the vans have trackers and they even know at base if the van door is open or closed
had them out before Christmas to an existing gas leak we found when we hand dug to find the services and 3 guys were stood around talking for 3 hours waiting for 1 other guys to go and fetch the frame they require to use the mole - they turned up with the mole but no frame knowing they need the frame and can't set the mole off without this frame and they don't have enough space in the hole to use the frame anyway so it was placed to one side of the hole while the mole was set going *shakes head*
the guys doing the tarmac reinstating have to be 70mm or more as a guy comes round and core drills to check, if its under the depth they get fined £70 a hole and still have to go out and re do the work
great guys though once everything fell into place
Crystalclear
Driveway and Patio Installer
Call us today
01942 840109
7 days a week 8am till 8pm
Nice work, that last one looks like a cracker of a job, made a massive difference to the property. The colours on the first one are a bit strong for me but can argue with the workmanship
The first photos of the wall with the railings were done by an extremley good brickie I use. I use him for most of my walling if he is available.
The second photos of walling using the larger 225 sizing was done by me ( my brickie was on hols)
I am not a trained brickie. Not actually trained in anything. Just picked everything I know up as I went along.
When I was a young lad - 14-18 yrs. I worked for my old man on building sites in school hols and weekends. Those were the days when kids were allowed on site as long as we didnt fool around. When there were gaps in the work I was doing, I used to go and watch tradesmen working. I only picked the good tradesmen ! and used to ask questions, get them to show me how they were doing it, why etc etc. I took that philosophy into my full time work on site. Always seeking advice and learning from pros.
By 22 I was running housing sites and groundwork contracts.
I was only ever interested in the big stuff, like bricklaying, joinery, roofing, plastering. I found these guys had more time for you. The sparks, plumbers etc were too cocky and didnt want to help you.
Still now at 42, I am always learning from different people I come across.
local patios and driveways wrote:I was under the impression that british standards were voluntary unless i had put it in a contract? Any idea?
No: if an installation is taken all the way to court, the understanding is that, if you have charged money to provide a professional service, your work will be compliant with the BS or CoP, unless it states otherwise in any written contract.
This is why I mentioned the 'opt out' of having clients instruct you in writing to override the inboard cutting in favour of aesthetics. The alternative is to have a clause along the lines of..."The standard procedure of inboard cutting will not be used on this project for aesthetic reasons".
It's the 'professional' bit that gets the contractors. I have a case at the mo' where the contractor was quite happy to take the clients' money to construct a driveway as a follow-on from building an extension, but when the driveway went wrong, he started to claim he is NOT a professional driveway installer, just a jobbing builder. Bollocks, says the courts (but not quite in that language) - you took money as part of a building services business, therefore yur work should be of a professional and workmanlike standard.
The exception would be to get your mate from down the pub to do a driveway for you on the grounds that he did his own patio last summer and it's "not that bad". In such a case, it could probably be argued that, as this 'mate' doesn't earn a living in construction or, more specifically, as a paving installer, then his liability is severely limited. He would (probably) not be considered a professional.
In a nutshell: if you make a living installing paving, your work is expected to comply with the latest CoP, BS or accepted "Best practice". Ignorance is no excuse.
sound similar ish to myself
22 is a young age to go it alone
I have known a few blokes do it young and unless they are very focused it has ended in tears
I used to go to work with my old man on saturdays and school holidays
loved the craic , the bonfires, and the pubs :;):
that is some smart block work there
believe it or not i was doing studwork today and tomorrow will be insulating and tacking
nil training,just watching blokes for 28 years
LLL
LLL - At 22 I was running sites but still working for a company.
I started my own business at 30. Dont think I could go back to working for someone else now.
I have been trained as a Site Manager and have got the CIOB qualifications and loads of experience. I could have gone down that route of site management, but with all the H&S and rules and regs, I didnt fancy it. Those jobs are more like pen pushing than what I would call managing a site.
Watching other tradesmen is a great way to learn. Just have to pick out the good ones unless you learning bad ways and bad habits !!
Mick, yes only 42 - I had a hard paper round as kid . The weather up here in Cumbria doesnt help either. Or maybe its the 5 kids that I am bringing up !!
not much to report
went and did the steps at the wall today,first proper day back for 2 weeks
friday night at midnight i went to take the dog out and saw this lot in the road
i asked what they were doing?
"sir we have never saw snow before"
first day in the uk from india and they saw snow first time ever ,so they jumped out of the car to take pictures of it
LLL
what a place to get your first picture of snow :laugh:
outside the lout household on a snow covered speed hump
very polite people, they actually turned around and posed for that shot?
LLL
we had a south african lad playing for us and one training session it snowed he was out in laying in it having his photo taken etc, same first time hed ever seen or been in a snow storm haha, was nice to see
Giles
Groundworks and Equestrian specialists, prestige new builds and sports pitches. High Peak, Cheshire, South Yorkshire area.
. The weather up here in Cumbria doesnt help either. Or maybe its the 5 kids that I am bringing up !!
