Today I found a positive story in the Sunday papers relating to the construction sector. Yippee! Maybe I should frame it. The announcement that minister Eamon Ryan is launching the national insulation programme to boost jobs in the construction sector. Great stuff, Minister!
More on this again, although I wanted to start with some good news before I commented on the latest CSO statistics. Reporting on the the relative health of the sector for tradesmen and builders, its bad news for some but there is something we can do about it..
The facts
The CSO (Central Statistics Office) Quarterly Planning Permissions Granted, Q1 2001- Q3 2008, report makes interesting reading. New constructions aside, (as Onlinetradesmen.com members are primarily focused on extension and refurbishments) Q3 2008 has shown a decrease of 20% in the number of planning permissions granted for house extensions nationwide when compared to the same period in in 2007. In numeric terms, permission for house extensions has dropped from a high in Q3 2007 of 5,210 to 4,166 in Q3 2008 - the lowest number since Q3 2003. The Q3 number is significant as this is the busiest period for permissions annually. In the same period the number of 'House Alteration and conversions' that received planning, was down some 15% in Q3 2008 (711) from Q3 2007 (837).
In addition to the above, the statistics show that in Q3 2008 the average size of extensions granted permission was 112.8 sq. meters (this must include renovations as well). This is down from an average house extension size of 144 sq meters in Q3 2007.
Reasons to be cheerful
OK, granted, there aren't many - but there are some. Planning permission only applies for extensions of 40 sq meters and above, with smaller extensions not registering in the CSO's figures. What the CSO's numbers do reflect are that there is a nationwide trend towards smaller extensions - something that Onlinetradesmen.com can confirm, with significant activity on our service for smaller extension types. What is also ignored are is the non extension related activity within the trade sector. General home improvement have increased nationwide according to figures on Onlinetradesmen.com, with smaller projects such as bathrooms, flooring, painting and decorating up over 15% on previous quarters years.
How to buck the trends
We can't argue that fact that there are now too many tradesmen competing for too little business in the domestic sector here. So something has to give, right ? The knee jerk reaction has been that prices have fallen and the customer, on the face of it at least, has benefited. However, I wonder how sustainable this is. In a race to the bottom nobody will win in the end. In my next blog post I will outline my own thoughts on how tradesmen and builders can differentiate themselves in a tight market and win more business. So, because of time constraints (it is a Sunday!), I'll outline these in the next post and finish with the time honoured phrase of
....TO BE CONTINUED...
Showing posts with label plumbers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plumbers. Show all posts
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Monday, October 20, 2008
Bodyguards, Contractors and Electricians
Sounds like a bad episode of the Sopranos but bear me out...
Word on the street is that some main building contractors are not hurting as much as they would have us believe. Their policy of not paying the substantial monies that they owe to their sub-contractors across the country is keeping the wolves from their doors - while setting them loose on their subbies.
We have received a host of reports from members and other tradesmen that, while large sums of money are owed to them from previously respected contractors, they simply cannot get paid. In one case over €200,000 is owed to a plumber from one of the largest contractors in Ireland but he is being fed the line that the money is not there to pay him. While he is looking at taking legal action to settle the matter, others have been talking about a less desirable courses of action - so much so that at least one high profile contractor has allegedly hired a group of bodyguards for his personal protection. Messy stuff that has the potential to get out of hand -surely if the developers have managed to re-negotiate credit terms with the banks they can pay some or all of their bills to their tradesmen ? Let's see how it pans out.
On the Electrician front Onlinetradesmen.com and RECI recently partnered to re-develop the new reci.ie web site - viewable at www.reci.ie. An official press release to follow. Essentially RECI members can now access job leads from members online and create their own business web sites. Should be great for members of the public as well, they can put in details of work that they are looking to get pricing and start dates on and receive replies from RECI electricians.
Word on the street is that some main building contractors are not hurting as much as they would have us believe. Their policy of not paying the substantial monies that they owe to their sub-contractors across the country is keeping the wolves from their doors - while setting them loose on their subbies.
We have received a host of reports from members and other tradesmen that, while large sums of money are owed to them from previously respected contractors, they simply cannot get paid. In one case over €200,000 is owed to a plumber from one of the largest contractors in Ireland but he is being fed the line that the money is not there to pay him. While he is looking at taking legal action to settle the matter, others have been talking about a less desirable courses of action - so much so that at least one high profile contractor has allegedly hired a group of bodyguards for his personal protection. Messy stuff that has the potential to get out of hand -surely if the developers have managed to re-negotiate credit terms with the banks they can pay some or all of their bills to their tradesmen ? Let's see how it pans out.
On the Electrician front Onlinetradesmen.com and RECI recently partnered to re-develop the new reci.ie web site - viewable at www.reci.ie. An official press release to follow. Essentially RECI members can now access job leads from members online and create their own business web sites. Should be great for members of the public as well, they can put in details of work that they are looking to get pricing and start dates on and receive replies from RECI electricians.
Labels:
bankrupt,
builders,
building contractors,
carpenters,
electricians,
floorers,
plumbers,
sub contractors,
tilers
Monday, September 29, 2008
Anything "Sustainable" about renewables for tradesmen ?
While I am personally a big supporter of the use of sustainable / renewable energy solutions in Irish homes, I have to question whether it is currently viable for Irish tradesmen to limit themselves to such technologies in the sector.
Unfortunately, an initial surge of interest in all things solar panel, heat pump, wood pellet etc. apart, it seems that a disappointingly low amount of money has changed hands in this area of home improvement in the last 6 months or so.
Am I wrong ? I hope so, but anecdotal evidence from tradesmen in the area would suggest otherwise. The issue appears to be that property owners have worked out that the return on investment for solar, wood chip etc. is just too long - even with the SEI's greener homes scheme in place. In a period when "cash is king", it has resulted in property owners choosing more "traditional" solutions, such as efficient gas & oil boilers that meet current building regulations, for their lower upfront costs. Disappointing but hardly surprising. Indeed with the banks giving high interest rates for money on deposit, the pro's of saving a significant lump sum upfront and putting it to work immediately versus taking accumulated savings over an extended period appears to weaken the business case for sustainable further still.
The result of all of this is wholesale reports of tradesmen (plumbers in particular) that had initially set out their stall as "100%" sustainable solution providers have had to revert to traditional domestic work to supplement their incomes. Don't get me wrong - there is still activity in the sustainable sector and we see jobs coming into Onlinetradesmen.com everyday in the form of solar, heat pump, wood pellet and more - but tradesmen are telling us that the overall demand from property owners (from all sources including the SEI installer listing) isn't enough to base a successful business on.
So what are your thoughts on this ? Personally I would love to see additional changes to make adoption of sustainable technology more widespread in the domestic and commercial sector. I guess with the current status of the state coffers however, this may be just a pipe dream.
Unfortunately, an initial surge of interest in all things solar panel, heat pump, wood pellet etc. apart, it seems that a disappointingly low amount of money has changed hands in this area of home improvement in the last 6 months or so.
Am I wrong ? I hope so, but anecdotal evidence from tradesmen in the area would suggest otherwise. The issue appears to be that property owners have worked out that the return on investment for solar, wood chip etc. is just too long - even with the SEI's greener homes scheme in place. In a period when "cash is king", it has resulted in property owners choosing more "traditional" solutions, such as efficient gas & oil boilers that meet current building regulations, for their lower upfront costs. Disappointing but hardly surprising. Indeed with the banks giving high interest rates for money on deposit, the pro's of saving a significant lump sum upfront and putting it to work immediately versus taking accumulated savings over an extended period appears to weaken the business case for sustainable further still.
The result of all of this is wholesale reports of tradesmen (plumbers in particular) that had initially set out their stall as "100%" sustainable solution providers have had to revert to traditional domestic work to supplement their incomes. Don't get me wrong - there is still activity in the sustainable sector and we see jobs coming into Onlinetradesmen.com everyday in the form of solar, heat pump, wood pellet and more - but tradesmen are telling us that the overall demand from property owners (from all sources including the SEI installer listing) isn't enough to base a successful business on.
So what are your thoughts on this ? Personally I would love to see additional changes to make adoption of sustainable technology more widespread in the domestic and commercial sector. I guess with the current status of the state coffers however, this may be just a pipe dream.
Labels:
BER,
geothermal,
heat pumps,
installers,
plumbers,
renewable,
solar panels,
sustainable energy,
tradesmen,
wood pellet
Friday, September 12, 2008
Leaning on my shovel - join in
It seems that most Irish tradesmen don't even own a shovel to lean on anymore. Or so the press here would have us believe. Maybe a downbeat subject to start on but let's grab the bull by the horns (and slap him with our shovels if needs be).
Where where's the voice of the Irish tradesman been hiding recently during the bashing of the trade sector ? Over the last few months the Irish press has made being a tradesman into some sort of stigma, one to encourage pity or charity. We've been forced fed that many articles, tuned into that many radio interviews and viewed so many prime time 'Special reports' on the woes of the trade sector, that it has become an actual burden to stay informed. Not to mention being an real life trade professional.
Have a read of the following recently:
Just a snippet but depressing stuff. But perhaps we shoud question the these sources - if not for their statistics then maybe for their sentiment. Newspapers will peddle gloom to sell copy, while such agency reports failed to predict the current predicament in good time in the first place!
Ok, so things are not great. But I can give examples of a whole stack of tradesmen are doing just fine in the domestic sector. So rather than listen to the spin lets get some front line opinions here from actual tradesmen.
Gentlemen, the floor is yours, how is business at the moment ? Feel free to contribute something positive!
Where where's the voice of the Irish tradesman been hiding recently during the bashing of the trade sector ? Over the last few months the Irish press has made being a tradesman into some sort of stigma, one to encourage pity or charity. We've been forced fed that many articles, tuned into that many radio interviews and viewed so many prime time 'Special reports' on the woes of the trade sector, that it has become an actual burden to stay informed. Not to mention being an real life trade professional.
Have a read of the following recently:
According to the Irish Independent 7th June, 2008:
On building sites across the country workers are filled with trepidation. Whether they are Irish, Polish or from elsewhere in the EU the news seems to be relentlessly bleak.
The jobs of bricklayers, carpenters and workers in other construction trades are fast disappearing.
FAS, our national training agency, predict:
a quarter of all building workers will lose their jobs by the end of next year.
Just a snippet but depressing stuff. But perhaps we shoud question the these sources - if not for their statistics then maybe for their sentiment. Newspapers will peddle gloom to sell copy, while such agency reports failed to predict the current predicament in good time in the first place!
Ok, so things are not great. But I can give examples of a whole stack of tradesmen are doing just fine in the domestic sector. So rather than listen to the spin lets get some front line opinions here from actual tradesmen.
Gentlemen, the floor is yours, how is business at the moment ? Feel free to contribute something positive!
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