clevehurst

1. Do you have to be a registered builder to carry out extensions and alterations?

2. Can an unregistered builder sub-contract works from a registered builder?

Cheers
Olly

sassenach

Hi clevehurst ,i used to do a lot of extensions and small work but it was always via what they call ''owner builder licence ''.
Ineffect the owner can then employ one person to do the whole job ,the draw back is the owner has to insure the work for 7 years after the place is sold .
As an example i did an extension for a lady in inglewood a few years ago and the total cost came out to 70000 ,her next cheapest quote was 120000 from summit homes .There is graet savings to be made by owners if they have the balls to have a go them selves and employ the tradesmen and sort quantities out ,and in this day and age with the shortage of tradesmen around ,the owners have as much chance of finishing on time as a builder ,despite all their promises.
I have a friend who was a tradesman in the uk and is not a registered builder here but runs a very succesful buisiness just organising ''owner builder jobs '' ,ie he has all the trade contacts,scaffolding ,etc

wulfruna

The guy who worked for us was quite happy to do so because he was getting the feel of the place and making contacts for when he ventured out on his own. It was precisely because he was capable of doing the job alone that he was allowed to supervise and manage one Department of the Building company.

You appear to have animosity towards Builder's sons with your derogatory remark "daddies ticket" I personally know of no son that uses his Daddies ticket. Rather because they are sons of builders they usually try to get their own ticket if they wish to pursue a career in building. We had the son of a large builder apprenticed to us to train so that he did not get the label "Daddies boy" by tradesmen such as yourself. Most tradesmen we employed and our son still employs do not have such an attitude, they are quite content with their big wages without the worry or liability that being the Registered Builder carries.

Relying on tradesmen to sort quantities out is a recipe for disaster and a path to bankruptcy.

sassenach

No anomosity here ,i am stating fact and if they are using their fathers ticket they are infact using daddies ticket ,you can look at it however you wish but there are a whole heap of tradesmen out there british and australian who could do a lot better job than some of these smaller builders who are using their fathers tickets to jump on the band wagon of the building boom .
I have seen heaps of times adverts in the west australian for supervisor ''must have builders ticket '' ,why is that i ask ? is it because the guy who is advertising doesnt posses a ticket and wants to use some one elses .
Inregards to my attitude ,well the fact is too builders have ahabit of being holier than thou and spend more time examining their own anuses than looking after their sub-contractors.
When the building boom is over we shall see who has the attitude problem .

jad n rich

Generalisation I thought, but will pass it on


If you dont look after your subbies they simply find a builder who will, builders would be insane to let anyone work on their lic, you are financially and legally responsible for any work performed on your number. In the case of father son set ups, tradies and builders sometimes apprentice the son.

wulfruna

As I said before I have never known in 40 years of Building any son using his Father's Ticket. The reason that Adverts ask for Supervisors with a Building Tickets is to make sure that they (the Builders) are leaving jobs in the hands of a competent person. A Supervisor cannot he held legally responsible for a job that a Building Company is doing.

I would think smaller builders are doing it tough at the moment because Big Builders have priority when hiring Subbies being able to find continous work for them rather than intermittent.

I have never known a Registered Builder (and I have known a lot over the years) with a 'holier than thou attitude'. Our Subbies are very important to us and are treated with respect.We have a lot of good friends amongst them. Without them there is no Building Company. The ones that worked for us that have not retired now work for our son. Some have been given supervisory jobs (our son has a very big company much bigger than ours) even though they do not hold a Registered Builders Ticket because they have shown their capabilities.

sassenach

I really find that hard to believe that you have never met a son using his dads ticket ,they are in the majority with the half a dozen small builders i do work for .
The bigger builders i really dont have issue with [ie dale alcock ,beaumonde , and a like ],but what i do have issue with is the general inability to organise jobs by the smaller builders i work for and the only reason i stick with these guys is because they pay above the price per 1000 rate ,but it does get a little tiring when they keep seeking my advice on quantities and also how to get over cock ups etc .It is at these times that i feel the system can be a bit unfair when these guys are using my knowledge for nothing and yet the system pigeon holes me into a certain box and yet i also operated as a builder before migrating ,i am not the only one who feels at times that we are being tucked up by the system .
I personally applied for a ticket and was refused ,i then did 2 years at night school to get some of the subjects under my belt but running my own team of brickies at the time and the hot summer evenings in class rooms did take its toll and i failed to carry on ,and on top of that i had to try and get away for half days for certain subjects and this was nigh on impossible when trying to run a team .I did look at the other option of take 2 years off work and doing it full time but that really isnt and option when one has bills to pay .This is what i meant i said the ticket is not as easy as people may think ,especially if you get knocked back by the board and actually have to study for it as well as run a business .For those that have done it i admire them but for those that are using others tickets i stand by what i think .

wulfruna

Believe it, I have never known a son using his Father's ticket. I would point out that they are not using your knowledge for nothing you have stated that they are paying you more than other Builders so obviously it is because you know what you are doing and to get your expert advice. Can't you get someone to take you on in a Supervisory role? I say this because the Builder we employed who gained his ticket did not have to study or take any exams.
His experience over here working in a supervisory capacity and a reference from us was sufficient (plus of course his history in the UK).

By the way Builders are so busy they don't even know they have an anus half the time never mind look up it.

sassenach

Good reply regarding the anus