Tradies Gotta Work Together

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October 9, 2013

female plumber on site showing her boss the problem

Last Friday Dad and I had to fit off a bathroom renovation. We have to go back to change over the taps because the ones that the client had supplied were too short to be installed in the existing wall combination. For those that don’t know plumbing talk, basically the tap handles and flanges wouldn’t screw back to the tile wall for the shower and bath.

Anyway, these pictures are of a vanity basin where our waste pipe was covered underneath the bottom of the cupboard, still capped with grey duct tape. I’ll be honest, at first glance I was frustrated that the cabinet maker hadn’t thought about how the plumber would hook onto the pipe below, but a bigger hole was sawn and we were able to peel off the duct tape and install the basin waste. Tradies gotta work together to make sure a project goes smoothly.

: Where’s our waste pipe?

: A bigger hole saw had to be used so we could connect onto the existing waste pipe under the cupboard

The client chose a square above counter basin and a standard mixer tap. We decided to install the basin flush with the wall so that water wouldn’t splash behind the basin which would be a nuisance to constantly dry up.

: The vanity basin is all hooked up

I think it’s come up really nice and when the walls are painted white, it will look even better.

I’m linking up for Wordless Wednesday with My Little Drummer Boys

My Gripe About Plumbing Supplier Contradictions

By

Rebecca Senyard

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October 8, 2013

10

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know that my mantra is to always use a licensed plumber for all your plumbing jobs around the home. It’s not a good thing to do, it’s the right thing to do.

Google isn’t the only culprit assisting homeowners to do their own plumbing; our plumbing suppliers are not helping.

On Friday, dad and I had to pick up some fittings from a popular plumbing supplier. While I was at the counter, an older woman was being served next to me with an iPhone in hand showing pictures of a shower that she needed to hook up.

The assistant behind the counter was only too happy to give her what she needed and explain how the fittings were to be installed. Apparently, she was giving the fittings to her plumber to install for her. I wasn’t sure why the plumber wasn’t getting the gear themself to save the woman the hassle of explaining what she needed? And what was the assistant doing giving plumbing advice when he wasn’t licensed himself?

While this was unfolding, I saw a brochure of the supplier running a competition for plumbers to send in photos of illegal plumbing for a chance to win some cash and tools. What a contradiction. Here they wanted to see photos of illegal plumbing and yet they were explaining to a woman how to install her shower and selling her the fittings to do it.

Plumbing is a licensed trade. If you’re not licensed, don’t do it. It’s illegal. You are breaking the law. And our plumbing suppliers should be supporting this.

This brings me to write about retailers who supply gear to plumbers only. Plumbers Choice and Forge Plumbing, will only supply plumbing gear to licensed plumbers. All plumbing suppliers and home and hardware retailers should be making the same call. Show your plumbing license and you can purchase the fittings. Margin share wouldn’t drop, because instead of homeowners buying their gear, it would be licensed plumbers.

You see I am passionate about doing right by the customer. Plumbing is not a DIY trade. Just because you can purchase the fittings doesn’t mean you should.

We need to be fair dinkum about illegal plumbing and it needs to be supported by our plumbing suppliers.

My gripe about plumbing supplier contradictions is over.

Do you think plumbing suppliers should stop selling plumbing fittings to the unlicensed? What are your thoughts?

Don’t let a ‘can’t-be-bothered’ attitude rob you of good memories

By

Rebecca Senyard

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October 7, 2013

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I had an Inspiration from the Carpenter post that I was going to upload earlier today but I slept in because Esther had been playing the I-don’t-want-to-go-to-bed game last night and she finally stayed in her bed at 1am this morning. I really needed the sleep and I was thankful that it was a public holiday so that Jacob could get up with the girls when they woke up.

When I finally got up out of bed (it was probably around 7:30am) I ummed and aahed about whether we would venture out to a family church picnic that our church had organized for today. I knew it was going to be hot and I really don’t do well in the heat. I had all intentions of staying home, but Jacob was keen to go. And then I thought I would message my best friend Jess to ask whether she was going and when she messaged me back straight away to say she was just about to ask me the same question, I knew that we were meant to go and that I had to get over my ‘can’t be bothered’ attitude.

It takes effort to make memories with kids. Work and family life can really deplete your energy and I know that I sometimes don’t want to make the effort to go somewhere because I just can’t be bothered.

But this mindset can really rob me of making great memories with my kids or just memories for myself.

I set off to bake some muffins and biscuits to take with us to the picnic and while I was baking, I reminisced the church family picnics I had enjoyed when I was younger. The picnics I went to were the ones my grandparents took me and my brother to. Mum and dad weren’t really into going to church picnics. They served the church in other areas and after a busy week at work, they much preferred to stay home on weekends. I remembered when I was little, how I wished mum and dad were more enthusiastic about taking my brother and I to them. I may have even vowed myself to go to social events like this when I was older.

This is not criticism to my parents because weekends were precious time to get things done at home or just to rest from a really busy working week. And to be honest my parents have never been the ‘camping or picnic’ type.

And yet here I was in the same predicament, not really wanting to exert the effort it would take to pack the esky and jump in the car to go.

But I did it. Or rather we did it.

And we had a ball.

There was a sausage sizzle, fairy floss, face painting, a huge jumping castle, a cups and saucer ride, pony rides and typical church picnic games like the three legged and potato sack races. Oh and did I mention it was all free?!

Esther had a ball. She jumped herself to exhaustion on the jumping castle and got her face painted as a rabbit. She also fell off a pony and landed in horse poo. (our family can’t seem to stay away from the stuff!!)At least it was at the end of the picnic and she didn’t hurt herself.

: My cute little bunny Esther

: Magdalene loved sitting in the shade on the picnic rug

I got to chat with my girlfriends while our babies played with toys on a picnic rug in the shade and I enjoyed myself.

What I learned from today is that it is so easy to let a bad attitude take charge of my day, but by simply making a decision and changing my mindset, I went to something that blessed me and my family with memories that will be foundational to Esther’s childhood.

Don’t let a ‘can’t-be-bothered’ attitude rob you of good memories. It’s so hard to make the effort when you have little children but from my experience today, the reward is certainly worth the effort.

Do you have any fond memories of church family picnics?

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How not to run Septic Transpiration Trenches

By

Rebecca Senyard

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October 2, 2013

12

5 reasons your bathroom smells like a sewer

A couple of weekends ago, our family went to watch my dad fly his remote control planes at his Model Club show day. I have written before how my dad tried to fly his toilet seat plane here.

: My dad’s Spitfire Model Aeroplane

When we arrived and got out of the car I got a whiff of a crap awful smell. It was putrid and it was coming from the toilet block. I decided not to think about it too much because I was there to watch dad fly his planes and Esther was keen to see them too.

Anyway, during the week when dad and I had to check out a broken toilet pan out at the same toilet block, dad told me that the smell I smelt (and that everyone else could smell too) was from the septic tank transpiration trenches.

: The septic tank and transpiration trenches right next to the toilets

: The transpiration trenches doing their business… or rather moving everybody else’s.

To save money, the trenches were installed right next to the septic tank which was right next to the toilet block which meant you could smell everyone’s poop before you even went into the toilet.

So these pictures are to show how not to run septic transpiration trenches. The trenches should have been run at least 100m in the field where no one walks past.

And to explain to those who don’t know what a septic tank is and how they work: If there is no sewer in your area, you put in a septic tank which basically holds all waste water and separates the water from the matter and the effluent water gets transpired through trenches to irrigate land. The organic matter gets pumped out by a specialized truck when the tank is full. Septic tanks are generally used on acreage properties, parklands and farms.

I’m linking up with My Little Drummer Boys today for Wordless Wednesday… but pictures like these need an explanation. 😉

Plumbing Terms

By

Rebecca Senyard

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October 1, 2013

22

Stopcocks, tit of a trap, female union, male line union and ballcock are all plumbing terms that describe certain fittings. And yes, some fittings have a sexual reference which I wrote about here.

But I’m going to write about different plumbing terms today and it seems that I need to explain to the world when a basin is a basin and when a sink is a sink.

I remember watching The Block earlier this year and the design judges would discuss how they loved the sink in the bathroom and I would throw up my hands in frustration saying IT’S a BASIN!

Well actually, I didn’t get that agro about it but my mother did. And so I thought I’d share with you the difference today.

A basin is installed in a bathroom and a sink is in the kitchen.

It’s that simple. But so many people get it wrong. And why does it bother me so?

Because a basin has a 40mm waste outlet and a kitchen sink has a 50mm outlet, so when a client calls to say that their sink waste is leaking and I come out with 50mm fittings when it’s actually the basin that is leaking and I need 40mm ones… it’s pretty frustrating.

So always remember a sink is in the kitchen and a basin is in the bathroom. If you think you’ll mix them up… think b for basin in the bathroom and k in sink for the kitchen.

Image source

What a Blocked Urinal looks like

By

Rebecca Senyard

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September 25, 2013

15

toilet etiquette are urinals on the decline?

Waterless urinals were the fixture to have in male bathrooms when Brisbane went through it’s worst drought. Buildings converted to water saving urinal flush devices or installed waterless urinals as a way to meet the government’s regulation of installing water saving fixtures in the bathroom facilities.

Waterless urinals need their cartridges replaced every 6 months or so (depends how often it’s peed on). We had to change the cartridge on Monday and when we took out the very full and overflowing cartridge, this was what we found at the bottom of the urinal.

: What a blocked urinal looks like

I know it looks gross… dried up pee congealed at the bottom of the urinal. It’s a crap photo but the smell was intoxicating and I had to be quick. Oh man, the smell. It’s nasty. I have never gotten used to it and I’ve changed that cartridge so many times in the last couple of years.

So what’s the point of putting up this horrible picture?

Well I have done work for families where they have apologized if the toilet has wee in it because they live by the rule ‘If it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down’ to save water.

But if pee is left sitting in the bowl for a long time, it will discolour and seep into the pores of the ceramic bowl.

So if you do plan to let your wee ‘mellow’, don’t leave it too long or else it will marinate the bottom of your bowl a disgusting yellow.

Linking up for Wordless Wednesday with My Little Drummer Boys.

Can a Stylist be a Plumber and can a Plumber be a Stylist?

By

Rebecca Senyard

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September 24, 2013

43

For close friends and family, they know my story well but for those of you who read my blog The Plumbette, you may or may not know that I have a Diploma in Fashion Styling and I have a side business called Styled By Bec.

Styled by Bec was born in December 2009 while I was finishing my plumbing apprenticeship. Rewind to the beginning of 2009, I told my dad that I had doubts about whether I really wanted to be a plumber and whether taking over the family plumbing business was what I really wanted. I actually really wanted to have children but knew that I needed to finish my apprenticeship before I even contemplated starting a family.

My dad told me that he would support me with whatever decision I made but I needed to find out what it was that I wanted to do. This was a hard question for me to answer and I had no clue as to what I wanted to do. What I did know was that I wanted to work for myself. I didn’t want to go back into the workforce and work for someone else.

So to work out what I really wanted to do, I read the careers section of the paper and I read every job offered from front to back and highlighted jobs I thought I’d might like to do and parts of jobs that I loved but not necessarily the full job.

It was while I was doing this research that I came across an ad to study a Diploma in Fashion Styling by correspondence to become a Personal Stylist. I remember the feeling I felt when I read the ad and knew that this was what I wanted to do. But it sounded so … Mickey Mouse and I flicked the page over. But I couldn’t ignore the burning desire to find out more so I enquired about the course, received a brochure on what would be covered and signed up straight away to study the course while I was learning to be a plumber.

Every smoko break at Tafe, I would head to the library and read my styling tutorial while the other apprentices would go up the road to the pub.

I was in my element when I studied that course. I loved every minute and I enjoyed all the practical assignments. Funnily enough, my tutor would give detailed feedback on every assignment and she told me that I would make a great Fashion Blogger and to check out a number of blogs that blogged about fashion.

I remember scoffing at the feedback and thinking you can’t make money from a blog. And funnily enough it hasn’t been until now that I have realized the potential of what a blog can do for my Styled By Bec business.

I love styling clients and giving them advice on what to wear, but I haven’t put too much effort into advertising or marketing my business because I made a left brain decision.

At the end of 2009 I got given the Dux Australian Plumbing Apprentice of the Year and The Judges Most Outstanding Achiever by Construction Skills QLD at their Excellence Awards and I thought that plumbing was meant to be my day job and being a stylist would be my night job.

: Receiving my Dux Australian Plumbing Apprentice of the Year Award 2009 with Reece Managers Des & Tony

: Winning the Judges Outstanding Achievement Award at the Construction Skills QLD Excellence Awards 2009

My styling business got put on the back burner when at Christmas 2009 I found out I was expecting my first child. Starting a family, finishing my apprenticeship, working full time as a plumber and changing our plumbing business direction from commercial to residential meant that styling became a hobby rather than a career.

Fast forward to now, I have procrastinated for some time with blogging on my Styled by Bec site and attracting more clients to style. The reality is I can’t do everything, but I am more passionate about styling than fixing up a leaking toilet.

My favourite part of being a plumber is helping and interacting with clients and that is why starting a plumbing blog has been such a great fit for me and I will continue to blog and do plumbing work for now until my styling work picks up.

But my conundrum is this. That although I want my blogs to be read, I don’t want to compromise time with my family and so it’s with wobbly courage I have uploaded my first Styled by Bec blog today (after a year and a half) and I have made a goal to upload a post each week.

And the reason I have given myself this goal is because I want to act upon what I learned at the Problogger Conference about chasing the passion and not the money. I had thought about blogging about fashion on this blog but I think that would be a bit too left field and I followed the advice of one of the speakers to keep both niches separate.

So can a Stylist be a Plumber and can a Plumber be a Stylist? Yes because I’m gonna be living proof that it can be done.

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Go with the flow

By

Rebecca Senyard

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September 20, 2013

0

When I was pregnant with my first baby, friends who’d already had their first were telling me that babies change your life. At the time I thought ‘well duh, of course they do,’ but it wasn’t until I had my baby that I realised the life my husband and I had known pre-baby was pretty much never going to be the same again. Well, at least for a long while…

Indignantly I would reason in my head that ‘I’ll be fine with the nighttime feeds and that breastfeeding would be easy because isn’t that why women had boobs in the first place?’ (Although, some men would disagree…)

I was used to being up early for work as a plumber, so being up at 3am to console a baby was going to be much more joyous than being woken up by an alarm telling me to get ready for work. Or so I thought.

To read the rest of my blog post, head to the Bonds & Me Bumps & Baby Blog where I have posted my best advice for new parents: Go with the flow.

Disclaimer: I won a competition to blog for four months on the Bonds & Me Blog. I received $300 worth of Bonds clothes for my daughters as a prize. All advice is my own. No payments have been made for this blog post.

Super Mum I am Not

By

Rebecca Senyard

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September 19, 2013

8

I apologise for being absent from my blog this week and from not connecting with you on Facebook and Twitter. I have been overwhelmed with what I learned at Problogger Conference last week and I just want to apply everything I learned right now to my blogs. But I’m a mum and I am trying to be an intentional parent and it is s-l-o-w-l-y eating at me inside because I’m a doer and if I can’t get done what I want to get done I turn into a crazy, erratic woman.

Last night the house looked like a tip. Or an op shop. I had toys EVERYWHERE and piles of washing (all washed but needed ironing) on the floor and it was chaos. And this is not me. I love my house to be neat and clean and yes I am one of those neat freaks that tidies up each room after each toy has been played with and then left abandoned for another toy.

Last night, when my husband came home from work he looked at me and I cried and told him I couldn’t do it all and of course he told me ‘I don’t expect you to’.

Why did my entrepreneurial spirit decide to make an appearance when I became a mum? I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and I have been having conversations with God in my head asking Him why He didn’t reveal these plans to me earlier so I wouldn’t be in this predicament of being torn to be a great mum and a good business woman.

And then I realized that it wasn’t God pressuring me to be better, it was me. All me. Putting ridiculous timeframes on projects that can wait or can be developed over time. Tidying the house like a maniac as if someone was going to ‘pin’ my neat family room on their pinterest board. But it is so hard for me to accept this because it’s going against my grain.

And yet I have to. I can tell you, the fruit from my patience is going to be ripe and juicy because I have been practicing it a hell of a lot lately.

Super Mum I am not. A mum with the best intentions for her family is what I am and chaos will need to be my friend for now because I am going to drive myself crazy trying to do it all.

My advice if you are in the same predicament as me? Watch Cheaper by the Dozen. Family life can be crazy at the best of times and watching this movie makes me feel better in knowing I’m not the only one who is going through this season. And then pray and ask God for peace and discernment in doing what is best first.

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My First Problogger Conference Experience

By

Rebecca Senyard

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September 17, 2013

22

I remember how excited and nervous I was when I bought my first early bird ticket to the Problogger Conference back in March. Magdalene was only a couple of weeks old and I wasn’t sure whether the purchase was one I’d regret. But I knew that if I wanted to be serious about my blogging, I needed to go and thank goodness I followed through with my purchase because it was a very good decision!

I don’t even know where to start with my first Problogger Conference Experience and I’m sure other bloggers will be writing about their experiences on the blogosphere too about the conference. But the first day would have to be the stand out for me because I felt like the speakers were talking directly to me even though I’m a little blogger compared to the big names out there.

I loved the first session run by Darren Rowse about roadblocks that you come across when blogging. My number one roadblock would be time followed by lack of experience, money and a sense of being overwhelmed by too much to do and sure enough these were some of the biggest roadblocks other bloggers faced too.

I actually felt relieved that I wasn’t the only one facing these issues and that I wasn’t alone in my thought process of trying to overcome them. You should have felt my heart sigh with relief when Darren told us to make peace that there will always be more to do. It was like a burden lifted off my chest and it made way for new found motivation to build on my strengths and work in the areas I knew were already working well for me in building traffic and readership to my blog.

: Day 1 of my First Problogger Conference Experience

And that brings me to my next stand out speaker, Amy Porterfield, who is the guru of Facebook Marketing and taught brilliant techniques in building traffic to your Facebook page and website. You may have noticed that I updated The Plumbette’s Facebook Header and this was encouraged by Amy. I have updated my personal Facebook Page and my Styled By Bec Facebook Page too because it was so easy to do on PicMonkey. (Retro Mummy has a great blog post on how to do one for your own Facebook page).

I could write on and on about what I learned at Problogger but you can listen to what was taught by purchasing a virtual pass where you can listen to all the sessions that took place on the weekend. I didn’t want to promote the conference until I had gone and experienced it for myself. I’m so glad I have the virtual pass to go back over sessions I loved and visit the ones that I missed. The window to purchase a virtual pass is only open for a week, so you need to get in quick if you don’t want to miss out. This is the best investment if you have a blog and want to learn how to monetize it or even have a website and want to learn ways to build organic traffic to your site.

One outcome from the conference is that I’ve decided to blog once a week on my Styled by Bec website which I haven’t posted on since April 2012 because I have felt paralysed not knowing how to differentiate myself from other fashion bloggers who do it so well. But I have realized that I need to start and because fashion is my passion and plumbing is not, I’ve decided to just write and see where I go. The common theme that the speakers at the conference continually encouraged was you need to chase the passion, not the money. I’m not giving up my plumbing blog because ironically, while I don’t enjoy doing plumbing, I enjoy writing about it and will continue to entertain you with my tales.

What were the highlights for you at the Problogger Conference if you went?

Our Family Day Out at the Castrol Magnatec Exclusive Event by Soup

By

Rebecca Senyard

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September 12, 2013

0

I had the privilege of being invited to the Castrol Magnatec Exclusive Event by Soup on Sunday. Soup is a Word of Mouth Marketing company that I have been a member of for a couple of years. I’ve been able to review and share products with friends and family because of Soup. So when I got an email asking if I would like to take my family to an exclusive, free, family event with the opportunity to meet Mark Wintterbottom and Russell Ingle, my husband was keen for me to reply with a prompt yes!

The event was held at The Holden Driving Centre at Norwell and the weather was the perfect backdrop to an amazing event. The moment we drove into the Centre we were directed on where to park and I was excited to see a queue of people signing in to the event with the gorgeous Castrol Girls flanking the entry gate. Esther was handed a Castrol Cylinder tube of red jelly beans on arrival and we got a photo taken with the Castrol Girls.

We arrived around 15 minutes early which meant we got to have a sneak tour of behind the scenes where they make parts exclusively for the Holden racing cars. There was a display of parts that had been manufactured over the years which had been used for racing or were just for display. One part had recently been put in the display cabinet because it had been found while tidying up an area and it was a part that was installed on a racing car but had to be taken off for racing because it had been deemed as possible cheating. Can you tell how naïve I am when it comes to explaining car parts??

After this mini tour, more people arrived and we had cupcakes and any cold drinks we wanted for morning tea. Some of the famous V8 Racing cars were out on display and I got to sit in Craig Lowndes car from last year. There was a fabulous kids zone area with two Jumping Castles (one was a Lightning McQueen one), face painting, a photo booth and sculpture painting craft for the kids. Esther had a brilliant time on the Jumping Castles and got a gorgeous butterfly painted on her cheek which put her in a great mood for the rest of the event.

The official event started at 11am where we were all divided into four groups so that we could visit four stations.

The first workshop we walked to was viewing the inner workings of a car engine and getting an explanation from Mechanic Simon Chapman (who has worked at Holden for 16 years) about why it’s important for oil to be in your car and why it should be changed regularly. He explained the difference between Castrol Magnatec and other oils on the market.

For a car buff like me (not), I found this workshop interesting because Simon explained 75% of wear and tear on your car is made when you turn it on and it is important for the oil to be on the necessary parts of your engine to prevent this wear and tear.

And this is what makes Castrol Magnatec different to other oils. It has molecules that stick to the surfaces of each part when the car is turned off, whereas other oils slide off due to gravity.

The next workshop was about driving safely on roads. I learned more about how and why accidents occur. Did you know that the highest number of driving accident fatalities happen in the 17 to 24 age group and that a driver in this age group doubles their chance of a car accident if they have a car load of people? And did you also know that the most likely times a person will have a car accident is when they are a)driving someone else’s car or b)driving close to home because people pay less attention when driving in known areas and busy their mind on what things they need to do at home.

The next bit of advice which is something that I have always done when I have driven a car is look ahead and not put all your focus on the car or bit of road in front of you. I have missed many an accident by doing just this.

Our third workshop was watching a theatre clip about the history of Castrol. Castrol was first introduced to Australia in 1899. We also got to feel the difference between a part used with Castrol Magnatec and one that hadn’t. (the one that hadn’t had a more rough/ridged surface)

After this we had a sausage sizzle lunch and Mark Wintterbottom sat in the table next to me while I fed Magdalene. V8 racing die hard fans were quick to sit at his empty table so he wouldn’t eat alone.

Once lunch was over, the last workshop was an exclusive mingle with Mark and Russell. I missed most of this part of the workshop because Esther was keen to paint a car at the sculpture painting zone and I thought it would be nice for Jacob to enjoy it without a cranky three year old.

We got to have our photo taken afterwards with Mark and Russell and then the afternoon was finished off by getting a bottle of Castrol Magnatec oil suited to our car and two Castrol Umbrellas which will be put to good use.

This is not a sponsored post but I found the event so informative and wanted to share with you what I learned. The event organisers, the Castrol Girls and even Mark and Russell were genuinely friendly and happy to talk to us and assist us in any way.

Our car is due for a service soon and I will be asking what type of oil is used on our car. It’s also something that I will be monitoring when we purchase our new family car in the near future to ensure we get longevity out of it.

How to build your confidence when meeting new people

By

Rebecca Senyard

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September 10, 2013

4

Problogger Conference is in 3 days time and I’m more excited than nervous at the prospect of meeting other bloggers for the first time.

But I have seen so many posts in recent days about being nervous about meeting new people and not knowing anyone and fear of being dissed by their star-struck blogger whom they follow and read religiously.

So I thought I’d share some tips about building your confidence when meeting new people for the first time because while this is my first Problogger Conference – well actually the first blogging conference I have ever attended, I have more than once been in situations where I have been the only girl at a Tafe full of blokes or a training conference for plumbers and tradies. I had to learn pretty fast how to overcome my nervousness of meeting and interacting with blokes I’d never met before while being the only one to represent my sex at these functions.

Here are my tips on how to build your confidence when meeting new people

1. Remember why you are going to the conference in the first place. You’re going to learn so you can better develop your craft as a blogger. Remember the big picture.

2. Remember you’re loved already by your spouse, your kids, your family, your friends and your online blog community. You don’t have to prove yourself to be loved here. So if you are snubbed off (which I hope you aren’t because that is just so rude.) don’t take it personally. Easy said than done but again remember you’re already loved.

3. Put away the iphone when you arrive and congregate in the welcoming area. If you want people to approach you, no one is going to approach someone playing candy crush or pretend tweeting or texting on their iphone.

4. Smile. I love greeting people with a smile and I always smile to people when I approach them or am being approached.

5. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. I’m used to wearing flats at work and I’m not confident to wear heels yet after being used to wearing flats all the time. Wedges and flats will be my shoes of choice. It means I won’t embarrass myself by stacking it when I walk or worry about whether I will stack it when wearing heels. Don’t wear an outfit that needs to be tugged or pulled to stay in position.

6. Brush your teeth and have mints on hand so you don’t feel nervous about whether you have bad breath. Thinking about what you look like and whether your breath smells bad are instant confidence killers.

7. Be organized. Have your business cards accessible in your bag/wallet so that you’re not flustered trying to get them out when you introduce yourself for the first time.

8. Bring spare pens and offer a piece of paper to someone who hasn’t been organized or has lost their pen. This is a great way to meet a new person and gain a new friend. (and a new blog reader, a new Facebook liker and new Twitter follower.. you get the picture) 🙂

9. Rather than wait to be approached, why not approach someone who is standing by themselves? I have always remembered and have held a soft spot for the people that have personally stepped out of their comfort zone and welcomed me into the fold. When you do this once, it gets easier to do it time and time again.

10. Be yourself. Don’t be someone you’re not. The reason you’re loved (back at tip 2) is because you are you. There is no one like you in the world so walk in confidence knowing others have the privilege of getting to meet and know the only you.

Can you add anything?

Five items a female plumber should not wear

By

Rebecca Senyard

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September 10, 2013

27

The last two weeks I have had to resort back to wearing my maternity cargo pants for work because I have had the unfortunate experience of ripping the crotch of my work pants not once, not twice but three times from squatting down turning off water meters or working under sinks.

The great discovery with my maternity pants, despite the fact that they are very roomy, is that there is no chance for butt crack cleavage because of the high waist band.

It got me thinking about things a female plumber or tradie shouldn’t wear while she is working onsite because I have seen and experienced some shockers and thought I’d share them with you here for a bit of a laugh and an eyebrow raise.

Five items a female plumber should not wear

1. A pom-pom G-string. Yep you read it right. When I was a third year apprentice working on a tenancy fit out job, only the painters, the electricians and plumbers were onsite. There was a female electrician working onsite and while she was bending down under the kitchen cupboard installing a power point for the dishwasher, her red pom-pom G-string popped out the top of her blue cotton drill shorts. I was too embarrassed to say anything. And the plumber I worked with laughed and shook his head while the painters… they are a crafty lot… made sure they were refilling their trays so they could walk past the kitchen for a second glance. The female electrician was oblivious to the attention, or was she? I mean who really wears a pom-pom G-string to a worksite??

2. High heels. I’m the culprit of this one! In my pre-apprenticeship days when dad was showing me all about our plumbing business, I would wear business wear and one meeting required dad and I to quote flashings for a roof in the city. The building was only four storeys high and thankfully the roof was flat but I stupidly attempted to walk on it with heels. I couldn’t do it so had to wait in the stair well for dad to come back.

3. Overalls. They are just so nineties and a pain in the butt to undo when going to the toilet. I’ve been told they are coming back into fashion though.

4. Short shorts. This one is for safety. I always wear long pants and always have done when working on construction sites because of the piles of steel studs or air conditioning ducts that are piled shin high. My work pants protect my legs from unnecessarily scars and scratches so I can keep my pins looking nice when I wear dresses on the weekend.

5. Flammable shirts. I had to organise getting new shirts for our plumbers and I ordered new breathable cotton drill shirts from a reputable trade brand. One apprentice advised that the new shirts were flammable because while he was oxy-welding, a bit of hot solder spat onto his shirt and it caught on fire and he had to take it off. We ended up working out that the shirt must have had priming fluid splashed on it to cause it to become alight. After this incident I vowed to always wear a singlet under my shirt in case a similar incident happened to me and to be careful not to splash priming fluid on my pants. There was no way I was going to give the workmen onsite a show to remember!

How to politely decline a job

By

Rebecca Senyard

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September 9, 2013

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Yes, you read the title correctly. I know I’ve talked about tradies doing it tough, but there are and will be times where a tradesperson will need to know how to politely decline a job for any number of reasons.

This post has been written for the plumber but the advice can be applied to any other given trade or service job. And if you find yourself as the customer, feel free to eavesdrop and find out why a job you have offered has been fobbed off.

Firstly, when a job is declined by a plumber it’s not necessarily because they don’t want to do it. It could be that they can’t meet the job deadline that is required, they are too busy, it’s not in their niche… or sadly they have had a bad payment history with the client and doubt whether they will be paid on time or at all. I’ve had experiences in all these scenarios more than once as a plumber and they are never easy conversations to navigate but they must be done to preserve your time, your business and your sanity.

The polite way to decline a job is to be honest and explain the reason for declining. Being polite is super important because these days we can all take things too personally and can be easily offended. It’s easy being honest when you really are busy and don’t have time to do the job or the job isn’t inside your niche, but when it’s a bad paying client or a client you don’t want to work for because they are too much hassle and you’re light on work… how do you decline jobs from these types of clients?

I have no hesitation explaining to a customer that I can’t afford to work for them if they can’t pay their bills on time. (And I don’t mean bills that are overdue a week, I mean bills that are overdue by 4 months)I simply explain that I’m a mum and the reason I work is to feed my family and I wouldn’t be working if I could afford to stay at home. I’m being honest and if they don’t want to give me work, I’m not worried because they were terrible payers to begin with.

The same honesty principle can also be applied to the customer that is difficult to work with. These types of clients are the ones that cost you money because they are unorganized or constantly change their mind on what they want while you are onsite and don’t want to pay you for it. In this situation, I have explained to the client that I couldn’t give them the service they would expect because of other commitments with my business. In this situation, fobbing off is the method that comes to mind when dealing with a client like this but I wouldn’t recommend ignoring them or not returning their calls.

Have you ever had to decline a job? How did you go about it?

Everything that could go wrong did

By

Rebecca Senyard

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September 6, 2013

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Can I just say that I am glad this working week is over. Everything that could go wrong, did. I’m sure that I’m not the only one that has weeks like this. But I have found that since I’ve become a mum I’m less tolerant of these incidents because time away from my children at work is limited and a few mishaps can put pressure on an already full day and keep me away from them longer.

The first issue I had was being sent the wrong urinal cartridge for a blocked waterless urinal. It was like dejavu because it had happened to me from the same company before. The new cartridges would now take a week to come in from New Zealand. Thankfully the client was lovely about it despite the fact the men have to put up with a smelly urinal in their bathroom.

The rest of my work issues happened on Thursday when dad and I had to fit off a new bathroom. It took us 4 hours to install a new toilet suite. It constantly leaked. This toilet suite is the same brand that I talked about here when we had issues before. I ended up going to the supplier and asking for another toilet fitting which we thought had fixed the issue. But I got a call from the builder today to say that it was leaking AGAIN. This time in a different place, so I’m hoping it might be the new stop tap that is faulty and just needs to be replaced. That toilet can bite me.

: Poor dad watching to see if the toilet would leak again when flushed.

So because we spent so much time on the toilet, it pushed the rest of the day’s jobs out. This is why plumbers can be late to jobs or are very blaze about the time they will arrive because easy jobs can turn out to be real…buggers.

We went to the other side of Brisbane for our next job at Bellbowrie and we were just finishing up, looking forward to going home because it was around 3:30pm (I had been up since 5am) and I got a call to say a tradie had drilled a hole through one of our water pipes at a bathroom reno we had just finished and it needed to be fixed that afternoon so that the water could be put back on for the home owners. We left Bellbowrie and drove to the other side of Brisbane at Tingalpa. It took 45 minutes. It was an easy fix which was great but I wasn’t looking forward to the peak hour traffic going home.

: A hole drilled through our water pipe

I ended up arriving at my mum’s place at 5pm. Magdalene had had one of those days too where she wouldn’t have a nap and wanted to be held all day and so my Mum didn’t have the best of days either.

In the middle of dealing with all this, I got a phone call from Freedom to say the chairs we had ordered and paid for at the end of June were now not going to be ready until the end of November.

There were various other issues that dad and I had to deal with too that would make this blog post way too long to read but it’s fair to say it was a trying week.

On a positive note or two, I put Magdalene in her own room this week to sleep in her cot as she had been sleeping in our room in a portacot and she has slept through the night since which is such a blessing considering the work issues I had to deal with. I couldn’t imagine dealing with these issues while being sleep deprived.

On an even better note I can now announce that I am one of the Bumps and Baby mummy bloggers chosen to blog on the Bonds & Me site. I had been wanting to write blog posts for another company and a friend told me about the competition on the day that it closed so I put in a last minute entry and got the email a couple of weeks ago to announce that I was one of four winners. I was stoked.

So while I’ve had to deal with some crappy work issues, I’ve had some wins too which have helped me stay in a positive mind frame.

Next week is going to be huge because I will be at the Problogger Conference on the Gold Coast. I have a few loose end jobs to attend to though before I can mentally prepare for the Conference. I also can’t wait until the election is over. I’ve had three recorded calls tonight from both sides of the campaign and I’m over it.

How has your week been?

Image source above

Stuck in a hard place

By

Rebecca Senyard

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September 3, 2013

13

Last Monday dad and I got stuck into disconnecting a bathroom and rerunning the water and waste services to suit the new layout.

We didn’t get to the job until 10:15am(the builder didn’t want us until then) and we didn’t finish until 5:30pm. Running the services in the stud walls that day meant the builder could start installing the new walls the following day. When you do a bathroom renovation there is a trade sequence. Generally the plumber disconnects the fixtures, the builder demolishes the walls, the plumber then runs the necessary services in the walls or under the floor ready for the new walls and floors.

We hadn’t been to see this bathroom before as we quoted it on a sketch plan so we weren’t sure what we were in for. We were told that there was easy access under the floor to connect onto the existing services. Unfortunately the access we were told about wasn’t what we needed to be able to work underneath.

The basin was being relocated from one corner of the bathroom to the other so we needed to connect onto the waste and water points below and divert them to the right corner. Our downstairs access point wouldn’t let us near that area because it was covered by a fixed ceiling below and there were other pipes in the road. We didn’t know this until we looked underneath.

Before psyching ourselves up for the job, dad and I had an argument about who was going to crawl through the ceiling to rerun the pipes. I said I was smaller and dad said he was more experienced. I retorted ‘but you had a hip replacement’ and he replied ‘you just had a baby by caesarean and you have to wriggle on your tummy. You’re my daughter and I won’t let you do it.’ Hmph.

So dad won in the end.

Dad climbed up the ladder onto the existing work bench and then hoisted himself up into the cavity between the ceiling and the floor above. Poor dad got stuck. There was no way he could get to where we needed to work on the pipes. The space was too narrow. His feet were dangling up in the air. He was stuck in a hard place and he (and I) had no idea how he was going to get out.

: Poor dad stuck in the ceiling. The cord is a telephone line before you think the worst!

I was able to get dad to tap his feet on my hands so I could direct his legs to the top rung of the ladder so he could push himself out of the cavity.

When he finally got out he muttered he wasn’t going to let this job beat him. And I chastised him for being stupid trying to attempt the impossible.

We ended up cutting a big hole in the floorboards above to divert the existing pipes to the new basin location. When one way doesn’t work, you have to think on your feet to try a different way. Thankfully our second attempt saw the waste and water pipes diverted to the new position.

Mission impossible became possible.

Appreciation is the best gift

By

Rebecca Senyard

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September 1, 2013

0

Appreciation is the best gift you can give someone and I wanted to write a post today about three special men in my life.

Firstly my dad who helped bring me into existence. My dad is the person I turn to (after my husband) when I have a problem or need some advice. I value his fatherly wisdom and he always believes in my ability to do anything.

Growing up, dad was always the person I turned to when I had a pressing need or needed help working out a problem. Dad always told me how beautiful and smart I was and hearing this was foundational to my confidence as I grew up into a woman. Every girl needs a dad like my dad. A hero that believes in them and loves them unconditionally.

And then there is my wonderful husband. When dad and I would have talks about dating he advised me that I would know my boyfriend was a keeper by the way he treated his mum. If he was close to his mum, it would mean that he knew how to relate to a woman. When I met Jacob, I knew he was a keeper. Our love story has a beautiful beginning and we are still enjoying the journey being married 8 years later.

: My husband, a proud daddy with his girls.

I have fallen in love with my husband all over again since having children. He is a brilliant dad and I love watching my daughters interact with him. Jacob has always been a hands on dad and has never been afraid to get his hands dirty changing a nappy. He wakes up with the girls at 6am or earlier so that I can get more sleep in the morning when I’m not working. He believes in me too and always tells me how spunky I am even though I am 20kgs heavier than when we first met…

The third man is God. He is the reason why we exist and He has blessed me with a great father and a great husband. My dad and my husband aren’t perfect but they are crucial to my earthly family. When I have done exercises about visualizing God I have no problems visualizing God as a loving, generous and gracious Father. Why? Because I have had such good manly examples of this in my life.

But there are some who don’t have a relationship with their dad or have a husband or partner that is a mediocre dad and sometimes this isn’t done on purpose. It’s often because of upbringings and a range of other issues. So when I realize how good I’ve got it, I can’t help but be thankful and grateful for what I have.

I’m going to leave you with a poem that I wrote to my dad in August 2007 for Father’s Day which he has set up in his office. Father’s Day is more than just giving a special gift to the fathers in my life, it’s about telling them how much I appreciate them and love them and that I am a better person for having them in my life.

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads that read my blog. I hope you have had a special day.

What makes a Dad a Special Dad