Went to give an estimate today on a local industrial estate. On of the jobs
was to replace the lead flashing over the porch area.

"Why does it need replacing?" I asked the client. "Because it's been
stolen" he replied.

Sure enough it had been, and from the unit next door, and the one next to
that.....

Apparently the local pikeys, if short of beer vouchers, come around at night
and pinch the flashing from the porches. 400 units with 10 metres of porch
flashing, stolen apparently twice a year?

I feel a flyer coming on..............


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

The Medway Handyman wrote:

Apparently the local pikeys, if short of beer vouchers, come around at night
and pinch the flashing from the porches. 400 units with 10 metres of porch
flashing, stolen apparently twice a year?

I feel a flyer coming on..............

"Dear Pikey, if you have any cheap lead to flog I can find a real good
use for it..." ;-)


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

declared for all the world to hear...
Apparently the local pikeys, if short of beer vouchers, come around at night
and pinch the flashing from the porches. 400 units with 10 metres of porch
flashing, stolen apparently twice a year?

My father in law worked for the local council and he regularly has to
visit the permanent traveller sites to replace the copper piping from
the toilet blocks which are provided to them free of charge.

Presumably they sell the piping for scrap or something. It beggars
belief that people would rip out pipes from buildings which have been
provided to them free of charge at taxpayers expense, but they do.
--
Regards
Jon

Jon wrote:

regularly has to
visit the permanent traveller sites to replace the copper piping from
the toilet blocks

*if* that is so, you'd think the council would have cottoned-on and
replaced with plastic pipe by now ...

On 2006-12-01 23:51:34 +0000, "The Medway Handyman"
said:

Went to give an estimate today on a local industrial estate. On of the
jobs was to replace the lead flashing over the porch area.

"Why does it need replacing?" I asked the client. "Because it's been
stolen" he replied.

Sure enough it had been, and from the unit next door, and the one next
to that.....

Apparently the local pikeys, if short of beer vouchers, come around at
night and pinch the flashing from the porches. 400 units with 10
metres of porch flashing, stolen apparently twice a year?

I feel a flyer coming on..............

Yes, but you may want to give it a different title to the one of this
thread. Some of your little-old-lady customers might think that it's
part of your entertainment repertoire. ;-)

On 2006-12-02 08:24:26 +0000, Andy Burns said:

Jon wrote:

regularly has to visit the permanent traveller sites to replace the
copper piping from the toilet blocks

*if* that is so, you'd think the council would have cottoned-on and
replaced with plastic pipe by now ...

Well you would... but....

A business acquaintance in Johannesburg told me of the problems of
telecommunication cabling.

For many years there has been a common practice of stealing sections of
underground copper cable that are run through the sewers. The method
is to drive up to a manhole cover using a vehicle with appropriate tow
hood etc. and to attach that to the cable in some way and drive off.
A reasonable length of cable follows. Insulation is burnt off and
the copper gathered and sold.

More recently it was hoped that the introduction of fibre optic cables
would dissuade such thieves. Not a bit of it - the practice continues
- except this time, the fibre bundles are apparently cut and
incorporated into fibre optic lamps sold by traders at the roadside or
at traffic lights. It seems that the margin is higher than for copper.

On Sat, 2 Dec 2006 07:27:58 -0000, Jon wrote:

Presumably they sell the piping for scrap or something. It beggars
belief that people would rip out pipes from buildings which have been
provided to them free of charge at taxpayers expense, but they do.

Free money. Don't see why they should be replaced more than once a year
with at least a 6 month delay from damage to replacement. Let the pikeys
carry water from a standpipe a mile from the caravan site.

Plastic? They'd just set fire to it or try to.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2006-12-01 23:51:34 +0000, "The Medway Handyman"
said:

Went to give an estimate today on a local industrial estate. On of the
jobs was to replace the lead flashing over the porch area.

"Why does it need replacing?" I asked the client. "Because it's been
stolen" he replied.

Sure enough it had been, and from the unit next door, and the one next
to that.....

Apparently the local pikeys, if short of beer vouchers, come around at
night and pinch the flashing from the porches. 400 units with 10
metres of porch flashing, stolen apparently twice a year?

I feel a flyer coming on..............

Yes, but you may want to give it a different title to the one of this
thread. Some of your little-old-lady customers might think that it's
part of your entertainment repertoire. ;-)

might be a new line of business for him

Sounds like you need to sell them security cams too.


NT

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
. uk...
Went to give an estimate today on a local industrial estate. On of the
jobs was to replace the lead flashing over the porch area.

"Why does it need replacing?" I asked the client. "Because it's been
stolen" he replied.

Sure enough it had been, and from the unit next door, and the one next to
that.....

Apparently the local pikeys, if short of beer vouchers, come around at
night and pinch the flashing from the porches. 400 units with 10 metres
of porch flashing, stolen apparently twice a year?

I feel a flyer coming on..............

I would feel a need to recommend an alternative material, with a low scrap
value.

Colin Bignell

Owain wrote:
The Medway Handyman wrote:
Went to give an estimate today on a local industrial estate. On of the jobs
was to replace the lead flashing over the porch area.
"Why does it need replacing?" I asked the client. "Because it's been
stolen" he replied.
Sure enough it had been, and from the unit next door, and the one next to
that.....
Apparently the local pikeys, if short of beer vouchers, come around at night
and pinch the flashing from the porches. 400 units with 10 metres of porch
flashing, stolen apparently twice a year?
I feel a flyer coming on..............

what, "cheap lead flashing wanted", for distribution round the pikey sites?

Don't forget 'Please number on removal".

nightjar wrote:
"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
. uk...

Went to give an estimate today on a local industrial estate. On of the
jobs was to replace the lead flashing over the porch area.

"Why does it need replacing?" I asked the client. "Because it's been
stolen" he replied.

Sure enough it had been, and from the unit next door, and the one next to
that.....

Apparently the local pikeys, if short of beer vouchers, come around at
night and pinch the flashing from the porches. 400 units with 10 metres
of porch flashing, stolen apparently twice a year?

I feel a flyer coming on..............

I would feel a need to recommend an alternative material, with a low scrap
value.

Colin Bignell

or maybe stamp an identifiable code all over the lead, so either theyve
got a lot of extra work to do or they get nicked as its traceable.
Photos of lead needed, kept offsite.


NT

Colin Bignell wrote

I would feel a need to recommend an alternative material, with a low
scrap value.


As I have done.


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

wrote:
nightjar wrote:
"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
. uk...

Went to give an estimate today on a local industrial estate. On of the
jobs was to replace the lead flashing over the porch area.

"Why does it need replacing?" I asked the client. "Because it's been
stolen" he replied.

Sure enough it had been, and from the unit next door, and the one next to
that.....

Apparently the local pikeys, if short of beer vouchers, come around at
night and pinch the flashing from the porches. 400 units with 10 metres
of porch flashing, stolen apparently twice a year?

I feel a flyer coming on..............

I would feel a need to recommend an alternative material, with a low scrap
value.

or maybe stamp an identifiable code all over the lead, so either theyve

Because lead is widely known for being so hard to melt down...

Ian Stirling wrote:
wrote:
nightjar wrote:
"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
. uk...

or maybe stamp an identifiable code all over the lead, so either theyve

Because lead is widely known for being so hard to melt down...

It takes time to melt lead down, and creates smoke and a burnt patch.
Between the time of melting it all, and we're talking a large quantity,
and theft the culprit is identifiable, the led is identifiable. That
means possibility of getting caught. and that is offputting to any
criminal.

Even once melted theyre not entirely away clean, as the melt site for
such a large quantity will be very visible. And the police need only
ask the local metal scrap merchants to find the lead.

Its not foolproof, but it does encurage them to not take it, and may
get them caught. With plain lead, the burden of proof is almost
impossible. I also prefer another covering, but its not what the
customers have chosen so far.


NT

wrote in message
ups.com...
....
or maybe stamp an identifiable code all over the lead, so either theyve
got a lot of extra work to do or they get nicked as its traceable.
Photos of lead needed, kept offsite.

Reputable scrap dealers wouldn't be buying the lead anyway and the other
sort wouldn't be worried.

Colin Bignell

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember Andy Burns
saying something like:

*if* that is so, you'd think the council would have cottoned-on and
replaced with plastic pipe by now ...

The ****s would just make blowpipes out of it.
--

Dave