Open to opinions on this to be honest. This is around the 4th or 5th time this has happened in the last year (or I dunno, maybe 18 months) or so.

I get this email today:

Hi – sorry for the direct approach, but I got your e-mail from a post on Singletrackworld, where a member was laying some laminate flooring.

I’m laying some new flooring & was just wondering if you could give me some advice please? Is hardwood scotia beading better than MDF? I.e. will it last longer & look better? Is it difficult to colour match, or is it just a question of getting a decent paint or varnish, giving it a couple of coats, then using veneer pins & a nail punch, some caulk & a touch up brush?
I was thinking about using the oscillating saw to under-cut the skirting, but I’m starting to think that that will be a very long job & may not look great afterwards anyway …
The other thing I was hoping to get some advice on please, was about sealant. The laminate I’ve bought is a glueless click together type, but I wanted to take a really cautious approach. I was wanting to use some form of sealant (the one I’ve seen is the Unika acrylic sealant) to make it as water resistant as possible, as I have dogs, so I’ll be steam mopping the floors regularly (the rooms I’m doing are the hall & lounge), so I figured the sealant would be a good idea, as it still allows for expansion & contraction. What are your thoughts please?

The answers to this email are not that short.

😀

I replied asking if the sender was an STW member (in which case I’d have answered the questions). He or she is not. I think I’ve always tried to be helpful when anyone asks about wood flooring here. It’s the only thing I can offer expert (ahem) opinion on and I see it as my way of returning the favour of any advice I’ve had in the past.

Does anyone else (especially the other trades) get this happening ie direct emails asking for advice off-forum? Is it a bit cheeky? Suggestion for suitable response (given that you never know quite who’s asking.)

I don’t get these, but my response would be to ignore them. You’ve no relationship with the poster.

They’re laying laminate flooring, what do you expect 🙂 But yeh I would ignore or ask them if they would like you to give a quote for the work.

Bit cheeky really. Any ‘professional’ (i.e. what you do for a living) advice given here has to be taken as entirely voluntary & charitable so a direct mail is out (unless by invite).

Bit Very cheeky +1.

Ask them if they want decking?

TBH, I’d be replying detailing your consultancy rates.

I call that you are being trolled via email.

Scotia beading – regardless of what its made from looks shit.

When ever i see it i think…..mmmmmmmmm bodge.

I’ve had a couple of emails in the past asking for parts to be made or modified, these have been STW users though and I’ve been happy to help out where I can. Where it’s been more involved the work has been paid for.

I got a direct email following a post about 165mm cranks the other day. I replied but did wonder why they were emailing, and thought it was strange that someone would PM rather than posting on the thread.

I have helped out a few members with advice over the years via direct messages. But at least they were part of the ‘community’so I saw it as payback for the useful answers to the questions I have asked on here.

I don’t think anyone has an obligation to answer things like that especially when there is no association.

I had something similar a while ago. I have sold vans to peeps off here before. They just so happen to be STW members who have come into the dealership so its nice when you can have a convo about it and can do them a good deal.

Anyhow i have had peeps contact me with questions about other vans, other brands and sometimes things totally unrelated to my brand etc. What shocked me once was one guy getting pretty narky with me when i pointed out that what he was asking me about, i didnt sell, i didnt have access to the answers and tbh if he wanted to get the answers he should call up the other brand (He was buying something off ebay/autotrader). He pretty much put the phone down on me.

To the OP, i would just delete it the minute i found it wasnt a member of STW tbh.

Does anyone else (especially the other trades) get this happening ie direct emails asking for advice off-forum? Is it a bit cheeky? Suggestion for suitable response (given that you never know quite who’s asking.)

I probably get an email a month about bike stuff on the back of posts on here/other forums, I’ve always replied with an appropriate level of detail, no reason not to, but maybe that’s not different as its not a profession.

People don’t always want to put a post up if they know a specific Person knows the answer. Can’t see an issue with that myself.

I thought this was just me, I’ve had probably 8/10 random e mails from people asking Peugeot/citroen technical advice a few was off here so I helped as much as possible but most was “ive found singletrack from a Google search and I see you work for Peugeot/citroen can you Diag my car and tell me how much to fix it by my random guesses and the advice of what Dave down the pub says it may be… I try to help but the last one was “I think the turbo has gone because the light is on how much to fix it and are you sure it’s that…”

Completely different Njee. The (especially other trades)comment is key. Someone emails you about your hobby and you are more than happy to help them. You are helping out your own so to speak.

Someone emails you about your trade/job and you are usually happy to help them, you are helping out your own so to speak (Unless they get narky in which case they can do one)

Someone emails you that isnt even from STW and is asking for info that really is the kind of info you get because you are an experienced craftsman, well tbh the OP shouldnt hand over his experience like that without charging

Miserable git. What’s the harm in being nice?
😆

Miserable git. What’s the harm in being nice?

What, in general, or just on this matter? 😀

I’ve had a couple of emails from people saying their coming to Tenerife but don’t want to pay for a guide, would I send them a few GPS tracks! Maybe they don’t quite get how I make a living 😯 They generally get a polite no and offered some guiding if they change their minds.

This is interesting..
I never get emails asking for medical advice, and TBH wouldn’t given any advice via that.

But you’re not alone in being asked for professional advice.
There’s a chap (Julian) who set up the website http://www.stovefittersmanual.co.uk – a really useful resource. I used it.
He’s now started charging for email and phone advice, as I suspect he was overrun by people asking questions ‘for free’.
He charges per half hour, but refunds if you actually buy something from him or use his service.

Basically, I think it’s justified NOT answering, but suggesting your advice can be had for £x per hour…

DrP

You advised me off line- please don’t tell them I layed a cork floor- and for that I thank you

A generic one from a chancer I would probably just ignore

I never get emails asking for medical advice

You are a real doctor 😯

I have this red mark on my Cock do you want a picture to help with diagnosis ?

Do NOT answer the email question directly … as the rest of us will not be able to read your pearls of flooring wisdom. 😀

(I always have half a thought for the other people reading posts as well as the person asking question)

And as such DD, would you mind ??? As you are here, like 🙂

Prep of Vinyl tile

Sub floor is part wooden, (which is sound) and part uneven concrete/screed … over board the wooden with 6mm ply and latex the concrete up to the same level… feathering over the board where it meets the concrete. Do you agree ?

And … where there are deeper/larger troughs in the concrete can I sand and cement screed first so that they don’t use up loads of latex ??

Thanks vmuch .. Oh generous flooring god … 🙂

I never get emails asking for medical advice

*emails photo of massively swollen nadgers** to Dr P.

**Nothing actually wrong with them. They’re a couple of belters. 😉

chrisdiesel – Member

I thought this was just me, I’ve had probably 8/10 random e mails from people asking Peugeot/citroen technical advice a few was off here so I helped as much as possible but most was “ive found singletrack from a Google search and I see you work for Peugeot/citroen can you Diag my car and tell me how much to fix it by my random guesses and the advice of what Dave down the pub says it may be… I try to help but the last one was “I think the turbo has gone because the light is on how much to fix it and are you sure it’s that…”

DITTO ^^

You are a real doctor

Now, that made me laugh!!

(Puts Junkyard’s recently received cock picture above Perchypanther’s melon like scrotum…Chuckle… Nearly there on my STW man mosaic…)

You are a real doctor

Not ‘THE Doctor’, but yeah, I dabble in people every now and then…

DrP

If I had a penny for every time I got an email asking me to design a city wide 3G/4G/5G network from some random Mobile Network Operator…..

I’d have exactly 0 pence.

I dabble in people every now and then…

You’re branching out in to people trafficking?

But yea, well cheeky. Thankfully I have a hard enough time explaining to people what I actually do before they glaze over.

I dabble in people every now and then…

Would that be a dabbleoscopy first or do you proceed straight to the dabblectomy?

3G/4G/5G[u]

I KNEW [/u]this would be next….

DrP

If I’m in a rush, I deal with two issues at once.
The DrP patented double-dabble.

DrP

Cheeky cheeky

Do you agree ?

Yes, but use a flexible latex if you have to stray over the suspended timber too much.

Sand and cement is fine for any patching, but there are sprcific patching products which you can use (Ardex P5 comes to mind) which cure as instantly as you could hope for and won’t be as loose as s&c- might need to be able to get access to a specific flooring supplier if you’re not “trade”.

Do you agree ?

“Concur” sounds so much better. Here is DrP in action earlier…

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5j1wWY-qus[/video]

The DrP patented double-dabble.

I’d pay good money to see you do that to this guy…..

I have, from people I know personally from here which is cool, & from general STW which is also cool, everyone else can do one, Pistonheads is the worst for it 😛

I’d offer them some work experience if I was in your position.

Hora gets a lot of emails asking for relationship advice, I bet.

DD … Great

That was the extra detail/knowledge I was after.

You can now rest assured that you’ve done your STW “duty” and the emailer can be forgotten about

And from all of us at STW who have read your knowledgable post over the years

Thank you kindly … legend 😀

I do and I have a auto reply set as ‘use your common sense’

What’s the harm in helping someone out?

Not exactly giving away the formula for super human invincibility.