Guttering and gas work

[850Rick]

Do any of you do guttering work.Ive heard some plumbers try and stay clear of it the same as blocked toilets lol.The other thing is do any of you just do the plumbing and not do gas.

 

[Best]

well, I call myself a plumber and take offence if someone or my customers call me by any other name. But now you mention I am uneducated, it all makes sence.

Lol! Trouble is if you call yourself a plumber, then you will hear some of your customers someday informing you they are getting somebody else for their heating because the guy is a heating engineer & you are just a plumber.
I love it when a customer who assumes I am fairly uneducated, suddenly discovers I know more than they think! :smile:

 

[Ermintrude]

I'm fairly well educated and I call myself a plumber

 

[Ray Stafford]

I find that if I describe myself as a plumber's merchant, most people can't get past the word plumber, and assume that I am a turd-strangler or pipe-monkey. Like I could make a living wrangling poo!

I therefore usually describe myself as a toilet salesman. People can understand that. It still sounds a bit downmarket, but hey - who cares?

 

[Robert Tyrrell]

Plumber, Plumbing Engineer; who cares really? All one has to do is do the job properly and take the time to talk to one's customers. That way they'll know if you're educated or not. I have degree & a Post Graduate degree but I class myself as a plumbing and heating engineer because that's what I do. I actually do understand some, not all, of the engineering concepts of plumbing and heating. My customers like to be treated in an'educate' way and I firmly believe that they also like the fact that they have an educated person working in their house as it gives them the peace of mind that I will endeavour to do the job properly. This may just be a perceived notion but it does generate business.

 

[Best]

Other professions generally have job titles that are designed to make the person appear more important, so if they do it, then why shouldn't plumbers who have particular qualifications or experience call themselves engineers etc? First impressions & all that.

 

[850Rick]

I don't think Plumbing is a semi skilled job not everyone can do it.Its not just lets throw some pipe together and hey presto its done.There is theory and practical to learn and technology changes all the time.And as said above before Gas engineers that have never done plumbing I bet a lot wouldn't have a clue or maybe an idea and a lot would **** them selfs because they have never done it.Its different if you are a plumber then became the gas engineer because then you have done both sides of the job with I think in my opinon is the right way of learning.Alot of people and ive heard this first hand say"Im just gonna do gas because that's where the money is " which is annoying to they they get on the gas side of things and realise its not as easy as it seems.The other thing that annoys me is Builders with signs on the side of the van saying" extentions,loft conversions,Electrics,Plumbing"when most builders don't hold Plumbing quals and just throw abit of pipe together and that's it

 

[850Rick]

Other professions generally have job titles that are designed to make the person appear more important, so if they do it, then why shouldn't plumbers who have particular qualifications or experience call themselves engineers etc? First impressions & all that.

Ive noticed that a lot of big firms are doing Facilitys management with about 5 trades under one company roof I don't quiet no why this is

 

[Ray Stafford]

It semi skilled, right up to the point where you realise that you can't do the next bit. Then it's skilled all of a sudden.

 

[850Rick]

It semi skilled, right up to the point where you realise that you can't do the next bit. Then it's skilled all of a sudden.

That to me sounds like you are and you aint skilled lol.To me plumbing is a skill and gas is like surgery.Its like the plumbers are the doctors and the gas engineers are the surgeons lol

 

[village idiot]

That to me sounds like you are and you aint skilled lol.To me plumbing is a skill and gas is like surgery.Its like the plumbers are the doctors and the gas engineers are the surgeons lol

Rick, I'd be careful what you say to Ray S. not everything in life is Black & White, honest. Don't judge a book by its cover.

 

[Killy Bing]

That to me sounds like you are and you aint skilled lol.To me plumbing is a skill and gas is like surgery.Its like the plumbers are the doctors and the gas engineers are the surgeons lol

Ray has a different skill set, which he has used to great effect.
not to mention as he says plumbing is semi skilled untill you hit a problem, then it becomes a skilled job.

bashing in all new systems vs sorting issues out.

putting in the new system you wont have any issues if done correctly.

fault finding and sorting system issues is a different ball game.

plenty of site plumbers who are thick as two short planks which shows the semi skilled side.

then again you have to be fairly sharp to do fault finding on a boiler without just swapping parts willy nilly.


p.s ray can do plumbing *grins*

 

[kirkgas]

A plumber is only a semi skilled manual job, & usually plumbers had few, if any school qualifications.
At least, that's the way it was & what some people think. :smile:
Ask yourself this - If your neighbour is completely stupid, uneducated etc, but does a job as a salesman in a nice smart suit & an expensive company car, - who looks like they have an important job? Him, or you in overalls driving a van?

But which takes his kids to Florida every other year, and which one eats spam on their piece

 

[kirkgas]

Ray has a different skill set, which he has used to great effect.
not to mention as he says plumbing is semi skilled untill you hit a problem, then it becomes a skilled job.

bashing in all new systems vs sorting issues out.

putting in the new system you wont have any issues if done correctly.

fault finding and sorting system issues is a different ball game.

plenty of site plumbers who are thick as two short planks which shows the semi skilled side.

then again you have to be fairly sharp to do fault finding on a boiler without just swapping parts willy nilly.


p.s ray can do plumbing *grins*

But parts swapping to get a boiler going is semi skilled,

 

[Best]

But which takes his kids to Florida every other year, and which one eats spam on their piece

I was expecting someone to think that way! :smile: It should be the plumber who earns more & gets the rewards of their hard labour & risks, but the guy in a steady 9 to 5 job maybe does okay & has an easier life.
Maybe the money for Florida is borrowed!

 

[AWheating]

Plumber, heating engineer, service engineer............

just labels really. A good plumber is as skilled or more so than a good heating engineer. I tend to find that a good plumber makes a good heating engineer but a good heating engineer don't always make a good plumber. This all depends on your idea of what good equals. Many companies think speed makes you good. Maybe, then they tend to call the better slower engineer in when there's a technical or important job. I think if your really good at one trade your probably going to be good at most trades.