Site tiling info

[mikeyd859]

hi guys. I am just wondering if anyone has had any experience with tiling on building sites.

im curious about pay mainly
i know that i cant use my standard plugged tools ect

any info would be great cheers

 

[Just Rizzle]

have you got you cscs or nvq s?

 

[mikeyd859]

Yepp got all that

 

[Just Rizzle]

you need 110 electric tools or cordless

some times theres site jobs advertised in the jobs section of the forum you wont get as much as private work and if your self employed u need a utr number to get paid

 

[Dave]

If you can get in , be prepared for 60 day payment terms :mad2:

 

[Diggy]

Make enquiries at your local tile shop to find out who the main tiling contractors in your area then give them a call. 60 days payment terms for subbying sounds a bit long in my experience , but then I might just be lucky . Never waited longer than a week for my 2 main contractors to pay me.
Also ask if they supply spacers etc , some do some don't.
Also find out how far you have to travel to pick up tiles and snot or is delivered to site.

I've recently changed contractors to get more local work ( health reasons ) , and everything I need is in a 10 mile radius , suits me down to the ground. Pays within 2 or 3 days too.

Just to add , if it's just wall tiling then my Dewalt with 3 batteries does the day , usually only a handful of copper tails to drill for. If its flooring ( say over 10m² )then its power tools ( 110v ) , transformer if power , if not , then its get the genny out time.

Little tip as well , keep some adhesive lids ( i'm supplied with Biscem showerproof ) , and take your own water , saves sooooooooo much time when you get to site. For me 2 buckets fills my washboy , mixes my grout and leaves enough in bucket for washing off.

Diggy

 

[demi34]

Site work is ****e. Not for me

 

[radim]

you will need PPE. hat, vest, boots, gloves, glasses, ear plugs, mask,
some sites want you to wear hats even in toilet....
risk assessment, method statements,.....
some sites will allow you to smoke in the houses...
I prefer site over domestics.

 

[Spare Tool]

Me and my tiling partner have travelled the length and bredth of the country from Middlesborough to Canterbury doing changing rooms in new Gyms for a local contractors.
The walls are easy work, sometimes in excess of 500 sqm all 6 x 6 white tiles 2mm spacer, 6mm trowel with bucket addy straight onto new studded moister proof green plasterboard walls...don't forget to fill the board joints with addy on the back of trowel...
Aim to tile and grout 100sqm a week to make a decent wage after taking out hotel, we always stayed in travelodges (booked early enough you can share a decent clean room for around £twenty per night £tenner a piece), and travel time and costs.
Cant emphasise enough the use of a laser to mark a datum line and make a staff to guarantee lining adjoining rooms up as putting on battons with a spirit level over 500 sqm just will not work no matter how good a level you've got.
Speed is the name of the game on these jobs, get the pallet of tiles and addy in the middle of the room your tiling, so to avoid wasting time carrying buckets and boxes all over the site, keep tile cutter and ruler to hand and get a pouch for your spacers, wedges and pencils and markers, anything to avoid wasting time as its all about the meters per day.
Set a target for the day, and don't go back to hotel till you've hit it.
I'd say its best to have at least two of you doing this kind of work as some days it pays to let one do the trim work round doors and corners etc while the other bangs the tiles on and keeps your meterage up, also nice to have someone you get on with to have a pint and something to eat in a strange town after a long day...oh and don't have too many pints and end up going on the lash... you'll end up spending all you've earnt that day.
We always had one good booze up at end of job to celebrate finishing.
We always measured up at on a Friday afternoon and by the following Friday the cheque was through the letterbox, that way your only a week behind with pay...

 

[CJ]

Personally, I'd rather just stick to private stuff. Less rushing about. :smilewinkgrin:

 

[On one]

For sitework what are the rules regarding PAT testing of electrical equipment.
Does it have to be tested? if equipment is brand new has it got a grace period.... like an MOT on a new car?

 

[White Room]

I think it has to be pat tested...

 

[Spare Tool]

Personally, I'd rather just stick to private stuff. Less rushing about. :smilewinkgrin:

Me too now CJ, given up with the travelling all over the country, the last Gym I did was funnily enough in Burnley and that's the last one I've done...
There's plenty of local bathrooms and kitchens to keep me busy and like you say a lot less rushing about, tell you what though after you've done some 500sqm jobs a standard 30 meter bathroom seems tiny...

 

[mikeyd859]

Great advice about having everything to hand. I'm not slow as it is but any tips to get quicker is always a bonus

 

[CJ]

Me too now CJ, given up with the travelling all over the country, the last Gym I did was funnily enough in Burnley and that's the last one I've done...
There's plenty of local bathrooms and kitchens to keep me busy and like you say a lot less rushing about, tell you what though after you've done some 500sqm jobs a standard 30 meter bathroom seems tiny...

Never had the chance for a 500m job.........not sure I would want to either.
I don't like being on any job for any length of time........a week and I get bored with the scenery.

 

[Diggy]

PAT testing is now so say 3 monthly , however , depends where you go. I get mine done 6 monthly - if i remember , havent been asked for about a year though. Generally you get fore warned anyway and it's pretty easy to find someone to do it for you quickly. A lot of sites have a day when they get a PAT testing firm in and you can get it all done quite cheaply.
Myself , I got a guy who comes round my house and tests everything for £20 , bit more expensive but A: It means I haven't got to go any where
and
B: It means I dont forget anything as its all there in front of me to lay out for when he comes round.

As regards the PPE , some sites/builders are more anal than others. As a general rule the bigger the site the hotter they are , but again that can all depend on the site agent/s.

As for money , simples , you earn what you stick and grout. My biggest tip would be ( even if only 6" whites etc ) make sure it's clean and well finished, then you won't have to go back on it . I do this , I might earn a little less than others but in the 5 mths I been on for my new contractor , I havent been pulled up yet and don't intend to let it happen if I can help it.

Finally:
ALWAYS put your work up plumb , level & square ! , this way there is no comeback . You can get big gaps around baths etc sometimes , but if you can always point out that you work is correct then you won't have a problem. Don't ever let a site agent get you to 'get over it' , unless you can get something in writing of course. Oh and carry a drop cloth with you for bths and shower trays , even if only one other person has seen it on the bath , its been worth carrying it in.

Diggy

 

[py rookie]

I've been doing site work for nearly 4-5 years now.im a subby,all they care about is how long your going to take.ive had enough of it,so I'm going to look for some of my own work in the new year,and do a couple of days on site just to kept a wage coming in