Neighbours buttonholing your tradespeople on your time

[sammyc]

If my quietly decaying abode is giving out 'inside track on top tradespersons' vibes, I'd be more than surprised. Defo the 'nearest tradesman will do' motivation (the last one they nobbled did a job for them there & then).

Still, I had the glaziers in as well today - proper glass & putty glaziers, not your newfangled upvc - & neighbours left them alone, so it's a score draw.

[ik9000]

Depends on the neoghbour.

But it's not so much trusting it, as that if you think the neighbour is careful, even hiring them is better than just a random guy from an online trades search site. It would give me confidence to at least get them to quote.

I ssy that because I've just in the process of commissing about two grand's worth of interior paintwork (the hall, stairs, etc) and a couple of painters never showed up to do the quote, one more did but then nevef sent the quote snd now says he's busy until next May, or something. Hunt-the-decent-tradesman cxn be a frustrating game.

Painting your gaff? How much? I can do that. You need to supply the fireworks mind!

[adidan]

Depends on the neoghbour.

But it's not so much trusting it, as that if you think the neighbour is careful, even hiring them is better than just a random guy from an online trades search site. It would give me confidence to at least get them to quote.

I ssy that because I've just in the process of commissing about two grand's worth of interior paintwork (the hall, stairs, etc) and a couple of painters never showed up to do the quote, one more did but then nevef sent the quote snd now says he's busy until next May, or something. Hunt-the-decent-tradesman cxn be a frustrating game.

True enough.

Finding good tradespeople is hard enough, finding good tradespeople who aren't booked up until 2030 is even harder. Luckily our builder (would i use again? Probably not) did at least put us in touch with a painter who is walking gold dust. In turn he put is touch with a sparky and plumber who have been just as great.

But thinking about it, yeah, I guess it could be seen as rude but when you drop lots of money on tradespeople i guess some level of politeness is going to go out of the window in trying to find one.

[sammyc]

Depends on the neoghbour.

But it's not so much trusting it, as that if you think the neighbour is careful, even hiring them is better than just a random guy from an online trades search site. It would give me confidence to at least get them to quote.

I ssy that because I've just in the process of commissing about two grand's worth of interior paintwork (the hall, stairs, etc) and a couple of painters never showed up to do the quote, one more did but then nevef sent the quote snd now says he's busy until next May, or something. Hunt-the-decent-tradesman cxn be a frustrating game.

Research doesn't seem to get you as far as you'd like, either - the last firm I hired I had word-of-mouth recommendation, good reviews, been in business for years, I'd seen their work.. that's the job that ended up with 'see you in court'. Oh and if you're not chasing people that no-show, they're turning up without notice because they 'thought' they'd confirmed and are putting ladders up outside at some ungodly hour (aka 8am)..

True enough.

Finding good tradespeople is hard enough, finding good tradespeople who aren't booked up until 2030 is even harder. Luckily our builder (would i use again? Probably not) did at least put us in touch with a painter who is walking gold dust. In turn he put is touch with a sparky and plumber who have been just as great.

I got my central heating engineer that way, & hopefully a builder, who may or may not ever get back to me. My Grandad was a carpenter & I have his meticulous workbooks & accounts, such a contrast to I've lost your mobile & I've forgotten you altogether & so on. I hate chasing people up on the phone because either they have forgotten you & fib about it, or they haven't forgotten and think you're hassling.

[Saracen999]

Research doesn't seem to get you as far as you'd like, either - the last firm I hired I had word-of-mouth recommendation, good reviews, been in business for years, I'd seen their work.. that's the job that ended up with 'see you in court'. Oh and if you're not chasing people that no-show, they're turning up without notice because they 'thought' they'd confirmed and are putting ladders up outside at some ungodly hour (aka 8am)..

....

Points all taken, and agreed, though I'd characterise it slightly differently.

On research, it's about expectations and maximising chances, not getting certainty. If you can get strong recommendations, if you've seen previous work, etc, you at least either know or have good reason think they're at least capable of doing a good job. But no previous good work guarantees future good work.

I tend to try to find someone reliable, and once happy with them will continue to use them until and unless they mess up I will do so even if they aren't necessarily the cheapest. For tgat reason, the same guy has been doing my car servicing/repairs for about 25 years, and the same company doing my in-car audio work fir about 45 years. Though, the guy that now owns that latter company was a teenage apprentice when I first went there, under the previous owner.

But even with them, nothing is absolutely certain. You never know what else is going on with them, are theyvin financual trouble, are they ill and hiding it, are they now used to big jobs and don't really care about my little jobs, and so on. Sometimes, you're better of with someone lean and hungry that stuffed and well-satisfied.

But whatever you do, it's always a bit if a gamble and all you can do with 'reseatch' is do the best you can to stack the odds in your favour, and minimise risks.

[pp05]

I had a tradesman and he loved working outside my house because he would be visible and the work visible and it would be a way to get more business from people walking past.

[sammyc]

*grudging* fair enough, from the tradesman stance, I guess me passing on a recommendation &c doesn't cover passersby beyond my immediate neighbours etc. I still wouldn't do it myself though.

Plus there is a further element to the nitpicking etiquette bit - I'm losing any tolerance I ever had of living with near neighbours anyway, I could do without any added layer of hairtrigger curtain twitching & ooh, look what they're having done. I try & pretend people aren't watching your every move round here so any reminder that that's just a dream isn't very welcome #fishbowl.

[Ttaskmaster]

*grudging* fair enough, from the tradesman stance

End of the day, you're still paying him to do a job, though... If you feel your neighbour is being an arse, or he's spending too long nattering, it'd be quite reasonable to step on it.