Electricians on building sites. What is is really like?

[steveyboy10]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place.
I'm an electrician of 20 years. Starting out with domestic and commercial install work but mainly working in maintenance.
Always wondered what it is like working on an actuall building site.
Any advice from transitioning from a comfortable maintenance role with small installs to the site based contracting world?
I have some specific questions if anyone can answer?
Tools. I assume you provide your own?
I assume you need an uo to date JIB card?
Do you get specific instructions what to do or is it here is a drawing, crack on?
What's the typical skill level of a site spark? Do ---- ones get found out and get kicked off site or is it full of ---- sparks hidding until lunch break? Lol
How do you find job security?
Is it any harder than working 11 hour days driving job to job repairing faults in commercial premises?
Just trying to paint an overall picture to see if it is worth the jumpnor not.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Building Site Work , generally 7.30/8 am start , 4pm finish

Different jobs will need different tools , some you literally turn up with the basics , others you need all the kit

Its not for everyone but some sparks live and breath building site work and know nothing else

 

[steveyboy10]

Building Site Work , generally 7.30/8 am start , 4pm finish

Different jobs will need different tools , some you literally turn up with the basics , others you need all the kit

Its not for everyone but some sparks live and breath building site work and know nothing

Building Site Work , generally 7.30/8 am start , 4pm finish

Different jobs will need different tools , some you literally turn up with the basics , others you need all the kit

Its not for everyone but some sparks live and breath building site work and know nothing else

Do you work on sites?
There's an 18 month contract on an interesting site nearby. The money is really good but not sure if it will be for me. Be a risk leaving my current job and working on sites.

 

[westward10]

What type of building site, housing or other.

 

[steveyboy10]

What type of building site, housing or other.

It's a new build prison

 

[MJPD29]

8-4.30, cold in winter, full of some of the best characters and biggest morons I’ve ever ever met. People rarely get kicked off site as in my experience they are generally so many people stealing a living that kicking them off could leave the site with no staff. Thoroughly enjoyed site work though, always got a good laugh.

 

[steveyboy10]

8-4.30, cold in winter, full of some of the best characters and biggest morons I’ve ever ever met. People rarely get kicked off site as in my experience they are generally so many people stealing a living that kicking them off could leave the site with no staff. Thoroughly enjoyed site work though, always got a good laugh.

I've been on some small sites and that's what I miss the most, having a laugh.
Think my biggest concern is the expectation that I should know everything and will get given a job I can't do. I think I reality this won't happen so I don't know why I've never taken the jump.
Maybe I'll wait until they've built the roof so I'm nice and dry in prison lol.
Also I have it so easy in maintenance why would I want a hard job? Lol.

 

[MJPD29]

I've been on some small sites and that's what I miss the most, having a laugh.
Think my biggest concern is the expectation that I should know everything and will get given a job I can't do. I think I reality this won't happen so I don't know why I've never taken the jump.
Maybe I'll wait until they've built the roof so I'm nice and dry in prison lol.
Also I have it so easy in maintenance why would I want a hard job? Lol.

It won’t happen there are a lot of people with very little or basic skill hiding on building sites bending conduit with no idea of how to do anything else. It’s the fear of the unknown, most of us have it but an easy maintenance job certainly sounds preferable

 

[steveyboy10]

It won’t happen there are a lot of people with very little or basic skill hiding on building sites bending conduit with no idea of how to do anything else. It’s the fear of the unknown, most of us have it but an easy maintenance job certainly sounds preferable

20k difference though?

 

[Dustydazzler]

To the OP , building site work served me well back in the day , some of it employed but most of it subbie, was for most part a right old laugh as mentioned above you literally get all sorts on site from top blokes who know their trade to right old chancers bluffing and blagging their way through...

Would I give up a full time job to go subbing on site again , probably not

 

[steveyboy10]

To the OP , building site work served me well back in the day , some of it employed but most of it subbie, was for most part a right old laugh as mentioned above you literally get all sorts on site from top blokes who know their trade to right old chancers bluffing and blagging their way through...

Would I give up a full time job to go subbing on site again , probably not

Thanks for the advice. Always thought I would regret not doing it but I actually think I regret not doing it when I was younger. But that's life I did other things instead

 

[Diddy]

Building sites...Well I spent a "good" 25 years on the buggers. From the Channel tunnel to Canary Wharf with hospitals and universities in between.
Ever site is different. Some will be fantastic, well managed plenty of hought going into co-operation betwen the trades, Nicely thought out scedules so that trades are not clashing and competeing for space. Nor are trades being held up by each other on well run sites.
On badly run sites the reverse is true. Trades just doing their job but to hell with everyone else. Everybody gets in each others way, Arguments break out and the whole vibe of the site plummets.
Other considerations, Facilities....You could be going to toilet in a portaloo with 100 other grizzlies, or you could have showering facilities with humane conditions.
Your breaks will be sort of timed basically you have your 30 mins or whatever and the chargehand will give the nod, or give a grunt/shout and you get back to it.

Work. You get given a drawing and get on with it......But in the setting you are looking at you will get given a task and a small part drawing and you will also get a detailed description of the work. EG "Right this is to be done in 25mm Galv conduit. There's the drawings. The drawings "should" be to scale and off ya go....On bad sites you get very bad detail and you find yourself chasing people for "descisions".

Hours - Well 20 years ago the standard was a 10 hour day. 7.30-5.30....but often the reality was 8-5 with the extra hour given as a "reward" for being bloody brilliant lol....Well it worked well for me and my team.
But also some sites get the hump with you if you don't do every hour and day they offer you. We want you to do 7x10 hours ....No we don't care if your suffering from burnout, If you don't do ever late then you are not doing the weekend, If you don't do the weekend then we will let you go (unless you were special like us...) and get someone else.
I have had sites where it's 100 mph go go go, I have had other sites where we were ordered to hide up or even go home and come back to clock out...site politics and companies being paid by numbers, I have had sites where I was not allowed to so much as collect a bundle of conduit because that was the labourers job and under no circumstances was I "allowed" to get my own stuff from the stores even if it meant twiddling my thums for 9 hours....big shout out of Canary Wharf for that one...I left after a week as I can't just stand around all day prior to playing games on my phone/youtube. I honestly can't think of much worse than to be stuck on a cold darkish building site doing nothing waiting for 10 hours to pass before home time...Give me a price or at least a target and im happy as a sandboy.

Reflecting - I wouldn't change a thing, im glad I did it, I had a small team of 5 of us...a Car full if you like. We all got on really well. One of the gang was a labourer..we took him EVERYWHERE with us. But essentially we all looked after each other. Any of us got on a job that was good paying and good terms/conditions then we got the others on...It worked well for us anyway.
Got to be honest though, im not sure i would be looking to do it in the later part of my career as opposed to the early part..it could be claimed it is a young guys game, but that is just opinion, ther were plenty of 50+ people thriving on building sites.

 

[steveyboy10]

Building sites...Well I spent a "good" 25 years on the buggers. From the Channel tunnel to Canary Wharf with hospitals and universities in between.
Ever site is different. Some will be fantastic, well managed plenty of hought going into co-operation betwen the trades, Nicely thought out scedules so that trades are not clashing and competeing for space. Nor are trades being held up by each other on well run sites.
On badly run sites the reverse is true. Trades just doing their job but to hell with everyone else. Everybody gets in each others way, Arguments break out and the whole vibe of the site plummets.
Other considerations, Facilities....You could be going to toilet in a portaloo with 100 other grizzlies, or you could have showering facilities with humane conditions.
Your breaks will be sort of timed basically you have your 30 mins or whatever and the chargehand will give the nod, or give a grunt/shout and you get back to it.

Work. You get given a drawing and get on with it......But in the setting you are looking at you will get given a task and a small part drawing and you will also get a detailed description of the work. EG "Right this is to be done in 25mm Galv conduit. There's the drawings. The drawings "should" be to scale and off ya go....On bad sites you get very bad detail and you find yourself chasing people for "descisions".

Hours - Well 20 years ago the standard was a 10 hour day. 7.30-5.30....but often the reality was 8-5 with the extra hour given as a "reward" for being bloody brilliant lol....Well it worked well for me and my team.
But also some sites get the hump with you if you don't do every hour and day they offer you. We want you to do 7x10 hours ....No we don't care if your suffering from burnout, If you don't do ever late then you are not doing the weekend, If you don't do the weekend then we will let you go (unless you were special like us...) and get someone else.
I have had sites where it's 100 mph go go go, I have had other sites where we were ordered to hide up or even go home and come back to clock out...site politics and companies being paid by numbers, I have had sites where I was not allowed to so much as collect a bundle of conduit because that was the labourers job and under no circumstances was I "allowed" to get my own stuff from the stores even if it meant twiddling my thums for 9 hours....big shout out of Canary Wharf for that one...I left after a week as I can't just stand around all day prior to playing games on my phone/youtube. I honestly can't think of much worse than to be stuck on a cold darkish building site doing nothing waiting for 10 hours to pass before home time...Give me a price or at least a target and im happy as a sandboy.

Reflecting - I wouldn't change a thing, im glad I did it, I had a small team of 5 of us...a Car full if you like. We all got on really well. One of the gang was a labourer..we took him EVERYWHERE with us. But essentially we all looked after each other. Any of us got on a job that was good paying and good terms/conditions then we got the others on...It worked well for us anyway.
Got to be honest though, im not sure i would be looking to do it in the later part of my career as opposed to the early part..it could be claimed it is a young guys game, but that is just opinion, ther were plenty of 50+ people thriving on building sites.

Building sites...Well I spent a "good" 25 years on the buggers. From the Channel tunnel to Canary Wharf with hospitals and universities in between.
Ever site is different. Some will be fantastic, well managed plenty of hought going into co-operation betwen the trades, Nicely thought out scedules so that trades are not clashing and competeing for space. Nor are trades being held up by each other on well run sites.
On badly run sites the reverse is true. Trades just doing their job but to hell with everyone else. Everybody gets in each others way, Arguments break out and the whole vibe of the site plummets.
Other considerations, Facilities....You could be going to toilet in a portaloo with 100 other grizzlies, or you could have showering facilities with humane conditions.
Your breaks will be sort of timed basically you have your 30 mins or whatever and the chargehand will give the nod, or give a grunt/shout and you get back to it.

Work. You get given a drawing and get on with it......But in the setting you are looking at you will get given a task and a small part drawing and you will also get a detailed description of the work. EG "Right this is to be done in 25mm Galv conduit. There's the drawings. The drawings "should" be to scale and off ya go....On bad sites you get very bad detail and you find yourself chasing people for "descisions".

Hours - Well 20 years ago the standard was a 10 hour day. 7.30-5.30....but often the reality was 8-5 with the extra hour given as a "reward" for being bloody brilliant lol....Well it worked well for me and my team.
But also some sites get the hump with you if you don't do every hour and day they offer you. We want you to do 7x10 hours ....No we don't care if your suffering from burnout, If you don't do ever late then you are not doing the weekend, If you don't do the weekend then we will let you go (unless you were special like us...) and get someone else.
I have had sites where it's 100 mph go go go, I have had other sites where we were ordered to hide up or even go home and come back to clock out...site politics and companies being paid by numbers, I have had sites where I was not allowed to so much as collect a bundle of conduit because that was the labourers job and under no circumstances was I "allowed" to get my own stuff from the stores even if it meant twiddling my thums for 9 hours....big shout out of Canary Wharf for that one...I left after a week as I can't just stand around all day prior to playing games on my phone/youtube. I honestly can't think of much worse than to be stuck on a cold darkish building site doing nothing waiting for 10 hours to pass before home time...Give me a price or at least a target and im happy as a sandboy.

Reflecting - I wouldn't change a thing, im glad I did it, I had a small team of 5 of us...a Car full if you like. We all got on really well. One of the gang was a labourer..we took him EVERYWHERE with us. But essentially we all looked after each other. Any of us got on a job that was good paying and good terms/conditions then we got the others on...It worked well for us anyway.
Got to be honest though, im not sure i would be looking to do it in the later part of my career as opposed to the early part..it could be claimed it is a young guys game, but that is just opinion, ther were plenty of 50+ people thriving on building sites.

Brilliant description. Cheers mate.
I definitely would be doing sites if I didn't go down the wife and kids route so early. No regrets though.
I think if I knew a group of lads into that game I would have followed them and chased the money.

 

[davesparks]

I got out of doing site work and have no desire to go back to it.

I did my time on sites and had some good fun for some of it.

The worst part for me was having to put up with the absolute neanderthals you'd have on site. It may have changed now but the racism, sexism, chest beating/----ing contests and 'hilarious' practical jokes from some of them just made them a horrible place to work at times.

 

[nicebutdim]

The worst part for me was having to put up with the absolute neanderthals you'd have on site. It may have changed now but the racism, sexism, chest beating/----ing contests and 'hilarious' practical jokes from some of them just made them a horrible place to work at times.

Not something I encounter on sites here and it wasn't something I saw much of when working on sites in a different capacity 30 years ago. Maybe there's a slightly different culture over here and maybe times have changed in GB? Obviously there are some huge cultural differences between GB & NI, but you know what I mean.

 

[rewireIT]

Tools. I assume you provide your own?

I always bring my own hand tools, combi drill and impact driver. Most sites provide a couple of drills though. SDS/anything else the site should provide imo, although i do often take my own anyway.

I assume you need an uo to date JIB card?

Depends on the role and the contractor. Some don't ask to even look at it.

Do you get specific instructions what to do or is it here is a drawing, crack on?

Bit of both. Again depends on contractor. Some give drawings, some point and shout.

What's the typical skill level of a site spark? Do ---- ones get found out and get kicked off site or is it full of ---- sparks hidding until lunch break? Lol

Some i've worked with are s**t hot, but i've also worked with some absolute chancers. Fully qualified chancers, but couldn't do much - read the drawings wrong, couldn't handle cable properly, couldn't even cut to length or mark up properly. I've found three cables in a bunch marked up as the same ring final. Found bunches of solar on massive solar farms where there's like 6 legs that all say they're the positive from one array. Or one leg will be a metre short and the other will be 12 metres too long. All pulled in by sparks. Nightmare.

Again, depends on the person.

How do you find job security?
Is it any harder than working 11 hour days driving job to job repairing faults in commercial premises?
Just trying to paint an overall picture to see if it is worth the jumpnor not.

It's physically easier imo since people aren't really pulling their tripe out.

Most are 7.30 start and '4 o clock' (read: 3.30) finish. There's usually some person or group of people that think being loud constitutes funny banter.

 

[rewireIT]

I honestly can't think of much worse than to be stuck on a cold darkish building site doing nothing waiting for 10 hours to pass before home time...Give me a price or at least a target and im happy as a sandboy.

I walked off a £1500/week job as a mate last year because of this. 7am-6pm doing literally nothing. After 6 weeks it got too much and i had to leave.

Well not literally nothing - for 3 of the days i put up like 50 cantilever arms and did some stripping out. That was it for 6 weeks.