Plumbing and heating (with a bit of plant in between)

[pettsy]

So, unlike many on here I’m not actually in the plant business. By trade im a self-emp plumbing and heating engineer, part way through renovating my first house. Bought a Hanix micro from forum owner Ross for garden levelling, then upgraded to a Bobcat E10 once I’d got extension foundations etc to dig. I have a few friends who have various plant and machinery, and quite enjoy a bit of seat time here and there to help out. Always keen to learn how to use different bits of kit, and have been lucky to have some guidance from the old school “get in the seat and I’ll show you what to do” kind of people.



I lived on a farm for a while with my ex-partner where they had a tidy Jd tractor and jcb 803 that were used pretty regularly. The Liebherr is at a mates yard, used for a bit of everything but currently out of action awaiting some track repairs. The two bobcats were hired in for a septic tank job I helped on a year or so ago.

 

[V8Druid]

what year was the snow Boyo ? 'Bout what we had here out on the road, top of the drive, last time we had a decent dump ... IIRC 2 years ago ???

 

[pettsy]

what year was the snow Boyo ? 'Bout what we had here out on the road, top of the drive, last time we had a decent dump ... IIRC 2 years ago ???

Just looked, March 2013.

 

[Routy56]

Great to read the start of yer members blog
Like you had a similar introduction to machine on farms as a boy.
Now semi retired and keep buying more boys toys
Big respect for your trade having installed loads of plumbing stuff myself over the years.
Last year we installed a new Grant VortexBlue oil boiler.
But this time worked with a Grant installer to get the extended warranty
Keep the stuff coming - both plumbing and plant is of interest to us all on here

 

[V8Druid]

Just looked, March 2013.

aye was pretty bleak ...

contents of a 10 ft gutter down pipe

January '13 was pretty cold here

 

[pettsy]

I don’t really take many photos of the plumbing and gas work, unless I come across something unusual. Theres a few on my Facebook page (that I haven’t posted on for ages as I’ve just been getting on with the work!) https://www.facebook.com/mjpettsplumbingandheating/

If I had the space I could quite happily have a man shed full of toys as i like to have my own kit to do a job rather than borrowing.

 

[Lancs Lad]

So, unlike many on here I’m not actually in the plant business. By trade im a self-emp plumbing and heating engineer, part way through renovating my first house. Bought a Hanix micro from forum owner Ross for garden levelling, then upgraded to a Bobcat E10 once I’d got extension foundations etc to dig. I have a few friends who have various plant and machinery, and quite enjoy a bit of seat time here and there to help out. Always keen to learn how to use different bits of kit, and have been lucky to have some guidance from the old school “get in the seat and I’ll show you what to do” kind of people.

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I lived on a farm for a while with my ex-partner where they had a tidy Jd tractor and jcb 803 that were used pretty regularly. The Liebherr is at a mates yard, used for a bit of everything but currently out of action awaiting some track repairs. The two bobcats were hired in for a septic tank job I helped on a year or so ago.

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Good post, very similar boat I'm in..E10s on my wish list , missed a good one a while back and now I'm hunkered down doubt theyll be anything new appearing in my yard anytime soon..☹

 

[Danny]

Just out of intrest what is a plumber / heating engineer an hour? I assume its always a minumum of 4 / 8 ?

 

[pettsy]

Just out of intrest what is a plumber / heating engineer an hour? I assume its always a minumum of 4 / 8 ?

If you believe the rumours, £100k a year
If you look on the Facebook trade groups, we don’t turn out for less than £100 an hour
Im less than half of that an hour, no minimum hours or callout charges ( allthough I do charge more after 6/weekends). Most of my work is generally local, for regular customers. Not the cheapest or the fastest but stand by any work I do.

 

[Routy56]

I don’t really take many photos of the plumbing and gas work, unless I come across something unusual. Theres a few on my Facebook page (that I haven’t posted on for ages as I’ve just been getting on with the work!) https://www.facebook.com/mjpettsplumbingandheating/

If I had the space I could quite happily have a man shed full of toys as i like to have my own kit to do a job rather than borrowing.

Know what you mean about just cracking on with the job
Been following this fella on Youtube recently. He such laugh and seems too know his stuff.
And he likes boys toys

plumberparts

Plumbing videos and tutorials from the world of professional and DIY plumbing with James! We upload plumbing tutorial and training videos every week. We also...

www.youtube.com

 

[pettsy]

See I don’t really get the YouTube video stuff personally (each to their own). Its easy to become an expert after watching a few videos and thinking you’re the boy! I find it’s leading to customers saying “I've looked on YouTube and this is what you do...” I was lucky to do a proper time served apprenticeship, and it shows when you see some of the questions asked online in the trades groups by the quick course “qualified” people. I guess it’s kinda like in the plant game of having all the tickets going but don’t know how to start the machine!

 

[Routy56]

See I don’t really get the YouTube video stuff personally (each to their own). Its easy to become an expert after watching a few videos and thinking you’re the boy! I find it’s leading to customers saying “I've looked on YouTube and this is what you do...” I was lucky to do a proper time served apprenticeship, and it shows when you see some of the questions asked online in the trades groups by the quick course “qualified” people. I guess it’s kinda like in the plant game of having all the tickets going but don’t know how to start the machine!

Likewise did a proper apprenticeship on all trades. Can even do nice looking endfeed joints
My Groundworker mate who knows loads of stuff when we are having banter he looks at me and says “All the gear and no idea”