Who do I need - a Plumber or a Builder?

[bsrlee]

After many years, I want to put a new drain in front of the garage (now my workshop). My late father put up with a pitiful excuse for a drain - you could just about float a matchbox in it - and didn't worry about the overflow going through the garage. This is no longer adequate as I am amassing a fair bit of machinery & wood that does not like to be flooded.

I was going to DIY it, as it doesn't connect to the sewer or external drains, bought the box drain & grate sections, a 9" grinder & disks, then had a test run. B^**## H#&& that concrete is hard after 60 or so years.

The concrete seems to run from 12"(300mm) near the wall (garage slab) down to 4"(100mm) a foot away, and its done in 2 sections so I could ~theoretically~ just cut out the joints of the thinner bit & break it up with the aid of some drilled holes & a big hammer, then mix some concrete & bed the drain channel etc, leaving the old channel alone and just use the same pipe that runs under the house to the sump.

But I'd like it to get done before I die of old age, so I have concluded that I should get someone else in to do the excavation & concrete work. So the BIG QUESTION becomes, do I ring up builders or plumbers? I have the feeling that if I ring the wrong mob, who can't do the job, I'm likely to end up paying for them to employ the correct tradie to actually do the job, plus their markup.

Your thoughts Gentlemen?

[billbeee]

Hi,
It's a builder's job. (a builder's labourer's actually).

If he has not got the gear he will hire a concrete saw,(depending on length of cuts, an operator and large machine) and cut the concrete fairly neatly to the size.
If it is cut completely through the slab the conc. It might come out with a crowbar and sledgehammer. Or he may have to hire an electric breaker (jackhammer).

He would dig out the subgrade with a clay spade in the breaker, and bed the new drain in concrete.

Not too hard for him as he just has, or hires the right gear. You could hire the right gear yourself.

Photos would help as we don't have any idea of the size of the job.

Cheers
Bill

[DJ’s Timber]

I say neither, it's a job for a concreter. He will already have all the gear and should be in and out in less then 4hrs I reckon.

[bsrlee]

Thank you gentlemen, you have given me more avenues to pursue.

[Bleedin Thumb]

Sound like a landscapers job to me. Too small for a builder, too much hard work for a plumber - and they're too expensive. Us landscapers get to do that kind of *# @%.


PM me and tell me what area you are.

[Make it work]

Go on, bite the bullet and do it yourself. If you need to hire some gear to make it easier then so be it but it does not sound like rocket surgery.

[Tools]

Concreter

[Terrian]

sounds like a home handy many job

look in the yellow pages and find a concrete cutting mob, plenty of them available, get them to make the cuts, you just crowbar the concrete out and make your drain.

[pawnhead]

It sounds like BT is offering you a quote.

Otherwise if you want to do it yourself, I've got a mate who's a concrete cutter/core hole guy. He's a one man show with no overheads like the bigger mobs so he's generally cheap, but also generally pretty busy. It would still be cheaper to hire your own gear though. It's not all that hard to do.