First topic message reminder :

There has been a lot of chat of late about doing the odd DIY project.

My best recommendation on this is a very firm DON'T.

In my training to become a Health &
Safety Professional we had to learn the good and bad practices that have been apparent in the past. There is (maybe was)a place called the Health &
Safety Exhibition in Horseferry Road in London, in this place there is book called "
Book 13"
. In this book there are pictures of the results of mal/ bad practice. Some;
not all resulted in death. It was an eye opener and I'm not going to inform you all of some of the stupid things that have been done. As a result of some the acts of bad practice people were prosecuted and some sent to prison. I'm not going to stop anyone on here from giving good advice. But I must repeat yet again if you are Not qualified in the task that you are thinking of having done then seek advice and get a quote from a professional. Electricity, Heating, Ventilation and all other types of work have there inherent dangers. Electricity can KILL, Hot water can scaled maybe resulting in death. This is not meant as scare tactics but please be careful. I know one or two of you will say this is not the UK. But the end results are always the same when something goes wrong, there is injury or death. I started my working life as an Electrician working my way up through several trades. I have been away from my vocational skills for such a long period of time that I will now call upon skilled persons to undertake work on my house. Admitted I watch them like a hawk but I have had to accept that things have trod on a march since I was last "
hands on"
.

I feel I keep plugging the same theme but as some TV presenter once said "
Be safe out there"

Surely it is more down to knowing what you are doing than having bits of paper to say you are qualified. I've done lots of jobs that people would not normally regard as DIY tasks, like installing a gas central heating boiler. I do my research first, find out which parts of the work I'm allowed to do myself and read up on current regulations for the type of installation I'm doing. If I'm unsure on a particular point there are internet sites like DIYNot where you can get advice from professionals. I sometimes also give such advice in my own area of expertise. I have never had the money to pay tradesmen to do everything but certain jobs like laying concrete floors I have discovered are beyond me so I do employ someone in such cases.

i think personally fido what you have wrote seems sensible i have been in this trade a long time and there is no one on this sight or other to say have not dealt in works they are not qualified for, if they say they don't or have nether done this then they are not truthful and to keep banging on about this and that every one has done it, i have read loads of threads on here and other sights and it is in black and white people delve into trades they think they know about but don't have the qualifications to say I'm qualified,lets also put into perspective how many people are qualified to work in construction over here have you done concrete do you know the make up of the concrete is it c20 or maybe c30 who knows because they don't work the same as in the the UK its the same for all trades how about cutting and pitching that roof who over here has found structural timber C16 Or C 24 there are no gradings in BG no Stamps to tell you this is the correct timber no one calculates stress or loadings so please if every one is honest to themselves and i mean every one when they first came here all had a Bulgarian doing work that is not qualified and also carried out work them selves in areas they do have to be qualified, i personally have experienced all types of people when project managing works in the UK and looking at works over here and i think it is down to the individual to make the choice i have also seen in my time that some individuals have more sense than the qualified person ,i think some one stated earlier that they should be competent i think that is a good word and covers most things relating to qualifications in this country you could not get away with it in the UK.Its just my opinion on what i have experianced here

Just a quick reminder

mickhev wrote:

Theres diy and diy like Tony said get the Professional in,we can all play change a plug fix a leaking radiator,but major jobs get the guys in that know what they are doing,Tony is a retired electric an so he knows what he is talking about,don't take chances,

Oddy

oddball wrote:

Just a quick reminder

mickhev wrote:

Theres diy and diy like Tony said get the Professional in,we can all play change a plug fix a leaking radiator,but major jobs get the guys in that know what they are doing,Tony is a retired electric an so he knows what he is talking about,don't take chances,

Oddy

I think very difficult to say there is DIY and there is DIY where is the guide lines who's there to say you can not do this and where to separate , a dangerous quote we can all change a plug i wounder how many people know the cable colours have changed ,Fix a leaking rad over tighten the fitting pipe cracks water every where, Again qualified sparks have you seen one what qualifications did he show ,but talking to another retied sparks its quite funny in that they can relate better to electrics other here because in there day it was the same method. to be honest DIY should be band it causes problems cutting the grass with a trimmer how many people have cut a cable ,using circular saws they are not qualified loose a finger you can go on and on, i must say again no answers on what details is there for some one to see that shows there qualified in Bulgaria,also does every one follow hse guide lines when working on there property and make sure its followed ,how about roofs how many people have seen a scaffolding go up so to repair just for safety reasons,the biggest problem in Bulgaria if every body started showing paper work for works to be done what price would they be paying, this is the biggest problem in BG no one questions about how cheap things are but when they go wrong every one quotes you should of got a qualified person.Being in this game for a long time you can have a accident in every area related to property renovations there are no short cuts, what i am asking for is some one on this sight to explain what to look for no quotes just explain how to pick the right person ,so persons looking for help can ask for the right details with piece of mind its only my opinion based on 30 years experience.
nothing personal thought an answer would be interesting

Hi Bapps,I'm just reading your last piece there and laughing to myself as it reminds me of a funny story.
When I was renewing my CSR card last year at home the man taking the class was talking away about the importance of having all the proper tools and equipment to do the job with health and safety in mind at all times and I asked him about pricing jobs against the boys with the white van and no H&
S awarness,I would always be more expensive because I was keeping up with everything and the customer would take the cheapest price regardless.Of course this started a whole debate on the matter, But later on the conversation went off again about the importance of good scaffolding and the mentor told us that he had to get a small extension plastered at his own house and he was getting prices from different plasterers,one boy was very expensive and then two boys came in an old van with three planks on the roof and gave him a great price and I interupted and asked which price he went for? the organised man with all the tools and the big price or the man with the three planks?
He replied,"
lets keep going with the business in hand as time is moving on"

As for the debate on Diy I think everyone knows what they are capable of doing themselves,I am a high end Carpenter but if you asked me to paint a door I would not have the first clue where to start and as for certificates,I was on a job in London where the tower crane blew a fuse and the site manager asked who can repair this and get the crane going again and a young fella stepped up and said I have all the courses done on the crane and the manager asked but are you competent? The man who had been working on the crane for over 20 years and deemed the competent person was given the job.
Bapps email me your mobile no as I am in Rousse at the minute and would like to meet up with you.

Jo I have removed your email address to stop spamming although, I have sent it to Bapps on a pm for you.

Oddy

Hi Joseph
Glad it put a smile on your face had a email from your man and told him i would try and find you he has given me the address where your working so probably Wednesday or Thursday will be in Ruse my number is 0882514238 will catch up

Errrrrm. Where are all these 'qualified' persons in BG?

Alfie wrote:

Errrrrm. Where are all these 'qualified' persons in BG?

Alife I am a little unsure of your question, please can you specify what you need to know ie
are you asking where Joseph and Bapps are or are you asking members to help you find a qualified trades person in BG

thanks Oddy

General question Oddie! I like the idea of fully qualified tradesmen being readilly available and who can actually do what it says on the tin. Where are they?
I'm shortly embarking on a house refit. Plumbing, electrics, blockwork, dry lining, drainage, insulating, etc., etc..
I'll be doing it myself, in the main. I am a HND qualified engineer, but not in any of the above except electrics.
I've had offers from the meisters in the village who will take time off from their shepherding duties should I wish, but I don't want to inconvenience them. Plus I've seen their work standards.
I could of course get a team from Varna, for example, with a round trip journey of approx 100Km per day, then I could think about their day rate and materials on top, plus I'd still suspect their qualifications anyway.
Or I could use local Brits.................
Anyway, I'm gonna be busy. But, if in the future I explode because my plumbing was cak, at least it'll be my fault and I won't have paid some other person who in all probability knows less than me and who still managed to blow me up.
Just like UK really.
Because, the reality is, you only need a qualified person to verify what has been done meets the requirements.
Now, the task is, find someone local who is competent to judge.

They have a saying at home,"
If you want something done right do it yourself"
so I guess you are right Alfie to do the things you know you can do yourself and for the other jobs hopefully you can find someone local to you that can show you their previous work and judge them from there. I don't think that there are a great pool of quality trades people from home on your doorstep but you could be lucky enough,Just be carefull of the jack of all trades as that is when you start getting in to the grey areas,The reason why we have such good standards at home are that we have trades people who have served apprenticeships and have learned their specific trade by working at it 5 days a week, every week of every year. So when you hire an electrician you want an electrician and a carpenter to be a carpenter and so on.

I think you will find all the good Bulgarian trades men dont live in Bulgaria . And a good few English boggers have taken there place .

johnbaz wrote:

boggers

I like "
bogger"
, John, but what does it mean? Did you intend to say "
bodger"
???

Regards, George.

We have just had 6 new internal doors fitted. There are hand made super quality and installed by a tradesman that knew his job. The company make doors furniture and kitchens, plus things that I have not been told about. They will travel if the job is worth it. They are cheaper than buying through a shop and have made a very nice job.

Our doors started at 300 leva that included being made to measure and fitting. We bought our own handles at another 14 leva a pair. The dearest door was 320 leva with glass inserts.

This thread could well be in another section but my point here is the word tradesman.

Tony

Can you legaly install things like electrical sockets , light fittings, cables etc in your own house in bulgaria? or does it need certification?

In the UK Ive rewired 2 of our houses and have always done all electrical work but now you need a certificate to say you can do it

Is it like this in Bulgaria or can anyone do it? in there own house? ( or is it a case of you cant but nobody will ever know? )