Pride in Your Work

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  • Dr.Midnight

    Master
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    13   0   0
    Jul 24, 2011
    4,414
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    Monroe County
    I'm going through a house remodel at the moment, and it's without a doubt the most frustrating thing I have ever done. To date, there hasn't been one piece of work completed to my satisfaction. Let me give you the worst of the projects.

    My basement needed to be waterproofed along with having a bowed wall fixed. Before the work could be done, an old wood/natural gas furnace had to be removed. The waterproofing crew was ready to get started, so instead of me trying to tear it out over the course of several days, I'm going to hire an HVAC company to get it done in one day. I get a call from the HVAC company the day the system was to be removed and was told they got everything with the exception of the wood burning portion. It was too big and I would need to get a contractor to remove the door and framework to get it out. Great, I have a crew showing up Monday to start waterproofing and still have a 400 pound piece of metal sitting in the floor.

    I went down to the house and measured everything, and that's when I really got pissed. I knocked three pins out, pulled the door off the hinges, and was able to wrestle that beast through the door with my senior citizen Father. I called the HVAC folks and said I was ready to settle up with them, but they need to recalculate their estimate since I had to finish their job for them. That was a week ago, and they still haven't called me back with a total.

    Fast forward to today. I went down to the house to check out an exterior wall that was rebuilt. The new wall itself look okay, but where it tied into the old wall looked awful. Blocks were crooked, and some of the mortar joints looked about half way filled. How could someone that called themselves a craftsman walk away with something looking like that. Examples like these are what has me asking the question does anyone have any pride in their work anymore?
     

    mmpsteve

    Real CZ's have a long barrel!!
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    11   0   0
    Nov 14, 2016
    5,870
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    ..... formerly near the Wild Turkey
    As a printer, I deal with many companies, and get a feel for their business models. There are many with a high standard of work, but they tend to cost more and are booked solid for months in advance. They do exist though. I've been in the same position as you, Doctor Midnight, where I could have done it better myself, although slower. It's no fun, and I wish you good luck with it.

    .
     

    Hoosier Carry

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    1   0   0
    Aug 20, 2012
    1,062
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    In the Woods
    I hope this isn’t a case of you get what you pay for. Did you try to hire a quality contractor. Someone that depends on running a good business to be reputable would clean that up if you demand it. Quality= price

    Did you by chance get a couple quotes? I’m like you, I hate crappy work. Especially when that’s your profession.
     

    Indyhd

    Master
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    16   0   0
    Jan 12, 2010
    1,915
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    Noblesville
    Hmmmm.
    Try being a construction superintendent and get quality work. Low bidders are not always the best bidders, there is a reason there price was cheaper.

    Quality work isn’t cheap and cheap work is never quality.
     

    Dr.Midnight

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    13   0   0
    Jul 24, 2011
    4,414
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    Monroe County
    I hope this isn’t a case of you get what you pay for. Did you try to hire a quality contractor. Someone that depends on running a good business to be reputable would clean that up if you demand it. Quality= price

    Did you by chance get a couple quotes? I’m like you, I hate crappy work. Especially when that’s your profession.

    These aren't fly by night outfits I've been using. They've all been hired based on multiple positive recommendations and in depth research. That's why it's frustrating.

    I lied in my original post. My general contractor did do a very good job on the demo portion on the interior. The gentleman I had come in to take care of a mold issue even commented on how clean his job was, so I'm not disappointed here. I just wish I had as much luck with construction as I did destruction.

    I'm laughing about this now, but at the time I kind of lost my ****. I drove by the house this week and for whatever reason, the waterproofing company decided to pull their one ton truck in the yard when it's 42 degrees after a bout of melting show. To say they cut ruts is an understatement. I find it even funnier that part of their ruts go through the remains of a tree I had removed as part of a $3000 tree clean up.
     
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    2A_Tom

    Crotchety old member!
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    3   0   0
    Sep 27, 2010
    25,979
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    NWI
    One of the contractors I worked for got a job from a recommendation o Angie's List. He then was approached to buy advertising on Angie's List and refused, He never got another recommendation from them.

    Do not trust them or the other one.

    There are good craftsmen and good contractors. I lost many bids to jack legs where the customer regretted their choice.

    I have worked for a lot of flippers, usually not on their flips, but on their own homes.
     

    Dr.Midnight

    Master
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    13   0   0
    Jul 24, 2011
    4,414
    113
    Monroe County
    One of the contractors I worked for got a job from a recommendation o Angie's List. He then was approached to buy advertising on Angie's List and refused, He never got another recommendation from them.

    Do not trust them or the other one.

    There are good craftsmen and good contractors. I lost many bids to jack legs where the customer regretted their choice.

    I have worked for a lot of flippers, usually not on their flips, but on their own homes.

    Trust me guys, I did my homework as well as I could. I didn't cut corners and I didn't go the budget route. I've done the best I could hiring quality folks.

    In all honesty, everything that's been out of whack can be fixed. It's just the fact that it shouldn't have to be. Do it right the first time. One other thing that ticks me off is that no one is checking on these sub contractors. If you're the company owner, I'm not asking you to be on site eight hours per day, but damn it show up once and a while to see what's being done. Your name is going to be attached to the job.
     

    Hoosier Carry

    Expert
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    1   0   0
    Aug 20, 2012
    1,062
    113
    In the Woods
    One of the contractors I worked for got a job from a recommendation o Angie's List. He then was approached to buy advertising on Angie's List and refused, He never got another recommendation from them.

    Do not trust them or the other one.

    There are good craftsmen and good contractors. I lost many bids to jack legs where the customer regretted their choice.

    I have worked for a lot of flippers, usually not on their flips, but on their own homes.

    And those low bidders make the good companies seem outrageous. Plus people today want everything finished tomorrow. That doesn’t always work when dealing with construction.
     

    Hoosier Carry

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    1   0   0
    Aug 20, 2012
    1,062
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    In the Woods
    Trust me guys, I did my homework as well as I could. I didn't cut corners and I didn't go the budget route. I've done the best I could hiring quality folks.

    In all honesty, everything that's been out of whack can be fixed. It's just the fact that it shouldn't have to be. Do it right the first time. One other thing that ticks me off is that no one is checking on these sub contractors. If you're the company owner, I'm not asking you to be on site eight hours per day, but damn it show up once and a while to see what's being done. Your name is going to be attached to the job.

    Not saying you cut corners at all but I just feel bad for you over sloppy work. Your the customer at the mercy of who you hired. Sadly a lot of people don’t view you as a customer but just money. I wish you better luck in the future.
     

    Leadeye

    Grandmaster
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    4   0   0
    Jan 19, 2009
    36,696
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    .
    When we built the house we live in now I used a well recommended Bloomington GC. The mix of subs he brought to the job ran from top notch to awful. The GC eventually made good on the bad parts of the construction, but I wondered why he used them in the first place.
     

    2A_Tom

    Crotchety old member!
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    3   0   0
    Sep 27, 2010
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    Some times I am busy and they have to call in the second, third...

    string.

    I have been the sub that was under bid and had to go in and fix or finish the job that the other sub messed up or didn't finish.
     

    DRob

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    20   0   0
    Aug 2, 2008
    5,869
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    Southside of Indy
    Guess I'm lucky. My son is in construction management and was a good carpenter prior to taking off his tool belt. He knows who has the skills and knows when they may need some work. Angie's List can shove it!
     

    Usmccookie

    Grandmaster
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    6   0   0
    Jan 28, 2017
    5,838
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    nwi
    Some times I am busy and they have to call in the second, third...

    string.

    I have been the sub that was under bid and had to go in and fix or finish the job that the other sub messed up or didn't finish.

    From an electrical stand point, I'm in the same boat. Following subpar work is terrible. If I'm doing side work, as soon as I'm told I'm following another electricians partial work, I immediately explain that my estimate could change pending surprises that could have been left.
     

    2A_Tom

    Crotchety old member!
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    I worked maintenance at my Church for a while. I have nightmare stories of following behind well meaning people.
     

    rob63

    Master
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    20   0   0
    May 9, 2013
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    We had our master bathroom remodeled last summer. The contractor we hired did a great job. The thing that was truly sad though, was the process of getting bids. I contacted 6 contractors. 2 failed to ever return my call. 1 returned my call, but failed to show up to see what I wanted done. 3 showed up and gave us completed estimates. Of those, only 1 had included all of the work correctly. The other two had errors such as no bathtub, no toilet, wrong number of sinks, fees for removing carpet that we don't have. I don't really understand why they would expect me to trust them to do the work correctly if they can't even do an estimate that includes everything needed for the job on the most basic level. It wasn't even a very complicated job, just updating what already existed.
     
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    Usmccookie

    Grandmaster
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    6   0   0
    Jan 28, 2017
    5,838
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    nwi
    Good, fast, cheap... pick two.

    Just like I tell my boss; On time, awake, wearing pants. Pick two.

    I love your 2nd love. As for the first, I noticed the better my quality the faster I was. But most definitely not cheap from 6 am -2pm. After that depends on the customer.
     

    Dr.Midnight

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    13   0   0
    Jul 24, 2011
    4,414
    113
    Monroe County
    We had our master bathroom remodeled last summer. The contractor we hired did a great job. The thing that was truly sad though, was the process of getting bids. I contacted 6 contractors. 2 failed to ever return my call. 1 returned my call, but failed to show up to see what I wanted done. 3 showed up and gave us completed estimates. Of those, only 1 had included all of the work correctly. The other two had errors such as no bathtub, no toilet, wrong number of sinks, fees for removing carpet that we don't have. I don't really understand why they would expect me to trust them to do the work correctly if they can't even do an estimate that includes everything needed for the job on the most basic level. It wasn't even a very complicated job, just updating what already existed.

    I'm right there with you. I reached out to about a dozen different general contractors for my remodel job. Out of those twelve six never even returned my calls. I had two that called, but no showed me. I really liked one of the four that did show up. We spent over two hours taking measurements and talking about expectations. He said give him a couple of days to run the numbers and I would get a call back. I waited, waited, waited, but he never called me back even with me calling him.

    The guy I ended up going with was a gentleman my tree trimmer of all people suggest I talk to. We met, looked at my house, he gave me references plus address of properties he owns in Bloomington. After researching him and talking a little more, he ended up getting the job.

    What's really messed up is about two weeks after I hired my guy, the first dude I liked called and asked if I was still looking for a contractor. That dude sure had a set on him to make that call. I'm guessing he dumped me for a larger job, but something fell through. I politely declined his offer.
     
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