just starting out

[johna1]

hey everyone, got all my tools and ready to go self employed after christmas. not done any jobs yet but I am likely going to be doing some bathroom fitting, this may seem abit of a daft question but as i have no experience i need to ask. "when going round and pricing up to take out the old bathroom suite and tiles (as i am to do wall and floor tiles also) then fit the new suite and tiles. how do i deal with the old suite and tiles? if it was me i would want it taken away. the plumber at college said i would leave it in their garden and tell them they need to get the local council to take it away but obviously i would have to discuss with them first to see what they wanted done with it.

[gas man]

you need to get rid off the old kit really,either do what i do and get a trailer,take it up the tip with the car or get a skip

[ecowarm]

Price in a skip for the rubbish

[johna1]

yeah didnt think a skips the hassle free option cheers

[tweakyboy]

If you are doing a bathroom suite get yourself a big hippo bag, only takes one call and they come and collect. Less hassle than a skip and cheaper!

[johna1]

yeah them look good, so them are big enough to fit all your waste in?

[metaldust9]

are you for real

[johna1]

er well as it says just starting out so i have never used these things before, i came on here for advice not to be patronised. so if you dont mind.

[tweakyboy]

[gas man]

i agree,no need of this the op is just asking for advice every one needs to start some where and this is the place to ask

[johna1]

cheers

[dontknowitall]

Good luck with your venture. It ain't easy but keep plugging away and you'll make your own success.

Rubbish.

I mean refuse!

First thing is there's a potential £5,000(?) fine for carrying waste (which includes cardboard boxes and other household type rubbish.) Most councils won't accept a van's rubbish or a trailer without a permit. I know it's the householder's rubbish but you're carrying it so the law says you carry the can.

The Environment Agency has details on how you can obtain a licence to carry refuse and there's a fair amount of paperwork and record keeping involved.

I have sort of two "policies". First is if I can sneak stuff into my household bin liner I'll take the rubbish. This is for items like small bits of pipe and swept up rubbish during/after a job. If it's replacement taps then I use the box the new ones come in and put the old taps in this then hand it over to the customer at the end or plonk it by their bin. It's their rubbish, not mine. If I buy some cereal or yoghurt I don't expect the supermarket to take my old empty cartons back.

Where the rubbish is in greater quantities I offer to arrange a skip (with my own mark up (around 10%) added to cover time and telephone and organising, etc). Make sure the skip is kept to the end of the job otherwise you'll end up with more rubbish that you'd not thought about, e.g. empty silicone tubes, paint brushes and so on. Also the customer often wants things put in it and you can offer to move some heavier stuff for them as an little extra service.