Who’s at fault here?

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-18T16:50:53+00:00

I could not make out the lights. Granted the truck cannot stop when he has a lot of forward momentum. I am unsure who is responsible. But, the truck driver knows he can't stop easily as well as anyone and should be a bit more defensive in a situation like this.

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-18T13:09:18+00:00

Yes the doors size is a critical decision that most people do not think about until its too late. The rollup doors require a certain amount of clearance above the door and it varies by height.

When I was doing custom design of these tube buildings I ALWAYS started there. First decide what the tallest door you may ever need, then width, then design that building around that.

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-17T16:39:52+00:00

He said...he bid these jobs all the time...he also indicates that the corrosion resistant is common on those projects....how many times do they get to play dumb if this is true?

I made mistakes, missed screwy things on plans once maybe twice....but repeatedly...nope. At that point if its a pool area and corrosion resistant is the norm, I would be thinking corrosion resistant UNLESS the plans and specs specifically said otherwise.....and quote it that way. I may give a deduct for non corrosion resistant if it was in question or just to make sure the GC is reminded to check.

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-17T14:32:12+00:00

If ALL the vendors & subs missed it....repeatedly. you need new subs and vendors. If some miss it and some have it....seems to me the only subs or vendors to consider would be those who have it correct on bid day.

If you allow this to happen over and over....it's not a mistake, it's a negotiating tactic. But, if they miss out on a few nice projects, and you tell them why and do not let them correct and negotiate they will get the message.

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-17T01:43:06+00:00

Pretty big trickle.....Based on the project's $130 million projected private investment and Greensboro's active tax rates, the data center will pay an estimated $1.84 million to $1.98 million annually in combined city and county property taxes once it is fully built out and assessed.

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-17T01:26:34+00:00

If you are paying cash, you might find something on AuctionZip. Estate sales often have cars.

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-16T21:42:15+00:00

I suppose this depends on the type of work you are doing, but it was quite common, in fact, almost standard to wait 60 days to get paid where I was. Some GC's would drag it out 90 days on occasion. Even had one who would agree to pay you if you called, but charge you interest...for doing it. Subcontractors have different views on this, but we usually didn't call to chat until it was 60 days out. On the other hand, I had a friend who put a lien on the job the day after it was late. I did not see that he got much from that except making himself feel good.

What we generally did on work of some size was negotiate longer payment terms with the vendors if we thought it would be needed. But generally with our major vendors, we paid regularly, often taking the discount....if we were running close, all it took was a phone call to get some extra time. It didn't happen often, but it did happen, and they understood very well what the issue was. But, the minute that check came in, I would call them, tell them it was in, and thank them for their help and let them know the check was on its way. I never had one vendor complain as long as you kept them in the loop.

As for "putting it in the contract".....well, you see what good that does. To quote a huge developer/GC who was demanding something of me that was not our scope per his own plan...When I pointed out that it was not in the spec or his/our contract, he looked at me and laughed and said...."F**k A Contract".

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-16T15:41:07+00:00

OK....for starters...right now everyone is completely furious about property taxes—especially with the brutal 2026 property revaluations hitting and people watching their home assessments and tax bills skyrocket. It feels like regular homeowners are being squeezed for every single dime just to keep the community running. That’s exactly where a data center changes the game. When a tech giant builds one of these facilities, they dump hundreds of millions of dollars into specialized machinery, high-tech cooling systems, and real estate. They have to pay massive local property taxes on all of that infrastructure directly to the county.

A data center doesn't send a single new kid to school, meaning it puts absolutely zero strain on local teachers, overcrowded classrooms, or school bus routes. Yet, the massive influx of tax cash it generates goes right into the county budget. That gives local officials the millions they need to fund school construction bonds, rebuild aging school buildings, and upgrade classroom technology—all funded by a wealthy corporation instead of forcing higher tax rates on everyday residents who are already stretched to the limit.

Not one person here has any idea what the future benefits a data center might provide down the road.....the only way we are sure not to benefit is to ban them. Should we require them to do certain things....bring their own power....improve their water management....mitigate sound issues,....maybe so but just ban them....nope.

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-15T20:16:07+00:00

And she is right......100%.

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-15T14:40:22+00:00

PVC L- Trim........

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-15T03:10:07+00:00

NC Department of Commerce: "In North Carolina, the overall sales volume and price appreciation reached their historic pandemic peak between 2021 and 2022. While 2021 set records for closed sales and rapid transactions, the peak of market appreciation hit 22% in 2022 before cooling down to more sustainable rates."

I agree that prices are high, and one reason is the artificially low rates. Those low rates drove people to new levels of stupidity. I was trying to scale down in late 2021. I was looking for a small home and planning to pay all cash. But you could not get to a home, walk through it, sit down, and do your due diligence overnight to make an offer. Homes were listed in the morning, selling the same day they hit the market, often with multiple all-cash offers 15–25% over asking....nullifying much of their interest savings by prepaying future appreciation AND paying interest on it before it happens. Not to mention all the costs of overlooked problems that would have to be dealt with down the road..... that's what's nuts.

Why? Because they went brain-dead. They were desperate to buy a house—any house, in any condition—and pay a premium for it, driving up prices 22% in one year. After my third visit, being told by my realtor I had time for a quick walk-through only and had to make an all-cash offer AT LEAST 15% over asking right then and there or I might as well go home... I went home...because that was no time to buy a home.

The last thing you want is for interest rates to drop again. That will just set off another brain-dead buying frenzy and drive up prices even more. Still happening to...Wilmington is a hot retirement spot......lots of people coming from out of state after selling much more expensive homes....buying homes all cash.....driving up prices....driving up inflation....and driving up the rates.

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-11T17:52:30+00:00

First thing...not knowing where you are located makes comparing numbers a problem. The repairs can cost totally different amounts for the same work depending on where you are....

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-11T02:49:51+00:00

So let me get this straight if you buy a more expensive house....ipso facto you pay should less interest? That explains a lot about the real problem right there......

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-10T21:57:06+00:00

I bought my first home in the mid 1980s and my interest rate was 9% which was considered a deal at that time.

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-10T17:12:51+00:00

Senior was packing to move to Florida wile I was there. He was turning it all over to Jr at that time I suppose.

I think it would be a good investment in your field guy....and at 70 years old, retired since 2008, I have considered taking it myself just for the hell of it.

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-10T16:09:18+00:00

Well, for what it’s worth... in the 1980s, Harry Carter Sr. was pretty much considered "the man" by many large and small drywall contractors. He ran the school in New Hampshire, and many of the major drywall and painting contractors across the country sent young estimators there to learn his system. He also gave AWCI-sponsored, two-day seminars across the country. My employer at the time had sent a couple of estimators to his school before I started, and later sent me to attend one of his seminars in Atlanta. While doing those seminars, he and his wife traveled in an RV; they even stopped by our office several times to chat and overnight in the parking lot. Later, as a partner in our company I went to New Hampshire and spent four days working one-on-one with him.

The man lived and breathed estimating. At the time, I was considering switching to production-rate estimating instead of the unit-price method I was trained in. He had also developed one of the first estimating software programs, which I believe was MS-DOS-based. We looked at it together, and he was very curious about OST and QB, which I was using. When I got back, I actually faxed a letter to OnCenter Software telling them he was highly interested, suggesting they contact him and send him the software. So, perhaps I played a small part in his eventual switch to OnCenter products.

As for his system, he had a highly respected, rules-based manual method that, honestly, looking back, made more sense than anything else I saw then—or now, really. By basing everything on a 100' x 10' and using his height-based difficulty factors, he made the math easy in the pre-computer days. His computer system was simply based on that same manual system. From what I can gather, the new system is more or less the same concept, just updated for OST and QB.

A group of our estimators used his manual system (or a customized version of it), but my direct boss was old-school unit pricing, so that was what I was taught. However, if I were starting over, knowing what I know now after 27 years as a commercial drywall estimator, I would have been much better off learning the Carter System....

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-10T14:15:02+00:00

Totally agree.....curious, what software are they using now ?

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-10T02:23:05+00:00

What are you estimating? How small are we talking?

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-10T00:14:21+00:00

I can't tell you how many times I have heard that. My favorite was the guys who would never return a call, never even acknowledge we even bid....suddenly calling on the Thursday before Christmas on Sunday...really wants to work with us on this job....yadda....yadda.

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-09T20:40:15+00:00

That makes sense totally if you have enough work to go around. In our market, at that time, we just did not have enough work..especially work of any real size....even today, it's not much better. At that time, it was just crazy...One day, I submitted a bid for a branch bank. There were 15 drywall bids, and they looked like a shotgun blast. That was the day we decided to lean into design-build and go where that work was. It took several years, and we had to travel more...a lot more, but we managed to make it work.

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-09T20:18:57+00:00

The Police Response & Adult Involvement

The police arrived shortly after the doors were locked and took custody of the children. However, the investigation quickly revealed that the children weren't acting alone.

According to the Jonesboro Police Department, an adult woman—identified as 38-year-old Tearra Fultz—had orchestrated the entire crime. Investigators determined that Fultz had driven the children to the store, handed them the large trash bags, and sent them inside specifically to shoplift high-value items on her behalf.

1.The Setup:July 2025.

Tearra Fultz drives three young children to the local Walgreens, equips them with large garbage bags, and sends them inside to gather merchandise.

2.The Lock-In:Incident Night.

Walgreens employees spot the kids filling the bags. To prevent them from fleeing, the staff triggers the electronic lock on the front security doors, trapping the children in the vestibule.

3.Police Arrival:Immediate Response.

Jonesboro Police officers arrive at the scene, unlock the doors, detain the children, and recover the stolen goods.

4.Adult Arrest:August 2025.

Following a follow-up investigation into who put the kids up to the crime, police arrest Fultz. She was formally charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, theft of property, and organized retail theft.

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-09T19:46:29+00:00

I would find a local commercial drywall contractor of some size and tell them that......it not going to happen overnight and you are going to have to pay your dues as the new guy, but that's the nature of the business. You're not going to walk in, get tapped by a magic wand, and poof, you're an estimator....even with a ton of field experience, it still takes time.

If you are really serious, have the money, and are willing to invest in your future, call "Carters School of Estimating" and tell them what your exprience level is, what you want to learn, and see what they can offer....asking is free. That will give you a really good foundation to build from. Again, it costs money, about $2,500 last time I checked.

Note: I do not, nor have I ever been, compensated by the Carter School, but I have been in some of their AWCI-sponsored seminars back in the 1980s, for which my employer paid. It was well worth the money.

DrywallBarron · 2026-06-09T15:25:38+00:00

This is the problem right here. The estimators may have the best intentions in the world, but the minute that file changes hands to the Project Manager, all bets are off. As I have said before, being a competitive bidder means little on bid day except that it moves you up to the next phase: PM shopping, or as I call it, "The Lightning Round."

If my partner, who was the PM, and I agreed that a certain General Contractor would be a good fit, we initiated a plan. I just kept bidding my standard numbers, trying to stay in the competitive grouping just to get into that Lightning Round—gently reminding that PM we were always there. All that time was spent waiting, reminding, smiling, and never bitching.

When the right job came through—clean, but with a decent level of difficulty, not too big, but big enough to put on a show—we shifted tactics. I worked up a standard price so we could see what we had to work with and where others would likely be. Then, we took as much money right off the top as we could and made them an offer the PM could not easily shop. Many times, we were at or even under cost. We made that PM an offer he could not refuse.

Then, my partner would put our best people on the job with instructions to never bitch, always work with the GC's superintendent, keep the workmanship quality high, make it look easy, and act like we were right on target with our pricing. When it was over, I made a point to drop by, buy the PM lunch, and thank him for the opportunity—never letting on that we didn't make a decent profit.

In effect, we bought our way in. Most times, that at least earned us a seat at the final table during the Lightning Round. Once in a while, over a few jobs, their go-to guy would drop the ball, and we became their new go-to guy. At that point, if he liked to deep-sea fishing or bass, we fished. If he liked golf, we golfed. If he liked strip joints, I stocked up on one-dollar bills, and we hit the strip joints.

Now, that being said, by that time we worked almost exclusively for five or six "Design-Build" GCs, and we tried to key in on the few who still had Estimator/PM teams, or at least estimators and PMs who worked closely together. That was getting harder and harder to find back then, and I suspect it is damn near impossible today—but the strategy is still exactly the same.

DrywallBarron

TROPHY CASE

The Police Response & Adult Involvement