Replies

1. 
   Frenchy_Dampier | Dec 09, 2001 04:12am | #1

   *
   here in Minnesota things are slower than previously, however the work seems steady if not at the frantic pace of 2000 and 1999.
   I speak to about 30 to 40 contractors a week so I have a fairly broad view. Those who think they can take the standard rate and double it as they've been doing in the past few years are looking for work, those who recognize the market's softened and adjust the prices accordingly are still busy.
   Poor quality workmen are scrambleing while those with an excellant reputation are still booked out into the future...
   The low interest rates are continuing to keep construction moving far better than most other segments of the economy.

1. 
   Dan_Metzcus | Dec 09, 2001 04:34am | #2

   *All of my friends that work in the trades (Chicago) are banking 12 hour days, on the other hand, the steel mill situation is looking dismal.http://www.thetimesonline.com/index.pl/ltv/mainltv

1. 
   John_Lazaro | Dec 09, 2001 04:39am | #3

   *Tract builders are hurting....yeah!.....but we're still chugging along (glad for the abnormally warm weather). I'm about ready for a break, but careful for what I wish for.John

1. 
   Stan_Foster | Dec 09, 2001 05:00am | #4

   *Armin: I have been booked 6 months ahead for the last several years. I allow extra time in my schedule to handle an occasional stairway that sounds extra interesting. Whenever I have a stairway completely built in my shop, I call some prospective clients or contractors of high end homes and invite them to my stairshop. When they see the stairs standing all trimmed out, and can look inside to see all the pocket screws, mortised treads and risers, the stairs usually sell themselves. I have done this for years and its a marketing system that has kept me from having to go out and seek stairwork. I try to take care of my regular customers and an occasional new client. I could have made a living the last two years on stairs I had to turn down. I want to stay a one man stairshop with my wife helping occasionally. I love my work and as long as I build curved stairways a a leisurely pace, I am very satisfied.

1. 
   doug_hubbard | Dec 09, 2001 06:24am | #5

   *still looks pretty good here Armin- Columbus and surrounding area- I'm probably year and a half from needing to look. But most of what is on the books is major- six to eight month projects.

2. 
   kcoyner_ | Dec 09, 2001 07:28am | #6

   *There's no recession for me. Doing my best not to participate. I have 1 ready for drywall, 1 ready to frame, 1 with footings ready, 1 to start footings on Tues, and 3 more to start between 1/1 and 4/1 and 2 more in the planning stages for next summer. There is a slight slow down in my area of VA overall, but that's a good thing. We couldn't keep last yrs pace for much longer. Depending on how you look at it, I'm lucky in that all 4 of my current projects involve "homeless" clients. 3 couples are living with relatives and 1 is currently renting. I wonder what's going to happen when their welcome wears out?

3. 
   blue_eyed_devil_ | Dec 09, 2001 08:01am | #7

   *The market flopped in my northern range of SE Michigan. It disappeared last year. Ironically, the market is still strong on the west edge of Detroit, which would add almost an hour to my drive. I'm not that interested. Also the market is still strong on the east side of detroit where they don't pay anything to the trades. Again, I'm not that interested.Auto sales have been flat for two years. Now sales are strong, but profits are down because of incentives. It hit our state hard.blue

4. 
   James_DuHamel | Dec 09, 2001 09:06am | #8

   *I am staying as busy as I want. I turn down a lot, and take a lot. Very blessed in my opinion.Things must be slowing down a lot around here though. I am getting about 3 or 4 calls a week from tradesmen looking for work. The crews they are on are at a standstill, or are slowing way too fast for them. It breaks my heart to tell them I am not needing anybody.James DuHamel

5. 
   Stephen_Hazlett | Dec 09, 2001 03:50pm | #9

   *I was very busy in the spring with a back log of work left over from 2000 . by june 20001 I had cleared the backlog and things have been pretty slow since then.I usually work pretty steady from end of march through thanksgiving or first week of december.this year I have pretty much shut down since end of october except for odds and ends and repair work.to be fair,i can't really blame this entirely on the economy. It is largely my own fault.I was so busy last year that I tried to finesse by advertising budget for 2001. I cut it by about 1/3 and suprise-suprise thats about what sales are off---1/3.Advertising for 2002is already set and will be about quadruple what it is for 2001.BTW my business is dependent on a stream of repair work.The satisfied repair customers generate referalls for complete re-roofs.Repair customers are generated by advertising and are the basis for everything.This is all by design put in play years ago.fiddling with the design to much cost me this year. A couple weeks ago I ran into a block layer I used to sub a few things out to.He told me that his largest customer( and one of my former customers) was down to about 60 some jobs this year.In recent history they were about 80-100 jobs a year.I run into quite a few guys with forced smiles on their face who say " we are pretty busy---we are still turning away work"----but I notice that their trucks are empty.

6. 
   Boss_Hog | Dec 09, 2001 04:27pm | #10

   *The truss company I work for is currently busier than normal, considering it's December. The plant is working 9 hours a day - down from 10 hours a day (plus Saturdays) during the summer. But we're normally looking at layoffs sometime in December, so that's pretty good. We aren't quoting a ton of stuff, but that's also typical for December.

7. 
   Mike_Smith | Dec 09, 2001 07:37pm | #11

   *ron.. i didn't know you were back at truss design... same company you were with a year ago ?anyways...hard to say what this local housing / construction deal is...there is so much money out there it's obscene... we'll be just fine with our 3 additions a year, thank-you

8. 
   jim_"crazy_legs"_blodg | Dec 10, 2001 12:10am | #12

   *Things are slowing down in Western Washington, no question about it. Here's an example - a close friend of mine is a union carpenter. Last summer he told me the labor pool was stretched so thin that companies were actually paying over scale to get carpenters to work on their jobs in Seattle, more or less bidding for help. When he and his family came out for Thanksgiving, he told me 1/2 his crew had been laid off the day before and he was gonna have to work swing shift to stay on through Xmas. I heard on the local news that Washington now has the highest unemployment rate in the U.S.Another pretty good indicator is the way framing lumber prices are falling - must be more supply of them than demand. Sure grateful we've been able to live our lives unchanged and we hope it turns around soon.

9. 
   Jerry_Hill | Dec 10, 2001 12:10am | #13

   *Howdy Doug,last time I was in Columbus,(Canal Winchester)it looked like a guy could run for miles ,jumping from roof to roof on homes under construction!Jerry Hill Marietta,Oh.

10. 
    Pi | Dec 10, 2001 12:31am | #14

    *Pardon me for jumping in......Jerry, my sister and nephew live in Marietta.....I love that town......Antique shops are something else.......

11. 
    David_Mason | Dec 10, 2001 12:45am | #15

    *Alaska is slowing down as usual for this time of year. We've been getting down to 20 below 0 which tends to slow down even the jobs that are allready started. So far I've got work till Feb. After that ,who knows. I'm sure something will come up, it always does.Dave

12. 
    Jerry_Hill | Dec 10, 2001 01:16am | #16

    *Pi...yes Marietta is a very interesting,unique place. When other towns are demoing the old buildings Marrietans are renovating and refurbishing,not just the business areas but the homes as well.I've had the opportunity to work in several of these old places and the wood work is really like none other.Trying to 'blend in' the old with the new can sometimes be a real challange...but thats what makes my work so enjoyable.Nice talking to you...whow what a small world!

13. 
    Pi | Dec 10, 2001 01:31am | #17

    *Wanna make it even smaller.....I am a small town girl(grew up in Nelsonville, went to college in Athens)and still have the "hills" in my blood.....Where are you from, Jerry?

14. 
    Boss_Hog | Dec 10, 2001 03:46am | #18

    *Thanks for asking, Mike. I worked for a GC for about 6 months back in 2000, but the company basically went belly up. So I went back to doing truss design at the truss company I had previously worked for. But owner of the truss company fired me when he found out I had interviewed with another company. So now I work for that other company, which just happens to be my old boss's biggest competitor. Keeps life interesting..............(-:

15. 
    Mike_Smith | Dec 10, 2001 04:23am | #19

    *ron.. what goes around comes around... happy landings....too bad for your old boss...

16. 
    doug_hubbard | Dec 10, 2001 06:20am | #20

    *Hey Jerry. Yep Canal Winchester up through Pickerington to Pataskala to - well you get the idea.Can't swing a cat for hitting new builds.My folks live down in Wilkesville- if you know where that is.Have a good one

17. 
    Ron_Teti | Dec 10, 2001 05:52pm | #21

    *Ron,I love a story like that. I hope the old boss learned his lesson.....hmmmm probably not leopards dont change their spots. So your better off now.

18. 
    Bill_Hartmann | Dec 11, 2001 12:07am | #22

    *"college in Athens"AKA Harvard on the Hocking.I was in grad school their in the 60's

19. 
    Pi | Dec 11, 2001 12:30am | #23

    *LOL......Yes, that's the one.......I graduated from OU in 1965.....Did I know you???

20. 
    Bill_Richardson | Dec 11, 2001 12:51am | #24

    *Armin, Having just left the Sacramento, CA area on Dec 8, I can tell you that I saw a lot of what looked like double family homes and/or condominiums going up on either side of Rte 5, north of that city. After vacationing with my family in the Yosemite area I can also tell you that if you can:a. answer your pager/cell phone/message service calls - you'll get workb. show up for work - you'll get workc. do the job you were asked to do to its completion - you'll get work d. do all of the above - you'll get more workThis might be the "woodshed tavern", but this info isn't from some bar, gin mill or hootch cellar but from people that I spoke to in and around the Yosemite area in different housing areas and towns. Everything & anything you can imagine is out there, and not piddly work either, but; build decks, siding, painting, roofing, framing, finish work, landscape, cabinets, driveway asphalt/concrete, etc. I should move out there but I have other things to do right here in Buffalo, NY where I already have enough to do and only my mouth to feed. Maybe someone else will chime in from CA, that is what little bit I heard and saw. Oh, and for this part of NY, I don't know honestly, everyone I know of is more worried about the coming snow and mounting that plow on the truck. Happy holidays.

21. 
    Jerry_Hill | Dec 11, 2001 05:24am | #25

    *Pi, I grew up in Little Hocking,a wide place in the road between Marietta and Athens.I now live at Veto (Vincent) a few miles west of Marietta.Where do you call home?

22. 
    Pi | Dec 11, 2001 02:13pm | #26

    *I knew eventually I would come across someone from that part of Ohio!!I grew up in Nelsonville, a wide place in the road between Logan and Athens....I now live in Cleveland.....Miss those hills sometime.....

23. 
    Rich_Beckman | Dec 11, 2001 05:05pm | #27

    *This from today's Marion Chronicle Tribune:> The ciry of Marion has issued almost 800 building permits so far this year - almost double the amount from 1999, and up from 613 in 2000.Rich Beckman

2. 
   Armin_ | Dec 11, 2001 05:05pm | #28

   *
   Northern Michigan, This is about as slow as I have seen it in a long time, I have enough work on the books to last until March but usually I'm at least one year out. The phone calls for new projects are pretty slow in coming. Whats your situation?