times and have always received good advice and I am still looking for advice but slightly different. I currently run my own business from home (Clerical not Trade) and I am just about to complete on a buy to let which needs a refurb. Whilst thinking about this I have come to the decision that it may help me to take a course and learn a trade. This will help me to keep refurb costs down and could also provide a little extra income. I enjoy most things, plumbing, tiling, a bit of electrics but obviously I am no tradesman in any of them. My question is... which "trade" would you recommend a 42 yr old, fairly competent DIYer take a training course in with a view to earning some extra income ?
Thanks

Don't do it mate, all trades are at an all time low. Take advantage of this & shop around for the best tradesmen & the best prices. If you've got work as a self-employed person, you're very lucky. Because 1000s of tradesmen don't.
HTH

I don't know why everyone in trade keeps saying that.

My heating engineer is very busy and needs at least a week or two to book any new work in.
A roofer I use hasn't got back to me after I called him 2 days ago. He told me over the phone that he was too busy and couldn't take any work for 2 weeks. So I will have to chase him to get a quote.
There must be some work around.

You're having a laugh mate??!! One or two weeks work..........LMFAO!!!
In 2006, we had customers waiting 6 months for new Heating Systems & had a squad of 40 guys working 7 days a week.

We Tender for Social Housing jobs, replacement Central Heating systems, Kitchens & Bathrooms, that type of thing.
We Tendered for a 70 House replacement C/Heating job two weeks ago, along with..........wait for it; 25 other Contractors!!! This trade is f.cked, the Bankers have f.cked us all over!!

 

[chapeau]

We Tendered for a 70 House replacement C/Heating job two weeks ago, along with..........wait for it; 25 other Contractors!!!

And I bet it goes to the outfit who pays the biggest kickback.

 

[ponyagent]

forget electrics ! it will cost you £2k on a course and you will be in no position to rewire a circuit let alone a house, try tiling or plastering as you wont kill your self unless you fall of a ladder

 

[flameport]

All trades = doomed. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18687365

No money to spend on construction, can't borrow any money as banks won't lend, and with investigations and other mess piling up, that situation won't be improving.

All to get much worse very shortly.

 

[DeltaT2]

All trades = doomed. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18687365

No money to spend on construction, can't borrow any money as banks won't lend, and with investigations and other mess piling up, that situation won't be improving.

All to get much worse very shortly.

Little or no apprentices being trained, all the old hands taking early retirement or driving taxis, good young tradesmen emigrating. There's no work. The Construction industry & related trades are f.cked.

 

[chapeau]

That's because all the rest of us are also f'kd so cannot afford to hire tradesmen like we used to.

 

[DeltaT2]

That's because all the rest of us are also f'kd so cannot afford to hire tradesmen like we used to.

Why would you mate, the council pay for all your repairs to your high rise flat.

 

[chapeau]

That's because all the rest of us are also f'kd so cannot afford to hire tradesmen like we used to.

Why would you mate, the council pay for all your repairs to your high rise flat.

Interesting story.

My mother is housebound with no disabled access to her house. So about three months ago the council offered to pay for a ramp. They got a single guy to come round to quote. Putting a gate in a wall and building a five meter long ramp was...

£6,000

Yes, six grand.

One quote.

The builder chased the council and council wanted to do it and started chasing me. I said you must be kidding, you are getting ripped off, spend your money on something else, council lady got all shirty with me.

I'd rather pay for it myself than see taxpayers money get peed away.

Wasn't you who quoted was it?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

A roofer I use hasn't got back to me after I called him 2 days ago. He told me over the phone that he was too busy and couldn't take any work for 2 weeks. So I will have to chase him to get a quote.
There must be some work around.

Two weeks isn't much of a buffer in work terms and it can take years to get to that stage in the trades. As others have said a reasonable order book would be in the magnitude of several months, same as it is for bigger businesses. For everyone out their with a few weeks work in hand there are probably as many with nowt.

 

[DeltaT2]

That's because all the rest of us are also f'kd so cannot afford to hire tradesmen like we used to.

Why would you mate, the council pay for all your repairs to your high rise flat.

Interesting story.

My mother is housebound with no disabled access to her house. So about three months ago the council offered to pay for a ramp. They got a single guy to come round to quote. Putting a gate in a wall and building a five meter long ramp was...

£6,000

Yes, six grand.

One quote.

The builder chased the council and council wanted to do it and started chasing me. I said you must be kidding, you are getting ripped off, spend your money on something else, council lady got all shirty with me.

I'd rather pay for it myself than see taxpayers money get peed away.

Wasn't you who quoted was it?

I 100% agree mate, I'd take the same stance. No, it wasn't me that quoted £6K, believe me if I could get work at these rates I'd be 'D.ck Puller Construction Ltd' in a heart beat!!

Yer man was on the fiddle mate, he clearly had someone at the council in his pocket.

 

[Nige F]

Well said Chapeau and Delta

 

[peterperfection]

I am an electrician and have recently been refurbishing a large house for myself.

I have brought tradesmen in because:

they can do it faster than me,
to a better standard than me,
I can be off on my own jobs while theyre working.


It is probably the same for you.

Here stands a man with common sense.

 

[peterperfection]

Thats exactly what I have found, Gas Safe and Sparks are telling me its a 4 week wait and so there must be work. I was just thinking that if a Tiler/Plasterer/Plumber etc charges me £1k for a job and I could get some quality training for say £2k then I would save in the long run and potentially be able to get some work.....I would add that this work would not be needed to pay the bills (yet|)

They used to have work on there books for four months, now down to four weeks...

Not so very long ago I was bragging about having to turn work down as I had so much on. Now my phone is dead.

Had one small job last week. This week I have a £300 job and nothing else.

Be patient John-- you must know by now that self emp is swings and roundabouts.?.

How are things for you right now ?.
Better I hope.

 

[Nige F]

Brickies on £110 a day - can`t get hoddies for love nor money ( £80 a day and no ladder climbing ) that`s the news from Sussex I heard through the grapevine It`s reet grim dahn sath. Bring back the 60`s - us kids were clearing out houses on a newbuild site for pocket money @ the weekend and doing a round of caddying for the knobby golfers for 5 bob - plus sunday paper rounds , cutting old dears lawns Don`t know who was in parliament - but it was all good then

 

[peterperfection]

Brickies on £110 a day - can`t get hoddies for love nor money ( £80 a day and no ladder climbing ) that`s the news from Sussex I heard through the grapevine It`s reet grim dahn sath. Bring back the 60`s - us kids were clearing out houses on a newbuild site for pocket money @ the weekend and doing a round of caddying for the knobby golfers for 5 bob - plus sunday paper rounds , cutting old dears lawns Don`t know who was in parliament - but it was all good then

It's always good looking back. Nostalgia is a wonderful thing .
If you could 'bottle it' - you would be a millionaire this time next year Rodney .

Hey- we were kids then - running to corner shop with a basket and getting 5LB of spuds and also a wagon wheel for breakfast next moring- (if we were lucky).

Everything is better looking back.
But- reality is- things have become to easy these days and we EXPECT MORE.
Did you notice how much space there was in those days on roads and back streets- because only the 'posh' people had a car ?.

We all walked to school then- or got a 'backie' off a pal who had a bike .
Pi$$ wet through in the rain and dried oiur ar$$es on big thick rads at back of classrooms.

We have to move with the times- and not 'expect what we are now used to' we have to compromise .
In 20 years time - kids will be saying ' 'wasn't it great in the 2010s .

go figure.