WTF is it with contractors in my county

[theoldwizard1]

Flashing new to old takes knowledge and skill. Same with valleys.

 

[reader2580]

Painting for $20 an hour and only $80 for a four hour job! I would hire that guy instead of painting myself. Painting is not a terribly skilled job, but most charge more than that. I looked at the local Craigslist and most didn't post prices, but one said $100 per room and another was $150 per room. You provided paint, but he probably spent $5 to $10 on materials, and another $5 to $10 on gas.

 

[Casey69]

for me, contractors generally rank up there with used-car salesmen & politicians; the 99% ruin it for the 1%. i've had some decent ones, but generally like to carefully take on stuff myself & get the same results as a "pro". most i've dealt with can't even show up to give estimates & won't return phone calls.

 

[PugetDude]

On the Olympic Peninsula, we all joke that we have a better chance of seeing Bigfoot than a qualified contractor who will actually show up.

 

[Kevin54]

for me, contractors generally rank up there with used-car salesmen & politicians; the 99% ruin it for the 1%. i've had some decent ones, but generally like to carefully take on stuff myself & get the same results as a "pro". most i've dealt with can't even show up to give estimates & won't return phone calls.

That's very true. I find that in my area, most are compulsive liars. Contractor #4 actually stalked me today I had to run over to TSC to pick up some hydraulic oil. #4 turned behind me when I was driving up the road. I'm at TSC, and I look up and there he is standing talking with another guy. I checked out and was going to my vehicle and said hello to him. I could tell that he wanted to head out to the parking lot to speak with me, but the other guy was bending his ear a little too much. I didn't wait around for him. He told me that if I would call him by 12:00 noon on the 18th to give him the job, he would knock $2000 off. I never called him, so now he is going to tail me to different places. I've seen him a few times going real slow past the house. I find it funny. Heck if he wants to talk with me, he still has my phone number.

On the Olympic Peninsula, we all joke that we have a better chance of seeing Bigfoot than a qualified contractor who will actually show up.

I've told the ones that I have dealt with from out of town that if they ever get short on work to come to my town, and they would have all they could handle due to the ones around here not wanting to work, or charge stupid prices.

 

[Kevin54]

Just spoke with the last contractor of which I had to go out of town with, and he is also the one that has done all of my concrete work before......after discussion, we settled on a $35,000 build. Although I didn't want to be the GC, I am, and he is working under me. The worst part of it....I have to supply the drawings, which is no big deal.

I will put up pics along the way once things get underway. As far as inspections, there may be five. Trench for footers, footers, block and floor, ,framing, and final. The inside is entirely up to me which I am fine with. If I change my electrical around and go with separate electric and not off of the house, then that will be a separate permit.

But so far, things are a go and I'll speak with the Township to see what all I will need. AND....I have full use of equipment also as far as a skidloader, and I already have his Bomag plate compactor for an additional sidewalk I am putting in.

Along with the above, I buy the materials as they are needed, which I have no problem with. If I was building it myself, I would have to do that anyways, but now the grunt work is being done by someone else. Not the route I really wanted to take, but for a $20+ thousand savings, I will take that path.

And for all the naysayer's, I held out and called my shot and got it to a price I was willing to pay, and not for some inflated ******** price that some of the contractors wanted. I probably could have even shaved another grand or two off of it, if I pressed hard enough. But I m satisfied, and I know the guy doing it is satisfied, and I also know his quality of work that he does, so all is good in that aspect.

 

[ambenz]

Awesome news Kevin...I know you been talking about this for a while.
Good to see it's gonna happen this year!
Woohoo!

 

[rancherbill]

Congrats Kevin

 

[Thumper68]

Good I'm glad that you are finally able to move ahead.

 

[bazzateer]

Good to hear. I've always believed in sticking with good tradesmen once you've identified them. If my builder isn't available for work I know he'll recommend someone I can rely on.

 

[stikman56]

In my experiences as of late and comparing stories with people I know,this seems to be the norm with contractors. It *****, but it's just kind of how they operate. I'll be thankful when our house is done and I don't have any of the hassle any more. I guess that will make us appreciate it even more....

 

[600SL]

Glad to see the project moving forward. The contractor problem is not just in America. See the mini series "A Year in Provence".

 

[MagKarl]

Right on! I'm happy to hear that.

 

[Richard Cranium]

kevin, Don't let the *** hats get you down.
As for Tsiawd, He posted only one time and then ran away-not a creditable person
And as for Backtoclass it looks like he should go back to class.
All it takes for some one to be able to tell you that they are a contractor is the 49.95 for the lic. Just remember that 90 0/0 of contractor go belly up in the first 5 yrs.
For every *** hate on this site there is at least 500 people who will stand up and tell these two what a fine person you are and that you really do know what you are speaking about.
Sorry Mods if this get me a 30 day vacation at the beach, it was worth it to set the story right...Richard

 

[bjcouche]

I ended up being the GC for my 40x64 pole building build. I agree that it's difficult finding contractors and trades that are good. I'm thinking the good ones have more work than they know what to do with. I've had difficulty finding good contractors at numerous stages of the project. I have found some very good ones as well. My best advice is to look for one by word of mouth. If you found an excellent plumber, but need an electrician, call your plumber and ask him if he knows a good electrician that does quality work. When a contractor is finished with a job and they did exceptional work, I ask them for extra business cards so that I could refer them other business, when people compliment on my shop.
I was out of town for part of my shop build. I had the contractor that was doing the concrete / excavation work dig a trench from the shop to the house for the plumbing drains. The plumber specified where he wanted it and the slope of the trench and what type of gravel to line it with, so I forwarded this info to the excavation crew already on site. I got a phone call from the plumber that his job was complete and that he was highly impressed with the trench work. He was expecting to have to get a shovel out and fine tune the trench to the correct slope, as he always does. He said that the trench was perfect and all he had to do was lay the pipe in it.
This was just one example of many that showed the quality of this concrete and excavation crew. Turns out they do mostly commercial and larger projects, not in small 1 acre lots in town. They don't advertize at all and are always busy. I know the quote they gave me wasn't the cheapest, but it was definitely the MOST detailed quote. I was more interested in the highest quality of work than the lowest price. I'm just more of a Snap on man instead of a Craftsman (now made in china ****) man.

 

[Richard Cranium]

No updates?

 

[LB-1911]

No updates?

Kevin54's....."The Addition"

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=292544

 

[Richard Cranium]

thanks for not telling me I am stupid for posting in the wrong blog....

 

[404]

Man, this is a scary thread., As a contractor, I'm not sure if I would risk dealing with 80% of you guys. Please correct me if I'm wrong but did the OP state that he didn't need drawings because it was such a straight forward job? Big mistake!. If you can't present a set of approved working drawings to each contractor for quote purposes, you have no idea what each contractor is actually proposing and, if you engage anyone without drawings and specifications, you have absolutely no recourse over issues regarding the project scope. Also I believe the OP mentioned that the contractors let the lumber dealers do the "take off" for the materials. This is pretty common practice. You may do a materials list yourself based on material lengths or unit quantities that aren't popular or carried by a particular vendor, so there is a chance that stock lists and prices can vary considerably.

As far as finding guys in your county, Your concern should be the reputation and quality of the contractors you engage, no matter where they're located.

And not every contractor scopes out your situation and bases his quote on what he thinks he can stick you for. I have customers that are millionaires and customers that are just getting by and everyone pays the same, although the ones just getting by sometimes get charged a reduced labor rate if I can manage to sharpen the pencil a little for them.

I always read posts by the OP because he seems like a sharp and talented guy. but to all of you who have problems engaging a contractor you need to think about the type of vibe you're giving off to these guys. We contractors need to pay the bills like everyone else, want to work and typically don't approach a project as a one shot deal where we will never be seeing the customer again. So, it becomes a two way street, we may just not want to work for you and truthfully we just can't come out and tell you because you will just tell someone else and our name and reputation gets dinged for something we never even did.

Walpole MA is a long long way from Urbana Ohio. Around here (I am in central MA) there is an expectation of value for the money. If a contracter screws up they end up in court.

 

[404]

thanks for not telling me I am stupid for posting in the wrong blog....

You are among friends. Now, where is my next bottle of Jameson.