The 'Today's Job' thread

[CPS]

HTF you do that ...... drop yer wallet on it ???

My wallet wouldn't do much damage

Dropped a bucket on it!, was welding one up, put the plate magnet on it to turn it over and bang! Magnet slipped and landed on my foot. Dust or dwarf under the magnet i reckon. Stupidly my foot was under it, pushed the steel toe down which broke all 5 toes but the bridge of my foot got the worst of it... not broke but swollen like a balloon and sore as fu#k!
2 weeks tomorrow, managing to get around ok now though

 

[V8Druid]

My wallet wouldn't do much damage

Dropped a bucket on it!, was welding one up, put the plate magnet on it to turn it over and bang! Magnet slipped and landed on my foot. Dust or dwarf under the magnet i reckon. Stupidly my foot was under it, pushed the steel toe down which broke all 5 toes but the bridge of my foot got the worst of it... not broke but swollen like a balloon and sore as fu#k!
2 weeks tomorrow, managing to get around ok now though

that was bad luck Boyo ..... bet the boot took some getting off .... speedy recovery fella

 

[Furniss]

Now take off £300 Transport, £500 machine, £300 flail, £200 saw man to go and do a final trim up to make the bigger stuff right. then see what is left for diesel and operator.

I'm not one for quotes for the reason. But they wanted one I've no time for wankers. Won't be happening again will it

R.E telling time periods... Nothing wrong with it if the header/details are right. Difference between quotations and estimates. Ultimately our quotation would stand in court but never worth the hassle.

Just had a email back from 5% man who is now agreeing with me

Hasnt happened to me in a long time that scenario - but if it had taken 3 days Im sure they wouldnt of expected to give you extra.
I find the scenario to watch is going in at x amount to do said job then customer adding and adding elements to the job while you are
there because they like what they see and telling you to just add it on to final invoice ... then coughing when they get the bill.

 

[Hg2702]

I priced a lane clearance job recently but of hedge trimming tree clearance and spoil removal and was hassled and hassled for a price it was 2 days digger work and 2 days for 3 men with saws and chippers came to just over 2k and all I got back was a email saying a local farm was doing it for pretty much nothing ! How can you compete with that ! I’d allowed for footpath closures all the appropriate red tape and to clear all the brash rather than just piling it up

 

[Monkeybusiness]

I priced a lane clearance job recently but of hedge trimming tree clearance and spoil removal and was hassled and hassled for a price it was 2 days digger work and 2 days for 3 men with saws and chippers came to just over 2k and all I got back was a email saying a local farm was doing it for pretty much nothing ! How can you compete with that ! I’d allowed for footpath closures all the appropriate red tape and to clear all the brash rather than just piling it up

You can’t so you don’t - potential clients like that are best avoided so it sounds like you dodged a bullet.
For future reference the official term for people that argue an agreed bill is cuntstomer.

 

[Routy56]

Parts and Steel Fabrication, I know my monthly average costs and one supplier isn't elegable for f**k all until end of June. (self employed) So pass the goodwill along, I will only spend it if it's sat in a lump. Other supplier who we have done it to has been very good over the past 4 weeks with supplying whatever without question despite a good sized bill being outstanding from February. There all good little firms, the government has supported me so my view is it's only right to pass it along!

Meanwhile i've just had to send a email to one customer regarding why I won't do part of a job at the 5% vat renewable energy rate when it's completely out of scope (bar the fact the pipes will run under it) and have had another apologising to me today on behalf of a property management company as the fuckwits whom are the "committee" for a estate have decided that despite accepting a quotation for £2000+ Vat to provide a 8t digger, flail, operator, transport and grab for two days to complete a job they don't want to pay as we where only there for two "short" days...... Instead they want to pay £1600.... Tough fkn s**t sunshines it's still two days and it's a quote not a estimate! They have been told I won't be chasing the money, but if we aren't paid the job will never get done again by me....... Bunch O'C***'s

On the plus side got a lovely pond job to do in a couple weeks time might even put the engcon on

Love yer ethics Rory as explained above
First in supporting other businesses that are your business partners in these tough times.
Second the way you are dealing with the property management committee.
The difference between a "quote" and an "estimate" was bought home to me by a hard lesson when I did work for a Trading Standards guy.
I gave him a quote and he held me to it. The whole land drainage job was far bigger and more complicated.
And I dug up a MDPE water main that "shouldn't have been there" Made f@@k all on that job
The thing is that even though you were maybe on site for two days, the whole job goes way beyond that with planning, logistics etc etc
No doubt you've told then to pay up or else

 

[Routy56]

I priced a lane clearance job recently but of hedge trimming tree clearance and spoil removal and was hassled and hassled for a price it was 2 days digger work and 2 days for 3 men with saws and chippers came to just over 2k and all I got back was a email saying a local farm was doing it for pretty much nothing ! How can you compete with that ! I’d allowed for footpath closures all the appropriate red tape and to clear all the brash rather than just piling it up

Know exactly what you mean
I usually do a 'site visit' before each job and meet the client.
You often get a a feel of their expectations and if they want it done for nothing....
Some of the jobs I have looked at years ago are still waiting for someone to do it for them

 

[Hg2702]

I didn’t overprice it as there was more work leading From it turns out there getting a grant so no doubt my quote was used for that then divvied up on other projects

 

[Jimoz]

How often can groundworks be a fixed price quote. Surely the nature of the job usually leads to lots of p.c sums.

 

[JD450A]

How often can groundworks be a fixed price quote. Surely the nature of the job usually leads to lots of p.c sums.

In reality it can't... although too many people think it can.
I refuse to quote any job that is likely to be longer than a day.... 7 tonner hits out at £600/day and a Mini at £300/day for those jobs..... Utilities at clients risk. Only exception is our work with Devon birds, we have a good relationship with the reserve wardens and just put in a quotation that is nicely loaded.... then usually knock a bit off to suit the reality of the job.
Reality is we are fortunate that word of mouth is king for me looked at a pond dig yesterday. Good week's work but no definitive timeframe. Booked in for two weeks time before a big job kicks off with nothing but us accepting we will do ethe job and our hourly rate!

 

[Jimoz]

I did a job for bloke other week he queried it as more than expected. Next time he will probably ask for a quote but the reality is the job would of cost him more if I'd of quoted. I'd rather quote too high and not get a job rather than catch a cold.

 

[Monkeybusiness]

Big job broke out today, so massive horsepower was required!

 

[diggerjones]

Big job broke out today, so massive horsepower was required!View attachment 14269View attachment 14268

Tidy. The tractor that is. Hany to have about. It was on the spltter wasn't it

 

[Monkeybusiness]

Tidy. The tractor that is. Hany to have about. It was on the spltter wasn't it

Yeah, that’s the one. I call upon it whenever I need a bit of muscle!

 

[Russell]

I priced a lane clearance job recently but of hedge trimming tree clearance and spoil removal and was hassled and hassled for a price it was 2 days digger work and 2 days for 3 men with saws and chippers came to just over 2k and all I got back was a email saying a local farm was doing it for pretty much nothing ! How can you compete with that ! I’d allowed for footpath closures all the appropriate red tape and to clear all the brash rather than just piling it up

I quoted for a fence for a neighbor at the beginning of the year. Dig a couple stumps out and errect a fence. I quoted £1700 and the other bloke who got the job quoted £900! Materials from jewsons were £800! Matey did the fence with two other blokes and took a day, stumps were left inplace. Mateys price included rubbish away as did mine. I don't know what's going on there!
Another recent quote was build 2 retaining walls ,150m2 patio and pizza oven. I quoted £13,000 and apparently someone else quoted £9000. Stuff like this makes me want to go employed. Bloody waste of time over here and that was before the covid bollocks. I do wish they would build a bridge.

 

[Jimoz]

Do some people just work on price per metre? I wouldn't bother being annoyed. Who wants to be a busy fool

 

[Furniss]

Do some people just work on price per metre? I wouldn't bother being annoyed. Who wants to be a busy fool

Thats the thing .. got to be thick skinned, no one likes it but as a mate used to say " any idiot can work for nowt and take their own sandwiches"
Some numpty sprung up round here working for nowt a few years ago but then went pop after a year .. they either go pop or have to get real with their prices when they realise it aint stacking up.

What is at least as annoying is someone getting arsy with you because they are waiting a couple of weeks for a tiny scrat of a job with the 1.5t when you have best part of a years work in front of you and you only said yes to be nice

 

[JD450A]

What is at least as annoying is someone getting arsy with you because they are waiting a couple of weeks for a tiny scrat of a job with the 1.5t when you have best part of a years work in front of you and you only said yes to be nice

My pet hate.... they get dumped rite off the bat.

 

[V8Druid]

Thats the thing .. got to be thick skinned, no one likes it but as a mate used to say " any idiot can work for nowt and take their own sandwiches"
Some numpty sprung up round here working for nowt a few years ago but then went pop after a year .. they either go pop or have to get real with their prices when they realise it aint stacking up.

What is at least as annoying is someone getting arsy with you because they are waiting a couple of weeks for a tiny scrat of a job with the 1.5t when you have best part of a years work in front of you and you only said yes to be nice

have had a fww of them over the years .. PITA whilst on your patch though ... one guy working out of an old marina van was doing stuff for a lot less than the materials were costing so obviously pinching it or not paying suppliers

a.n.other outfit ... who I actually used to do quite a bit of work for .. were short of work one time and were 'competing' by saying what ever i'd quoted they'd do it for X amount less .... got pissed off with losing stuff to 'em so quoted one job (knowing full well he'd be behind me) at half of what it was worth ... 'bout £6k instead of twelve.... had the cheek to ring me a while later complaining he'd lost big time on it .... I just laughed ... he never did it again

 

[Thomas7740]

I know this is an old post, but how do you get that so nice looking. Sharp edges, no dirt spilled around I don't even see any track marks in the grass. Any tips would be appreciated!

Thanks! Just board the area and put plastic down so that tracks and where I load the dumper/wheelbarrow are covered, that way tracks dont mark the grass and no muck gets into the grass. As for the sharp edges, just mark it out and then just go around it with the spade and slice the sod, then when you dig out it pulls away nicely and leaves a neat edge