Need a bit of advice please

In a not so distant corner of my garden is an old 12' x 14' wooden shed; for years we've been meaning to 'do something about it', and, since it's now seriously falling down, that time has come. With Mr. F'smum away so much, this isn't something I can (or am prepared to) tackle on my own and what I need is a 'man' to come along, empty out the dross, demolish the thing and take the whole lot away. Now, I know the obvious thing to do is find a 'professional', but I've been trying for the biggest part of a year and there just isn't anyone in this area and the one I did find said that 25 miles was "... too far away", however, I have finally found someone - but ....

The 'man' (or perhaps that should be 'men) in question is the son of a colleague and I don't think this his full-time job (although for what it's worth, this won't be the first thing he's cleared in such a way) and he has already mentioned that any price quoted will have include the disposal of 'trade waste'. Now, I know that's no guarantee of anything, but the family don't strike me as the sort to clear my debris and just dump it on a quiet country lane although I will of course, be asking questions before he actually starts and I'm not expecting it to be cheap.

That said, what I need is a bit of advice re some sort of indemnity. If this isn't his everyday job then the question of insurance arises, and if he (or they) does himself an injury whilst he's demolishing, I don't want to be sued for his injuries or find myself paying any hefty medical bills. I don't want to get too heavy, but I do think that perhaps asking him to sign some sort of indemnity might be an idea and I'd be grateful if someone could, perhaps, suggest a couple of suitable sentences, just so that both he and I, know where we stand before he starts.

Any advice or suggestions would be really helpful.

 

Hi Figetsmum,

Any legit tradespeople will not bat an eyelid if you ask to see their Liability insurance & waste cariers licence.

I don't have a waste licence and make this quite clear from the outset, the client will have to pay for a skip or move the waste themselves.

Anyone dodgy will just back off or try to sidestep the issue.

 

What a sad world when you have to worry about this sort of thing

What is wrong for some willing helpers to skip it all take the shed to bits, and have great bonfire leaving lots of potash :-)

When I was early twenties, one of the pals bosses needed similar done as well as, remove the turf dig the garden over and clear it all

On offer was, something to do Sat/Sun, a crate of beer, cheap sausage barbie, and fun
Boss, his wife and the lads girlfriends did the catering, brow moping etc
Job done
Exploited nah did not feel like it we had a great weekend, saved money as did not finish until 22:00 each night, so no visit to the Pictures
Everyone wants paid paid paid for things now

Jack McHammocklashing

 

That type of thing still goes on Jack. I regularly pay my mates in beer. Likewise I've helped my mates out more times than I care to count, with nothing more than beer as renumeration. I live by the philosophy that I'll do a favour for anyone if I can, and others will do favours for me, so generally you break even but its not about tally cards, its just about being a mate.

I honestly believe that the reason this type of attitude is disappearing is purely because it is not profitable for those in power (insurance companies, law firms etc), because it seems it is the media more than anything that convinces us that we need to be worried. I don't know anyone personally that has ever faced legal threats over helping someone out, yet people are more fearful now than they used to be. Consequently things are increasingly done by the book. As it stands, if a mate asks me to cut his tree, I'll do it in good faith to the best of my ability and almost certainly, nothing will go wrong. Worst case scenario, I cut my finger or take a knock, and get compensated with beer. Do it by the book and there will be a insurance policy for public liability to ten million quid, professional indemnity to a million, loss of earnings to a million. Then of course to cover the costs of those policies, you'd have to actually charge your mate some money, which means you'd have to do it as a business transaction rather than a favour, which means you have to pay tax and NI on it. Then there'll be consent forms in triplicate from whatever authority governs domestic tree work, and permits for breathing. It means lots of people who didn't actually help get paid a lot more than those that actually did anything.

 

Rather than pay someone to dismantle and carry it away and then dispose of it, why oh why, dont you Ebay it, or use freecycle? " old 12' x 14' wooden shed" free or for sale, one man's rubbish is another man's gold, if I was closer to you and had the transport, I would love a shed that size, and before you say, Well its all rotten" it can probibly be repaired and put in to good use again at very little cost, using pallets and such like

 

Dopey has posted what I was going to say - put it on the above sites and possibly in your local free paper , I am sure a shed of that size will go. Perfect for an allotment.. or a chicken house

 

Many thanks for the replies.

The 'shed' in question, I should have perhaps pointed out, is but a shell. The roof fell in last year and we did manage to remove most of that ourselves and, bit-by-bit, we burnt it. Since then it's been open to the elements and wind, rain, snow etc., have taken their toll, two of the walls are seriously bowed out and in most places the floor has rotted. The contents are well beyond 'Freecycle' - just loads of soaking wet, warped, useless timber and wood-working machinery (bandsaw; planer and thicknesser; table saw; mitre saw, pillar drill, etc) that are too far 'gone' for even the most enthusiastic of people to do anything with. Additionally, there is just 'dross' - the once eagerly collected magazines, the old flymo that died, the exercise bike our daughters never really used, the garden shredder that blew up and all those bits-and-pieces that men like to keep in the shed 'just in case' (through the window, I've spotted some old curtains, a vacuum cleaner and a table lamp, I don't want to know what I can't see! ).

The 'men' who have (been) volunteered to clear away our debris, do have a lorry and one has a farm where they have the room for a substantial bonfire which will mean the wood and combustible material can be burnt. They may be able to get something for any scrap metal they salvage and, as for the rest, I guess this is where part of the trade waste cost comes in.

All your comments have been helpful, and I'm much clearer now on what sort of questions to ask them and what to bear in mind. Thank you.

 

One thing you have to wacht is that there are some trades people out there with licence and insursances, and they will also dump in lane and back streets, = more money for there pockets,this happen to someone i know,luckley he had all the paper work from the person , when his rubbish was found in a lane , he had a knock on the door, luckley all paper work ok and the waste persons when to jail