Well, great!! one of my retaining walls has fallen down and into the river! I tried to get the concrete blocks out myself but it was way out of my league so guess what? I phoned a man who builds walls to come out and build me a new one, he quoted $200 per m2 and its about 12m2 so thats $2400!! So he said he would be here today to do it, and guess what??? Its a no show!! Now up to this point I would have had a rant on here and blammed it on Australia, But this time I'm not because I'm getting used to the Australian way. And before anyone says that this is another thinly veiled attempt to slag the place off, then......yep your right except not so thinly veiled.

Seriously though I really can't understand how they constantly turn down money. I'll give the guy about 6 months then I'll end up having to do it myself.

You really are not working this Aussie thing out

You get peed off and wait for all these no shows...happens for about a year or so, then the following year you decide to ask anybody and everybody do they know someone, at the same time moaning about the price you were orginally quoted......then towards the end of the second year you start to get the things fixed at a decent price, and some things refixed that you attempted yourself in year one.

At this point you are so proud of yourself getting the aussie system sussed....no worries mate .... you are staying!

sorry mate but you do make me laugh!!! i hope your luck improves soon i really do !!

Arkon

It happens here too. My friend has a very old house and needs her windows to be restored. She got a guy who has done resoration work for her before round at the beginning of June to look at them and he agreed to start at the end of June.

He didn't show up and after leaving loads of messages for him she gave up. Last Friday while she was on hols he turned up and started work. She came back on Saturday and asked what was going on and he said he needed the money and as he had no work on thought he'd start her job.

I'd have told him to F.O. but then I'm not as nice as my friend who has let him carry on.

Suzy x

cheeky sod, I'm with you on that one. Would have told him to take a hike

Arkon, what are we going to do with you! I worry about you, I really do......

anyway, don't know what you're whinging about - you've only been waiting a day for your bloke to turn up, haven't you? I've been trying to find a tiler to do our kitchen for THREE months. In total, I've phoned about 20 tilers listed in the Yellow Pages and out of that lot, a whopping four returned my call and only one ever actually turned up to quote for the job!

Nicky

Yep. He only got access to the house because the idiotic au pair let him in.

Suzy x

Oh my God! I'm absolutely outraged on your friends behalf! If that had been me, that bloke would have wished he'd never turned up - I'd have bloody killed him! I'm just gob-smacked at the sheer cheek of some people!

Nicky

FFS. Shame you aren't nearer me. Hubby's friend is a tiler and he ALWAYS gets back to potential clients. Works day and night and does a brilliant job.

My hubby is a carpenter and he always gets back to people as well - even if he can't get to them for a few weeks he is always honest about it. He's just too nice - probably why we aren't stinking rich.

Suzy x

John Cleese didnt used to come around your place with a notebook , say 10-15 years ago?

Jeez Arkon, I couldn't help but read your post and smile...maybe the world is trying to tell you something

he quoted $200 per m2 and its about 12m2 so thats $2400!!

Wow if thats the case $200 dollars per m2 to build a retaining wall me being a bricklayer i will clean up there as here in England i charge £15 per m2 for a 100mmx215x440 labour only.......good things look to come .................

This I'm afraid is Rural life for ya .... wherever that may be

Ok, when you are over can you come and do our retaining wall please for just a bit more than the prices you are quoting in England - it has to include full insurance for yourself and any work colleagues and owner and family on the premises. All work has to be fully insured and bonded to allow for resale of the property with indemity etc etc.....and all those words I get thrown at me everytime I need a job done....including light fittings.

I went through 14 months trying to get someone to fix a facia board on the outside of my house........quotes started at over $2000....14 months on after waiting numerous times on no shows we finally got a mate (possibly embrassed at my hubby slagging off the work force) to come round and fix it in one hour for approx $350!!

Our garden fence....long long story
Taps and fittings....another bloody long story
Tree Stumps.........garden and builders nightmare!
Termites..........shit we was lucky...just after the flying termite infestation

Psssst....hubby does the electrics himself now, but we will get the house fully checked before we sell it in case details are asked for - but hopefully we can sell it on to another immigrant before they know the rules!

and do not even get me started on wireless broadband

Even after 3.5 years in Aus I love reading this board cause it lets me know it wasn't all me it does happen to others.

Why do I think it happens.......you give up approx 20 years of knowledge when you emigrate and have to relearn it all, you feel naive, exposed and get preyed upon at times..........And the big sign on your head (along with accent) saying sucker does not stop till you make enough decent friends to ask.

Just my opinion of course

Sorry to hear bout the wall Arkon - Just wondering how joe public stands for a bit of DIY.

Whats all this about being bonded and having insurance for house resale?

Just ask as I have rebuilt an old house here in UK - Done major structural changes - built extensions - re-roofed - re-wired - re-plumbed etc etc - All done in accordance witrh building regs where necesary. Seems that in Oz things are bit more tightly controlled I know it varies from state to state but does anyone know if you can do any of these things yourself or are we all tied into the tradesman lottery.

Did all my stuff myself because I don't trust most tradesmen to do a proper job and find them unreliable - another theme in this little thread!