Is this acceptable standards? - several photos included

[dave21478]

Meh, you dont have invisible guttering![:P]

 

I have sent all my photos on to the boss. He seems delighted. It would seem that Uk and many French people have wildly differing views of "acceptable standards".

 

[Northender]

 

Dave

I couldn't agree more!

Many years ago after spending 30 years with BT I decided to try my hand at fitting alarm systems.

Wanting to impress my new and hopefully increasing clientele I was lifting floorboards , moving furniture etc to conceal the cables.

Needless to say the jobs were taking longer than expected but what the *** , satisfied customers.

It was after a visit to my wife's niece and saw what an abortion another well known security company had made of her new system ( wires stapled along the dado rail , mains connected with a flexible cord and plug , etc )

However she was delighted with it and marvelled at the fact they had only taken 3 hours to complete the job.

I gave up.

 

[Chancer]

Northender.

Talk about deja vu I too started installing alarms as my first business, like you I always prided myself in hiding all cables whenever humanly possible, in the early days I did some daywork for another guy who sold systems and used people like me to do the installation and callouts, before long I was being asked to put right what his other guys had done, I was speechless but my pride refused to let me cut corners like the others.

It became a usefull selling tool, "it will be me that does your installation, not a sub-contractor, I always take as much care as if it were my own home" followed by the showing of my rogues gallerie photos usually got the sale, I never sold on price.

The other surprising thing was how differently the other guys customers treated me when they thought I was an employee but usually by the end of the day they treated me as an equal like my customers.

Perhaps French customers hold tradesmen and shopkeepers as superior?

[Gluestick]

That's why wireless alarm systems were invented.......................

Although no mainstream major installer will use them.

In the old racing days, the cooking side of the garage carried out basic servicing and repairs: and unlike the majority, adjusting tappets (e.g) and changing oil filters was actually done: rather than the often approach of everyone from main dealers down who simply wiped off the rocker box or oil filter..........

And the mechs simply drew the correct invoiced materials from stores: and hid them in their toolboxes for their weekend PJs.

Being honest with the public didn't pay many dividends: we still had to pay the same rates and overheads.

And unlike the Scottish gentleman whose outfit quickly earned a cowboy reputation for squirting oil over shockers and slitting tyres with a craft knife to boom up sales volume, I didn't gain a knighthood!

Another lesson here, perhaps?

 

[dave21478]

quelle surprise....

 

[IMG]http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc297/dave21478/house/DSCF0004-3.jpg[/IMG]

 

 

[Théière]

Leaky roof?

[AnOther]

You could at least have put the hosepipe out of sight [:D][:D][:D]

 

[Wibblywobbly]

I have been looking at this thread with interest. Firstly the cost of this is probably on a par, and possibly cheaper than, a similar construction would cost in the UK. I know as I have just had a few quotes in, none of which I took up. £20k for a pile of plastic and a few sheets of glass? No chance. The difference is that the job would have been covered by guarantees, and I would not have parted with money until I was happy. If this had been done to my house, there would be a County Court judgement lined up!

The drain off on that roof looks a little shallow? Ok for rain, but snow loading might cause problems. Heat expansion from the inside and climate contraction from the outside is not going to help retain watertight seals, and the silicone is only waterproof until it reaches plastic or stone, at that point it is dependent on adhesion qualities. Uncompressed silicone will not last long once the weather and ice gets into the joints.

Sure enough there are leaks already. Probably down to placing plastic components under torsional stress and expecting the joints to stay watertight. That will never work in a million Sundays.

The design is the big problem. So big that it has ensured that the entire construction is unlikely to last more than a few years before it is riddled with leaks, and badly fitting doors and windows.

If cash hasn't yet been handed over, then don't part with a penny until the problems have been resolved. Resolving those problems may entail a complete new roofing system?

Rob G