Thursday, January 08, 2009

Ethics and economics

We've had most of our rewiring done.  We need all the holes filling in with plaster.  We've had a few plasters round to look at it.  We've had a resounding lack of quotes.  We've still got some more recommendations to try.  But it's a bit depressing - all I want is someone to come and make my house whole again.

We've also had a  few recommendations of people who will come and do the job for us, if we give them some money.  No receipt, no VAT.  I believe in getting a proper job done, I believe in getting a receipt for the work I've paid for, I believe in paying VAT (particularly now there's 2.5 % less of it to pay!) and I also think that if I pay tax on what I earn, probably everyone else should too.

But I can understand why maybe not many plasterers do, if that is the case.  If  you have to charge an extra 15% for VAT and whatever you're going to lose in various income and other taxes, you're not going to be very competitive.  Which means you're less likely to survive.

I don't want to employ a plasterer cash-in-hand - I don't agree with it.  But if the alternative is living in a house with big gaps in the plaster, or doing the work myself, I'm not sure what I'll end up doing.

3 comments:

RedHillian said...

Plastering itself isn't particularly difficult. Getting the result you want may require practice though.

Anonymous said...

You could do a plastering course. There's a college in Manchester that used to do an 'intensive' three-day course for about £300.

Even better, send the husband.

Sarah said...

I don't want to plaster! I don't DO that sort of thing! I'd just get bored half way through and start doing something else...