# How many jobs at once?



## mkb (Dec 13, 2017)

Just wanted to see how many jobs do you guys have going on at once? A few or just one at a time? I know a few GCs that do multiple jobs at once going on and then there are some that focus on one at a time till they are done.


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## TheConstruct (Dec 8, 2017)

Most of my jobs are pretty small so I usually "aim" to do one at a time but I'll usually have three on the go. I had seven going during the summer due to hold ups and scheduling etc. and found it to be detrimental to the jobs and my well being. I know one builder who only does one at a time and another who has several big jobs on the go at the same time and they have two completely different approaches to the jobs. I think having too much on your plate is a recipe for quality and communication to take a dive.


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## Golden view (Feb 16, 2012)

2 is way too little. 3 is way too much.


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## pinwheel (Dec 7, 2009)

Most of our jobs are in & out in a week, with a larger cabinet building job thrown in here & there. Pretty typical for us to have 3-5 jobs going most of the time. Usually start sanding floor one on Monday, floor 2 on tue & varnish one on Tue. Start 3 on Wed & varnish 1 & 2 on Wed. All 3 completed by Friday.


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## Rooster Cogburn (Jun 29, 2016)

one


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## Mordekyle (May 20, 2014)

3 or four small jobs at a time.


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## avenge (Sep 25, 2008)

I'm basically a one man show I've been doing 2 or 3 jobs all of last year one started in Feb 2018 thought I was done this month, no not really, finished another today, no they added more work, finishing another I hope next week, meeting my client tomorrow for another I'm starting next month.


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## greg24k (May 19, 2007)

One job at the time end to finish. Makes me the same money without killing myself, each customer has my full attention, hands-on on each job and it gives me 100% customer satisfaction rate, not to mention impeccable reputation in over 30 years :thumbsup:


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## rrk (Apr 22, 2012)

greg24k said:


> One job at the time end to finish. Makes me the same money without killing myself, each customer has my full attention, hands-on on each job and it gives me 100% customer satisfaction rate, not to mention impeccable reputation in over 30 years :thumbsup:


exactly the same here going on 33 years this year


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## Fishindude (Aug 15, 2017)

Usually ran 6-8 large projects at a time plus several service guys running around doing one and two man quick jobs and repairs.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

One man show. Usually depends on things like drying times. Could be 1-4 if they're small.


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## Mike-B (Feb 11, 2015)

One til its done would be a dream for me.
Unfortunately, its not our reality.


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## Stunt Carpenter (Dec 31, 2011)

Depending on the job I have two or three on the go. A lot of my jobs I’m not there for large stretches of time. Basements have a two weeks of drywall and a week to two weeks of painting that need no supervision. 

Most I have had on the go was 5 and it turned into a nightmare for scheduling.


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## AustinDB (Sep 11, 2006)

rrk said:


> exactly the same here going on 33 years this year


Greg24k and rrk, how do yo manage scheduling the next job's start date with the one at a time scenario? I'm wondering how delay's and additions to the original scope effect the 'next up' job and the others in the pipeline.


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## Golden view (Feb 16, 2012)

AustinDB said:


> Greg24k and rrk, how do yo manage scheduling the next job's start date with the one at a time scenario? I'm wondering how delay's and additions to the original scope effect the 'next up' job and the others in the pipeline.


I'm also curious, what about larger subbed items. Drywall? Floor finishing? Take a week off?


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## JBH (Feb 17, 2017)

This is a repost of mine from another thread:

I never run overlapping projects - all that does is piss off the homeowner. How on earth do you demonstrate daily progress to each of your clients if you're juggling multiple jobs? Indeed, I use that single-project focus as a key selling proposition, and bring it up at every meeting with potential clients. And I know it works, because many clients have told me it was the specific reason they hired me. 

As I state on my web page (www.houzz.com/pro/johnbh11/__public)

"Larger builders have to run multiple projects simultaneously, shifting crews and trades from jobsite to jobsite - which keeps THEM busy, but inevitably results in delays, inattention and neglect for YOUR project. So many builders get partway done and then get distracted by the next big project, so yours drags on and on. Not with us! In contrast, our single-project focus ensures that YOU are the top priority throughout the course of your renovation."

Look at it practical terms. As just one person, you can only accomplish so much - and generate so much revenue - in a given day, so why spread it around a bunch of projects? Why not focus on one, keeping the homeowner thrilled with the progress?

The only drawback, as I see it, is loss of potential near-term opportunities as my book of work extends so very far into the future. But as I only take about one job for every fifty project inquiries I get, it's not hard to find people who will wait in the queue.


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## DarthUno (Jan 18, 2019)

Right now I have 11 homes in various stages, plus a few remodel jobs. Organizing all that is a full time job by itself. 


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## mkb (Dec 13, 2017)

DarthUno said:


> Right now I have 11 homes in various stages, plus a few remodel jobs. Organizing all that is a full time job by itself.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


wow...:thumbsup:


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## greg24k (May 19, 2007)

AustinDB said:


> Greg24k and rrk, how do yo manage scheduling the next job's start date with the one at a time scenario? I'm wondering how delay's and additions to the original scope effect the 'next up' job and the others in the pipeline.


I let the next customer know how long would take to finish the previous job, when the job is nearing to an end let's say another week to button everything up, I call the next customer and tell them that we will star the job in about a week so they can make whatever preparations they need to make and that's pretty much how it's done.


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## avenge (Sep 25, 2008)

greg24k said:


> I let the next customer know how long would take to finish the previous job, when the job is nearing to an end let's say another week to button everything up, I call the next customer and tell them that we will star the job in about a week so they can make whatever preparations they need to make and that's pretty much how it's done.


This is normally how I've done it for 30 years also but last year with a never ending job I had several clients that wamted me to do their job whenever I had free time.

Unless I have a start date written in stone I don't have a schedule since almost all of my jobs go longer with added work.


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## greg24k (May 19, 2007)

avenge said:


> This is normally how I've done it for 30 years also but last year with a never ending job I had several clients that wamted me to do their job whenever I had free time.
> 
> Unless I have a start date written in stone I don't have a schedule since almost all of my jobs go longer with added work.


It all depends on the job, larger jobs I try to take care of everything from the get-go, so everything is picked out and I can move the job forward...

If I give a customer options on upgrades I give them enough time to think about these options so it doesn't slow down my work progress and I let them know by which stage of the job I need to know if they don't want job delays because extra cost is involved. I also let them know that if a change order is requested and not implemented, there is a minimum $250 fee plus any additional costs involved.

The biggest secret to complete the job on time is the schedule and stay hands-on ahead of everything and doing a job at the time that is very easy to do without killing yourself. 

I see that some guys do 5-20 jobs whatever at the same time, been there, done that when I was building developments, 5-6 houses in a year and closing them, and at the same time there was no life, no weekends, no nothing, you lucky if you find time to get away for the weekend.
Was done with that about 15-20 yrs ago, not I work at my own pace, my own schedule, and if I have a week or two between the jobs I rather take a vacation or just hang out... 
Not to mention I have been doing lots of design work nationwide working for contractors and homeowners doing 3D layouts and designs for them, etc so I always have stuff to keep me busy, especially during the winter time, because more and more I try not to work during winters at all and that been working out pretty good in the last 5 years.:thumbsup:


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## Jaws (Dec 20, 2010)

Depends on how much management you have in place, field and admin

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## Golden view (Feb 16, 2012)

JBH said:


> This is a repost of mine from another thread:
> 
> I never run overlapping projects - all that does is piss off the homeowner. How on earth do you demonstrate daily progress to each of your clients if you're juggling multiple jobs? Indeed, I use that single-project focus as a key selling proposition, and bring it up at every meeting with potential clients. And I know it works, because many clients have told me it was the specific reason they hired me.
> 
> ...


I shoot for 16-24 man-hours per day per project. Pretty easy to demonstrate daily progress.


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## Jaws (Dec 20, 2010)

Golden view said:


> I shoot for 16-24 man-hours per day per project. Pretty easy to demonstrate daily progress.


It's ignorant on his part to discuss all like operations in the same manner. I could easily use an example against jbh that he can get hit by a car have a heart attack tomorrow and they would be screwed. If that happened to me the job would go on the next day, if not the next. 

Also my labor pool is probably larger than a one man shops for the most part. I utilize more people, and spend a lot with subs so perhaps they would respond quickly vs a guy who uses them a few times a year. 

As far as the one man show or small operation, assuming it is a talented guy that is the way to go a lot of times. I refer those type of operations often. 

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## DarthUno (Jan 18, 2019)

greg24k said:


> If I give a customer options on upgrades I give them enough time to think about these options so it doesn't slow down my work progress and I let them know by which stage of the job I need to know if they don't want job delays because extra cost is involved. I also let them know that if a change order is requested and not implemented, there is a minimum $250 fee plus any additional costs involved.
> 
> The biggest secret to complete the job on time is the schedule and stay hands-on ahead of everything and doing a job at the time that is very easy to do without killing yourself.


On new homes I don’t give completion dates until kitchen cabinets are installed. Too many variables before then, and I’ve learned that even if you casually mention in January, “Yeah we’ll probably be done in April” they’ll damn sure remember you said that and probably schedule moving trucks.:blink: 

And all my contracts say, “All changes to specifications shall incur a $100 per item change order fee, regardless of other applicable costs or credits. All addendums/work orders must be paid in full prior to implementation.” I usually waive the fee if it’s going from one standard product to another, but it’s a good way to discourage changes on the fly.


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## greg24k (May 19, 2007)

DarthUno said:


> On new homes I don’t give completion dates until kitchen cabinets are installed. Too many variables before then, and I’ve learned that even if you casually mention in January, “Yeah we’ll probably be done in April” they’ll damn sure remember you said that and probably schedule moving trucks.:blink:
> 
> And all my contracts say, “All changes to specifications shall incur a $100 per item change order fee, regardless of other applicable costs or credits. All addendums/work orders must be paid in full prior to implementation.” I usually waive the fee if it’s going from one standard product to another, but it’s a good way to discourage changes on the fly.


By law, you have to have a completion date in the contract. Everyone knows you can and will be done on the same exact day, but you need to have an approximate time table when the project will be completed.
Everyone knows that this is an approximate date because a delay could be caused by anything, i.e weather, township, inspections, etc. Sometimes the closing is delayed a week, simply because the building department didn't type up a Certificate of Occupancy and you need that for closing.
The basic reason for the date requirement is for Consumer Protection.


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

DarthUno said:


> ...but it’s a good way to discourage changes on the fly...


if you are building custom homes why would you discourage changes on the fly or any change order?


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## Calidecks (Nov 19, 2011)

I've got two jobs going right now and there's 3 in the pipeline. Then decking season will start. 

I take on as much as I want. 



Mike.
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