WTF is wrong with residential contractors?

[Desert Whaler]

We had a tile guy do our shower 3 times 2 years ago and he finally just gave up. Termination of his contract was not an option.

it's weird how the tile trade arguably has the largest percentage of flakes.
Got called once to bid a job . . . it was a tile surround for an old cast iron / free-standing clawfoot tub.
I got there and all of the tile guys tools were still set up.
The lady said, "He went to lunch and never came back, he even left his radio on " !
There was still dried thinset in a bucket with the mixing paddle stuck in it !
I did the job and she let me have all his tools afterwards . . . even took the radio ! LOL

 

[Pattle]

Water leaks forced us to get a new kitchen in 2018 and new bathrooms in 2020 (as well as re-plumb the house).

Both remodels were soooooo painful. Shitty, shitty work. Luckily my wife was willing to nag and nag and nag the owners of both businesses that did the work, and the results ended up decent looking. Several times they had to send a different crew to fix the work they had done already.

 

[DRYHEAT]

This thread is the reason I was in my attic Sunday repairing a leaky pipe. At least it was only 102° outside.

Why is it shit in the attic only breaks during the summer?

 

[rrrr]

I do commercial, industrial and medical now. If you are one of my regular customers and need resi done, I’ll do. If you have done a remodel or two in the past and are willing to pay for quality I’ll do your job if I have the time to do it right.

in 30 years, I have seen 1 and only one major remodel come in on time and on budget. The GC was outstanding and I have worked with him for decades. I’m still friends with the HO and work on their commercial properties.

So you've only seen one project finish on time and on budget in 30 years and the fault lies 100% with the homeowners?

 

[badgas]

Curious how much the GC was vetted ? If i'm going down that road i'm getting good personal references not paid for yelp or 2nd hand reviews.

From dealing with a lot of couples that are in financial/realational trouble I can tell you first hand that any big lilfe decisions that are not done with the couple in unison are going to end up being a mess.

Good luck with the mess. Maybe you and your wife can make the best of it and work on it together so there is no resentment in the end.

 

[MPHSystems]

So you've only seen one project finish on time and on budget in 30 years and the fault lies 100% with the homeowners?

Pretty much. Sometimes contractors have conflicts, there can be materials delays delays in plancheck etc but yes, homeowner change requests is far and away the biggest cause of delays in residential construction.

Then again, most all the work I have done is fairly upscale. I haven’t had much exposure to remodels on your average 2-3ksqft residential suburban homes.


You have to understand, that GC, is particularly meticulous. One of the best I have ever seen, I’ve looked at his critical path during underground and the cabinets were set the same week he had planned 6 months later.

I’m assuming you have a different perspective. I’d love to hear it.

 

[rrrr]

I’m assuming you have a different perspective. I’d love to hear it.

Just curious, because 30 years is a long time. Your characterization is different from my perspective.

I was a GC that built large data centers. Compressed schedules were normal, and changes occurred often.

Contract changes modify the budget and completion schedule. If the contractor provides an accurate cost and additional time estimate for those changes, the project is still finished on time and on budget.

 

[MPHSystems]

Just curious, because 30 years is a long time. Your characterization is different from my perspective.

I was a GC that built large data centers. Compressed schedules were normal, and changes occurred often.

Contract changes modify the budget and completion schedule. If the contractor provides an accurate cost and additional time estimate for those changes, the project is still finished on time and on budget.

I started in 1990 but have been actively avoiding residential for the last 6 years

Residential is a much tighter margin IMO (why I do commercial, industrial, medical these days)

Residential GC can either tell the customer they’ll have the job done in 9 months or the customer fill find a GC who will tell them they’ll have it done in 9 months.


with my current client set, changes aren’t really allowed to change the schedule.. but it will impact cost. If they have a change and a business need for a given complication date, I end up figuring out a way to pull it out of my ass. My customers are loyal to me and I reciprocate.

 

[wishiknew]

I fired the electrician at 630 this morning for code violations, he buried a splice in the wall, the PM for the general contractor sat there stunned. I turned to the PM and said who’s next? Gonna be a fun day.....

Good job

 

[OCMerrill]

Its because Con is built right into the name.

 

[riverroyal]

On the flip side...i got a tile guy from LOF (the speed utv sales rep) and he was so good mrs RR would just keep tiling shit. I mean that in the best way.
Guy kills it.

 

[YeahYeah01]

it's weird how the tile trade arguably has the largest percentage of flakes.
Got called once to bid a job . . . it was a tile surround for an old cast iron / free-standing clawfoot tub.
I got there and all of the tile guys tools were still set up.
The lady said, "He went to lunch and never came back, he even left his radio on " !
There was still dried thinset in a bucket with the mixing paddle stuck in it !
I did the job and she let me have all his tools afterwards . . . even took the radio ! LOL

Lol sounds like he bought have went for lunch and ended up in some steal bracelets.

 

[CarolynandBob]

My brother has a home remolding business that he is closing down. His reason is he cannot get quality subs to do shit correctly. This is in Naples FL and all high end stuff.

 

[MPHSystems]

Behind my back was probably the wrong way to put it. I knew she was moving ahead, just without my approval or assistance.

Yea, our pool was pretty much the same thing, we had been discussing it but now made a decision and one day she just did it. She did it really really inexpensively and we enjoy the piss out of it. I’m actually glad she did because left to me, we’d still be kicking tires by the time the kids graduated college.

 

[MPHSystems]

Contractor humor...but hey, this is how the shady guys do it.

View attachment 1144627

When I did my apprenticeship, the company I worked for did grocery store remodels. It’s a really specialized niche. The grocery store is only allowed to be closed for 1 week, and by 1 week I mean 168 hrs, 0 minutes, 0 seconds. Reason being that if somebody has to go to a different grocery they will come back a week later but if they have to go twice, you probably lost that customer.


Anyways, the owners would bid the jobs at cost. They made all of their money on change orders and I don’t know if they had boats but I do know they had very nice private planes.

 

[bilz]

Doesn't matter what the contractor hears you say or if he writes it down. If he just leaves the crew at the job site and provides minimal oversight, you end up with a shit job. Not all JR. Foreman are up to the task. You can delegate work but not responsibility. Just finished doing my own subbing jobs on my home. The best work came from the guy that actually bid the job, did the job.

 

[HotRod82]

Yesterday’s excitement consisted of a big 250 lb dude falling off a 12’ ladder and crashing through our dining room table. I don’t know how he wasn’t seriously injured.