OT: Getting a tradesman Featured

Does your village, or a neighbouring village, have a village magazine? Tradesmen advertise in those. Do those villages have pubs? Possibly ask the publican. Village shop? Parish Council meetings? Could button hole folks at those places.

Yes. We had the front of our house re-pointed. They are a rough brick and any mortar that gets on the brick is nigh on impossible to remove, so we wanted a good company. We kept seeing one company's vans around the area and saw some good reviews, so made a point of looking at the results of their work, wherever we saw them. They finally managed to fit us into a cancellation - after 5 months wait.

Funnily enough that isn't as true as it used to be. Most aerial installers also install satellite, CCTV, phone extensions, etc. And then there's the fact that as the family grows the need for more aerial points can grow.

Bill

Local Facebook groups are very good for recommendations. Our local group is full of them. Two today, one for a waste disposal firm (very thoroughly checked out!) and the other for a lawn care firm. By this means I found my tree expert, my decorator, and my gardener. In a few days I'm going to contact a lady who's been recommended for foot care, because I can't reach my feet these days.

Bill

Ask another tradesman who you trust and have done business with for suggestions. Try to find out who local letting agents use .

Yes I got a fencer, who though his work was sturdy, seemed to have an odd lack of appreciation of right angles and slanted featherboarding issues. It is a bit like, If I could have seen better I'd have made a better decision on where the right angles and filler bits should be. Its a bit like tilers who end up with non straight rows of times due to lack of forward planning. Brian

Hard these days as some quite large ones seem to just operate from mobiles. Much like society as a whole is now. Brian

Yes the key really is to look at previous work. Even if they may be ex travellers, it does not always follow that they are con men and bodgers. Some are very good, but its finding the right ones that is the issue. Brian

You may have got out of the business at the right time.

I have a smart TV here in my study with an internet connection but no aerial ;)

Andy

Letting agents who are known for their high quality workmanship, and absolutely not for lowest-cost tendering to suit their absentee landlord, yes?

Theo

Letting agents love taking backhanders from tradesmen who do work for absentee/remote landlords.

I'd love to say I was convinced by personal recommendations, but on the whole they reflect (usually not well) on the person making the recommendation.

Generally the good tradesmen I've had have been based on a surveyor's recommendation or associated with a purchase of a fitted item.

Where did I mention village?

Magazine for the suburbian area is where I got No 1 from.

I try to avoid Facebook but I'll have a look.

A friend actually got a conservatory built by giving a contract, I think, to Taylor Wimpey (or some other major house builder). It was 'project managed' and completed to a very high standard.

That might be a bit overkill, but where do house builders source trades folks from?

It is like IT work?

Agencies?

Is this from personal experience? I know someone who owns multiple rental properties and was ripped off by allowing the letting agent be responsible for arranging maintenance and repairs which was done to a very poor standard. The properties are now maintained by a directly employed builder/handyman when required and over the past few years the previously shoddy work has been replaced to a much better standard.

Then go and visit some nearby villages.

There's a lot more bandwidth coming into my house in optical fibre than there is in TV and radio aerials.

a quick wet finger back of envelope calculations suggest that a reasonable radio signal has 60dB signal to noise, which equates to 10 bits deep more or less. and with a total RF bandwidth from 80Mhz to

..and the Internet whilst it supports broadcasting has never really used it - your local link only need take what you are actually watching...

I think the way comms will in fact go, is towards ever more localised RF WiFi style connection to mobile devices supported by a multi terabit optical network replacing all cables.

As to how it gets paid for - well you purchase a wifi 'key' that allows you to use public wifi networks as you traverse them. Like the current licence except the money goes to the network, not to the content providers