Well, one of the things I have learned thus far and in my area is that those folks doing concrete resurfacing, decorating, etc are still doing good business. While part of the reason is that some of the lesser affluent contractors have closed up shop, those remaining in the business seem to be keeping real busy.
For instance, in the past three weeks I have tried to get reps for about a dozen different companies out to my home to make me a sales pitch, provide pricing and options, etc. for acid-staining and or dying concrete surfaces in my basement. I’ve spoken to about eight folks out of the dozen plus I’ve sent electronic inquiries to and yet only one has paid me a visit.
Surprisingly, most of the non-commercial work is under 500 square-feet in area, but I’m looking to have 800-1000 square-feet done. Pricing, from what little quotes I have gotten has ranged from $2.50/SqFt to over $3, and some wanting half-down to no money until finished and happy.
And since I cannot seem to keep a second person out here, I am looking at a blind proposition. Strange in that I do not live that dang far from downtown Atlanta (where most subs seem to be centered), but they all claim too busy to travel for a sales pitch. Ok, and good times to them.
The entire deal has left me wondering if and why more folks are not into performing this line of work considering it appears to be recession-proof in terms of available work and in terms of time-deliverable services. For instance, the one contractor that came visiting me said he couldn’t get to the job for more than a month (backlog). WOW
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The entire deal has left me wondering if and why more folks are not into performing this line of work considering it appears to be recession-proof in terms of available work and in terms of time-deliverable services. For instance, the one contractor that came visiting me said he couldn't get to the job for more than a month (backlog).
Not sure if this is the reason or not, but I'm finding my suppliers are not stocking as much inventory as previously so I'm having some trouble with scheduling because of that. Also, while I'm not slow, I'm soldiering on with less people than I normally employ at this time of year. I'd rather be able to keep the guys I've got for the long haul rather than risk some new hires and have to lay off in a month or two if the work flow ebbs. Consequently, I'm not getting to jobs as quickly as before.
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I don't know that it's a recession proof job. It sounds more like you are dealing with a bunch of one man shops. The guys doing the work sound like they are wearing all the hats and don't really have time to run sales calls.
2-3 dollars a foot doesn't sound all that interesting given the risk potential, the time involved to do the work and the cost of the materials.
Maybe if they were properly pricing their services, they could afford to hire a sales staff and do some marketing and business the "right" way. Without knowing too much about the costs of doing that business, I'd guess that they need no less than five to six dollars on a 1000 sf job and slightlly more per sq ft on smaller jobs.
the problem I found with acid stain is , its not rocket scienve, it doent always come out like they want, so they not happy they dont pay. you cannot go from dark to light,. mine was suppose to be like leather tan, it came out dark chocalte brown.
Exactly. The service doesn't lend it self to mass production methods. You can't hire five yo yo's to help you keep a schedule. Also, even if you do it all yourself, since the reults are so volatile, you risk the ire of the client on every job even if you've done your best to deliver what you promised.
Acid staining comes with a forgone conclusion that since its a chemical reaction with the concrete the ultimate resultrs will vary and can be unpredictable. I know this, but of course most cowsumers probably do not. Its also why some of the SqFt in my basement is being dyed instead of stained.
I do not think these are one-man entities. I say that because when talking to them on the phone they all mention work crews. The one that came out, but couldn't get to me for a month, is a large company that does both reisdential and commercial work.
I do not doubt that while the material costs can be $500-600 per 1,000 SqFt of surface, I think the labor involved might be the larger ingredient. But, who knows. All I know is that it was almost impossible to get someone out to sales pitch me, and even then not necessarily immediate deliverable.
I think I am being squeezed into a work schedule. The contractor I decided to go with has other jobs immediately following mine, but in this line of work no telling how many might be fly-by-night.
In Austin, the guys that do concrete staining are also doing concrete. I don't know that any of them are strictly staining operations. That would explain why they have a big backlog here..it's easy to be a week or month out if they have a couple of commercial jobs lined up.
Jim, you hit on a good point. The two folks I got beyond initial inquiries with both did concrete, surface stanping, and wall stampings as well. While neither of them did what I'd call foundational work (i.e. building foundations, footings, etc.) they both poured concrete for things like patios, and the also polished existing concrete surfaces as well.
In fact, I looked at this as a future thing as well. But, in my county they are nasty SOBs about allowing homeowners pour concrete. On top of a building permit and the post-project tax reassessment, they also impose an environmental impact fee based on a) nothing can grow in its place, and b) water runoff (as if water ain't running off the graded slope already).