# Remodelers?? Anyone?? Are You There??



## woodman42 (Aug 1, 2007)

No sir. There are some outstanding true professional folks out there. But from my experience, when they get large enough to have several crews and a fleet of trucks the work has a tendency to get sloppy because a lot of the kids they hire just don't seem to care about the quility of work performed. They want to get done before lunch or beer thirty.


----------



## WNYcarpenter (Mar 2, 2007)

woodman42 said:


> No sir. There are some outstanding true professional folks out there. But from my experience, when they get large enough to have several crews and a fleet of trucks the work has a tendency to get sloppy because a lot of the kids they hire just don't seem to care about the quility of work performed. They want to get done before lunch or beer thirty.


 You're speaking from your own experiences....my job is to make sure things like that don't happen. It doesn't take that long to learn when shoddy work is being done. 

I apologized already for my lack of tact and generalizing post. It is not my thinking that remodelers can't do it all, I was shooting from the hip and what came out was distasteful. I'm Sorry!!!

This thread is about the remodeling forum on "Contractor Talk"...when questions arise during a remodeling project I would say most likely the best place to ask your questions would be in a forum with experts who specialize in a specific trade. Some folks, maybe yourself included, can offer expert advice on a number of different topics and trades not exclusive to remodeling.


----------



## B.D.R. (May 22, 2007)

As a renovator I learn from every one I come in contact with.and can do most jobs as well if not better than most pros or I will hire someone who can .These skills keep me working, and the money goes in my pocket.


----------



## Stevo (Mar 10, 2007)

*Jack-of-all trades*

In my opinion, Jack of all trades = Best.
Learn something new every day.
Eventually, you will call less subs, and do the work yourself.
Expert? No.
But, If I had to do the same thing every day, I'd have to kick my own a**!


----------



## Multi-Tasker (Jul 11, 2005)

Cole,
This thread is great to follow. We do have a lot of common interests and ideas. The Remodeler forum is good but I,like others look and learn from all the forums/topics here.We have great information on this site and I learn something every time I am here.

Thanks,
(never stop learning)
Joe


----------



## Eric K (Nov 24, 2005)

nywoodwizard said:


> I'm too busy remodeling :laughing:


Ditto that!


----------



## JackiTrades (Dec 2, 2006)

*Yep*



Grumpyplumber said:


> *I'm convinced by the arguments...time to take up hairdressing.*
> 
> *Guys...GC's do have to have a very broad spectrum of knowledge.*
> *But, let's not undercut the skills of at least some of your subs when it comes to detail, code and general experience.*


 
Yay! Thank god for good plumbers. I need a new hairdo, by the way. Keeping it long and in a ponytail does nothing for me. (grin)


----------



## Flacan (Aug 28, 2007)

I've been installing 24 x 24 travertine in our master bath this weekend (added 740 sf of living area to the house, and other than subbing out some jobs, have done most of the work myself), and I know exactly why I quit being a specialty tradesman. 

It gets real boring doing the same thing day after day after day.

Always had a problem with that. My brother had a hard time understanding me when we worked together.

I liked to sell more jobs than we could handle with our helpers, and then hire subs to do the work. He, on the other hand, wanted things simple and with less headaches. Although he's a Florida GC, he's back installing marble and tile - that's what he likes to do.

A little stress is what gets me up in the morning, and I believe many remodelers and GCs are the same way.


----------



## Francois (Aug 28, 2007)

I don't know about lovin' the stress... I just get bored to easy, to do the same thing every day & stay sane.


One other thing, I'm noticing more as I get older: 

Each trade has its particular aches. Flooring's hard on the knees, swinging a hammer's hard on the elbow, sheetrock gives me sore wrists from the screw gun & taping, painting gets my shoulders & fingers, hanging cabs always gives me a sore back... 

Guys who stick to one thing, get repetitive stress injuries after 10-15 years of the same thing everyday. All-rounders keep the aches moving, so we never develop the serious problems.


----------



## Flacan (Aug 28, 2007)

Francois

Absolutely agree about the soreness/aching factor when doing repetitive work. Forgot to mention it yesterday, because I was so tired from repetitive lifting of the 2' x 2' suckers. 

I had the knee issues doing tile. Then developed elbow/wrist problems when installing hurricane shutters and windows (6 months straight). Drilling into CBS walls is real tough after a couple months of it day after day. 

It's a combination of the boredom and physical problems, which keeps me away from repetitive work. The stress part is icing on the cake. 

OK, stop rambling already Flacan!


----------



## AlohaCustom (Oct 13, 2005)

I love remodeling...only way to go for me. I don't trust many GC's except for a couple I know well and can actually do fine work themselves. I love it all demo to finish. I got a couple trusty plumbers and electricians who do small sides for me and we do the rest. I'm originally from NH so I can easily sell my jobs to all the rich snowbirds from New England.


----------



## The plumber (Jul 5, 2007)

Grumpyplumber said:


> *I'm convinced by the arguments...time to take up hairdressing.*
> 
> *Guys...GC's do have to have a very broad spectrum of knowledge.*
> *But, let's not undercut the skills of at least some of your subs when it comes to detail, code and general experience.*


Well put grumpy!!!!I have read several comments about doing the job better than the subs. I know a little about everything being raised in construction but I would never be as bold to say I could out do another man at the trade he has devoted his life to. If a man spends 40 a week for 20 years putting nothing but pride in to his work you'll never beat him at his own game. I do know some crappy plumbers that ya'll probably could out plumb, but you'll never match a master of his craft.


----------



## oaks renovation (Jun 16, 2007)

I totally agree with you guys about all of the aches and pains associated with the different trades and the toll it takes on your body, but being in the remodeling business keeps me excited about getting up and going full throttle 6 or 7 days a week 10 to 12 hours a day. I have really given alot of thought to specializing in something. I think it would definately allow for maximizing your profit margin. At the same time the shotgun approach seems to keep the funds flowing. I came up in trade as an electrician did that for 20 plus years you can only twist so many wirenuts!:wacko:


----------



## PA woodbutcher (Mar 29, 2007)

oaks renovation said:


> I have really given alot of thought to specializing in something. I think it would definately allow for maximizing your profit margin. At the same time the shotgun approach seems to keep the funds flowing.


I approch each customer in the same way....I'm not looking to be any cheaper than a roofer or any cheaper than a sider, or any cheaper than a plumber, but looking for ALL your work for years to come. Find a roofer that will plumb your bathroom or find a plumber that will fix your roof. I'm not as fast as even your average roofer (although after the frst couple of days and some aleve I do get along pretty good) so my profit margin is down from his right from the get go......But in february that same roofer is not going to go inside where its warm and sweat pipes and hang and tape his sheetrock for a bathroom. People like the comfort of dealing with the same person for everything as long as it's not going to cost them a lot more money


----------



## dee (Sep 26, 2007)

Cole said:


> Why is this forum so slow?
> 
> I would have thought we would have more remodelers here.


i was just thinking the same thing about plumbing, hvac & business discussions. dee


----------



## gary1969 (Oct 18, 2007)

do you have any idea on pricing per L.F. 10' high wood stud wall labor only


----------



## neolitic (Apr 20, 2006)

gary1969 said:


> do you have any idea on pricing per L.F. 10' high wood stud wall labor only


$1 hour for me $.50 for the apprentice, I get 2 growlers a day, he gets 1.


----------



## RobertCDF (Aug 18, 2005)

gary1969 said:


> do you have any idea on pricing per L.F. 10' high wood stud wall labor only


2x4? 2x6? 2x8? 2x10? 2x12? how many LF? if it is 10 LF it is going to be a lot higher than 10,000 LF. Dont you hate it when a customers ask you to build something and gives no information? Then why do you do it?

BTW posting this question 3 times is dumb.


----------



## aardvark (Nov 14, 2007)

woodman42 said:


> I have been remodeling for about 20yrs and every job or kind of work I take on I do my best to master. To be honest with you I have seen so called specialty trades do worst work than a most remodelers.


I wouldn't say worse, but hiring subs for everything would be more costly and slower. I can't imagining the scheduling nightmare. It's hard enough getting the electrician and plumber to show up on the day you need them can you imagine, the framers, drywall hangers, drywall finishers, painters, trim carpenters and on and on. I have a hard enough time getting employees to do things with the next part of the job in mind. Yes Fred, when you finish sanding and caulking Bob will prime and paint. I spend my days keeping my "jack of all trade" employees from running over each other and doing things with the next job in mind. 

When doing a large job with lot's of time it makes sense to hire subs. But the simple job would take weeks. 

Last week I had a leaky roof to deal with. The customer calls and tells me there is water in the closet. For this $2000.00 Job I would have needed, Carpenters, drywall, paint, roofer, siding and guttering subs. I called my roofing sub. 4 days later and 1 inch of rain before he could have arrived. In fact I waited 3 hours for him to arrive!! to tell me he couldn't do it right away. Me and two guys did it in a couple of days, customer thrilled, no more leaks. I cant imagine what it would have cost.

My point is remodelers play an important role in this business.


----------



## aardvark (Nov 14, 2007)

B.D.R. said:


> As a renovator I learn from every one I come in contact with.and can do most jobs as well if not better than most pros or I will hire someone who can .These skills keep me working, and the money goes in my pocket.



Absolutely. I do all the plumbing and electrical when no permit is needed. I learn a lot watching pro's. I've picked up many specialty tools and learned a lot about building code.


----------

