Day to day living

[expatuk2014]

we always get a cost estimate for materials and labour and we always use the same guys. however we always buy the materials ourselves and we hire a couple of guys to carry the materials from the road to the back of the compound.ready for the building guy or whoever is the guy ,plumber-carpenter-electrician-builder etc And experience has taught me always have spare rolls of Electrical tape and packs of various sizes of nails and screws at hand this saves a guy going to the hardware store for an hour or more !! And the wife always keeps an eye on the guys as she says " they are Filipinos "

[not so old china hand]

52 minutes ago, expatuk2014 said:

however we always buy the materials ourselves

There is a branch of B&Q (a British DIY chain) here in Beijing, which seems strange since no true Beijinger would do-it-themselves when there is a huge pool of cheap migrant labour available.

However Beijingers don't trust anyone so they buy all the materials themselves (often with the tradesmen in tow). That way they are confident of the quality of the materials used (a common trick is for workers to refill empty tins of a reputable paint with an inferior quality local product that gives off solvent fumes for weeks or even months).

Edited December 28, 2016 by not so old china hand
clarity

[Gratefuled]

3 hours ago, Bruce said:

This is becoming a bigger issue here in the US now. Years ago, FORD started Flat Rate Pricing for repairs and put the mechanics on salary + commission. This is backed up by highly exaggerated and biased hourly price books to 'show' the customer the amount of time allotted for that specific repair, regardless of the actual time the repair took. And it did not take long for the mechanics to realize the more repair issues they found on their own, the higher the money earned by commission was if the customer agreed to the additional repairs.  

Today, this Flat Rate Pricing has become a standard thing for AC and plumbing and electrical repairs. No longer are jobs quoted in parts and material numbers. Just a flat price to be paid for the job. In the AC industry, there are now computer programs available, downloaded onto tablets to 'show' the customer the price for the repair. This puts the customer in a no win situation. Repairs are stacked on top of one another and there are even optional charges built into the computer program for 'ladder charge' and 'vacuum pump charge' et al. All components of the job in past years, now billed as additional fees. 

Back home in southern California, I would always have my A/C unit serviced once a year by the same guy who always did it, It's a family owned business and now that he is retired, his sons run it the same way he did. He has regular customers who have been with him for years. No one never complained about being ripped off. Most of the neighbors are old customers. Old in more ways than one but still satisfied with the service.

Growing up in a close knit neighborhood one gets to know many contractors. Their kids go to school together, play sports together. 

[Jack Peterson]

4 minutes ago, Gratefuled said:

Growing up in a close knit neighborhood one gets to know many contractors. Their kids go to school together, play sports together. 

 You know, that is the beauty of living here in the Provinces, We have just had a Carport Made of Tubular Steel and Canvas cover made by the Same Little company that made my MIL Canopies some 18 years ago when she first Moved in to that House where she is now.

 Our House was built by a Local (As you say Close Knit) Community. My wife and her Siblings all went to school with those that run these Little businesses and it sure does work.  My MIL and all the Olds (Living still) are the greatest of Friends.

 Of course we get the Haggles over prices but in the End all get a good Deal

[Snowy79]

It used to shock me what some people will pay a tradesman to do until I started helping a friend out. No offence to plumbers but most use four or five tools. Certain things you've got to use tradesmen by law like gas engineers and electricians and a lot bump the price up as they know that.

I'm sure if most people did some research they could attempt most things. I help a lot of friends out but make them do the work, I just supervise. Afterwards they usually tell me they couldn't believe how easy it was.

I'm seeing it more and more where companies pay cheap labour rates but charge top dollar. They have one or two good tradesmen and a lot of unskilled workers. They do the work and the tradesmen sign it off. 

The company I work for has just paid a storeman off and given his job to a secretary to save about 1,200 php per month. In just over one week she has cost them the best part of 60,000 php on errors with my stock alone. Multiply that by the other 17 guys working here and it's a lot of money.

I'm looking to do a self build next year in the Philippines so interesting times ahead. 

[davewe]

23 hours ago, Old55 said:

Our plumber arrived at 8AM this morning he's nearly done it's 11:15 now. I pray it will only be $100.00 an hour plus material. 

Most plumbers in my city charge a $100 service fee just to come to your house and look at your problem, whether you have them do the work or not. In the 10 years I've been in my current home I have never gotten away with even a minor plumbing issue for under $250. Generally the cost is $300-400 for issues that are resolved in a couple hours.

You also can go the Craigslist route and find cheaper, non-licensed guys. I had a guy replace a toilet I bought for $100.

I've been pretty lucky in my 70 year old house with annual repair costs usually around $1000. I am looking forward to less expensive workers in the Philippines. Course in the US I don't have to give em a snack.

[jon1]

I found a good plumber locally that will respond almost immediately (within a couple hours). The last job was a cracked pipe in a floor. It took him 4 hours over two days, chipping the concrete out to get access to the pipe, repair the pipe, lay more concrete and tile on the 2nd day. Material costs 500p, Labor cost 1000p (I decided the compensation). The wife bitched at me for giving him 1000p until I explained how much that would have cost me back in the US. He responds quickly for our needs due to my higher compensation. I have recommended him to other expats who have received the same professional response. 

[virginprune]

39 minutes ago, jon1 said:

I found a good plumber locally that will respond almost immediately (within a couple hours). The last job was a cracked pipe in a floor. It took him 4 hours over two days, chipping the concrete out to get access to the pipe, repair the pipe, lay more concrete and tile on the 2nd day. Material costs 500p, Labor cost 1000p (I decided the compensation). The wife bitched at me for giving him 1000p until I explained how much that would have cost me back in the US. He responds quickly for our needs due to my higher compensation. I have recommended him to other expats who have received the same professional response. 

I have a similar arrangement with a good local plumber. I'm also lucky with a good all rounder, tiles and brickwork etc and another very good carpenter who made my doors and built my kitchen. I readily recommend all these people to others as I have seen some having disastrous overpriced work done.

[sonjack2847]

16 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

They do the work and the tradesmen sign it off. 

Any tradesman worth his salt will not do this on Gaswork. Plumbing is easy until you hit a snag then the chit hits the fan. What you pay for is the experience and training,after all you could cut your own leg off but you still go to a doctor.

[sonjack2847]

On 12/27/2016 at 10:19 PM, stevewool said:

Another thread on here got me thinking and yes i am not there yet and yes i have a budget and yes again we all live very different too.

We all like to think we can live on a set amount and some do but deep down and lets be honest too many of us do have a safety net just to top up the odd bill that comes along.

Anyway i have just been to do a little shopping , you know the sort we need  a lettuce and some bread but you buy lots of other stuff too.

I went to the local Aldi and here is what i brought,

2 thick bleach 750ml/   iceberg lettuce/  2 tins of sardines/ 6 tomatoes / 4 bread rolls / 1 white loaf /  pack of baby spinach / white seedless grapes /pack of chocolate biscuits / 15 eggs / 1 pack cold relief capsules / 1 pack night nurse capsules , grand total was £10.16pence  or just over 600 peso or around 12 $.

Now i think this is a bargain and some of these things will last a few days , and some of the other things i would not buy again, what i am saying is i budget here and i will budget once over there too, but also i will have a good life with what cash we shall have . but then again each to there own

 

 

Bleach 32peso per liter

sardines 14 peso a tin

Eggs large 7 peso each.

Lettuce about 60 peso for a 6 inch one.

Chocolate chip cookies 38 peso

Whits bread low sugar 26 peso

8 inch baguettes 15 peso each 

Neosep,same as nn capsuals 4.5 peso each

grapes 250 kilo red.

6 tomatoes around 20 peso

1 kilo ground beef 225 peso

Ganador rice 49 kilo

butter 100 peso

potatoes 80 kilo

 

pork 170 kilo 

Chicken 156 kilo

1 kilo cream dory fillets 105

the most important sml pilsen by the crate 23 peso a bottle.