Owning your own home

This guy is good, pretty bare profile, but he's in high demand so doesn't need to make it any better.
http://www.mybuilder.com/profile/view/kowalski

Looks good, but he forgot to put the scribe piece at the top!

Hah. We didn't want one!

He's a general builder though so you wouldn't get him in to make wardrobes.

Looks that way but we had him build part of a partition wall in our office and he's a decent joiner.

Don't know whether his homeowner costs are reasonable - but decent work on a commercial job and a nice guy so you can just call him (website appears to be borked)
https://i.instagram.com/danielcabinetmaker/

Does anyone know much about the different varieties of thermostatic shower? I was originally just going to go for a separate bar mixer that plumbs into the wall, but the problems associated with chasing the necessary pipework into a solid wall has me considering a thermostatic bath/shower mixer unit that just fits on the bath. Is there a significant difference in performance or is it mainly aesthetics? It will be running off a combi and I don’t mind splashing the cash for a good quality unit.

btw sorry for any incorrect terminology used, I know next to nothing about all this stuff.

Interesting looking at some of the replies here. Some of the job titles in the building industry are a bit archaic and don't get used much any more. My take on it comes from years of development through experience of working with wood/mdf.

A carpenter is usually the guy who puts up studs for walls, door linings, hangs ready made doors (when skilled), fixes architrave/skirtings, bath board etc. and can put a lock in a door. These jobs are often split into first fix skills and second fix skills. Quite often the work will show signs of lack of or inappropriate use of tools to obtain a result. I.e. stud work not square around doors, nails not flush or screws/nails used in the wrong application, doors that don't fit properly and lock body cavities in areas that weaken doors or that are badly formed by blunt instruments. Carpenters working on repetitive jobs like site work will usually have all the tools to hand and achieve a good finish, small jobs in private homes are a bit hit and miss. It's usually someone at the start of their career.

a Joiner can make a door or window of any type from scratch using traditional or modern joining methods and a number of different materials, can make built in furniture usually made partially in a workshop using traditional fixings or modern fixings, kitchen cabinets from scratch in different styles and fitting kitchens with lots of details and a high quality finish. Most of the time a joiner is able to make free standing furniture if required although that is the beginning of Cabinet Making which is where the high end of working with wood begins.

So you often find a decent domestic choice for wardrobes is a tradesman who has avoided first fix carpentry a bit, has a set of sharp chisels and a laser spirit level and doesn't expect to do all the work on site (although that's not the end of the world). Somewhere between Joiner and carpenter. Once you reach full on joiner status you miss the flexibility and preparedness of the workshop and start to tend towards cabinet maker.

Another side of the joinery market is paint finishing. Hand painted or sprayed and there are many options and skill levels involved in that side of furniture, it's also one of the most expensive parts of the process with large but simple wardrobes, largely because paint needs time to dry, is not free and requires minimum 4 coats on bare mdf for an acceptable finish including the time to polish all the cut edges. You can budget around £40 psqm for a simple spray finish. Drawers are also expensive, the runners can cost £20 each for a decent pair, more for touch style and the boxes/fronts for drawers are fiddly to make and fit with proper tolerances.

Really useful stuff here guys, couple of recommendations I have followed up.
Feel like the before xmas deadline is achievable.

Will let you know who we go with and post photo's.

Hans Grohe all the way. Chasing the pipework is not that hard. Bathtop shower mixers are only slightly less good than wall mounted but the quality brands don't have as wide a choice as the wall mounted options. Hans Grohe are a good choice because of the parts availability in the distant future and the quality of the mechanisms/plating and most importantly the stability of the thermostat which can most of the time react safely to your beloved flushing the loo while you are in the shower!

My dad used to joke that a joiner worked to the nearest mm, a cabinet maker to the nearest cm and a carpenter to the nearest house.

He was a setter out at a large joinery works and specialised in round Windows and spiral staircases which he never tired of telling me are not spiral because the banister needs to twist as it bends.

My great grandfather was a cabinet maker, did a lot of work on the Titanic (apparently). I've got his toolbox now.

Oh sorry I didn't realise you'd actually used him!

One thing I have learnt from the last few years of using a LOT of trades is that generally you're better off using someone who specialises in a particular job, and although you also need a general builder there are different kinds of general builder (as I found out to my expense/stress levels/bother).

A lot of general builders start out as chippies though (our old builder did, anything with wood was definitely his strong point) so yes definitely if you know they're good in that area. But as Airhead says they will tend to be more carpenters than joiners usually.

Oh yeah, be careful of "general builders", not saying some people aren't capable of many things, but I would much rather employ someone who's a specialist in one area and is capable of project managing the rest with sub contractors.

for the same reason you should avoid a chinese restaurant that also does pizza, fish & chips and curry.

My great grandfarther was a ship builder on the Titanic.

Yep, made this mistake in a bathroom this year - wish I'd got a proper tiler in.

My grandfather worked fucking hard.

Worked for Cunard, sorry.

^ lol

outstanding

My Grandad always used to say "better out then in..."
Lovely man.
Terrible heart surgeon.

I call my Grandad “Spiderman”

He doesn’t have any special powers.
He just has trouble getting out the bath.

I spent this morning by my Grandad's grave.
Poor fella thinks I'm digging a pond.

There's an innuendo competition taking place next week. I'm thinking of entering my Granddad.