Never Have Work Done when you are Not Home

[PAC1]

A roofer was to remove the flue from my workshop in August whilst he covered my new stable roof. It did not happen and he turned up last week whilst I was abroad, so was Mrs PAC1. He then removed a large stainless steel double insulated flue and made a brilliant job of making good. I got home yesterday to see the Office flue on the lawn. The air turned blue for half an hour. They have just arrived to put it back in. I hope it goes well and does not leak. I am very glad they did not dispose of it last week. They can then take out the small workshop flue.

 

[Cabinetman]

Oh dear, we’ve learned the hard way that any tradesmen unless well proven are to be kept an eye on all the time, ( literally ) if there’s a corner to cut they will and sometimes what they do defies logic completely.

 

[PAC1]

Ian, I normally do not let tradesmen work if I am not there. BUT, I showed them which flue needed removing not a month ago so I thought they knew what they were going to do, what could go wrong!. Apparently a different crew came and the boss did not come to show them which one! So do not let even the well proven work when you are not there.
All sorted now.

 

[fuse]

I dread jobs that I hate far less than those I cannot do myself

 

[Doug]

So do not let even the well proven work when you are not there.

This simply isn’t possible for the vast majority of working folks, I regularly work for customers who due to work commitments can’t be at home, usually the only time I see them is when I go to look at the work they want doing.
I will admit WhatsApp is an absolute boon these days for sending & receiving photos when something arises that wasn’t part of the brief, but even before then is was usually just a case of a quick phone call.

 

[HOJ]

@PAC1 that’s a bit like the OF&H chandelier tale.

Other than that, I absolutely agree with Doug, apart from the what’s app bit when I was in full flow, we would encourage customers to B off for a few weeks so we could switch of and disconnect everything, and then rip everything out. What an absolute pain it used to be on other jobs with the client at home and hovering around all time, which then usually cost a lot more because of their interference, mind changes and indecisions, even though it had all been worked out and costed before we started.

Glad I’m out of it now.

 

[Doug71]

Reminds me of a local builder I know who sent his lads to do a few roof repairs on a house in the next village, there was the odd tile to replace, a bit of pointing on the ridge and work on the chimney flashing etc.

When he invoiced the customer he got a reply questioning the invoice as the work hadn't been done.......turns out the lads had done the work on something like number 12 Boothgate Drive when it should have been 12 Boothgate Close just around the corner......all the houses were built at the same time so all the roofs were in a similar state.

The builder and his lads couldn't agree on who was at fault but what did amuse me was the fact that someone had had their roof refurbished free of charge and didn't even know about it.

 

[Mike]

Doug, your post reminds me of a project that happened to my neighbor when I still lived in the States. I was using some of my annual leave to take care of some household tasks. At about 0700, a bunch of trucks and skips arrived at my neighbors house and a roofing company started a complete teardown of his asphalt shingled house. I thought this was strange since he had it reshingled the previous year and the roof looked great.

In a few hours, the first team had removed the shingles and all of the sheathing on the front of the house. While they moved to the back of the house, another team started laying new sheathing, tar paper, and shingles. By 1700, the roof was complete with a new ridge line vent, new soffit vents, and seamless gutters and downspouts.

The house looked great, and when the owner arrived from work at about 1830, I walked over to talk to him about his roofing job. He didn't know what I was talking about, so I explained what I saw during the day. We walked outside to inspect the new roof, and he was still clueless since he didn't need or contract for a new roof.

Fast forward two weeks, and someone from the roofing company hand delivered an invoice for the job. The owner smiled and gave the invoice back to the roofing guy and told them they had the wrong address. Instead of 209 Grayson Court on the invoice, they replaced the roof at 209 Grayson Way (his address). The owner later told me the roofing company wanted him to pay the $12K bill anyway since he received a new roof. He didn't pay and the roofing company decided not to pursue the matter in court.

 

[PAC1]

Now the correct flue has been taken out, I can remove the woodturner and gain my bonus 5 sq ft of workshop floor and 32 sq ft of wall space.

 

[AndyP]

Oh dear, we’ve got a decorator coming, when we are away in December, to paint the living room ceiling. She has been before, bathroom and main bedroom, but we were at home the whole time. Eldest daughter will be here early and late each day All I have to do is move and cover all the furniture. I was dreading it even before I read this thread.

 

[fuse]

Id be less worried about a lady " workman"
In male dominated workspaces they are usually far more diligent
I've had to liaise with police in a previous occupation when dealing with scumbags and it was always the female officers that waded in first not taking sh*t from anyone.

 

[Eric the Viking]

My sister was one such, in a rural setting.

On one occasion, in the days before mobile 'phones and when she was still in uniform, she was the first to attend a 'domestic' incident involving a firearm. The police were only informed about the latter after she had entered the farmhouse on her own.

Probably providentially, she didn't find the perpetrator initially, had second thoughts about a more detailed search, and left the building to join up with late-arrived colleagues. The perp. then surrendered to the police (I think leaving the shotgun on the kitchen table).

She had nightmares about it for several years afterwards.

 

[fuse]

Takes its toll.
One instance I watched a tiny WPC being threatened with a needled syringe.
There was a blur and the next thing I saw was the male lowlife ,nearly twice her size,face down in handcuffs.