Do you ever get a contractor that won’t take your money?

[Projectjunkie]

I posted in the useless things thread about the quote I got last week for the ac on my wifes Yukon. $1121 for a compressor, orifice tube, accumulator and labor. I was pretty sure that was a "fuck you" price.

Im trying to figure out how supposedly no one is working, have no incomes, but yet businesses are busier than ever and turning work down, real estate sales are up, etc.

We are in some messed up times.

Yeah, it's spotty, some customers are flush with cash looking to blow it, and others think they are the only ones spending, for a while I would counter if somebody had sticker shock, but it just turned into a game of "how low can you go" but now I just tell them to let me know if they change their minds, and go bid another job.

You just need to do that ac job yourself, probably $170 parts on Amazon $15 freon, and AutoZone will lend you the vacuum pump and gauges, that can be done in 3 hours with crescent wrenches. Then bask in the glory of being a man.

(collect your deserved bjs, in case you didn't read between the lines)

 

[Thefishguy77]

$4300 was to make payroll / expenses for the day.

$880 guy is too busy making $4300+ to make payroll / expenses for the day.

Small jobs don't make money by the time his guys get there, set up, do the job, clean up, etc. He's paying more for payroll, equipment, insurance than it's worth. It's a sad reality.

Find a handyman with a beat up pickup truck and a meth head helper. He'd be happy to work for $880. Just make sure he's insured.

There is a fair amount of truth in this. We had a customer call us up and say he needs us to help with the deck finish. Well he hired a painter that was “recommended” to refinish his deck, we use penofin red lable, and after giving the painter the old can as well as written instructions. He figured it was ok to let the painter do his deal without him there. Fucker got paint in the “tint” of the stain and painted over oil based stain. Obviously it didnt stick worth a shit and now the client is super sad that his beautiful deck is flaking paint away. Painter refunded the money but still doesnt come
close to covering a resurface for so he can have a stained deck. So we bid it super low to help him as ge has given us a ton of referrals. He knows we are barely breaking even on the project so he is letting us do it at our convenience. Went to Sherman Williams, told them the problem and they gave us the “correct” primer to coat it and then keep it painted. We are charging him like $4sqft he buys all the materials. If this was not a established client there is no way we would have taken the job. It would have gotten bid at a recover and stain or nothing. To much work right now to fuck around with time wasting.

 

[evernoob]

A lot of contractors are really bad businessmen. They take jobs when they are running out of money or need your deposit to pay for materials on a job they are halfway through.

This is exactly it.

Here's how it goes:

1. Get a bunch of money from doing acceptable contracting work.
2. Spend that money on booze/speed/pills/dope
3. Fall behind on all your jobs
4. One by one, lay off your guys
5. Wife starts bitching b/c mortgage is 3 months behind
6. Go to 12-step groups, confess your sins, get sober
7. Start contracting again
8. GOTO Step 1

It's about a 9-month cycle.

If you want to find a good contractor, I'd suggest looking up your local AA/NA meetings. Catch them at Step 6.

 

[Splib]

Just had excellent work completed on time and under budget . . . . had competitive bid . . .. . . This is out way out of the influence of the big city and easy money. I was even paid back $500 because I over paid. 22K worth of work. I was told my reputable friends that was a $45K job in California. Even the inspector was on our side. Fuck California.

 

[evernoob]

There is a fair amount of truth in this. We had a customer call us up and say he needs us to help with the deck finish. Well he hired a painter that was “recommended” to refinish his deck, we use penofin red lable, and after giving the painter the old can as well as written instructions. He figured it was ok to let the painter do his deal without him there. Fucker got paint in the “tint” of the stain and painted over oil based stain. Obviously it didnt stick worth a shit and now the client is super sad that his beautiful deck is flaking paint away. Painter refunded the money but still doesnt come
close to covering a resurface for so he can have a stained deck. So we bid it super low to help him as ge has given us a ton of referrals. He knows we are barely breaking even on the project so he is letting us do it at our convenience. Went to Sherman Williams, told them the problem and they gave us the “correct” primer to coat it and then keep it painted. We are charging him like $4sqft he buys all the materials. If this was not a established client there is no way we would have taken the job. It would have gotten bid at a recover and stain or nothing. To much work right now to fuck around with time wasting.

Your attitude is so typical.

You're the perfect example.

 

[Johnny Longrifle]

Get used to DIY everything, it's the only way. Unless of course you have fuckoff money and pay out the ass.

I really don't feel like being a welder/mechanic/electrician/roofer/plumber/tiler/etc. but shit's gotta get done and ain't nobody gonna do it but you.

Quoted for truth. I have to do everything myself. I can wave fistfuls of cash money in people's faces, but at the end of the day, there is only one guy who can do it the way I want it done.

 

[HillbillyDeluxe]

Yeah, it's spotty, some customers are flush with cash looking to blow it, and others think they are the only ones spending, for a while I would counter if somebody had sticker shock, but it just turned into a game of "how low can you go" but now I just tell them to let me know if they change their minds, and go bid another job.

You just need to do that ac job yourself, probably $170 parts on Amazon $15 freon, and AutoZone will lend you the vacuum pump and gauges, that can be done in 3 hours with crescent wrenches. Then bask in the glory of being a man.

(collect your deserved bjs, in case you didn't read between the lines)

Oh I can easily do it, but since Im only home for about 48hrs a week, it just sucks to lose half a day fucking around on it.

Im not a cheap ass usually. Id easily pony up $200-300 bucks for the labor just so it was done.

 

[grumpy356]

I have fiber run down the street in front of my house. I offered the company an open checkbook to get me internet and they wouldn’t even return my calls.

 

[HillbillyDeluxe]

Your attitude is so typical.

You're the perfect example.

I hate responding to your ignorance, but you dont have a clue what you're talking about.

 

[HillbillyDeluxe]

I have fiber run down the street in front of my house. I offered the company an open checkbook to get me internet and they wouldn’t even return my calls.

When I lived in Az, I tried for months to get high speed internet out at my house. There was literally a box down the street. Then somehow my next door neighbor got it. Found out my neighbors FIL worked for the company and that's how they got theirs. I start making calls and they run a line down the side of the road (dirt road) ​​​​​​. I used my skidsteer to cut a trench and cover the line where it went across the entrance to my neighbors driveway. 2mo later it was still just laying there so I called the company and told them I was going to bury the line and my co would send them a bill. 48hrs later a contractor was out there trenching the ditch to bury the line
​​​​

 

[evernoob]

I hate responding to your ignorance, but you dont have a clue what you're talking about.

Thank you for that well-constructed and incisive riposte. I will go back and contemplate my shortcomings based on your random and anonymous assertion of my ignorance.

 

[stjames151]

As a former contractor, I set my min price at $100k...in 2008. When I closed my doors in 2016 a min job was +$5m. Either hire a trade specific guy or handyman. Either no one will take you seriously, or proper business guys capable of making it past the great recession wont bother with your sub $50k job. Today I run hospital jobs for a national in the most difficult jurisdiction in the world. Im the lead for 3 $50-250m projects and an additional $10m cm. Anyone worth their license is busy with real work. That also means there's a huge market vacuum, so maybe time you change careers. I've actually considered opening back up in the last 2 years.

 

[stjames151]

As a former contractor, I set my min price at $100k...in 2008. When I closed my doors in 2016 a min job was +$5m. Either hire a trade specific guy or handyman. As a member non construction community, no one will take you seriously, or proper business guys capable of making it past the great recession wont bother with your sub $50k job. Today I run hospital jobs for a national in the most difficult jurisdiction in the world. Im the lead for 3 $50-250m projects and an additional $10m cm. Anyone worth their license is busy with real work. That also means there's a huge market vacuum, so maybe time you change careers. I've actually considered opening back up in the last 2 years.
As far as payment terms, anyone worth a shit will give you an SOV and establish payment schedules outside of net 30 monthly less retention with proof of funding or escrow account.

 

[Ted_Kaczynski]

I have fiber run down the street in front of my house. I offered the company an open checkbook to get me internet and they wouldn’t even return my calls.

It doesn't work the way you think it does. Fiber is but one piece of infrastructure needed/used to provide internet connectivity. If your blank checkbook is large enough for them to light fiber just for your internet needs in your house, you may as well start the company providing internet to the whole area. The capability, infrastructure costs, and extended/long term return has to be there.

Plus, the carriers get large sums monthly or annually to lease that dark fiber out to other carriers or corporations.

 

[DMG]

This is exactly it.

Here's how it goes:

1. Get a bunch of money from doing acceptable contracting work.
2. Spend that money on booze/speed/pills/dope
3. Fall behind on all your jobs
4. One by one, lay off your guys
5. Wife starts bitching b/c mortgage is 3 months behind
6. Go to 12-step groups, confess your sins, get sober
7. Start contracting again
8. GOTO Step 1

It's about a 9-month cycle.

If you want to find a good contractor, I'd suggest looking up your local AA/NA meetings. Catch them at Step 6.

Then there are the other, small group of contractors. Work hard until hunting or fishing season and don’t answer their phone for 3 months. Sometimes I think they are doing it right and I am doing it wrong.

 

[Truckedup]

As a former contractor, I set my min price at $100k...in 2008. When I closed my doors in 2016 a min job was +$5m. Either hire a trade specific guy or handyman. As a member non construction community, no one will take you seriously, or proper business guys capable of making it past the great recession wont bother with your sub $50k job. Today I run hospital jobs for a national in the most difficult jurisdiction in the world. Im the lead for 3 $50-250m projects and an additional $10m cm. Anyone worth their license is busy with real work. That also means there's a huge market vacuum, so maybe time you change careers. I've actually considered opening back up in the last 2 years.
As far as payment terms, anyone worth a shit will give you an SOV and establish payment schedules outside of net 30 monthly less retention with proof of funding or escrow account.

I have to ask, why did you close up the shop? What type of work?
I was generally a small shop and as such I had no minimum job price.If I could make good bucks for a quick one day job, I took it...Niche electrical work like medical facilities and difficult/unusual work passed over by large contractors was good to me.

 

[det107]

...will have to use a trencher for sure as there is a spring right next tot eh area and it stays soggy.

It looks like the spring needs to be taken care of first, build a culvert to divert the water or tap & sell the "Crispin's Finest Spring Water."
​​​​

 

[[memphis]]

I just paid the fuck off price to have a shower mixing valve changed (I damaged it two years ago) and have the shower recaulked. Plumber and his son were in and out in just under three hours. So we will call it 6 hours labour for two guys. I started caulking the shower but made it look like shit, plumber did an OK job. Cost me $700 but I didn't have to screw with it. Two years ago I was quoted $350-400 to replace just the valve. Oh well lesson learned

 

[realsquash]

Most contractors are drug users and/or alcoholics. Many (most) of them can't hold a regular job, think that doing some kind of construction requires no skill or experience, and aren't good at running a business. I would just assume that's the case here.

 

[Fullsize80cherokee]

;n110969]I just paid the fuck off price to have a shower mixing valve changed (I damaged it two years ago) and have the shower recaulked. Plumber and his son were in and out in just under three hours. So we will call it 6 hours labour for two guys. I started caulking the shower but made it look like shit, plumber did an OK job. Cost me $700 but I didn't have to screw with it. Two years ago I was quoted $350-400 to replace just the valve. Oh well lesson learned

Rates are about 90+ per hour for non handyman licensed tradesman, I’d say you got a fair price considering they probably provided material.

 

[Squamch]

Then there are the other, small group of contractors. Work hard until hunting or fishing season and don’t answer their phone for 3 months. Sometimes I think they are doing it right and I am doing it wrong.

This group is me, but I tell clients up front that I'm not available from September-December because that's hunting season. Most of em understand.

 

[Lil'John]

I have fiber run down the street in front of my house. I offered the company an open checkbook to get me internet and they wouldn’t even return my calls.

As someone else said, it doesn't work that way. You have to find the right company first. And then you get to lose your ass paying for it.

I have ATT fiber running 50 feet in front of my house. ATT doesn't provide the service. The service is provided by another company... and it is business class only. I will say that my internet costs WAY more than an ATT bundled setup(phone, inet, tv)

I also had to do all the trenching myself(~100 feet) as well as some of the framing/grounding requirements.

 

[grumpy356]

As someone else said, it doesn't work that way. You have to find the right company first. And then you get to lose your ass paying for it.

I have ATT fiber running 50 feet in front of my house. ATT doesn't provide the service. The service is provided by another company... and it is business class only. I will say that my internet costs WAY more than an ATT bundled setup(phone, inet, tv)

I also had to do all the trenching myself(~100 feet) as well as some of the framing/grounding requirements.

It is the ONLY company and my next door neighbor has it. I talked to the installer directly. It is the right company.

And when I said open checkbook, I am talking it’s worth many, many thousands of dollars to me to get it

 

[Thefishguy77]

Your attitude is so typical.

You're the perfect example.

Let me enlighten the fat lazy desk jockey. There is only so much time to get outdoor work done. So once the weather turns or the holidays show up people want you out of their house or you are going to have to work in freezing temps. Freezing adds a lot of time and safety issues. Slip amd fall and injur yourself? Well now you just put the rest of your crew in a bad spot working a man short as well as added possible significant delays to the client. You meed to predrill most all holes in frozen finished surfaces or you run a high risk of having those boards split in the spring time and them having to replace them at your cost if your a decent carpenter.

I know a basement dwelling person like yourself doesnt get this but I figured I would try and provide some very basic overview for you.

its best to close your mouth and listen vs talking shit about something you obviously know nothing about. One would assume a self proclaimed “intelligent” person like yourself would know this. But I am not surprised you chose to troll vs learn.

 

[Thefishguy77]

Most contractors are drug users and/or alcoholics. Many (most) of them can't hold a regular job, think that doing some kind of construction requires no skill or experience, and aren't good at running a business. I would just assume that's the case here.

This is another reason why good clean crews are more money. We get referrals because we are clean, sober, show up on time, and work a full day.

Many GC’s are great with a hammer but suck at running a business.

 

[crispins]

It looks like the spring needs to be taken care of first, build a culvert to divert the water or tap & sell the "Crispin's Finest Spring Water."
​​​​

I actually have done that, I have a pit dug where the spring was bubbling at, had large boulders placed in there, then dug a 24" wide 3 foot deep trench dug that goes for like 100 feet and dumps out at the creek.

Water runs in it 24/7/365 - very clean water.

 

[Lil'John]

It is the ONLY company and my next door neighbor has it. I talked to the installer directly. It is the right company.

And when I said open checkbook, I am talking it’s worth many, many thousands of dollars to me to get it

Your neighbor told you who they are sending a check to? Are you further from the road than your neighbor?

The company I send a check to is not the company that came out to pull fiber from the telephone pole and install equipment in the basement. ATT did the physical stuff. ACC is the sub company that I send a big check to. I had to do all my communication through ACC. That included "threats" when ATT lied their ass off over install location

 

[Motorcharge]

What's the hot trade?

I'm starting to do tile while on strike, my partner and I are charging $4 sqft (labor only) plus $250 to strip and haul carpet from 2 bedrooms

that's not including sealing it, don't know where I'd start pricing on that

I only ever did it for myself, I could use some pointers.

also thinking I should do the wood and vinyl floors, I hear it's $2.75 sqft labor and gravy

thoughts?

Really depends on the area. Around here there's not to no money in flooring unless you've got volume through a builder. There's so many immigrants and illegals doing flooring here that they get paid next to nothing. Same with framers, roofers, and masons. You'd probably get a 1/3 of those prices around here doing flooring.

Plumbing, electrical, and HVAC are good money here.

Cabinet installers can make bank if they get in with the right companies and imo I see a lot of builders going back to subbing it out in the next fewyears. A lot of them have gone factory direct over the last 10 years or so. Was good for a while, but all the cabinet direct programs pay like absolute shit now so the quality has severely declined. My warranty guy used to make more money doing side warranty work for our main supplier than he did working for us, but they started dropping the pay on everything severely a couple years ago and got down to about 20% of what they used to pay. I know every client we've lost to direct programs has seriously regretted it and frankly my company sucks.

 

[Brad]

Yep. 2 separate people came by for retaining wall and driveway quotes. Both showed and neither called back with estimate as promised:rolleyes:

 

[gunracer1]

Pretty tough hiring a decent contractor in southern Colorado or northern New Mexico. Lots of quit in them boys. And that was before weed was legal.