Some words of wisdom about fixed prices from a contractor abroad for work order changes.
I was recently asked to quote for and subsequently do a fairly small job - cosmetically tidying up a basement - building a wall across one part to create a new room, lay some flooring and paint the floor of the garage. I suspected that this may lead to other work for these clients, but had no idea just how much? Nine months later and I was still there! No, I don't work that slowly and Yes, I have finished what I was asked to do!
Everyday, when I arrived, I was met by the Homeowner with the greeting 'Good Morning, I've been thinking about.......', In the end we both agreed that there was no point in me quoting for the jobs any more when they changed everyday and that I would work for a fixed price per day.
It's inevitable that, when living and working as a 'Jobbing Builder' in France, you are eventually going to have what are known as 'One of those days', Well yesterday, for me, was such a day!
In all truth it didn't start that badly, even though it was a cold and frosty morning the traffic could be seen moving on the roads, indicating that the journey to site shouldn't be too bad, So I wished my son happy birthday (16 today, already!!) So, whilst my wife took him and his sister off to school and I set about sorting out the tools I thought I was going to need for the day.
When I eventually got to my site with thought of perhaps doing a half day, after following several cars along completely clear roads at the obligatory snails pace, I met up with my clients, a lovely Anglo-French couple, and discussed the order of the day.
I'm constantly surprised by just how hard it is to have an easier life. When we moved to France just over 6 years ago, it was with dreams of part-time work, spending time with the family, maybe keeping a few chickens and growing some fruit and vegetables!
So, Where are we now?
We've moved from a managably small property that would have needed extending to comfortably fit us all in to a Old Manor that is really to big for a family of four and the occasional visitors (4 times a year in truth) all sat on around 2 hectares of land.
We do keep a few chickens (normally around about 20 in fact) some for eggs and some for the table), around 40 Doves and Pigeons Geese, 2 Pheasants, Turkeys around Christmas time and the most recent acquisitions - 5 ewes, 1 Ram (more about him later), 4 Boars and 3 sows. Hopefully this year we'll add to these with some ducks for the table and who knows what else? All of this is in addition to the 3 dogs and 4 cats!
Most of the internal renovations are finished, to the point that we are now going back over some of the same jobs for a second time, there are just two bathrooms to install inside, the outside walls of the kitchen to render and a patio to lay, then several hundred metres of fencing, animal shelters by the dozen and the barn to renovate, a ruin to rebuild, block built walls to face in stone and so the list goes on and on and...all of the and I still have to work to earn a crust modernising other peoples houses.
