Sick of the poor quality of materials and tools

[Guest123]

....I tend to buy so called quality brand names but even those are becoming a liability. Everything from knife blades to plumbing fittings have reduced in quality probably due to them being bulk made with lower grade materials to save the manufacturers money but these savings are never passed on to us, only the poorer quality is.

If I pay a premium for a brand name over a budget brand, I expect premium quality, but sadly this is no longer the case.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

i know exactly what you mean system

 

[tamz]

This one does my nut in severely. Even when you buy so called good quality stuff it is still junk and cheaply made.

 

[quality]

Yes it is really the case and not just us getting older and moaning they don't make like they used to because they really don't

 

[Pipes Plumbing]

Seems to be some really badly made rubbish out there at the minute.... Had to return a bag of end feed Tees last week because the branch on over half of them was too small to take a tube.

No, they weren't reduced Tees... hehe

 

[tamz]

Yes it is really the case and not just us getting older and moaning they don't make like they used to because they really don't

And i thought it was just me!

Probably it is because we can remember was stuff was better made and better "quality" :lol:

 

[marleyco]

I totally agree, had the same problem with tee's. Inlet and flush valve's drive me nut's. Tool's I find are made in the same factory and painted and stamped with different names, I even watched how its made a while back and same was done with toilets and basins, sent back a thousand pound bath as it had the thickness of tracing paper. Life's hard enough

 

[desrob]

i came across some old 8mm pipe,it was twice the pipe we get today, same can be said for copper cylinders,every thing is to the bone now,i'm afraid it's a case of just getting on with it,the punter does not no any differant nor do they care.!

 

[stevetheplumber]

when i started plumbing only the rich had a new bathroom suite fitted probably 30% of the population had no bathroom now people change bathrooms like they do shoes and want it cheap so we get crap matierials and crap wages to fit them the value has been lost
And it the same with everything processed and modified foods ,cheap shoddy goods coming in from abroad
when a brand builds up a following for quality and reliability the owners are offered prices they cant refuse by the multinationals for the brand
the accountants then cut the quality to produce higher profits and brand winds up rubbish screwfix is one such company when it was small family run it built up a loyal following of customers now its just a builder version of argos

 

[Guest123]

I bought a case of 100 knife blades (market leader) and point broke on every one used so far with little pressure....useless
A dozen or so P traps and every one had a tiny V shaped tear in the trap seal....useless
Out of 20 isolating valves, only 3 compressed fully onto the pipe, the olives were a fraction too big....useless
Took a bath back as the outlet wasn't drilled centred and was like paper....useless
Even brass and copper fittings are not nearly the same quality as they once were. I could write a book on crap tools with high price tags.
I buy so called premium brand names to make my job easier as I don't have time to return to fix leaks and it's becoming time consuming ensuring that these brand names are water tight.

Seems quality and pride in manufacturing is "out the window" now and profit is more important. I'd name the brands in question, but my post would probably get deleted.

 

[quality]

I know what brands your on about and a lot is still branded the same but is not manufactured where it used to be ****** is one of them

 

[WaterTight]

well there is one upside. buy cheap with impunity and charge as if it were expensive because essentially it is the same thing.

 

[tamz]

Most people wouldn't know quality anything if it bit them on the rse. They don't care how badly made or fitted it is and it is not all down to the cost of buying.

My kids (they are in their 20's) think nothing of buying a £200 pair of shoes or a hundred pound tee shirt made by some wee lassie sitting in a tin hut in Vietnam who got paid 5 pence to make it!

 

[woodsy]

Must agree with the comments, the number of new items that you fit and then either have to change because they are faulty or have to repair new things is definatly on the increase. Every bath you get now, the waste hole / underside flange is misshappen. When you used to fit a 5* bath waste it would seal on its own, now you end up having to use sealant or gamble

 

[Best]

well there is one upside. buy cheap with impunity and charge as if it were expensive because essentially it is the same thing.

Have noticed same, - some of the " top " brands are now worse than the middle of the road stuff. The British brand of rad valves that we all know, are now supplied with nuts that have less depth that you can hardly keep a spanner on & poor olives. The chrome looks like silver paint on the nuts also.