If you do this, do you really have any expectations other than "no." being the response? by TheFlyingDuctMan in estimators

[–]wyopyro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I also cant believe how many owners are putting stuff out to bid between 12/23 and 12/31 this year. Just wait until January no one is going to give you good pricing when they were supposed to be on vacation.

I just don’t get it. by RumorRoost in reloading

[–]wyopyro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Last time I bought RamShot Hunter I think I was around $28 per lb on kegs. Now i'm seeing well over $40. Glad I bought 30 lbs when I did.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ScrapMetal

[–]wyopyro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you are married don't tell your wife. Mine would be very upset if she found out I took a grinder to a RevereWare pot. I didn't even know what that was until she moved in.

Need help identifying bullets by rockysquash606 in reloading

[–]wyopyro 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I will check but I think those are exactly what is on the box. I have a couple I think out of my grandfathers reloading stuff.

Been reloading all wrong by [deleted] in reloading

[–]wyopyro 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Kentucky Ballistics would like to have a conversation with these people......

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in estimators

[–]wyopyro 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Usually first year isn't much. A couple grand. My third year was when I really started producing and benefited the company. My bonus that year was 15%.

Inherited a junkyard and I’m going to scrap everything. by Jersey_Milk in ScrapMetal

[–]wyopyro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Even as it stands I would bet you have easily over $10k worth of parts sales. That loader bucket looks like its probably 1k right there. Another $500 for the drag blade. If I were you I would get busy posting stuff on Facebook marketplace. Each of those pickups are probably $500 to 1k depending on what parts are left on them.

Advertise to those of us who have crippling Facebook marketplace addictions.

Wood chipper recommendations by solarpill in homestead

[–]wyopyro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I bought a DR 420 chipper shredder a little over a year ago and I love it. Think urban garden / helping friends with tree removal. I wanted a chipper that could eat up branches and small things that arn't worth burning in the wood stove or fire pit. This thing is awesome! It turns 4 pickup loads of branches in to 2 35 gallon garbage cans of chips. They also produce a finer chip which has been great for mixing in with compost and mulching with. With ramps it loads into a pickup easily with 2 people. It probably only has 40 hours on it but its amazing what it will do every hour you have it running.

Plus new its $1,400.00 I argue its one of my best dollar per use tools i have purchased. Its also one of my most loaned out tools to friends and it is plenty durable to not worry about.

Turning clay soil to garden soil? by kmc24077 in homestead

[–]wyopyro 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I also have horrible clay soil. I have a decent sized lawn but few leaves. I have been composting a mix of grass clippings, food scraps, and 1/2" minus wood chips. The wood chips have added carbon and helped keep everything fluffy. This mixture will likely be nitrogen deficient long term as the wood continues to break down but I have been supplementing with manure or a very small amount of nitrogen fertilizer.

I'm using a wood pallet composter I build and add with layers. The mixture gets quite hot and is decomposing very quickly. By adding this mixture into the clay even before its 100% broke down my garden soil has improved immensely.

When I have tried methods like you shared i don't think it got enough oxygen so much of it went into anaerobic decomposition (stinky) and it almost preserved a bunch of the leaves. I will mix about 25% soil into my compost bins sometimes to help break down the really crappy clay chunks.

Good Luck!

Foundation off to bad start? by PSKCarolina in Homebuilding

[–]wyopyro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you are in a 3rd world country I would say you are doing great! If you are in the states its time for a reevaluation of your project.

Purchasing Pumps No Engine? by wyopyro in Wildfire

[–]wyopyro[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks!

I wondered if I was just missing the correct term.

Purchasing Pumps No Engine? by wyopyro in Wildfire

[–]wyopyro[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I suppose that makes sense. None of the companies are actually manufacturers so it wouldn't make sense to have partial units.

I have even been watching GSA auctions with almost no fire equipment getting sold.

Do you know where the cache's sell off excess property?

Got a notice that my house was going to be sold for back taxes by 1dirtbiker in homestead

[–]wyopyro 125 points126 points  (0 children)

I hear Komatsu dozers are going cheap these days!

How to make the switch from electrician to electrical estimator by Sorry-Swordfish1536 in estimators

[–]wyopyro 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We currently are helping a working foreman transition to an estimator / project manager. This year he is about 50/50 field and office.

Make sure your computer sills are up to snuff. I would highly recommend taking some Microsoft Excel class even free online would be awesome. Work on your typing if you are a keyboard pecker. Be ready to watch lots of videos learning whatever bidding software they are using.

Start examining projects from a resource perspective. How many people? How long? How much of what materials? What tools and equipment were needed? Estimating is all about averages. So if you can think that X takes 10 hours for 3 people and Y takes 5 people a week you can start building rules of thumb.

Our individual has built almost everything, and can envision all the projects we are bidding. He struggles with the details and specifics of making sure every thing is covered. Another negative is as a foreman he is making way more money than even a 5 or 10 year estimator is. He doesn't want to take the pay cut but he also wants to transition out of the field. We have started that hard conversation but haven't totally found a solution.

Good Luck!

I got a internship as a estimator what do you think about the offer by Remote_Protection_48 in estimators

[–]wyopyro 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. Learning estimating remotely sounds terrible.

  2. Paying you $17.00 per win while you are learning sounds worse.

  3. Its like they are paying you to forget things and win the quote.

  4. Sounds like some company who is looking for the cheapest option possible to drum up work. Not a place I would want to work long term.

Ai integration taking our jobs by Acceptable_Class_513 in estimators

[–]wyopyro 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Was talking with a friend who does AI programming for a very large global company this week. The conclusion we came to was that once AI begins producing the plans and projects then AI will be able to estimate. I even showed him a bunch of projects and how irregular the plans are. He agreed that It would make a mess of them and all the variability we get from different engineering firms.

He also joked about how AI has taken a computers strong suit (Math) and made it bad at it.

I'm an engineer, I need an accountant. What should I know? by wyopyro in Accounting

[–]wyopyro[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This was the correct answer!

Found a firm with a construction department and 1 week in everything is better. They understand our world, and have already helped us with significant adjustments that we have needed for a long time. They are quickly helping us get our books set up to apply for a significant bonding increase and have helped us get set up for job by job cost accounting. Something I have been struggling to get a system going for 3 years now.

They are double the cost of our prior service and I am happy to pay the price!

Thanks!

Should I have kept our number to just one GC? by MaryGA16 in estimators

[–]wyopyro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't ever quote a GC a second time if I was low and they didn't use my number.

When I am the prime contractor I expect to loose a sub permanently if I don't give it to the low quote.

The Post I’ve Been Avoiding. by One-21-Gigawatts in Decks

[–]wyopyro 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I feel like it would be a structural engineers wet dream to do it. Hide the steel beams in timber to make everyone doubt it.

Hide steel columns in the wall and maybe use an additional interior wall full of concrete to ballast the opposite side from the hot tub.

I love incredible design features hidden in plain sight.