Building contractors? Why is it so hard to find "good" ones?

[pixeljunkie]

If there are any of you guys here who happen to BE a contractor - hit me up in the PM's I have a couple questions.

But seriously, as the title suggests - I am trying to find one for a small'ish project and it's like pulling teeth. The only guys recommended are booked into end of 2019...everyone else and people act like I'm walking into a den of thieves. It's extremely frustrating.

Why is this?!

 

[FilthyRear]

There's an app called Nextdoor that we used to find our contractor to build our addition. He was fully licensed and did everything on-time and on budget.

I bring up Nextdoor because a lot of contractors prefer and exclusively go only by word-of-mouth referrals. We were told it was because a lot of contractors want to keep jobs as close to home as possible, which makes sense.

Some also won't do small jobs because they would barely make anything to cover cost of materials. YMMV, tho.

 

[NeoSneth]

because they are the epitome of the middleman

I have friends that use TaskRabbit for smaller jobs. They've have good results.
They had the same problem where contractors really don't care about your small jobs right now. They are doing quite well, and your day project is not worth their time.

 

[pixeljunkie]

There's an app called Nextdoor that we used to find our contractor to build our addition. He was fully licensed and did everything on-time and on budget.

I bring up Nextdoor because a lot of contractors prefer and exclusively go only by word-of-mouth referrals. We were told it was because a lot of contractors want to keep jobs as close to home as possible, which makes sense.

Some also won't do small jobs because they would barely make anything to cover cost of materials. YMMV, tho.

Definitely a great place to find people. I live in Dallas, TX and it's quite handy. But this project is in a very small mountain town and Nextdoor only finds people at minimum 5 hours away. Argh.

 

[evil wasabi]

I have a guy who used to be super reliable, but now he’s busy with big projects and past few times he came to fix things, he gave less than 100%.

I think it’s about focus.

 

[sr20det510]

because they are the epitome of the middleman.

I agree this is the case. Most contractors are full of shit, and many just hire outside people to do the job.

Example my brother in law was getting quotes for a roof job, contractors were charging around 18k-20k for the job.


One day a roofer shows up about 30 minutes before the contractor, and my brother in law ask him for a price. Roofer quotes him 11k, and says call me after you talk to the contractor.
Contractor arrives as roofer is driving away, and stops roofer. He then proceeds to argue with my brother in law about him trying to undercut him and take away his lively hood.

He is lucky he didnt get his ass kicked for being a dick, and trying to justify being a fucken leach.

My advice, when you see someone working on a house talk to them, and see what's up. At least here in Los Angeles the best people at doing the job aren't always the contractors but the hired help.

Talk to them and maybe they can do the work for you on the side.

 

[titchgamer]

Good contractors are hard to find because they are good.

A decent contractor will always be in demand, This applies to any tradesman be it a Electrician, Plumber, Carpenter etc etc.

I guess I am fortunate in my job I deal with lots of different contractors so I build up a relationship with most of them and know who to go to for personal jobs.

But my best advice is to find out who other people have used and look at the quality of the work they left behind before choosing a few to get quotes off.
Also get at least 3 quotes and ask for a itemised breakdowns as not all quotes will be the same.
Also dont just go for the cheapest quote, Remember if they all quote for exactly the same thing that money has got to be cut from somewhere be it his day rate or the quality of the materials.

Lots to weigh up but such is life

 

[NeoSneth]

But my best advice is to find out who other people have used and look at the quality of the work they left behind before choosing a few to get quotes off.
Also get at least 3 quotes and ask for a itemised breakdowns as not all quotes will be the same.
Also dont just go for the cheapest quote, Remember if they all quote for exactly the same thing that money has got to be cut from somewhere be it his day rate or the quality of the materials.

Lots to weigh up but such is life

Noticed this recently with some roof stuff. One guy was $3k less than the others. It was also the least detailed quote. Went with the company that gave actual details and warrantied their work.

 

[RAZO]

I agree this is the case. Most contractors are full of shit, and many just hire outside people to do the job.

Example my brother in law was getting quotes for a roof job, contractors were charging around 18k-20k for the job.


One day a roofer shows up about 30 minutes before the contractor, and my brother in law ask him for a price. Roofer quotes him 11k, and says call me after you talk to the contractor.
Contractor arrives as roofer is driving away, and stops roofer. He then proceeds to argue with my brother in law about him trying to undercut him and take away his lively hood.

He is lucky he didnt get his ass kicked for being a dick, and trying to justify being a fucken leach.

My advice, when you see someone working on a house talk to them, and see what's up. At least here in Los Angeles the best people at doing the job aren't always the contractors but the hired help.

Talk to them and maybe they can do the work for you on the side.

This all depends. I think quality of work also matters. I rather pay someone more with great reviews and insured over some guys who work for some contractor and do work on the side. I also want some sort of warranty. It would suck if your roof starts falling apart after 2 or 3 years and you have to pay someone else to come and fix it.

 

[sr20det510]

This all depends. I think quality of work also matters. I rather pay someone more with great reviews and insured over some guys who work for some contractor and do work on the side. I also want some sort of warranty. It would suck if your roof starts falling apart after 2 or 3 years and you have to pay someone else to come and fix it.

I agree, and I didnt mean to take the cheapest person or someone who doesn't know what they are doing. You really have to see what the person is doing, and the quality of the work.

In addition, I say make sure to pay the contractor in parts, because they love wasting time. They get paid and slow their work down, or start a new job sonewhere.

Make sure to add contingencies to any contract you make up. For instance set deadlines, and also a budget contingency. Fucken contractors love to find new shit to charge you for.

Also last payment should be made only once you are completely satisfied with the work. If they need to paint trim, add some molding or casing, then they must do it before you pay them.
I had a guy do my flooring and he kept bugging me about paying him the cash I owed him. Everyone time he called I'd remind him he needed to install a metal and an oak threshold in my house, and repair a wall he damaged.

Took him months to finally do the work, and that's when he got paid.

 

[titchgamer]

Yeah cash on completion is a pretty standard requirement.

Also worth getting a fixed price, ie the job will cost X you pay X no exceptions. That works both ways though in that if you change your mind halfway through the job then they can charge you extra for the change of contract.

 

[Heinz]

I've had the roof done and a garage door installed no hassles, no hold ups, no bullshit. I think the most important thing is getting a written quote and shop around a bit and don't just go for the cheapest price...

 

[norton9478]

All I know is that I was getting quotes of 8K to do my roof.

I did it myself for less than $2k.

 

[LoneSage]

All I know is that I was getting quotes of 8K to do my roof.

I did it myself for less than $2k.

That's kind of the point. You can either do it yourself and spend money only on materials or hire someone for their time and labor to do it for much more.

 

[StevenK]

All I know is that I was getting quotes of 8K to do my roof.

I did it myself for less than $2k.

There are huge savings to be made by doing construction and upkeep work yourself, but if you fuck it up the impact can be life changing, usually financially but perhaps worse, and you have zero recourse.

You need to know which jobs are diy friendly and be aware of your own skillset.

Also, consider the opportunity costs of time spent on diy - what could you earn if you devoted the time the job will take you on overtime in a job you are actually qualified to do?

 

[titchgamer]

There are huge savings to be made by doing construction and upkeep work yourself, but if you fuck it up the impact can be life changing, usually financially but perhaps worse, and you have zero recourse.

You need to know which jobs are diy friendly and be aware of your own skillset.

Also, consider the opportunity costs of time spent on diy - what could you earn if you devoted the time the job will take you on overtime in a job you are actually qualified to do?

To true.

I took this approach with my bathroom and kitchen.

I have the skills to of done it all myself.
But unless I took a week or 2 off work to do it all then I would of been without a bathroom/kitchen for probably several weeks and have nowhere to store all the materials.

So for me it was worthwhile paying someone to do it for me, being responsible for the storage of the materials and having to fix any issues on the way while the whole time I could spend at work earning mullah and not worrying about it.
And it only took them 5 days.

Its a large price to pay for a job but small price for peace of mind and ease.