this week,on monday, I met with my excavater regarding a very small addition (14′ x 26′).
I was marking things out, marking trees to be cut, locating the underground trench, etc…. My final question was when can we start? I was expecting to hear ” in about ____ Weeks”. Instead he says we can start tomorrow. I’m thinking Sh*t, I need to check with the mason to see if he can get here that soon. I call him and he says “tell him to dig, I’ll be there the next day to do the footing forms. all is going well. hole dug, forms ready, inpection go, footings poured. Mason says he needs some excavated material moved to form a 3 ‘ ramp so we don’t need a pump truck. I call the excavater and say you can put in the stone and by the way, can you build up a small ramp for the cement truck. no problem, do it monday. Mason says need it done friday so I can set my wall forms and pour on Monday. Needs to sart several jobs in the next county on tuesday. If he doesn’t pour monday, he can’t be back for 3 weeks.
not the end of the world but now I have a hole with footings and an anxious customer. So I call the excavator to tell him I’m letting the mason go ahead and he gives me a rant that evryone always looks out for the mason and that he’s tired of this crap. says he fill the stone after the walls but there will be an extra charge then hangs up on me. mason says I’ll bring some stone to build a ramp, forget the excavator. so as we stand, forms are up, concretes being poured monday, excavator p.o.’d , mason get’s his way, and i’m being billed extra. all over 350 square feet. is it really that big a deal for people to get along and find solutions?
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
There's a constant source of clean water for you to use, and all you have to do is collect it.
Featured Video
SawStop's Portable Tablesaw is Bigger and Better Than BeforeHighlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
Everyones got their own agenda. Some are on their periods when ya need em' most.
Look at it as a Midol moment.
If Blodgett and Gunner say, Tipi tipi tipi it must be so!
TipiFest 06~~> Send me your email addy for a Paypal invoice to the greatest show on earth~~>[email protected]
"can't we all just get along?"
"Mason says he needs some excavated material moved to form a 3 ' ramp so we don't need a pump truck. I call the excavater and say you can put in the stone and by the way, can you build up a small ramp for the cement truck..."
Let me tell you how that works in the real world.
Get your freakin' shovel out and start digging. A 3' ramp is nothing.
I've been caught in similar situations before. And its totally arrogant to expect others to drop their lives to save your @ss from doing a bit of labor.
I've moved 10 yards of sand before in a matter of an hour or so - by hand with a wheelbarrow just to keep the schedule moving.
It's YOUR project, not theirs. It's YOUR responsibility. When things hit the fan, YOU step in. And keep your mouth shut and be happy they're even there to do what they have done.
The excavator was totally within his rights to be pizzed.
When I was a superintendent on commercial building and remodel projects, I ended up doing a lot of this kind of stuff. Even the general contractors I worked for had no idea of what it took to keep the job moving and the sub's cooperating on a daily basis.
Add that grabrail blocking the framer could never remember to put in, hang and tape a few sheets of fire-rated drywall so the elec. could put his panel up, and so the drywall sub didn't have to make a separate trip for a few sheets before the rest of the job was ready, move elec. boxes that were placed in the wrong location for the cabinet layout, cleanup behind everyone, repeated phone calls, coaxing, coaching, counseling, hand-holding, babysitting, therapy, researching, probing, questioning, breaking up fights between feuding sub's. A regular diplomatic nightmare at times, with every sub under pressure and on a short fuse. Now I remember why I wasn't getting paid enough!"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
time is money. unless you got the money you get no time. doesnt sound like the excavators or the masons problem
whats less expensive, the pump truck or a load of stone and a shovel?
Welcome to the real world! If you've done this enough you'll know that having everyone lined up and in order is a bonus, not the norm. Most GC's end up shovelling stuff and cleaning up after their subbies, in order to keep to some reasonable sort of schedule.
Apologise to your excavator op, tell him it was your mistake to push him, that you understand he has his schedule set up, etc., and that you're not the only person in the world.
And if you are a trim carpenter, then you'll have usually come in late in a job when all of this hoo-hah is over, and you'll not realise that this is normal.
All the best...
To those who know - this may be obvious. To those who don't - I hope I've helped.
hey now, lets not take shots at the trim carpenters...they've got their own headaches makin everything look good after the framers forgot their levels in the truck hahahah...
Just another day in Paradise my friend.
A day in the life of a GC.
They call it self employment for a reason. Often times there's no one to do what needs to be done except yourself.
Hopefully this situation doesn't get you too upset, because you are in for many more stressful situations in the future.
Good luck!
John Svenson, builder, remodeler, NE Ohio
a little groveling is in order
me... i would have appealed to the digger to recommend a friend who could build me a ramp on short notice
explain about the opportunity you are trying to expedite ( the "early start " )
and that keeping it moving is your problem ....not his.. you are just looking for suggestions... and you are willing to pay for solutions
if time were not a factor.. everyone could proceed on their own schedule
OR... a better plan could have avoided this....me... i scheme and plan and cajole and muddle thruMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I appreciate everyone's input, I think however the vent I have is misunderstood a little. I had no problem with the fact that the excavater coudn't make it there for the mason. I even in fact did have someone dump some stone to make a ramp. The issue I had was that the excavator didn,'t want me to allow the mason to procede until after he had put the stone in the hole for the slab. The mason had a small window and I would of lost him for upwards of three weeks. I made the descision to go ahead and pour the walls with the best interest of the job and the customer in mind. I favored no one except the customer. The excavator was angry with me for not waiting. that's the problem I have with this scenario.
who's the boss on this job?
To answer your question
Guess not
but that's what makes construction the best way to spend your day. You've got all these different personalities and backgrounds...people who are high school dropouts, college dropouts, those who have a masters degree in some arcane field, you've got the wannabe's and the true craftspeople. And then you even have the freaking engineers and lawyers...sometimes known as wannabe's and craftspeople.
And all you have to do is orchestrate this cornucopia of human emotions to reach your desired end result. You know..give a little here, take a little there, be a father confessor, an analyst, a mother hen, and a big brother all rolled into one.
Then get your butt out there and do whatever it takes to see it come together
gawd, I love this job. (g)
Count your blessings. You started out assuming start in three weeks. You are now stil two weeks ahead of schedule and you have learned some things in the meantime!
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
very true piffin, there's always an upside to stuff for sure.