Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Oct 09, 2013 1:31 pm Hi Guys, Just wondering if you have any tips on getting decent tradies to come and work for you? Pretty new to the game and don't want to waste time with unreliable folk etc. Do you have any tips or rules you swear by when hiring a tradie? Would love to know more! J Re: Getting A Tradie 2Oct 09, 2013 11:11 pm experienced decent tradies also like to deal with honest up front people,because believe me we are the best at reading people because this is our livelihood,and we are confronted with it daily.Many times,I have been called upon to give a quote,gone there to measure up,and come away thinking,i'm not going to work for that person.,so be nice,and if its reciprocated,then all should be ok., but be aware,the tradie is checking you out as you are him. Re: Getting A Tradie 4Oct 10, 2013 9:13 am Word of mouth - if you get a good tradie on the job, ask him for referrals for other trades. Be polite and patient (we waited many an hour for trades to turn up as promised but didn't time and time again) but not a push-over, be there when they are doing the job.....beer in the afternoon sometimes helps (but not a guarantee lol) Understand that trades have a different way of looking at things (ie: punctuality) Don't pass over someone because they seem too young - some of our best tradies were under 25.....fit, keen, and eager to please (not yet jaded) Owner Building on 1800sqm Sanity Intact so far Locked up March 2012 Re: Getting A Tradie 5Oct 10, 2013 12:47 pm When you do find a good one make sure he/she knows that you appreciate the quality of their work and that they'll be your first call for any future requirements. At the same time if you have a bad experience don't keep quiet. Re: Getting A Tradie 6Oct 20, 2013 9:42 pm This is really pot luck. There is a site I use, serviceseeking.com.au it's free & has all kinds of tradies. My method is a post the job I want done & usually get 3 to 4 quotes. Each time I ask the same questions & see what responses i get. I can usually figure out who knows what he's talking about & can be relied upon, & who is an amatuer, so give it a try. Good luck. Re: Getting A Tradie 7Oct 21, 2013 9:54 am oldchippy experienced decent tradies also like to deal with honest up front people,because believe me we are the best at reading people because this is our livelihood,and we are confronted with it daily.Many times,I have been called upon to give a quote,gone there to measure up,and come away thinking,i'm not going to work for that person.,so be nice,and if its reciprocated,then all should be ok., but be aware,the tradie is checking you out as you are him. interesting? Would you like to tell us what sort of things get tradies are vetting potential clients on? Isnt it a matter of just asking for progress payments? Or are tradies so sensitive about clients personalities? Must have plenty of work on if they can be so fussy. Most folk dont have the option of choosing who they work with. Re: Getting A Tradie 8Oct 21, 2013 10:23 am Actually I agree with oldchipee ,being honest & curteous is a two way street, you have to give it out to get it in return. I'm one of those people that will offer a drink of water, tea or coffee if they come first thing in the morning. Having said that though, I do get the odd trady who tries to over quote me just because I'm a lady, thinking that I probably don't know what he's talking about, but I must admit, it doesn't happen very often. Then there are those that clearly have too much work, & are there to see if they throw a figure in the air & see if I'm gullible enough to accept it. So, not all tradies are the same. Re: Getting A Tradie 9Oct 21, 2013 11:42 pm qebtel oldchippy experienced decent tradies also like to deal with honest up front people,because believe me we are the best at reading people because this is our livelihood,and we are confronted with it daily.Many times,I have been called upon to give a quote,gone there to measure up,and come away thinking,i'm not going to work for that person.,so be nice,and if its reciprocated,then all should be ok., but be aware,the tradie is checking you out as you are him. interesting? Would you like to tell us what sort of things get tradies are vetting potential clients on? Isnt it a matter of just asking for progress payments? Or are tradies so sensitive about clients personalities? Must have plenty of work on if they can be so fussy. Most folk dont have the option of choosing who they work with.[/quote OK qebtel,ill give you a couple of recent ones. Firstly,Im 60 years old,licenced builder,carpenter by trade,and now doing minor reno/repair work only. The other week I was called to give a quote on the repair of a partially rotted external timber staircase. It was a fairly large set of stairs from a second story to a landing,then to the ground. The owner was right,it was salvageable,as it would have cost 15-20 grand to demolish and rebuild. I went all over it with the owner present,(no charge of course as I am giving a free quote), So after about an hour or so when we had worked out what areas needed replacing,and what areas needed repairing, he says to me,"well only you will know what rot you have left in there".-Now that combined with his overall rudeness, was enough for me pass on that one. Example no 2,-Was called to give a quote on the installation of a beam to support a opening between 2 rooms. When I got there,the owner had removed the plaster,and was "stuck"as he now realised ths wall had major weight on it. He started questioning me about how I would do it,I foolishly,or honestly,told him the way I would go about it,and then it twigged with him,I saw it in him,so I said to him "do you think you can do it yourself now",he said yeah,so I said good luck and walked away.What would be the point of even pricing it. Must admit I was a bit slow on reading that one,basically all he wanted was free advice on how to go about it. Yet I have some instances where people have said do I mind coming around and giving advice on if what they are proposing is achievable,and that they didn't mind paying for my time,but that is rare. So my friend,that is only a snapshot of why we tradies vet people. Re: Getting A Tradie 10Oct 22, 2013 9:03 am It's a two way street definitely... there are just as many time wasting, "tyre kicking" customers as there are shifty, unreliable tradespeople. I generally always hire or book someone based on reputation or word of mouth from someone I know (or know of) who has used them and was happy. A lot of good tradies base their business around word of mouth and repeat business... I just treat them with the same courtesy and respect that I would want shown to me, they are no different to dealing with any other buisness or people in general for that matter! Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66299 Slab: 16/6/14 Frame: 4/7/14 Roof: 22/7/14 Lock Up: 20/8/14 Fixing: 26/8/14 PCI: 9/10/14 Handover: 20/10/14 Re: Getting A Tradie 11Oct 22, 2013 10:14 am oldchippy OK qebtel,ill give you a couple of recent ones. ...snip... So my friend,that is only a snapshot of why we tradies vet people. Rudeness can be deal breaker both ways. Nothing new there. I would suggest your communication skills may be ineffective if you passed up the stairs job just because you perceived some "mild" rudeness. You could have ended up with the job if you had handled it differently? As for the second guy, you failed because you gave out free info. Surely with your experience you should know how to deal with freeloaders looking for "how to" information? A quote for a suspended beam for a load bearing wall should not take long. I might add I have found many tradies to be arrogant and rude just at the quoting stage - they simply dont want to listen , or if they do, they are just paying you lip service, and just end up doing things the way they want anyway. IF they were smart they would come to quotes with a camera and a laser distance measure, and get on with quoting. But I am yet to see any tradies do this - seems they have not grasped the technology. Gettting back to the OP's query, you will have to vet tradies when they quote. Look for someone organised, and doesnt waste time getting on with the quote. One hour is just too long in most cases. Does he look sloppy? does his vehicle look sloppy? The tradies who do present well, always reflect that in the quality of their work (my experience anyway, but they charge well too!) . A slob usually gives you trouble. Re: Getting A Tradie 12Oct 22, 2013 11:53 am Forgot to add, I usually don't call back the guys that give me a timeslot & don't show up , that's just a sign of things to come down the track. Re: Getting A Tradie 15Oct 23, 2013 1:21 pm springtime This is really pot luck. There is a site I use, serviceseeking.com.au it's free & has all kinds of tradies. My method is a post the job I want done & usually get 3 to 4 quotes. Each time I ask the same questions & see what responses i get. I can usually figure out who knows what he's talking about & can be relied upon, & who is an amatuer, so give it a try. Good luck. Hi, new to here so "gidday" to everyone from "dreaMsarefree"...I'll put my 2 cents worth in or is it now (with inflation) $200? Anyway we are having to deal with tradies at the moment and actually will be for a while as we're having improvements to our home of 15 yrs.: painting whole interior, tiling and carpets, large pergola painted and roof repairs and painting. I really try to do my homework re tradies (or anything for that matter) and went on serviceseeking.com.au and requested quotes just for the painting...after 3 quotes it was down to 2 guys and of course hubby chose one and I the other. We went with the guy I chose who had excellent reviews and qualifications and guess what? MY HUSBAND WAS RIGHT AND I WAS WRONG...my painter just had the gift of the gab, used cheap paint, didn't use Aqua Enamel on doors and trims as requested, painted patchy, surface imperfections not repaired properly, painted over door hinges (even after us asking if he'd like us to take doors off to prevent this and make it easier for him), used the wrong colour white paint on doors and trim...should have been "white on white" and actually admitted he used "painters white". He broke a towel rail (which I know can happen) but didn't even tell us and we only found out when hubby found the broken large ceramic base on our front lawn (for anyone to cut their foot on) as it was laying with ALL the old carpet offcuts and his rubbish we had to pickup after he said he'd "finished"! There's more but I won't bore you any further. All this and I was (I think) an easy going customer even making him cups of tea with fancy biscuits!! So now I'm very wary and yes who ever hubby picks from future quotes I will be agreeing with!! Re: Getting A Tradie 16Oct 25, 2013 9:00 pm What amuses me about all this,coming from the other side as a tradie,does not the client know that they hold the upper hand as in they pay for the the work AFTER its been done,so letting the cat out of the bag here,the tradie is,most of the time,when its visible,finishing work,ie,plastering,tiling,finishing carpentry,painting,etc,worried that if he does a rough job he wont be paid...,till he does it to the satisfaction of the the client.I mean,why would you pay a painter,who has painted your hinges,when you have told him not to.You hold the upper hand,you may owe him 2000,3000,dollars,-and he knows it,so he betters clean or replace those hinges before he gets his money.Its just par for the course for a tradie,we have our easy clients and our fussy clients.EG.I had one,very wealthy,older woman,who owed me about $5000,for some alterations I did to her built in robes.The doors were a little tight on there magnetic catches for her liking,so I had to go back and adjust them.,via a bit of a tilt on the catch.---happy now--- yep.good,waiting to get paid.Week later,get phone call,the catch is not strong enough,my clothes are pushing the door open.Fussy,Fussy,Fussy,but I had to do it,at about 3 hours in my day each time.She finally paid. So all I am saying,If you are not happy,dont pay until you are. Re: Getting A Tradie 17Oct 25, 2013 9:47 pm I'm almost hesitant to post in case in jinx myself. We've had a great run with tradies, but I must admit I didn't do the three quote thing and most of our tradies we have used have been clients that we already have a long term relationship. Having said that apart from one we've done no mates rates because I don't want to discount my rates for the rest of my life. For those that aren't clients they are either a referral from a tradie that is currently working on our house (wether they be clients or not) but I have noticed that they do notice each other's work and good trades know other good trades. If the tradie I have met is a referral and their price is in line with the estimation I generally give them the good to go. The only trades I have had to source outside this is grano and joinery. I've got to be honest it was scary to go with them and both I asked to look at work they had already done both were happy to show me and I've been really happy with the work. The last tradie that I have to find who is not on the books is a tiler and after reading some horror stories I'm terrified. The other thing we do is meet them on site and ask them for any suggestions ideas ie what would you do if this was your house? This has worked really well for us. This is just our experience but anyway good luck. Ps generally every tradie that leaves our house gets a carton of corona 20 cartons x $50 equals $2000 - I rock up and give each trade person working on site their cartons on the last day I estimate this will cost me approx $4k over a $300,000 build which seems to me a really cheap way of building good will. <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=62083">viewtopic.php?t=62083</a><!-- l --> Re: Getting A Tradie 18Nov 07, 2013 7:12 pm qebtel oldchippy OK qebtel,ill give you a couple of recent ones. ...snip... So my friend,that is only a snapshot of why we tradies vet people. Rudeness can be deal breaker both ways. Nothing new there. I would suggest your communication skills may be ineffective if you passed up the stairs job just because you perceived some "mild" rudeness. You could have ended up with the job if you had handled it differently? As for the second guy, you failed because you gave out free info. Surely with your experience you should know how to deal with freeloaders looking for "how to" information? A quote for a suspended beam for a load bearing wall should not take long. I might add I have found many tradies to be arrogant and rude just at the quoting stage - they simply dont want to listen , or if they do, they are just paying you lip service, and just end up doing things the way they want anyway. IF they were smart they would come to quotes with a camera and a laser distance measure, and get on with quoting. But I am yet to see any tradies do this - seems they have not grasped the technology. Gettting back to the OP's query, you will have to vet tradies when they quote. Look for someone organised, and doesnt waste time getting on with the quote. One hour is just too long in most cases. Does he look sloppy? does his vehicle look sloppy? The tradies who do present well, always reflect that in the quality of their work (my experience anyway, but they charge well too!) . A slob usually gives you trouble. I can't disagree with you more. Some of the worst trades people I've seen on site drive very flash cars and have very nice tools, likely because they get in and out of a job as fast as possible, often leaving mistakes behind and yet make the same money as a good tradesman who will take an extra day to make sure the job is up to standard. Too many builders want to get things done quickly and aren't too worried about quality anymore which is unfortunate. Just make sure your tradesman know what they're talking about and ask for one or two of their previous jobs (Check them out or contact former clients) and as oldchippy said, don't pay if the job isn't to standard! Re: Getting A Tradie 19Nov 08, 2013 6:32 pm aradnell92 I can't disagree with you more. Some of the worst trades people I've seen on site drive very flash cars and have very nice tools...... Any tradie making money can buy a new car or equipment, and I agree with you, that doesnt mean a thing about the standard of their workmanship. But you're not disagreeing with me at all. If you read my post properly, I talk about slobs. I did not infer that the inverse is true, ie that smicko presentation means top notch work. Its just Ive never seen a sloppy tradie do exceptional work. See next post for definition of sloppy presentation. Re: Getting A Tradie 20Nov 08, 2013 6:57 pm tjilpi I am always amused by people who judge a tradie by the car they drive and how well they dress ...... My husband is a carpenter builder. Drives an older ute and, as he still swings a hammer, if he sees people on the way home from or to work is in work clothes. Often even dirty! Just because you have an old car, deosnt mean it is sloppy, does it? You can have a tidy old car. Also being dirty does not mean sloppy either. On the contrary I would prefer a tradie with a bit of dirt on him to know he gets amongst it, rather than a prissy boy who gets annoyed when his pressed shirts get soil on them Just so you know this is what I mean by "sloppy".
etc etc. Think Im joking? If seen people like this and its never a top notch job. Unless there were unforeseeable issues with the site, I dont think you should have to pay for contractors errors or poor planning. I'd probably try and be reasonable and… 5 4540 Use a product like Equisol's Vitalise to clean the deck then coat with a penetrating timber oil. It will look 10 years younger and add value to your home. Visit for… 1 15798 How much are you ahead in payments compared to where the build is at? Have you fully drawn down the loan? 5 11928 |