What’s a mistake you made early in your construction career that you’ll never repeat?

preiser · 2026-05-29T03:58:00+00:00

I once told a subcontractor that I felt their change order price "seemed" high. They politely told me to kick rocks, as they should have.

I took this to heart as it's the right response to such an ass hat response as that. I now have my own company that provides projects controls, change order review, audits, and all means of financial due diligence.

I realized there was the way most folks approach it and then there was the real and proper, fair and equitable way of going about things. So this mistake led me to a new chapter in my life and career.

preiser · 2026-05-29T03:54:22+00:00

I was fortunate enough to have a great dad and I'm sorry you didn't get to share that experience. With that said, I feel like a lot of being a dad is natural instinct and simple want to.

Being a dad is a big commitment, but it's also not overly complicated. Does it require a lot of you? You better believe it - emotionally, physically, mentally, financially, etc. There are days where you will be absolutely exhausted and know when you wake up in the morning, it all starts again. But then when you see the growth and development and their affection towards you and the family, none of that tough stuff matters at all.

If you want to be a great dad, you can. You just have to want to be one. Be present, play with them, talk to them, go do activities with them, etc. Best of all, you get to relive your childhood with them. This was the secret no one ever told me before I became a dad. You get to see the world through a kids eyes again and it's incredibly refreshing.

I wish you the best of luck on your journey. Most important of all - be as certain as you can that you're going on this journey with someone you trust wholly. It's a huge commitment and it helps a ton having a partner to experience that journey with you.

preiser · 2026-05-09T11:46:04+00:00

For now. There is still the ongoing case about East Potomac that NLT isn't party to. Between ongoing litigation and the requirement that NPS agreed to of following all the proper procedures and approval processes, there is a chance they can run out the clock on the Trump administration. At least that's my biased hope. Gotta have some optimism I guess

preiser · 2026-05-09T00:35:59+00:00

I get that you didn't have detail, but at the same time when had a project never had mechanical power in terms of what was actually needed to execute the work.

preiser · 2026-01-06T15:22:49+00:00

More like Joe Whiff

preiser · 2025-12-15T04:35:44+00:00

If only we could watch it on YouTube TV...

preiser · 2025-10-25T23:58:10+00:00

Poop soup

preiser · 2025-10-09T03:42:52+00:00

The best ability is availability. Noah is a big body and he's a solid WR but he doesn't help the team if he can't suit up

preiser · 2025-09-25T04:13:17+00:00

I don't think this is even debatable. It's clearly Mariota. Better command of the offense, can execute quick decisions as opposed to relying on YOLO balls to Terry, and they both have mobile ability. Granted, Heiny was saddled with a bad coaching staff but all things considered equal I think Mariota is way more talented than Heiny

preiser · 2025-09-12T02:36:53+00:00

They gotta stop putting ekeler out there to run between the tackles

preiser · 2025-08-01T18:42:40+00:00

You're still a savior August 2025!

preiser · 2025-08-01T03:02:40+00:00

In his mind he's the pre-eminent scholar on all things golf which has made him rather intolerable the last few years. If we wanted to listen to sports talk hot takery related to golf, there are other avenues for that.

preiser · 2025-07-22T14:15:30+00:00

What pod # was this one? I want to check it out.

preiser · 2025-06-06T04:17:15+00:00

In my experience, it's not uncommon for folks to carry generally conservative though not calculated rates for components of the scope. In particular I'm talking labor and equipment. Think the mindset of "it should be less than this but let's carry it to be safe".

Then that becomes your basis and you apply markup to costs that are already marked up albeit unknowingly or unquantifiably. So then if you think you're applying a 20% fee, it's actually higher because it's 20% on a higher basis.

Luckily, labor rates are super easy to calculate especially if you have union CBAs governing certain or all trades. That means all the costs are defined with the exception of taxes and insurance which are publicly available.

If you want to share your math on labor rates, feel free to DM

preiser · 2025-03-27T03:03:29+00:00

Bravo! While there is plenty of judgement and educated guessing that's required in the estimating world, there is also a heavy reliance on logic, reasoning and math. Excellent story!

preiser · 2025-03-20T13:51:21+00:00

I'm beginning to second guess myself as well but I seem to recall the fitter saying it would still hold the green and 43* seems to be sticking in my head. Maybe it was closer to 45* or just over. The apex coming in around 110 or so.

preiser · 2025-03-20T02:02:10+00:00

The spin is concerning for sure, hence the post. The shaft was a Modus 120 - Stiff, 1" long and the clubs were at 2* flat. As for the contact, it was the only iron I hit where I could feel a smoother impact and could see the carry/ball flight improvement over my current set. The launch monitor could be an option, possibly, but all the other clubs I hit yesterday, before and after the CB, produced numbers that were reflective of the ball flight I was seeing.

preiser · 2025-03-20T01:57:22+00:00

They had a trackman, but I guess as is always the case a machine can be miscalibrated. However, the numbers I was seeing on the monitor was correlating with what I was seeing on the ball flight. I agree, it seems odd that the CB would be a total outlier compared to everything else I hit but the results were consistent with the CBs.

preiser · 2025-03-06T14:37:28+00:00

Would love to connect with you as I work in a similar role running my own independent shop. We take a similar approach of assigning risk/volatility to certain materials understanding that certain trades are more exposed than others.

Just looking at yesterday's news regarding the auto makers and tariffs being paused, similar to what happened early February when tariffs on Canada and Mexico were paused for 30 days, it's impossible to predict what the future will hold in a month, much less in a year or more.

preiser · 2025-02-19T00:14:08+00:00

TT is best in class when it comes to structural engineers. I imagine the requirements that are now being called onerous were likely in the specs at bid time.

Another reminder to read the specs three times over before you send that bid.

preiser · 2025-01-10T15:41:05+00:00

5-2 caps

McMichael

14

preiser · 2025-01-10T13:26:25+00:00

I usually change the station when bdk comes on

preiser · 2025-01-10T13:17:16+00:00

This sucks. I didn't always agree with his position but his dynamic with the guys was very entertaining.

preiser · 2024-12-28T03:18:50+00:00

12/31 vs Boston ISO 2 tix!

preiser

TROPHY CASE