All part of the service...or not?

A question to all the plasterers on this forum who plaster for a living (as I do).
When plastering a ceiling for instance would you drop down/disconnect any downlighters, remove light pendants or any other lighting, or remove ceiling or wall mounted extractor fans prior to starting. Also would you remove radiators/heaters from walls etc.

I tend to do all of the above as part of the service and then refit them, much amusement from some colleagues who think I'm mad to do any of this and say its the customers responsibility to get them removed.

This is the way I've always done it.....am I a mug??

We tend to do as you say, more out of convenience than anything else.

It does make me chuckle though when the customers ask for a new light fitting to be put back up, or bog roll holder, mirror, picture, cabinet.....etc, etc,

.....the ones that really make me laugh are the ones who say "i didn't manage to get a sparky or a plumber 'round, will you still be able to do the job"?!

This is knowing full well that you were coming that Monday and that you only had that particular time slot!!

You are better off including it in the price as i said earlier, it is not always convenient for the customer to have rads off or switches open.

normally this would be included in the price!

though if the rads are piped up in microbore and antiquated fittings i would normally suggest customer deals with removal themselves. or call in plumber at extra cost.
same goes for any suspect leccy instalations.

and i dont take curtains,blinds or pictures down, or fit new tv points half way up walls to accommodate their wall hung flat screens.

while i'm there

I dont do it as rule ,just to cover my own ass really as i dont think my public liability covers me for plumbing and electrical work so if it all goes wrong im stuffed .Have you considered this ? i know its a nice thing to do for customers but unless your qualified to do these things you know what people are like if anything goes wrong ,they will be on the phone to claims for you before you can blink

a VERY good point Wozza!!

personally these days i won't touch rads as you're up shi* street if the valves start leaking, had this happen once, NEVER AGAIN! so will work around them unless the have them removed.

switches and ceiling roses etc i will remove out of convenience for myself like noseall says.

as yet i've need had anyone take the pis* and ask for cheeky extras like the stuff you boys talk about but now that Wozza has pointed out the insurance thingy i will have this at the forfront of my mind when asked to do ANYTHING other than plaster.

i take the simple things off when you start talking about extractor fans and the like no i wouldn't, i can imagine it gets you more work though if they have a choice between a spread that will take it off and one that wont then that makes you fav to get the job, but if something gos wrong and you break it you will probably have to pay for a new one and a sparky to fit it which means your just about to plaster their room for nothing

I dont mind lowering a ceiling rose or loosening up sockets and switches.

I would prefer to have them totaly removed but its hardly ever done.

It only takes a couple of minutes to do and I get the customer to screw them back up when the plaster is set.

I always offer to take rads off at a price. I do plumbing aswell so its not a problem for me to do them.
You get some customers who want you to go as far as you can behind the rad but I hate doing it.

I have done it for free in the end some times as I dont want my job to look like a bad job.

Im just a bit of a sucker and would rather do a good job and end up doing extra work for it!

islandview said:

Im just a bit of a sucker and would rather do a good job and end up doing extra work for it!

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thats taking pride in your work

makitaman said:

.....am I a mug??

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No not at all, your just doing a proper job IMO, just make sure the customer is aware that what your doing is going the extra mile, involves extra time & price accordingly. Totally removing light/socket switch plates makes things far easier & is hardly significant time wise as is dropping light fittings but radiators are a PITA & I’d rather not get ionvolved. On a suspended floor, if the pipes have enough give, you can sometimes get away with lifting them off the brackts & swinging downwards, away from the wall (after loosening the unions a little of course) but draining down & removal involves considerable more work/time, not to mention possible cock ups & I’d rather the customer got their own plumber in.

Well, as a customer, I would say anybody coming along to do work needs to be flexible if they want to come along and do work again.

So I had a plasterer come round to skim a room before christmas. He originally said he would dot and dab it, but he didn't have time, so I put the boards up myself and he re-quoted for a skim only.

Fair enough.

However I had missed a 2.5 inch wide section on a stud wall so I asked him to use some of my plaster board to fix it up first. Well, he did it, but made me go fetch some of my screws (he had thousands in his van, but he hadn't quoted for that) and then complained because he also had to cut out a few backboxes because I hadn't done it well enough.

So I suppose he was right, in that he hadn't quoted for that, took him all of ten minutes to do though.

I just kept on making him tea (free of charge, didn't charge him for that, and my daily rate is a lot higher than his).

So what would I say.

He gets quite a bit of work on my street, but I have already started telling people about my experience. I also had him quote for a new kitchen extension, but he won't be getting that work now either.

So he was quite correct to say he hadn't quoted for using his screws, but I am also quote correct in that I don't have to recommend him or give him any more of my cash.

The decorator following him was a hard worker, good attitude, and by the time he had finished I had given him an extra ten days work and also got him another job down the street.

I don't feel such a mug now. All the answers mirror my own experiences, you know the plumber couldn't make and I need to get on with the job that day etc, etc. My Public Liability does indeed cover all the types of work we take on as a company. But I have been caught out in the past - one time a rad shut off valve spindle snapped off whilst we were trying to loosen it, plenty of time lost draining part of the CH system to install new valve. Another time with an extractor fan I removed, once the plastering was finished we hooked the fan back up and it wouldn't work. Time again spent removing the covers to find a loose contact. Luckily these two episodes happened with a couple of our regular customers so no real loss financially. I do worry though (even with PLI) that if we remove something it may get damaged and I'm liable.

I intend to carry on as usual but its good to get some good replies to the post.

Dont get me wrong i will take things like sockets and light fittings off and dont mind putting a few things right before hand but there has to be a limit and i certainly would not mess with rads etc .

I think the worse case i had was to go to skim a ceiling i had priced up before they had finished the room ,went back a week later to skim it and it wasnt even up so i ended up putting the ceiling up with the bloke ,trouble is as i knew him i didnt charge any extra

Well, as a customer, I would say anybody coming along to do work needs to be flexible if they want to come along and do work again.


Agree with you, it's part of the way you build up a reputation. However, there are degrees of flexibility.

So I had a plasterer come round to skim a room before christmas. He originally said he would dot and dab it, but he didn't have time, so I put the boards up myself and he re-quoted for a skim only.

Fair enough.

So when he showed up to do the job, he was expecting all of the plasterboard to be ready, having made it quite clear to you that he only had time to skim it.


However I had missed a 2.5 inch wide section on a stud wall so I asked him to use some of my plaster board to fix it up first.

How did you ask him? Had you told him on the phone that everything was ready before he came?


Well, he did it, but made me go fetch some of my screws (he had thousands in his van, but he hadn't quoted for that) and then complained because he also had to cut out a few back boxes because I hadn't done it well enough.

Was it such a hardship to go and fetch a few screws for him ? - if he had changed into working boots, for example, it was probably easier to ask you to get them than change again and go out to the van. As time is of the essence with plastering, it made more sense for him to scrim up or get ready for mixing etc while you fetched the screws. Perhaps he was cutting out the boxes you left , while you fetched the screws? As for price of a few screws - are you serious? Were you that keen to get a bit more value off him?



So I suppose he was right, in that he hadn't quoted for that, took him all of ten minutes to do though.


He was right, according to what you agreed - but very wrong if he thought he was going to get a recommendation or more work from you. Personally I would have had that flexibility you spoke about, (especially after originally agreeing to dot and dab).

I just kept on making him tea (free of charge, Well whoopideedoo, what a generous soul you are, making tea for him. And didn't charge him? It sounds like you wish you had, you oul begrudger!!



didn't charge him for that, and my daily rate is a lot higher than his).



I dare say that's because you went for the man with lowest quote! Touch of arrogance here, methinks - as you seem to think a higher income makes you a tad superior. Getting to the core of the issue here, I'd say, which explains your attitude to the tradesman



So what would I say.

He gets quite a bit of work on my street, but I have already started telling people about my experience. I also had him quote for a new kitchen extension, but he won't be getting that work now either.

So he was quite correct to say he hadn't quoted for using his screws, but I am also quote correct in that I don't have to recommend him or give him any more of my cash.

The decorator following him was a hard worker, good attitude, and by the time he had finished I had given him an extra ten days work and also got him another job down the street.


Tongue now out of cheek, and with you nicely fuming, I'd say this was a simple case of a personality clash, with two blokes who rubbed each other up the wrong way. You felt entitled to a little bit extra work for free, and think a few cups of tea justifies this, he couldn't bite his tongue and do a few bits of extra work in order to keep you happy and perhaps get a bit more work off the back of it.

What would I have done - I would have ever so politely finished the boardwork, and having had a look at what I needed before starting, would have brought a few screws in from the van. When the job was finished and we were settling up, when you asked what you owe, I would have cheerfully said, I'm not charging you for the few bits of extra work, taken your money and driven off.

And depending on your attitude, I'd have made a mental note not to do any more work for you again, if I could help it OR thought what a lovely chap,I'll do a bit for him again, he kept me in tea all day with an extra tenner for my trouble, !!!!!!!!!

I dare say that's because you went for the man with lowest quote!

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And you'd be wrong.

When the job was finished and we were settling up, when you asked what you owe, I would have cheerfully said, I'm not charging you for the few bits of extra work, taken your money and driven off.

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I'd already offered him extra money when he started to moan

And depending on your attitude, I'd have made a mental note not to do any more work for you again, if I could help it OR thought what a lovely chap,I'll do a bit for him again, he kept me in tea all day with an extra tenner for my trouble, !!!!!!!!!

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I don't have a problem with that. If you don't like me I don't expect you to work for me. Two way street.

Decorator seems to get on with me, in fact he's coming round next week to do more work.