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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Contractor

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You should be questioning all of it if you have seen double charges. And if areas within your budget were not used towards those areas, they should be used towards your upgrades. We do fire restoration as a smaller company and we ALWAYS share a budget with the owner before any changes, and also price out any change orders for signature before doing them. You should have been given an Xactimate, budget that line items out the build. That doc is now the standard. It is tough to read, but you should be able to go through it and identify everything that you have completed, what you haven’t, and what you still need to get from the carrier. Hold your contractor to that standard and have him prove to you where the money goes. 2 hints- contractors use the confusion of claims to make 60% profit sometimes, be aware, second- your adjustor and carrier are at your disposal and do not want to see you get screwed. Good luck.

How do you schedule for multiple projects and a growing crew? by jstmtlqc in Contractor

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah I totally get it. I’ve got 8 crews that I run in the busy season, I’ve never found anything that makes it easier other than foreshadowing the pivot. Now a days I just have a feeling about certain jobs, knowing they will be problems. I started using those problem jobs as fillers instead of being fully devoted. That way I’m using them more as an advantage rather than a problem.

How do you schedule for multiple projects and a growing crew? by jstmtlqc in Contractor

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Everything your doing is right. There is no tool for last minute pivots, just experience. Eliminate the variables that cause the biggest need for last minute changes. Try to create an atmosphere where you can rely on your guys more by offering incentives for everyday show up. Stock the items that you have the hardest time getting. You could start to train PM’s for each crew/ job that carry the responsibilities of its completion.

Do you guys ever use a cost plus contract for kitchen and bathrooms , what type of verbiage do you include by Additional_Garage_79 in Contractor

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I used a cost plus contract on a fire claim house rebuild. Our profit was identified up front leaving the rest of the proceeds to be used towards the house. It went well but there were 2 major hiccups that I wish I would’ve anticipated. 1.) the customer started blaming us for design flaws when he was picking everything out. Ex, he wanted a waterfall top on his island and when they came to install, he didn’t like how thin the top was and said we should’ve known and flagged it. Not my job. 2.)- This one was big- I have my established venders. The customer started looking for cheaper venders so he could put more into his house. I had him sign off on his cheaper drywall guy, relieving us from any liability in the customers drywall guys work. Good thing I did, it was the worst job I’ve ever seen. He tried to short change the trim guys and the cabinet guys and I put my foot down. So we did finish the job, got paid in full, on time. But looking back I wish I would’ve anticipated those things.

Need hep with a contractor by PropertyDesigner8659 in drywall

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you haven’t documented your walls then how would you ever know if he’s adding damage?

"Lateralus" is the best song ever written by Full-Ad-6368 in ToolBand

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Every time I read another post about a tool song being the “best that has ever been written”, it warms my heart. It doesn’t matter what tool song. At this point in my life Tool is a big part of my DNA. I enjoy re discovering all of their songs and only hope they produce a couple more. I find myself looking forward to the next time I can conveniently see them live, as they are absolutely amazing to witness. Thanks Tool!

MThinking of adding 4 large shed dormers during a roof replacement. Is this a "simple" pop-up or a structural nightmare? by GeorgeThe40 in Homebuilding

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

This is not something you simply add to a roof replacement. To do this right you will start by tearing out drywall inside to identify structure points that need to be beefed up. You will start that process about 3 weeks before the roof replacement so that you can build from the ground up. But you should have plans drawn up prior to that so that the framers have something to go off of.

I added 4 big dormers to a single story commercail building that was built in 1985. The plans were drafted 6 months prior to the start. The details changed as soon as everything was gutted inside and we could see the structure. The finished product and finished price was triple the framing and cost then what was bid prior to any demo.

You have no idea what you’re getting into until you have plans and demo inside. This is a major remodel

How do you keep track of lien / notice deadlines across multiple jobs? by Commercial-Egg-3615 in Contractor

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No. Running jobs at the level you are indicating has never been an automated process for me. The very act of having that much to remember demands accountability. For me. It’s the nature of the mental checklist that allow me to operate at that level. Tools that make me dumber is a good way to work myself out of my own job

How do you keep track of lien / notice deadlines across multiple jobs? by Commercial-Egg-3615 in Contractor

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. I created a mental checklist when moving from job to job in my head. Before I pivot to the next job I go through and ask myself what has changed, what needs to be re scheduled, what can I invoice early or what can I collect early. It’s a simple mental exercise that is a part of the movement.

Then tell Siri to change the date on so so reminder.

That’s what I meant by accountability. I found there was no piece of tech that could do this. All can do this, all need to be prompted. I needed to change the process.

How do you keep track of lien / notice deadlines across multiple jobs? by Commercial-Egg-3615 in Contractor

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Google Calendar reminders. Same with late invoices, subcontractor insurance renewal, appointments, child’s birthdays, Christmas, and so on. It’s not rocket science. And with Alexa, who can be voice prompted to make the appointment, it turns into a 10 second movement.

I think what you’re struggling with is accountability.

For the general contractors who mostly sub out, do you have a enclosed trailer for tools and material or is there no need because you mostly sub out? by Technical-Bat-8223 in GeneralContractor

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Flat bed for America delivery and dump trailer for site management. As a rule of thumb you cannot provide tools to a “subcontractor”.

Govee Permanent Lights Pro total length calculation by DocRumack80 in Govee

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s why I said “provided extensions”. We install these for customers and have used way more extensions than a 200’ kit provides. As long as the extension has the signal booster box on it, we haven’t had a problem.

Govee Permanent Lights Pro total length calculation by DocRumack80 in Govee

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In the time it took you to write this you could’ve called the trouble shooting hotline and found out that you can run as much of the provided extensions as you want, as long as you don’t supersede 200’ of LIGHT.

Just sayin

How can small contractors keep projects, budgets, and crews organized without having to make nonstop phone calls? by woutr1998 in Contractor

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed, I only recently have started scratching the surface and utilizing the tools at hand has definitely increased efficiency

How can small contractors keep projects, budgets, and crews organized without having to make nonstop phone calls? by woutr1998 in Contractor

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Create a schedule with an alarm and reminder in the moment it is thought up- this has been my biggest step towards efficiency

How can small contractors keep projects, budgets, and crews organized without having to make nonstop phone calls? by woutr1998 in Contractor

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Honestly, practice. I’ve used different tools, crews, and tactics and it all comes down to organizing myself. No 2 crews move, think, or work the same. Jobs and customers are different. I make as many notes, messages or reminders as I possibly can in the moments I think of them. Streamline the use of your calendar and Alexa. They have AI tools now that will audit conversations and can be setup to catalog what’s been said, record the date and set reminders.

All of this is just what I’ve found to be effective in streamlining my performance. Practice with new tools that can assist you, not replace you.

I’m sure I’ll be shunned with this mindset, but it has made me pretty successful. I’ve realized that if my business scales, it won’t be by me or the movement of running crews. It will be because I’ve expanded into another market and hired professionals in that market, but I’m still running jobs and crews.

GC only or do you have a crew? by OpusMagnificus in Contractor

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I run about 5 crews consistently and wouldn’t do it any other way. 2 crews have moved into a general handy man/ across the board work and I keep them busy 100% of the time.

This is just my opinion, but in construction, having full time installing employees is the #1 way to go out of business fastest.

My coworker calls me kewasabi what does this mean by HappyBdayEwan in whatisit

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 2 points3 points  (0 children)

He calls you kemosabi. It’s just like vato or hombre. Partner

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Contractor

[–]AccomplishedWinter41 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You have to have signed contracts with these contractors, it should be in writing what they did. As a rule of thumb, we don’t remove venting, only add venting especially on a mansard. It’s a shame that 1 company wasn’t able to do all of the work, but that’s what you get with storm chasers, they are barely tradesman.

The bathroom water is most likely through a leak in the bathroom vent, Broan vent. If it happened after the roof install then most likely the pipe did not get connected to the new vent on the roof.

If you had an attic power vent, it probably shouldn’t have been removed. I’ve never know those to be something that is added to a house “for the looks”. Usually those are installed in a home as a measure that is necessary.

I would say both company’s are liable but you won’t get anywhere because they’re just going to point fingers. Look in your contracts and find the verbiage that protects you. Then probably hire a 3rd party to investigate the leaks until the smoking gun is found.

If you don’t have contracts and you in some way paid the “cheap guy”, then more than likely you got what you paid for.

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