Just wondering, has anyone ever had a tradie do a job properly? I never have, not ever, not once!

I'm a pretty handy guy and can do most things. I've replaced piston rings, repaired many appliances, pretty much do all my home and car maintenance myself, am handy with a chain saw, basic arc welding, silver soldering etc. I'm not afraid of hard work or getting my hands dirty...done my fair share of trench digging, cable running, stump removal, concrete pouring, core drilling, bathroom tiling, plumbing, etc, and I do a pretty neat job. About the only thing I've never done is brick laying. Every now and again I'm too busy to do something myself and I figure I'll spread the wealth and give a job to a tradie, and every time I've had to tidy up their job, or even totally redo it. No point calling them back, that'll take longer than doing it myself and I'll probably still need to fix it. No, I'm not a whinger that wants perfection, I just want something done to a basic reasonable standard.

Here's just a sample of useless tradie work I've had done.

Dishwasher stopped working....a wire to the front panel had broken where it constantly bends when you open the door. Repair lasted ONE DAY. The guy put a 2 cent crimp on the broken wire right on the bend....the crimp snapped the 2nd time I opened the door. I cut out the broken section myself, put the new joins in a place they wouldn't bend, and used solder and heat shrink.

Toilet cistern replaced. The stainless braided mesh hoses come in different lengths......the guy put a meter long one on, it looked absolutely ridiculous hanging down and looping around on the floor. Called him back, he admitted how stupid it looked and made the 5 minute drive to the wholesaler down the road.

Thermostat replaced in oven. Misaligned so the dial was out by 90 degrees. Faster to pull apart and fix myself than call him back.

Internet cable installed in house.....two days later it rained....and I have to repair my ceiling cause it flooded. The guy had ripped the sarking to buggery and displaced a tile as he climbed through the roof. (Oh, he also stepped on the ceiling plaster and cracked it.) Repaired ceiling myself....last thing I wanted was that guy walking around in my roof space again.

Got a tree guy in to remove a large branch hanging over the roof. He dropped the branch onto the roof and smashed (I mean totally smashed to pieces) a dozen roof tiles. He didn't tell me, and I found out the next day when I climbed up to clear the gutters and saw the pieces of roof tile all over the place. Replaced tiles myself....why didn't he just tell me, concrete roof tiles cost next to nothing, especially compared to the damage that would have happened if it rained.

Today I went to replace a tap washer in the house we moved into recently, and the holes cut in the shower tiles are not large enough to remove the tap!

I'm sick of bloody useless, lazy tradies.

That last one is pretty minor and super easy fix.
For the record I've never had a call back for shoddy work. I'm one of the rare ones that takes pride in my work and put my name to every job.

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saltiest1 said..
That last one is pretty minor and super easy fix.
For the record I've never had a call back for shoddy work. I'm one of the rare ones that takes pride in my work and put my name to every job.

Sure, but that's not the point. It would have been obvious when he put the tile on, he just didn't care. Is it an unreasonable expectation that a tiler should cut a hole in the tile large enough to allow the tap washer to be replaced? If so, then I'm fussy, but I say he didn't do the job properly. Guys that are concerned about doing a job right seem to be as rare as hens teeth.

Apologies to the good guys out there, I guess you're out there, somewhere.

-Had someone put a colourbond fence up once, first storm nearly blew over he hadn't used concrete just some dirt and a bit of cement .
-Had a range hood put in guy couldnt be bothered connecting it to the flue .
-Bobcat driver bent fence and cracked concrete driveway ,no responsibility taken.
- Redone all paving around new house , not compacted.
- Put floatng floor in ,slab not level lots of grinding and levelling.
- wheel nearly fell off wifes car straight after getting new tyres .
-Had car serviced the first time by someone else, sump plug was leaking they had done it up way to tight and used wrong washer sump plug threads were stuffed drain was ok thankfully.

Foghorn, you've reminded me of a couple more.....

Guy putting copper log retaining wall in.....put 1 inch of concrete on the surface to pretend he had concreted the posts in, and used half sleepers below the top level where I couldn't see. Wall buckles and leans in 6 months and I pull the thing down and redo it myself with full sleepers and concrete.

MIni excavator driver I hire rips the corner of the brick off my house....repeatedly! Considering I gave him several days solid work, he could have spent the 10 minutes it would have taken to carve himself another 10cm of access.

Painter does the kitchen ceiling, doesn't use any drop sheets, and leaves a timber dining setting covered in white paint spatter.

Carpet installer smashes skirting board with his hammer in about 20 places. Within a week, the carpet is all crumpled and loose. I ring around and get another guy to come and reinstall it....he shakes his head in disbelief at the damage and looseness of the carpet. The amount of off-cut he gets after stretching it properly is simply amazing. (Actually, he was the one good tradie I've had. He would have been about 60 years old, and typified the guy you'd always want to come and do work for you.)

For the record, I don't talk guys down on price, and always let them know that I'm happy for them to add to their quotation to use better quality materials or if something unexpected arises, although I've even had guys flat out refuse to use stainless steel hardware, even if I offer to supply it to them at my own cost. WTF?

Who ground the floor back?

Self leveller mightve been easier

It was high in one spot kind of like a dome the lows were self leveled.
The cabinate maker had cut the island bench over it.Otherwise it would have been a seesaw.

I think my mistake must be calling people that advertise in the local rag. Anyone that does a proper job must have more work than they could ever want due to referrals and wouldn't need to advertise.

Only yesterday - Pool guy came to replace a load of hoses and backwash hose. I tell him he's forgotten the elbow and the pipe will split if it's vertical and jammed into the leaf box. One hour later, it splits. Called him back and he's still not returned.

Two words trump all that:


Dealership mechanics.

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Harrow said..
I think my mistake must be calling people that advertise in the local rag. Anyone that does a proper job must have more work than they could ever want due to referrals and wouldn't need to advertise.

Not Always
I took a utoob DIY fluro to LED lamp ballast conversion to Coffs Harbours biggest and busiest electrician to check my potentially life threatening efforts and was informed "Lucky I didn't connect it up like that" and was warned about the dangers of utoob etc.Left it with him and received a call the next day to come pick it up.
Handed over $60 , grabbed the light and went home.
Curiously - I opened it up to see how he wired it only to see it wired exactly the same as I did except now with soot everywhere

Harrow, this is why we no longer manafacture. Australia, we pay more for a poorer quality worker.

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Harrow said..
I think my mistake must be calling people that advertise in the local rag. Anyone that does a proper job must have more work than they could ever want due to referrals and wouldn't need to advertise.

I think this is where the problem lies. I did the same and found people through the leader and in most cases the standards were not so good. I am pretty sure its as you say and the good people have constant work or are employed by someone else.

From memory I had a tiler call up to see if he could do the quote 'now, as he was in the area', a few weeks after I called him, which was also a week after the other guys had finished the job.

I had an AC install guy that turned up to do the job, did part of it, and never came back.

I had a plumber that relocated my gas meter and must have used up all his odd lengths of copper pipe, until I called him and explained that dad was a plumber and that the quality of work was not so good.

I had another plumber that cleared a blockage, did it, never replaced the pipe he cut to get access, and then never billed me or called me back...??

On the flip side I had a plasterer turn up who was a guy that had just done his traineeship. He wasn't perfect, but was pretty good, and then recommended friends of his who were tilers.

Ultimately, us DIYers are going to do a better job as we don't usually factor the cost of our time or time to get materials. We also have a lot more motivation to get it right and not to move onto the next job.

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Harrow said..
I think my mistake must be calling people that advertise in the local rag. Anyone that does a proper job must have more work than they could ever want due to referrals and wouldn't need to advertise.

Harrow , was going to ask where u getting your trades from ?.Ive been tradie for 30yrs and have seen some ****ty tradies its like any profession.
ask around before just ringing anyone .I will always wait for a good tradie , doc etc .

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Mark _australia said..
Two words trump all that:


Dealership mechanics.

You mean mechanic, singular. It's 1 mechanic and 9 apprentices.

I've had the same litany of sh-it stories. Sump plug not even finger tight. 3 different mechanics across Australia greased rear wheel bearings.... no they didn't. Told the front locker sprong was snapped, ordered one to replace and do myself. I get it and it's the same size as the broken one, no it's not broken. etc etc

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saltiest1 said..
That last one is pretty minor and super easy fix.
For the record I've never had a call back for shoddy work. I'm one of the rare ones that takes pride in my work and put my name to every job.

I was going to quote you as an example of very successful tradie call outs.

It's been going on for years, took my new HK wagon to dealer for regular serving. gear box blew up. Perfectly dry, no oil at all.
A few years later got Stephensons to do up my Alpha GTV gearbox. They showed my a synchroniser with a tooth missing, and a huge extra quote to fix it. I'd run out of money, so told them I'd live with it for the time being. I found another gearbox from a Berlina, when I pulled the boxes apart, the syncs were totally different to the one I was shown, and mine was fine.

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decrepit said..

saltiest1 said..
That last one is pretty minor and super easy fix.
For the record I've never had a call back for shoddy work. I'm one of the rare ones that takes pride in my work and put my name to every job.

I was going to quote you as an example of very successful tradie call outs.

Hopefully it'll catch on in Southern Sydney now too!
Cheers mate.

I've had very poor results from a lawyer and a couple of doctors that have just about killed me despite telling them of my anaphylactic issue.
Tradies I've used have always been recommended by other tradies. Never a problem but never used a random.

Never had a problem with Sparkies and Plumbers

I think it's true that good tradies always have work and don't really need to advertise other than word of mouth, I always found good ones that way but I guess if you don't know anyone in that sort of industry etc it can be harder.

I've got a few good dealership ones. When i was 18 I had a manual commodore and the clutch went. Mum and dad offered to help me pay for it at the time so I booked it in to the local Holden dealer to have it changed. I went to pick it up in the afternoon and they say we couldn't find anything wrong with it....I was floored. Being 18 I wasn't super confident but somehow managed to convince the service manager to come and have a look. I started the car up, handbrake on, about 2000 rpm, put it in 5th gear and let the clutch entirely out, car didn't stall, didn't move; "should it do that?". "Oh you'd better come back tomorrow, we'll have another look at it". No **** mate.

About a year later we were heading off to the Hobiecat nationals. Twin boat trailer, car fully loaded with all the family etc, VS Holden commodore, pretty new at the time. Dad had it serviced the week before so it would be sweet to the trip from Canberra to Adelaide. About 1hr into the trip going up a long slight incline, tick tick tick...dad tried to limp it to the top of the hill but about 100m before the top it completely seized. We pulled the dipstick out, zero oil, smoke pouring out. No oil anywhere on the ground, or in the engine bay, the idiots hadn't filled it up. That was the last time I've ever had any trust whatsoever in dealerships, for the most part they have zero interest or idea, just about pumping out services as fast as possible for the highest profit. In general I think their long term future is in trouble, you'll be able to buy cars online, elec cars don't need the same level of service etc etc.

A few years ago I was getting my pink slip (NSW car rego inspection). The guy I used to go to had retired, so I had to go somewhere new. The mechanic looked under the car for 5 seconds, then came up shaking his head and clicking his tongue. Sorry mate, your CV boots are shot, they'll need to be replaced before I can give you a pink slip.

My reply...."Wow, I replaced the CV joints myself only two weeks ago. Could the new boots really split that quickly?"

I've never seen anyone's face go so red so quickly. The guy started back peddling at 200 miles an hour. I actually felt embarrassed for the him, though I shouldn't have.

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Foghorn said..

- wheel nearly fell off wifes car straight after getting new tyres .

Dropped off a spiked tyre to get replaced at a big brand tyre place. Got the spacesaver spare on. When I came back he offered to have it fitted for me. "No worries" I said " I can do it, what torque do you put on the wheel nuts of an Xtrail? " (Just testing, I knew already, he must get a dozen Xtrails in per day I thought). Did that have him back peddling. No idea. Had him scrabbling though dusty old manuals.

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Ian K said..

Foghorn said..

- wheel nearly fell off wifes car straight after getting new tyres .

Dropped off a spiked tyre to get replaced at a big brand tyre place. Got the spacesaver spare on. When I came back he offered to have it fitted for me. "No worries" I said " I can do it, what torque do you put on the wheel nuts of an Xtrail? " (Just testing, I knew already, he must get a dozen Xtrails in per day I thought). Did that have him back peddling. No idea. Had him scrabbling though dusty old manuals.

Of course the answer he didn't want to give you was 'whatever the rattle gun is set to'.
I wonder if they have one's with torque settings?

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Harrow said..
A few years ago I was getting my pink slip (NSW car rego inspection). The guy I used to go to had retired, so I had to go somewhere new. The mechanic looked under the car for 5 seconds, then came up shaking his head and clicking his tongue. Sorry mate, your CV boots are shot, they'll need to be replaced before I can give you a pink slip.

My reply...."Wow, I replaced the CV joints myself only two weeks ago. Could the new boots really split that quickly?"

I've never seen anyone's face go so red so quickly. The guy started back peddling at 200 miles an hour. I actually felt embarrassed for the him, though I shouldn't have.

I had something similar with brake pads and the guy made a show of spotting this from 3m away!

Eyes of a hawk, but they must have been broken somehow. I hate shonks like this and sometimes I call them on it, sometimes I dont.

Word of mouth can be hit and miss too. Best tradies we've had have been suggested by decent property managers, and the tradies those tradies have suggested have been ok...

General rule: anyone who stops you in the hardware store and offers their services will be a fruit cake.

Vehicle dealerships here tend to be competent but way overpriced.

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CJW said..
I think it's true that good tradies always have work and don't really need to advertise other than word of mouth, I always found good ones that way but I guess if you don't know anyone in that sort of industry etc it can be harder.

I've got a few good dealership ones. When i was 18 I had a manual commodore and the clutch went. Mum and dad offered to help me pay for it at the time so I booked it in to the local Holden dealer to have it changed. I went to pick it up in the afternoon and they say we couldn't find anything wrong with it....I was floored. Being 18 I wasn't super confident but somehow managed to convince the service manager to come and have a look. I started the car up, handbrake on, about 2000 rpm, put it in 5th gear and let the clutch entirely out, car didn't stall, didn't move; "should it do that?". "Oh you'd better come back tomorrow, we'll have another look at it". No **** mate.

About a year later we were heading off to the Hobiecat nationals. Twin boat trailer, car fully loaded with all the family etc, VS Holden commodore, pretty new at the time. Dad had it serviced the week before so it would be sweet to the trip from Canberra to Adelaide. About 1hr into the trip going up a long slight incline, tick tick tick...dad tried to limp it to the top of the hill but about 100m before the top it completely seized. We pulled the dipstick out, zero oil, smoke pouring out. No oil anywhere on the ground, or in the engine bay, the idiots hadn't filled it up. That was the last time I've ever had any trust whatsoever in dealerships, for the most part they have zero interest or idea, just about pumping out services as fast as possible for the highest profit. In general I think their long term future is in trouble, you'll be able to buy cars online, elec cars don't need the same level of service etc etc.

Its funny in that I do almost all my own car work, but I shy away from doing anything major before a big trip, as thats not where you find the problem. Even an oil change I want at least a few days to make sure I haven't stuffed up.

P.S. Just to be fair, I know a number of useless engineers as well.

You should try some of the guys involved in boating. Had the old boat craned out for work. They didn't put the stands in properly so she fell over - something that will often write off a deep-keel yacht. I assumed they'd fix it up properly, but they just whacked a piece of ply over a shattered frame, stuck some epoxy in a break in the galley cupboard, and wipe some paint over the cracked sheathing on the outside of the hull.

Had a new prop shaft put in the old boat by another crowd. They made the shaft too long, so just cut away the wooden skeg to make more space, and didn't replace the sheathing. A worm got in and had a lovely time eating the skeg.

Was getting a guy to do some stuff on the nice new yacht, and had him lined up to do some more jobs. He offered to run the boat around to the mechanics for some diesel work, so I agreed and paid him since I live four hours from the boat and it was hard for me to do it. I went back to the boat unexpectedly. It wasn't on the mooring - it was in another bay and he had moved on board with his dog. I heard that he'd had a lovely time cruising on it for a week, apart from when he flattened the expensive batteries and the mechanics had to zip out to the bay where he was anchored and jump start the boat.

Oh, and not a tradie, but very dumb I had some minor involvement in; a guest (not me, or anyone I know!) left his Ferrari in an airport hotel for a fortnight. The parking guy "turned the engine over to keep the battery charged"; somehow the odometer must have been connected to the engine because a couple of hundreds klicks suddenly appeared on the odometer while it was "parked with the engine running in the garage". Then the parking guy locked the keys inside. Then he tried to break in, and damaged the car. Then, when he admitted what he'd done and the hotel manager rang Scuderia Veloce, the service manager said "there is only one guy in Australia who has been to Maranello to learn how to get into that car without damaging it more. He in on holiday - in Suva. He will only come back for triple time from the moment he leaves his hotel bar until the moment he is back by the poolside, and first class travel for him and his wife". The hotel stumped up and the mechanic had a luxurious and well paid break in the middle of his hols. I don't know how much they charged to fix the door.

There's also some damn good tradies around, it has to be said.

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Harrow said..
Just wondering, has anyone ever had a tradie do a job properly? I never have, not ever, not once!

I'm a pretty handy guy and can do most things. I've replaced piston rings, repaired many appliances, pretty much do all my home and car maintenance myself, am handy with a chain saw, basic arc welding, silver soldering etc. I'm not afraid of hard work or getting my hands dirty...done my fair share of trench digging, cable running, stump removal, concrete pouring, core drilling, bathroom tiling, plumbing, etc, and I do a pretty neat job. About the only thing I've never done is brick laying. Every now and again I'm too busy to do something myself and I figure I'll spread the wealth and give a job to a tradie, and every time I've had to tidy up their job, or even totally redo it. No point calling them back, that'll take longer than doing it myself and I'll probably still need to fix it. No, I'm not a whinger that wants perfection, I just want something done to a basic reasonable standard.

Here's just a sample of useless tradie work I've had done.

Dishwasher stopped working....a wire to the front panel had broken where it constantly bends when you open the door. Repair lasted ONE DAY. The guy put a 2 cent crimp on the broken wire right on the bend....the crimp snapped the 2nd time I opened the door. I cut out the broken section myself, put the new joins in a place they wouldn't bend, and used solder and heat shrink.

Toilet cistern replaced. The stainless braided mesh hoses come in different lengths......the guy put a meter long one on, it looked absolutely ridiculous hanging down and looping around on the floor. Called him back, he admitted how stupid it looked and made the 5 minute drive to the wholesaler down the road.

Thermostat replaced in oven. Misaligned so the dial was out by 90 degrees. Faster to pull apart and fix myself than call him back.

Internet cable installed in house.....two days later it rained....and I have to repair my ceiling cause it flooded. The guy had ripped the sarking to buggery and displaced a tile as he climbed through the roof. (Oh, he also stepped on the ceiling plaster and cracked it.) Repaired ceiling myself....last thing I wanted was that guy walking around in my roof space again.

Got a tree guy in to remove a large branch hanging over the roof. He dropped the branch onto the roof and smashed (I mean totally smashed to pieces) a dozen roof tiles. He didn't tell me, and I found out the next day when I climbed up to clear the gutters and saw the pieces of roof tile all over the place. Replaced tiles myself....why didn't he just tell me, concrete roof tiles cost next to nothing, especially compared to the damage that would have happened if it rained.

Today I went to replace a tap washer in the house we moved into recently, and the holes cut in the shower tiles are not large enough to remove the tap!

I'm sick of bloody useless, lazy tradies.

You can buy mini diamond holesaws that fits into you 4 inch grinder. They are able to cut small holes as well as move sideways through the tiles. May help with your tap issue.

I brought one from Bunnings to make a hole larger to install a power point where the home handyman (woman) didn't make the hole in the bathroom tile big enough, even though I marked out exactly what was required. Added nearly 2 hours onto the job.

I still have some clients that I've been building with for 20 yrs. Always nice to get that sort of endorsement of your work