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Admittedly, I don’t know much about construction trades. I know what good workmanship looks like, and I know a little about the ins and outs of the trades, but I have gained a wealth of info sifting through the posts in here over the last couple of months.
I came across a post yesterday that mentioned jobsite “slaves” and the work ethic displayed by them, So today as I drove home from work and did a drive through of a new neighbourhood, I stopped to look around jobsites and see what different crews did differently. I was amazed by the difference of different crews.
The first site I stopped in at was a home being built by a local guy who I know hand picks local workers. The site was clean, Chalk lines were snapped on the floors in the the house, and every stud lined up on centre on those lines. No garbage was anywhere, it was a clean site, and I was impressed by what I saw.
The second site I stopped in on was being built by another local guy who is boasting one of those “No down payment, and $550 a month for a year gets you your own house” Kind of deals. anyway, his sites had a little garbage lying around, the walls were up, and looked straight, but didn’t have the lines snapped on the floors. It was still a nice clean site, but not nearly as professional looking as the first.
The last site I checked out today was being built by the biggest developer in the neighbourhood. these folks are out of Toronto, and are boasting the biggest development in Brantford in the last 15 years. They ship in their labour from out of town, and are behind by almost a year on their construction. In any case I was amazed by what I saw in their site. The foundation was almost entirely filled with garbage. Coffee cups and pop cans littered the main floor, and outside the house garbage was all over the site. the walls were visibly out of square and plumb, braces (meant to hold the walls square) were not even on some walls, and the windows were already in. the insulation on the walls had holes through it, and there was no plastic between the top plates on the walls.
It was quite a lesson walking around those sites today, and it opened my eyes to the difference between different levels of Craftsmanship out there. Thanks for letting me know what to look for guys.
BTW. THe Guy from the first house I stopped in at was really decent, stopped to show me some points, and was really proud of what he was doing, some of the others were alot less friendly, but I figured that might have been because of the deadlines they may have been working to. (If I were a boss I’d want carpenters rather than tour guides anyway).
See you later,
Chris
Replies
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What's your proffession, Chris?
*Chris, Your observations from an individual apparently outside of the construction field are well-noted. I currently am building my own house (I'm a state licensed building contractor) and I will produly say the site is immaculate. Folks (whom I don't know) from the neighborhood sometimes stop by and I give them the "two cent" tour. I'm proud of what I'm doing (built my own fireplace, cabinets, did all the framing, etc.) and equally as proud of the many other jobs I've run in the same fashion during my 8 years in business. Unfortunately, from my viewpoint it seems many folks (clients as well as contractors) are much more concerned with speed and cost and at least in my area (West Central Florida) guys like me are a dying breed. I get underbid on jobs by big companies who can do it "faster and cheaper" regardless of what it looks like along the way. And dare I say what it looks like in 3 years, 5 years, etc. Now don't get me wrong as I'm not putting down anyone else in the business. To the contrary, I've sent work to and received work from many others in my area including larger firms. Its just my general feeling that here in Florida at least, quality is no longer the primary point of consideration in a job. Folks want things done cheap and fast and only after something goes wrong down the road, will the gripe and complain about the second-rate work they received, not remebering they chose the lowest bid. And by the way, sadly I'm in the process of closing my business and looking for a job for these very reasons.Mike Rimoldi
*Jim,I am a CNC machinist/Programmer. I may have made your exhaust gaskets. I also make the injection moulding equipment that makes the pop and bottled water bottles. This is precision machine work where the difference between scrap and a good part is 1/1000" to 1/10 000". I am amazed though at the way houses go up, neighbourhoods form, and people spend entire lives in structures you folks build. On the side I guide canoe trips on remote Canadian rivers, thats where I get to use some people skills. Ever see how mad a Texan can get after a week in the woods without enough bug juice? It aint perty.I came across this site because I am planning on building my next home. I'm Hoping that I'll learn enough on here in the next couple years that I'll be able to do a top notch job of things once the lot is paid off. (I don't know a 2X4 from a stud so far)Mike,I'm sad to hear that you are having to close up shop. My father ran a grocery store, and I remember how hard it was on him watching his business slowly fold. Your points on speed and competition are all too true. The same applies in machining, fortunately, in my field technology is supporting the demand for higher speed and production. I wish you success in all your endeavours. Chris
*Two years ago a well know Toronto developer took on the local public by tearing down a modernist landmark in the heart of Toronto. This was an early international style (when people did it right) building owned by Union Carbide.I'm convinced that because of the opposition to their project they decided to punish the local neighbourhood. First the demolition - they worked almost 24 hours a day with jackhammers and heavy equipment. I'm 4 blocks away and I did not get much sleep. The city's noise control officers claim they tired to stop them, but their efforts were suspiciously useless.Since then, their jobsite has been a pigsty on a major street.I also think all of their construction vehicles are scheduled for rush hour deliveries or late night deliveries.And finally, they put up the ugliest pseudo historic piece of crap in a town full of bad architecture. I see six valuable lessons to be learned from this.1. This is not the lackeys but the management / owners.2. If you are going to oppose Tridel Corporation on a project - don't lose.3. If this developer or any other one with their ethics comes to your neighbourhood - don't lose.4. If you are a condo or any other type of developer, there are so many easy ways to good community relations - if you actually care to try.5. Good community relations will help you on your next permit - what goes around comes around.6. You have to wonder what will happen to the investment of the poor people that buy these places.
*On the other side of what Mike R said, I actually get jobs because of the cleanliness of my site and workspace. It's something that is more appreciated and expected in remodeling than in new building. I'm not really annal about it but I just can't seem to think in an organized fashion when I've got shavings and scraps up to my ankles. Too distracting to trip over all the time. Even though I'm the big guy in charge, Rather than demand that some body else clean up, I like to run the broom. It gives me a chance to think some of the problems through while doing low eyebrow work. It gives me a chance to inspect things thouroghly without making everybody nervous about looking over their shoulders. It sets a good example for everyone. A clean job site is also a safer one. One thing I do get positively huffy about is anybody who has a board with a nail sticking out of it haaad better not throw it anyplace but the scrap trailer. I catch you trying to poke holes in the bottoms of peoples feet and you're gone. Like I said, there's lots of folks who notice these kinf of details and appreciate them like Chris the machinist. Just don't ask us to build to 1/1000 tolerance man. I've got a client who is in the nuclear energy field and he is so detail oriented (good for his job but not for mine) that I feel like we spend more time on planning and testing models than actually building.Rein,There is something to what you say.I once worked condo projects and when I tried to do good work or questioned some of the details I was told by higher authorities that "These places are only intended to last for ten or fourteen years, Don't worry about it"
*
Admittedly, I don't know much about construction trades. I know what good workmanship looks like, and I know a little about the ins and outs of the trades, but I have gained a wealth of info sifting through the posts in here over the last couple of months.
I came across a post yesterday that mentioned jobsite "slaves" and the work ethic displayed by them, So today as I drove home from work and did a drive through of a new neighbourhood, I stopped to look around jobsites and see what different crews did differently. I was amazed by the difference of different crews.
The first site I stopped in at was a home being built by a local guy who I know hand picks local workers. The site was clean, Chalk lines were snapped on the floors in the the house, and every stud lined up on centre on those lines. No garbage was anywhere, it was a clean site, and I was impressed by what I saw.
The second site I stopped in on was being built by another local guy who is boasting one of those "No down payment, and $550 a month for a year gets you your own house" Kind of deals. anyway, his sites had a little garbage lying around, the walls were up, and looked straight, but didn't have the lines snapped on the floors. It was still a nice clean site, but not nearly as professional looking as the first.
The last site I checked out today was being built by the biggest developer in the neighbourhood. these folks are out of Toronto, and are boasting the biggest development in Brantford in the last 15 years. They ship in their labour from out of town, and are behind by almost a year on their construction. In any case I was amazed by what I saw in their site. The foundation was almost entirely filled with garbage. Coffee cups and pop cans littered the main floor, and outside the house garbage was all over the site. the walls were visibly out of square and plumb, braces (meant to hold the walls square) were not even on some walls, and the windows were already in. the insulation on the walls had holes through it, and there was no plastic between the top plates on the walls.
It was quite a lesson walking around those sites today, and it opened my eyes to the difference between different levels of Craftsmanship out there. Thanks for letting me know what to look for guys.
BTW. THe Guy from the first house I stopped in at was really decent, stopped to show me some points, and was really proud of what he was doing, some of the others were alot less friendly, but I figured that might have been because of the deadlines they may have been working to. (If I were a boss I'd want carpenters rather than tour guides anyway).
See you later,
Chris