Bleak times ahead..

[Dave U.K.]

How are you guys finding the crunch at present...are you doing ok for work..?

Back here in the uk .. a lot of peeps are finding it difficult to find work and have had a big slow down in incoming jobs....

I too have noticed a big drop in work flow compared to previous years...and a few lads have gone under due to the slow down...

Hope you guys are fairing better..if not let us know how you are finding things...sometimes it helps to chat about it...

look forward to replies..... :tup2:

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[ceramictec]

you guys over there are just mirroring us.

[Dave U.K.]

That bad brian is it mate..?..hows things with you..busy/slow..?..

Lets hope things pick up next yr eh?...

I think it will get worse before it gets better.....wot you think .?

[JTG]

Hi Dave
Good to have you visit.
I'm out here in the Northwest. I yesterday talked with Ryan who purchased my business in the middle of the summer. He said that things where slow but not bleak. I sure wouldn't want to be starting a company in this environment. He has hired a guy who does carpet also and they used the large database we had to let everyone know. It was a promotion that didn't cost much and has brought in jobs.. Here in area Boeing workers have been on strike for a few months and that just ended so I think it will help get things rolling.
I believe we are at the bottom or near the bottom of the fall.
Good Luck
JTG

[ceramictec]

I'm doing good, off and on.
have some bigger commercial jobs that I do that make up for the slow residential.
things will pick up in a year or so.

[cx]

Little more difficult to make a blanket characterization about conditions over here, Dave, as compared to y'all's much smaller geographic area.

But there's no question at all that in general we're all in the same boat on this one. And I personally don't think we've seen anything close to the bottom as far as the construction industry is concerned on this side of the pond.

Our unemployment (by our own government's rather inaccurate counting method) has only reached about 6.5 percent very recently. That indicates to me that the overall effects of the problems at the top of our economy hasn't reached very far down the chain, as yet. I think we ain't seen nothin' yet in that arena.

Even our own Ford motor company president conceded in a recent interview that things for them couldn't get any better before early 2010 under the best-case scenario of a recovery. And I can't see any best-case scenario on our horizon.

Couple more years of pretty bad conditions for us worker-bees is what I'm thinking.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[Dave U.K.]

Cheers lads.. i know it has been going on longer over in the states..just trying to get a feel as to how peeps are coping with it.......

Over here in the uk.. i blame the media a lot for scare mongering peeps into holding onto their cash and not spending on their homes etc....the building market( new builds) is dead at present over here.....no houses or very few are bieng built..so all those tradesmen have been laid off....so this cause's them to hit the domestic market and jump in with cheaper prices...

Have you guys noticed a drop in your sq ft rates..? due to this.

[tilerite]

Tile business is going strong. New contractor referral business not doing so good. Wife's a nurse which is about as recession proof as it gets. We are blessed.

[Davestone]

Dave it's been going on for over 2 1/2 years where i am...i'm gettin used to it. :bow:

[Dave U.K.]

Dave it's been going on for over 2 1/2 years where i am...i'm gettin used to it.

hey dave..i'm sorry to hear that man...you OK...?

[John Corley]

Hi Dave

Good to see you. I am as slow as I've ever been right now. Just came off a busy patch, and now things are looking bleak indeed.

It also doesn't help that our stock market keeps going up and down like a whores drawers... :twitch:

But have no fear, Obama will save us all :lol1:

[Mountain Tile]

Things are looking bleak here too, might have to cancel the health insurance we just were able to afford this year. The business was just starting to get going after a couple years and bam the economy goes in the toilet, I think things will pick up though. I agree with Dave about the news media making things worse, preaching gloom and doom every day.

[Dave U.K.]

Hello john my good friend...how you keeping man ? well i hope....
Times are hard john man..time to call some favours in eh..?


HEY!! chuck...you dig in there man...i hope we all pull through this crazy time we are having... :topicoff: ...

As for Obama...well i hope he does you guys good.. i really do...


Hey wot about those goddam fuel prices...?

[HS345]

Hi Dave,
Fuel prices have come down of late, about $1.99 a gallon around here right now. But I doubt very much it will last.

I too have seen a big slow down, I was swamped all summer, now the calls have just come to a screeching halt. :(

Love your avatar.:tup2:

[Dave U.K.]

greg.. i love you guys...... :yipee: ...


honestly mate..times are slow in the uk.....i have just won 2 new tiliong contracts with kitchen firms....so fingers crossed i am going to be ok....


as for fuel...well its is about £1.09p a litre.....thats about £ 5.45p a gallon

not udre of the dollar conversion...maybe 1 of you guys know that...

i think it's around $3,49 a gallon over here....

[tilejoe]

I'm from close to the same area as Chuck, and it's like someone turned off my phone for the last month. Commercial projects in my area are like nothing i've ever seen. Lots of shopping centers going on not to mention the Casinos. I'm not a commercial guy, so...

The phone started ringing again about 1 week ago and I'm feeling much better. I have work booked from january to march, just not into december yet. Looks like a "homemade" christmas this year--Tile Hot plates for everyone! I can see the tears of happiness in my 4 year old son's eyes on christmas morning.

I have noticed being feircely under bid on jobs lately. Like 1/2 my price. you can only cut your price so much ya know?

What is the standard substrate for tile in the UK?

[Dave U.K.]

What is the standard substrate for tile in the UK?

hiya tilejoe.......hope all goes OK for ya!!


standard substrate joe...well it veries...from concrete to timber...new builds used to be what they call a floating floor....this consists of a concrte base which has a polystyrene insulatiuon base overlaid with 18mm (3/4 qtr) chipboard and no fixings into substrate....a no go IMO...

Now with have bisonbeam and then overlaid with concrete screeds... upstairs we have timber floors usually chipboard at 450 centres..

funny old substrates eh?....

how about you guys..?

[tilejoe]

I was just curious, I have a Suisse buddy who visits here every few years and is appaled that we use so much wood in our construction, He always asks how many fires happen here.

I'm guessing the timber aspect is relatively the same, have no idea about the concrete screed or the polystyrene on the floor.

[Dave U.K.]

I know you guys have a lot of timber floors/substeates....

deflection must be a nightmare....?

whats the minimum deflection you will allow per yard run..mtr in the uk..lol...

[muskymike]

Been very slow up here in the Northland. I have been traveling for work like 350 miles. One nice thing, I'll have lotsa time to bow hunt for the next few weeks. Then comes gun season which I better enjoy while I can. Lord only knows what this new guy has in store. :rolleyes:

[tilejoe]

No worries, I've just started using a metric tape and well...It's f ing awesome. Easy Math is all I have to say.

I will admit something, I have no clue about deflection. I use the architects specs on most new houses I do. The others I use the builder's specs. The people I sub for like CBU on floors and walls. So far I have had nothing more that a cracked tile from something beyond my control. I will say that the New houses I'm in are some of the sturdiest built I have seen though. I would say they are overbuilt. Rare in these times.

[Dave U.K.]

350 miles is like...........a long way ....my god thats like nealry mine to london,,, :bow:

[muskymike]

I prolly should have said that I stay there for a week or two. That would suck to have to drive back and forth everyday. :eek:

[tilejoe]

Damn, week or not, that is FAR. Still gotta eat though

[Mountain Tile]

Hi Joe, nice thing about this site is the deflection calculator, just click on the Deflecto on the top of the page. It's a great tool, just type in your measurements and it will give you a thumbs up or down, I use it a lot.

[John Bridge]

Dave,

Even though tree size has diminished somewhat, North America still has massive areas of forests compared to relatively low population density, especially in Canada (whence we buy a lot of forest products). If you folks had the same situation you'd be building with timber also. :)

I don't understand why you would use chip board over concrete floors when there are much better products available for that. You've probably got the same number of membranes available there that we do here. :)

[Dave U.K.]

JB.. tell me about it....i hate floating floors...( chipboard over polybase)... :topicoff:


Some of our systems are not really practicle for tiling....they just want to knock the houses up and don't consider they might want them tiled...the floors i mean..


A lot of these methods are supposed to make the house warmer..but like i said..not tile friendly...

It depends on the house builder as to what subfloor is put down...

floating floors should outlawed... :) ..


On a better note... how you keeping JB..

[sandbagger]

I agree with Dave about the news media making things worse, preaching gloom and doom every day. just hold out until Jan 21 and things will suddenly brighten considerably. :rolleyes:

[Derek & Jacqui]

Things got bad under dear old Maggie, Prices dropped to quarter That’s when you could get work. We ended up in Germany for two years from 93 to 95 back to England, things still bad. Packed two suitcases and a brief case, and here we are. Things did slow down for a while, but always had about three weeks in front of us, It seem to be getting busier again touching head for the wood
:yipee:

[MudMaker]

Now Derek.. How in the world did you wind up in Obion.. :)

[Derek & Jacqui]

Drove down From Va after spending a yearon Smith Mountain Lake. The money started to run outso had to get a job. :sick:

[Rob Z]

D&J,

One of my brothers-in-law is from SML. Knowing what I know about SML, I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did there. DId you run away screaming? :D

[ddmoit]

Over here in the uk.. i blame the media a lot for scare mongering peeps into holding onto their cash and not spending on their homes etc....the building market( new builds) is dead at present over here.....no houses or very few are bieng built..so all those tradesmen have been laid off....so this cause's them to hit the domestic market and jump in with cheaper prices...
I agree with Dave about the news media making things worse, preaching gloom and doom every day.

Since consumers cannot cause recessions, neither can gloom & doom reports by the media.

The notion is debunked here (http://mises.org/story/3194).