House Renos and Tradesmen

[mogo51]

We have been doing some renos to the new house. small stuff to make it more comfortable.  We want to install a new frameless shower screen.  Went to one place to arrange a quote and waited for 7 days, no show.  Called in again, 'ohh sorry sir, we have not gone down that way yet'.  ??? It is 15 minutes down the road?  Next stop air con service man had not been seen for 7 days, 'ohh sorry sir, I forgot:  Did arrive a couple of hours later, but should not have bothered!!  Very little product knowledge, no ladder, had to borrow one for them. 900 pesos for a new remote.

Next  another shower screen supplier in San Fernando - arrived at 12.30pm, closed for lunch . Seriously, what companies in 2017 close for lunch - obviously lots in Philippines.  Left a message, came back to us later in the afternoon and wanted 500 pesos to come and quote!  Gave them measurements - 'cant't give you a quote, measurements might be wrong"?????

Next stop my  watering hole, for several stiff drinkks!!!  TIP.  It does get a  little frustrating though.

 

Edited October 24, 2017 by Jollygoodfellow
fixed title

[scott h]

7 minutes ago, mogo51 said:

It does get a  little frustrating though.

We here you buddy. Here is what I have done in the past.

I have one construction supply outlet that I go to for all my needs. 100%, him and him alone. Helps that he is a nice guy and speaks English real well. Over the years I have made pretty good friends with him. When ever I have a special project that needs to be done, I go to him for a referral. Have not been disappointed since. 

Make sense if you think about it. All the contractors go to him for supplies, so he knows who is good and who to avoid. Has worked for me for 5 years now.

Good luck 

[sonjack2847]

I have been waiting 18 months for a company to come and measure the fly screens.Soon I should have a house full of windows to be fitted and will not go back to those 2 companies.

[Old55]

We are having some major renovations done Ron. Have a very talented designer who is supervising a general contractor an electrician  and my plumber. This is just starting everything going as per plan on time with great communication. Ron, the cost. Qualified help is hard to find there but my gosh so very much cheaper!

 

[mogo51]

5 hours ago, scott h said:

Good luck 

Sure Gonna need it Scott.  Met a guy who is a tradesman, fabricator but does everything.  Thought he was a  good guy until he quoted me 32k for about 2 days work and most of the material I already have???

[mogo51]

5 hours ago, Old55 said:

We are having some major renovations done Ron. Have a very talented designer who is supervising a general contractor an electrician  and my plumber. This is just starting everything going as per plan on time with great communication. Ron, the cost. Qualified help is hard to find there but my gosh so very much cheaper!

 

True Old55 but they need to be. Good tradesmen here are very thin on the ground it seems.

[Snowy79]

45 minutes ago, mogo51 said:

True Old55 but they need to be. Good tradesmen here are very thin on the ground it seems.

They're all good tradesmen until you use them. 

[expatuk2014]

Luckily here in Los Banos the suppliers are pretty good we use one glazing/fabrication company who when we ask for a quote someone is there the same day or the next, when we place the order normally supplied and fitted within the week !

Builders merchant we use mainly one sometimes same day delivery or the next.

Even if we buy curtain rods at robinsons the sales boys will fit them for us cheaply !

But then i am a handsome Whitey 🤣

 

[bigpearl]

Our fortunes are not looking good Ron, wish us luck with our extensions and reno's when we finally arrive.

Cheers, Steve.

[Huggybearman]

I have found that finding good tradesmen are like hens teeth! 

Like scott h, I now use a local building trade supplier who is very knowlegable and helpful. He used to work overseas so is well versed in modern international building standards. He now runs his own very succesful trade supply company and knows the good from the idiots. We have built up a good relationship over the years. He told me that just about all the quality tradesmen are OFW's. The few, very few, good ones that remain have work lined up far into the future. 

Those that can come straight away you want to avoid like the plague. We now have a handful of guys of specific trades that we are now able to rely on and do an excellent job. The real trick is finding them in the first place!

Good luck Ron. There are some good guys out there. Somewhere! 

Ken