r/Contractor

I am have a house built. I want better than builder grade in several areas such doors & countertops cabinets etc.. Can I expect that a builder would produce a better price in sourcing than I could hunt down on my own? Could expect him to pass that on to me? I have found that many items like above get categorized as Oh!! that is a premium and will cost a lot but is reality it is just a few bucks more when I do comparisons.

This question is more for my friend since they don’t really use Reddit and were complaining to me about this issue.

Basically: they’re running Google ads and actually works well for them but they’re always forgetting to follow up and aren’t managing their leads very well, so they’re losing a lot of money.

Any suggestions? Something low cost would be preferred since they’re semi-new and trying to keep costs low.

Thanks!

Hired IL concrete contractor for large walkway and patio concrete project at my house for 15k approx.

He wrapped up and told me it will cost an additional $500 because during the excavation phase, they had to remove a large underground stump that took 2 hours to remove.

He also said he will just take 300 for it if I give me him cash.

I had no idea there was a stump there or even a tree there in the past. He told me a day later about it and never took a picture of the stump or anything.

And he brought it up to me AFTER they damaged my internet underground line and my window aluminum flashing (I made previous post about this).

In my contract it states “Remove and dispose the existing earth. Any additional thickness or reinforcement may incur additional charges.”

I feel suspicious that he bought up this potentially imaginary stump to get out of paying for my window and cable repair. If I ran that company I would tell my customer about the extra charge asap and take pictures.

Thoughts?

TL;DR: How long should it take to build a 500sq foot garden suite from start to finish? And is it realistic to expect the contractors to keep the property around the worksite tidy and safe during the process?

Full story:

I'm in Ontario, Canada. My landlord hired a team of contractors to build a garden suite on the backyard property behind the house that I rent. They've been working on it for close to 2 years and they're now working on the final interior finishings - insulation, drywall, floors, etc.

Since they started, the yard at the front, back and side of the house has been unusable. There are 3 mountains of materials in the backyard - wood rubble, pink fibreglass and foam insulation. The grass at the front and side of the house is now just compacted mud, with piles of gravel spilled here and there, so it's impossible to mow whatever grass that is there. There are puffs of fibreglass insulation spread around the entire back and side yard.

So these are my questions:

1. Is rogue fibreglass insulation hazardous, and should we be concerned? There are dogs here, and we'd like to be able to use the yard.

2. Is it realistic to ask that they clean up the area so we can use the yard and do some landscaping now that the heaviest parts of the construction is done?

3. What are the legal expectations of contractors to keep the outdoor space around a job site tidy and free of hazards while there are occupants on site?

I apologize for the length of this post. If you're still reading, thank you. Any information or insight is appreciated. 🙏

r/GeneralContractor r/Contractor r/skilledtrades

I'm a solo contractor with 7.5 years of experience and I always have really hard time finding a job how do you guys usually find it??

Also I recently found this app it says it suppose to help contractors to connect with clients and clients send all the measurements and everything including photos and just bid on app and stuff and get paid on app and stuff.
I didn't tried the app yet do you think this app sounds good but i'm not sure it will have enough clients and stuff.

I started working for a small remodeler not that long ago. I typed a bid for a customer for a bathroom remodeling project. I knew the customer had some requirements for the toilet (shape, size, height) but didn't really have any other specifics they wanted. The project total was about 15K.

After the proposal was sent but before the project began, the customer emailed me and stated "I don't want to have to shop for the toilet, light, mirrors, the faucets, or the tile. I want this to be a turn-key project." This was the first time I heard about this from the customer. I advised the customer to speak with the contractor directly and I also let the contractor know what the customer had said.

The contractor called me back to ask how the proposal was worded and I read it out to him. It clearly says the customer is to provide the "appliances (toilet) and decorative light(s), mirror(s), and faucet of choice." I asked if I needed to retype the contract but the contractor said no.

The contract didn't address the tile selection but they guy I work for regularly takes people tile shopping and he did so in this case. The customer picked the tile.

The payment listed in the contract is 1/3 at the beginning, 1/3 in the middle, and 1/3 at the end. The customer paid 40% at the beginning.

The contractor finished the work today. He even had me locate and purchase a wall-mounted, folding shower chair that he installed- an item that cost $100- that wasn't mentioned by anyone previously and is not in the contract.

The customer is generally happy but now that the project is completed, they emailed me again with some post-project complaints. One complaint is that the shower isn't wide enough but they concede that the bathroom doesn't allow the shower to be made any wider. They also don't like the placement of the light fixture but that can be corrected easily and the contractor is willing to move the fixture.

BUT, now that the project is done and the final payment is due today, the customer again said this was supposed to be "a turn key project" and has emailed me to let me know they will pay the remainder due (60%) minus $300 for the items they "had to buy"- the toilet, light, mirror (I think they reused the original mirror), and the faucet.

I called the contractor to let them know that the customer said they were withholding $300 from the final payment and he just said "OK."

I know the contractor doesn't want to make an issue of this but I think this customer is a jerk. The contract clearly says the customer is responsible to purchase the toilet, light(s), mirror(s) and the faucet. I don't think they should be allowed to not pay for those items OR the wall-mounted shower chair that the contractor provided.

I suppose the contractor has already collected the final payment less the $300 today but I think the customer should pay what the contract called for AND for the additional shower chair.

Is this worth the fight? I'm guessing not. But the contract as written is very clear they the customer is responsible for the selection and purchase of the toilet, light(s), mirror(s) and faucet. If this were going to be an issue with them, they or the contractor should have asked me to modify the contract to reflect the request prior to starting the project.

The customer is a lawyer too so I think they feel like they can just get away with skimming $300 of the project and sadly, they are probably right.

Jerk.

I should at least send him a bill for the shower chair. He probably won't pay it but at least a bill will remind him of what a jerk he is.

I’ve got some demo coming up in a high end, hospital like clean home for an elderly lady and need to set up some zip systems and dust/hepa filtration. What are you guys running and recommending. Bonus if you have some floor coverings better than ram board?

I’m trying to do a kitchen and bathroom remodel. It’s a 1950’s bungalow. I’m looking for a tear out and replace. No layout changes. I’ve reached out to numerous contractors and no one responds. The only ones that responded were through leads from Angie’s list but they don’t seem great. I’ve only been able to secure one quote and I don’t care for their high pressure sales tactics or their contract language. The person who came out to do the estimate was very thorough but was pressuring me into a deposit before I even got a rough estimate. The owner just happened to call during the walkthrough and put on his sales pitch. Is this my only option? I don’t think I’m being difficult by being apprehensive about this contractor and wanting multiple quotes. I leave on voicemail I’m paying in cash and am a serious customer. Still nothing. If they don’t think my project is worth their time, just give me a quick message and tell me. I’m not sure what else to do, I keep moving further out to contact more contractors with no luck.

*EDIT* This is in the Detroit area. Southern Macomb County.

I’m looking for 2 sliding doors for 24’ commercial opening that opens to one side. Any ideas where I can find something like this?

I work 2 jobs in an unrelated field making good money. I currently make $234,400 w2 week on week off work schedule. On my off weeks I make 97k 1099.

I’m completely over my field, and I’m looking to convert my 1099 business to stump grinding and keep my w2.

I rented a machine (Vermeer SC 292) and was able to do 40ish stumps last week just to get familiar with a machine and the process. Most were grind and go’s off Facebook marketplace, some were work colleagues, two for my dad I did for free. After my gas and equipment rental I made $29 an hour which is fine. I made a lot more on the cleanup and backfill jobs.

I’m hoping to get to $40-50/hr with an optimized system, and aim for 25 hours a week on my off weeks. I own 2 houses in two different states (Ohio/Tennessee) and I’d like to go between them.

I’ve already purchased the following equipment:
7k trailer with side and back ramps
Billy goat lawn vacuum
Log splitter
3 chainsaws of various sizes
Power wheelbarrow
Compact tractor with loader/backhoe
Rakes and shovels

I’m looking at a low hour Bandit 2250 but I haven’t pulled the trigger yet. It’s 17k.

The plan is to basically keep a pile of dirt at my house, load up the power barrel before I leave with the loader. Grind, rake, backfill, load the much in the power barrel, vacuum the lawn and seed grass.

Much disposal will go into the compost pile for my dad’s fields.

Ideally I’d like to be able to offer estimates off txt, as it seems that’s what the customer wants. This seems to be an unpopular opinion but it saved a lot of time on my end even if I underbid a job or two.

Marketing is a beast I have yet to write out a plan for. Facebook is unlikely to provide the steady work I need. I would appreciate any advice here.

All advice is welcome.
Thanks

For the contractors- is it possible to remove the existing siding (it’s brand new), install rigid insulation, then re-install the same siding? If this is a stupid question- please excuse me 🤦‍♂️

Been in property circles long enough to see the same nightmare play out over and over: a PM gets a maintenance call, calls a plumber, the plumber can't do the drywall patch, so they call another guy, who's unavailable until Thursday, and now a $300 fix turns into a 2-week saga and an angry tenant.

what's the biggest contractor headache you deal with?

Located in Oakland County, Michigan. reached out to a carpenter for a small closet refresh- including (4) 18x25 shelves. I was quoted $1100 and sent a 50% deposit.

He no showed and rescheduled several times before telling me he couldn't do the job. Anyway, he had already built and stained the shelves so I said I'd take them. He just dropped them off and they're 24" instead of the 25" I asked for.

He said I didn't owe him anything, he'd just keep the $550. I asked him to come get them and refund me and he refused stating they're a custom project and my spec wasn't possible. Thoughts?