Tools of the trade

luckat

Was talking to a friend who had builders recently.

"He asked me if I happened to have a screwdriver," she foamed about one. "Why wouldn't he have a screwdriver? Do I go into his house and ask 'Would you happen to have Irish Case Law?' Why doesn't he have the tools of his trade with him?"

With me (about to pay some hundreds of euro to get tiles fixed on the roof), it's roof ladders. When I get these tiles fixed, they'll be fine until the next serious storm - unless someone comes to fix the broadband aerial or the neighbour's cable or the Sky dish.

Why do these guys not have roof ladders? It's not as if these ladders are dear - they cost about €150, less if you're getting them with trade discount!

Riamfada

sounds like someone has the painters in

luckat

Grimes wrote: »

sounds like someone has the painters in

How well you know me, Grimes!

Valmont

The amount of confused people that come into Woodies with lists of stuff their builders or decorators ask them to get is mental. Never could figure it out myself.

Riamfada

No the OP is right. You could just buy the tools yourself and youtube an instructional video. I wouldnt want to go to hospital and have the doctor say

"you dont have a spare hypodermic needle do you?"

however in most parts of Dublin he would probably get a result.

gsxr1

he is not a trades man unless he has the tools of his trade.


Don't really get your, Bring Back The Polish Man option?

most of them lads ride a bicycle to a building job. lol

Riamfada

gsxr1 wrote: »

most of them lads ride a bicycle to a building job. lol

Is that some sort of inside industry joke that only other builders would get. Kind of like me saying that a publican used S50 instead of S25 on a stout line, can you believe that?!?! lolz.

trust me it would go down well at the LVA AGM

luckat

Grimes wrote: »

Is that some sort of inside industry joke that only other builders would get.

Maybe that it's hard to carry your lump hammer and ladders and wheelbarrow on the bike?

Riamfada

luckat wrote: »

Maybe that it's hard to carry your lump hammer and ladders and wheelbarrow on the bike?

Yeah but isnt the joke defunct as a quip now that we are finding out that Irish builders dont carry anything at all .. but yeah I get the joke now. Not half as funny as mine :pac:.

Morrisseeee

I always have my tool at hand, whenever I'm doing a job !
/...mmm, let me see if I can re-phrase that :rolleyes:

Plug

A mechanics tool box on complition can be worth 20k plus. Some are worth more than 60 grand:eek:

biko

What a tool!
Badum tisch

Some sub-contractors expect the contractor to provide the tools, all they do is turn up and bodgebuild it!

Capt'n Midnight

Anyone know where getting sacked came from ?

Capt'n Midnight

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Anyone know where getting sacked came from ?

It's when you get handed your tools in a sack and told to leave!

luckat

Plug wrote: »

A mechanics tool box on complition can be worth 20k plus. Some are worth more than 60 grand:eek:

Maybe that's why they leave them safely at home

Someone on boards has a sig something like this..

"You only need two things in the toolbox, duck tape & WD40, if it moves and shouldn't,use duck tape & if it doesn't move and should use WD40"

Terry

Sometimes tools are stolen. Sometimes you might leave something behind on another job.
Sometimes you're in a hurry and forget something.
Sometimes you have to go home and get a certain tool and then find that you had it with you all along when you are packing up at the end of a job.

These things happen, but generally you should have all your tools with you on a job.

Big Wave

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Anyone know where getting sacked came from ?

Builders like to dip their ball-sacks in others builder's mouths while they sleep - but if they get caught by the foreman, they may get fired. Over time, tradesmen started referring to this as "getting sacked", "sacking" or "getting the sack": it's when you get fired for tea-bagging someone.

kerash

luckat wrote: »

"Why doesn't he have the tools of his trade with him?"

"Why do these guys not have roof ladders?"

Why don't you ask them?

ejmaztec

kerash wrote: »

Why don't you ask them?

I'd say that the main reason for the lack of ladders is that they don't want to be spotted carrying them by the Social Welfare Investigator.

sdanseo

I reckon every builder's labourer etc should have his own basic set of tools like screwdrivers, hammer etc but provided by his employer if he's a stingy fecker - if only because its unfair to have a job where youve to pay for whats needed to do it. Cheap though to not have the basics. Anything more advanced like drills/ladders etc obviously should be provided.

luckat

kerash wrote: »

Why don't you ask them?

I did ask a couple of aerial and dish installers why they didn't have roof ladders, since they commonly worked on rooves, and they stared at me in a wounded kind of way, as if I had asked them why they didn't have Conclusions Drawn from the Phenomena of Capillarity or a diamond-studded tiara.

kerash

ejmaztec wrote: »

I'd say that the main reason for the lack of ladders is that they don't want to be spotted carrying them by the Social Welfare Investigator.

I'd be more interested in what the tool-less tradesman has to say for themselves...
but I see what you did there...

luckat wrote: »

I did ask a couple of aerial and dish installers why they didn't have roof ladders, since they commonly worked on rooves, and they stared at me in a wounded kind of way, as if I had asked them why they didn't have Conclusions Drawn from the Phenomena of Capillarity or a diamond-studded tiara.

kinda like how I'm staring at this answer?
So, what happened next?

gsxr1

If them god dam pikeys would leave our tools alone we would have more!:pac:

luckat

kerash wrote: »

I'd be more interested in what the tool-less tradesman has to say for themselves...
but I see what you did there...

kinda like how I'm staring at this answer?
So, what happened next?

One lot went up on my roof and came down with photos of how the tiles were broken before they went up there - and maybe they were. The other refused to go up on my roof.

But in both cases, why didn't they have roof ladders? They work on the roof! Why not have a roof ladder as part of their toolkit?

kerash

luckat wrote: »

One lot went up on my roof and came down with photos of how the tiles were broken before they went up there - and maybe they were. The other refused to go up on my roof.

But in both cases, why didn't they have roof ladders? They work on the roof! Why not have a roof ladder as part of their toolkit?

How did they get up on the roof if they didnt have ladders so?

I hope you told them to gtfo.
Although if they dont have to bother hauling their own ladder around because someone else will provide it, then more power to them - good thinking

Jonty

Grimes wrote: »

No the OP is right. You could just buy the tools yourself and youtube an instructional video. I wouldnt want to go to hospital and have the doctor say

"you dont have a spare hypodermic needle do you?"

however in most parts of Dublin he would probably get a result.

as long as you don't mind a second-hand one

luckat

kerash wrote: »

How did they get up on the roof if they didnt have ladders so?

I hope you told them to gtfo.
Although if they dont have to bother hauling their own ladder around because someone else will provide it, then more power to them - good thinking

I did not.

They had ladders. They didn't have roof ladders, which are specialist lightweight ladders specifically for working on rooves - they spread the weight acrosss the tiles so you don't break the tiles or slates with your concentrated weight. (http://www.ladders4sale.co.uk/roofladders.htm)

Even if they had them, would they be trained - you're supposed to not hang roof ladders on ridge caps, and always to use hook ladders, for instance.

kerash

luckat wrote: »

I did not.

They had ladders. They didn't have roof ladders, which are specialist lightweight ladders specifically for working on rooves - they spread the weight acrosss the tiles so you don't break the tiles or slates with your concentrated weight. (http://www.ladders4sale.co.uk/roofladders.htm)

Even if they had them, would they be trained - you're supposed to not hang roof ladders on ridge caps, and always to use hook ladders, for instance.

Ah jaysis luckat. I'm not interested in the specifics of ladders.
if you're so worried about roof ladders why dont you specifically request they come equipped with such items?
and if you're in such a wonder as to why these people dont use the roof ladders, ask them why not?
And if you wonder are they trained - ask if they're trained, and if you dont want them on your roof with out the roof ladders dont let them on your roof without the roof ladder, get some other professional equipped with a roof ladder...
I wonder why you dont do this? you seem to have your wits about you, you know plenty about roof ladders and the hazards.

luckat

kerash wrote: »

Ah jaysis luckat. I'm not interested in the specifics of ladders.

Ah jaysis kerash, me neither! But I'm interested in the specifics of paying for broken slates in the future if these lúdramáin turn up without the tools of their trade!

It seems that only roofers are expected to own and use roof ladders; anyone else who goes up on the roof (I assume they assume) floats gently above the tiles or slates, not harming them a bit.

kerash

luckat wrote: »

Ah jaysis kerash, me neither!

Glad we're agreed on that.

But I'm interested in the specifics of paying for broken slates in the future if these lúdramáin turn up without the tools of their trade!

It seems that only roofers are expected to own and use roof ladders; anyone else who goes up on the roof (I assume they assume) floats gently above the tiles or slates, not harming them a bit.

I dont know if this is true across the board. Maybe non-roofy peoples are magical floating tradesmen? I would suggest one of the Home and Garden forums for a more logical answer.
In the meantime, I did my best http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=59234689&postcount=262
may all your roofers have ladders, your slates stay in one piece and your bills be low, good luck:pac::)

luckat

How kind!