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Discuss Electricians and Electrical Work During COVID-19 / Coronavirus Pandemic (Public Weekly Thread) in the Electricians Chat - Off Topic Chat area at ElectriciansForums.net

Are you doing okay yourself, your business, your mind?

  • Yea not so bad

    Votes: 138 68.0%
  • Mind is taking a beating

    Votes: 38 18.7%
  • Business is picking up

    Votes: 59 29.1%
  • Business is going bump

    Votes: 20 9.9%
  • Customers are scared

    Votes: 20 9.9%

  • Total voters
    203
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Electricians and Electrical Work During COVID-19 / Coronavirus Pandemic (Public Weekly Thread)

Firstly, Hi lads and ladies. Apologies it has been a while posting here. @Lou and I have been checking in every now and again to catch up with some things. I have 101 unread messages and 1,160 notifications yet to read (I wont get to read those).


WHY I'M POSTING THIS THREAD ABOUT ELECTRICIANS FORUMS, ELECTRICIANS IN GENERAL. AND OF COURSE THE ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY - when it comes to this COVID lark which is starting to get annoying. Partly because investment in sites has come down a lot. Partly private customers still worrying (or quarantining / shielding etc) so I thought I'd make a weekly mid-week email to the one same thread and each week add to it the latest (from a trade point of view) as to what's being recommended, ways to convince customers it's okay to visit their premisis, be it a homeowner or sitework etc.

And even help with some selling points and pointers for your website (changing the very top image on all your pages to you in a mask and gloves is an example just off the top of my head).

But also, for those in quarantine or out of work etc, we can all contribute to it and let us know how you're getting on and if you need a chat, we're always here.

So please do let us know when your business is doing better than it was, and perhaps why, so others can copy your techniques maybe.

Please do let us know if you hear of suppliers doing offers.

Please do let us know if this is putting strain on family, friends, colleagues etc etc.

I will do a thread for public forums so we can help newbies and encourage readers to register. And I will do one in the Arms if the usual lads and ladies want to have a shoulder to cry on out of the eyes of the public.

Going to try and get some scientist to do a Q and A with us down the line. So let this thread evolve into whatever helps. But let's all try contribute positive things. But also your struggles and let us all help you out.

Thanks for reading.

First off, if you could let us know how you are actually doing right now for this week, and what 1 or 2 issues you're finding troublesome somehow, then next week I will try and come up with a post in the thread that helps those people.
 
This week I have fitted smoke alarms, some outdoor lights.
Done a day of remedials following an Eicr.
Got to fit some soffit lights,
A few quotes to attend to tomorrow for board changes and a partial rewire
End of week start a. Nice commercial job splitting supply and replacing 2 DBs in a warehouse.
EV charging is growing all the time and takes up most of my time these days.
I have over 10k of work booked in between now and mid August with more in the pipeline, finalising paperwork on a few kitchen refits and a rewire for January.. Sadly not all the 10k is labour or profit but am doing okay. Turning some work away at moment as I can't fit more in as moving house end of month so packing to do!
The Eicr changes have been good for filling quiet days as 9 times out of 10 the property is empty when testing and I do all the tests for a local agent.
 
Not sure there is the right option to describe now my business is doing, but I don't understand the phrase "Business is going bump".
About to fold. Go into liquidation or admistration. Basically not doing well.

I'm finding it's the case for some tradesmen on all our forums, so if people need help with that, we can help with advice etc. And perhaps save the odd business even.
 
It seems to be a bit of a black and white picture out there, either you are doing well and can't keep up with the workload or you are on your knees wondering how you can fuel the van with only £9.80 left on the overdraft.

I am doing ok, agreed at the start of pandemic to do 2 days a week for a regular customer at half my normal rate. tied in with a verbal agreement for 4 months.
at the time, when i thought my order book could fall to zero in 2 days flat it was the best way to ensure i had some income. (2 days at half rate is better than 5 days earning zero)

however, almost as soon as i had made that agreement, every single customer on my books seems to want me for more time than i have available.

hope most of you are managing to make ends meet.
 
I'm always really pleased when I hear somebody is doing well.

Gas Plumbing and Electrics, I dare say, are quite protected and will always be needed.

But the poor bathroom fitters and tilers I know, who's trade is a finishing one that is often aesthetics rather than a requirement, are really getting hit hard. Can see some small tile outlets going down the pan once this furlough and grants thing has fully backed off.

Nice contact you have there @James

Do you work differently at all? Hand gel and mask, wash clothes daily etc? - If I remember rightly you're not working around other people close contact so much?
 
About to fold. Go into liquidation or administration. Basically not doing well.

Ah OK, no that doesn't apply to me. Having to turn work down, too busy, partly because every customer who has a rental property is panicking about the new rules for EICRs that came in from July. But I have worked throughout pandemic, April was the only really slow month (about 50% busy).
 
Worked through most of the lockdown, had too many calls where people being at home doing there own electrics and getting it so wrong. Since we have had some sort of normality (whatever normal is) I've been snowed under, seems lots of people not going away want to spend money on improvements round here. (bedfordshire)
 
Late april and through may was busy. But it's just stopped. Like the phones been disconnected. Barely getting a couple of days a week in bits and pieces. Spoke to the guys at our CEF today and they said most of the busy ones are with bigger projects which they were on before lockdown and are continuing now. Small outfits like ours are just scratching around, it's not just us.
If it doesn't improve then we'll go down, inevitable.
I'm fast approaching 60 so yes, it's a worry, been employed for nearly 40 years and would prefer to stay that way. But I suspect at my age another employed position isn't going to be easy.
 
My main trade is still landscaping, while looking for work as an electrical improver.
I was in full time education January/February, finished in march. Started sending out CVs during lockdown haha.
Landscaping is proper busy for all, as far as I can tell, although there's delay in getting some materials. I'm booked through until early winter, even though that wasn't the plan when I started this year.
Luckily it's easy to socially distance when you're working in a garden.
 
Flat out and can’t keep up.

Be nice if I could defer some of it till winter as who knows what will be happening then.

Re comment about tilers above. I need a bathroom tiled and can’t get hold of both tilers I know. One has said they would do it but he’s avoiding me I think!! Can’t even get a price off him! He’s usually flat out busy so I’m sure that’s what it is.
 
Most of our work is on LV/HV at power stations working on switchgear and transformers. We just can't keep up and have been busy all through. At the moment we just don't have enough manpower to cope.
 
But the poor bathroom fitters and tilers I know, who's trade is a finishing one that is often aesthetics rather than a requirement, are really getting hit hard. Can see some small tile outlets going down the pan once this furlough and grants thing has fully backed off.

Reminds me that I need to find a local tiler.

Hall has been stacked with tiles since just before lockdown began and the other half would be over the moon to see them placed where they're intended to be.
 
i'm picking up well now.

Went on a self imposed 2 month doing nothing, because quite frankly, it was confusing whether we should have been working or not, being in other peoples homes. (I could do work in someone elses house, but i could visit my own parents??)

I was half way through a new kitchen when the customer called off. Their doctor had said no one in the house as the customer has quite bad lung problems and didnt want to take any risk... so thats one to go back to in the future.

I had a slew of outside sockets to install. Everyone decides they are holidaying at home this summer, and everybody wants a hottub. Trying to get outside sockets where i am was a nightmare. I was buying double when they came into stock, just so i had them.

Some customers dont realise there's a problem. They answer the door, hand outstretched... sorry, not shaking it.
They pass in the room, really close... Looking over my shoulder... Ive got my mask and gloves on, and i really want to cough just to make them back off. 2 metres!

Ive just had word from a local village hall to ask about a heating job I quoted for before xmas..... when could i start?.... they're wanting it done before the end of August..
 
I'm keeping my head above water, had TWO grow-houses to put right after they were busted thanks to locked-down locals overpowered by the whiff making complaints to Mr Plod.

I've had a couple of jobs dragging on though too, thanks to plasterers apparently being unable to get hold of any plaster.

A few local pubs were moaning about being forced to close, then were taken by surprise when the recent re-opening was announced. So, after months of inactivity, they suddenly decided they wanted stuff doing, NOW. They are in the queue...
 
We are flat out as we were before Covid lockdown. Long list of people waiting.

We were in a hotel yesterday - all empty apart from the owner. We were really surprised when guests started to turn up as the owner hadn't told us he was opening that afternoon. Luckily we soon finished and legged it.

The north of Scotland is heaving with tourists now which we find concerning as our medical infrastructure cant cope if there is a large outbreak.

I've switched trades completely and am farming now. Got a bad feeling about winter...
The latest rumour-mill is that November is the month to watch out for. With the USA elections and bubbling civil unrest; combined with cold weather and Covid flourishing again. Who knows, we'll see!
 
I’ve never been so busy, the phone hasnt stopped mainly through checkatrade, I’ve actually started another fella this week....admittedly Electrical work probably only makes up less than 50% of my works but it’s all within the building trade...
 
I do carpentry and building work as well so have picked a few jobs in those ares, nothing very substantial but just enough to keep afloat.
Local builders merchants have run out of cement and plaster now though and other supplies will be hit as the stockpiles dwindle. It's vital that manufacturers get going again asap wherever possible.
I'm in S Devon and like Richy3333 above it's crawling with holiday makers, the caravan park down the road is packed.
 

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