Am I to 'knit-picky ?'

[Davers]

I would like some opinions.

We have been having some work done on the house

Btw , I live with my stepdad & he is footing the Bill.

Also I did Sub-Contract labor (Mostly drywall & painting) for 15-20 years.

Now.. I can see where a Shabby job is being done in several places + the little things , like cleaning up after each day instead of leaving piles of insulation , shingles , etc all over our deck & yard.

As I was leaving for some chores the Men / Man was trying to get his pressure washer working , (It had a Gas line problem) so he moved it to the front yard by the driveway. Undid the Gas pump / Tank & Ill guess about half a quart of Gas spilled onto the Ground (our home is shaded & we don't have Grass but Still, all I could smell was Gas as I left Even in the car.

Being a Metal Hunter , I see litter , junk , Nasty Creeks & have come to despise it.

Got home after dark , my OCD kicked in & in a light rain proceeded to dig up the area where the Gas was spilled, I ended up going down 4 inches through a couple Big roots in about a 2 X 2 foot square . Now I have a 5 gallon bucket full of Smelly dirt , and a trashcan full of smelly dirt & leaves & pine straw to haul off.

Stepdad went to a near by Casino for the night & soon I expect him to be yelling "Why is there a big hole beside the driveway"? Ill tell him why , & He will give me that 'Yr stupid' Look.

He is paying cheap so he is getting cheap , So I can't say much but they will be back in 2-3 years fixing the same thing as this is the 3rd time this work has been done since 2004.

Just Ranting.
Merry Christmas to all.

 

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[Red James Cash]

You get what you pay for.Cheap pay equals cheap work done.

 

[wingmaster]

If I can't do it right I won't do it at all, I only want to do it once and if you do it the right way the first time then you won't have to worry about it later. HH

 

[against the wind]

I'm used to getting quality work no matter what the price. Some craftsmen do quality work but don't charge enough. Some contractors charge the going price for work they are not skilled enough to perform.

 

[RustyGold]

I was a licensed contractor for 28 years and would be in deep trouble if I did that at a job site. I’d back charge them for every job you had to clean up. Video everything that they screw up and put it to music then load it up on YouTube.
I don’t care what they got paid for their work. It’s against the law to dump gas like that. If it isn’t it should be.

 

[Davers]

I was a licensed contractor for 28 years and would be in deep trouble if I did that at a job site. I’d back charge them for every job you had to clean up. Video everything that they screw up and put it to music then load it up on YouTube.
I don’t care what they got paid for their work. It’s against the law to dump gas like that. If it isn’t it should be.

Yea the Gas thing really got me.

As I said i'm not paying for the work so I can only say so much, The Big hole where the Contractor had his Pressure washer first set up , should speak for it's self. but Many people lack common since these days / or just don't care.

I would do the job but I don't have all the tools & I'm such a Perfectionist , I'd end up re-framing the whole fireplace & likely the first 3-4 feet of the rotten 1984 Pre-fabricated Attic /Roof Studs & this would take me a couple weeks.

That's by myself if I had a helper 'my Son' it would go quicker.

I guess in 10 years or so all this Will be My Responsibility & will have to just do it or get it done right.

Cedar siding is nice but must be maintained , Our Fault there .
Actually I'd Brick the Fire-Place housing.

Also they pressure washed the house W/O taking down the Bird Feeders & my Wife had these 2 little lighted Christmas Ball's hanging in the Front , they were left on the ground to get rained on.

I'm just frustrated , & May 'Wig Out' on these guy's.

DANG I WORRY TO MUCH. LOL

 

[63bkpkr]

Davers - the quality of the work performed in the USA has been going down hill for a long time. It used to be that "Made in USA" meant something special, now it refers to things like Bill & Monica in the Oval office.

Some of us still believe in doing it right the first time, taking care of the customer and being proud of a job well done. Stick with your personal work ethics as at least you will be happy with what you do for yourself and others. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!..................63bkpkr

 

[digger460]

What Red James Cash said!

 

[pepperj]

I really don't where to start about builders, sub-contrators, contractors, blow-hearts, useless employees that are being billed out as qualified trade workers. The list is endless it seems and after doing a condo, a house, we're into our second complete make over on another house. I have been asked by many are you going to do it again? My answer is simple "NO".
Most trades have this nasty habit of just dropping it, because they have had their mother picking up after them it seems for most of their lives. It's amazing that some can go to the Johnny on the spot and still not have mommy wipe up after doing their business.
I establish one thing are they going to clean it up-and is this on the clock? Having somebody pushing a broom around and billing me out at $40-90 per hr, well I can do that one. I ask a question-please answer it instead of saying "I don't know" Nothing peeves me more when a simple question regarding an installation can't be answered by the "expert".
THINK ABOUT THE OTHER TRADES THAT HAVE TO DO WORK AFTER YOUR WORK!!! Nothing I hate worse than the selfish attitudes that some carry around that they're the only ones that matter.

If I'm buying the material and paying by the hour I don't want to hear the "Its over built, code is this or that" If I want the Minimum I'll will inform you to do it that way. By the way if I want to park a truck on my deck that's my business.
I have hired lots of trades and most are pretty good, and fired some trades when I realize that I can do a job better than what's being paid for. Time is of an essence most of the time, there's just tooo many things to do at once so we hire help. Somethings need qualified trades in, electrical, plumbing, spay foam, waterproofing, still shingle roofing, gutters, mechanical heat pumps, boilers.

Yes I have ranted, the filters come off, as my standards are high when I'm paying money out to have a job done right. Folks that feel that they can crap on us when they do a sub-standard job will get the boot.

One of the biggest things is when they think that a person is stupid and they can cut a corner or two.
It is amazing that when something gets scratched, dented, damaged "NOBODY DID IT"

 

[SusanMN]

Nope, you aren’t being nit picky. After my first major house project, an addition, I have acted as my own general contractor for full renovations on my two houses. I want to personally check out the qualifications of each trade on the job and if there is a decision to be made on anything, I want to be the one making it. I also want to negotiate and arrange their start dates so I don’t spend weeks with nothing happening because the contractor is juggling too many jobs. And if you are paying their bill you can inspect the work as it’s being done and tell them what you want corrected if need be.

But it it is a whole lot more work, you need to be present at least some of the time when the work is being done and make sure one trade isn’t tripping over the other as the project progresses. But there is a huge cash savings plus a whole lot more control of the outcome.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Davers you are not knit picking, theres a right way and a wrong way to do things. It drives me crazy if a job is not done right, especially in my field, i just can't stand it.
If its being paid for it should be done right.

Sent from my VS810PP using Tapatalk

 

[OldWest]

In all fairness, the customer should really do their homework when it comes to getting stuff fixed. I've been out of the business mostly for a few years. I've done a lot or remodels, new construction and repairs on a lot of different things. I painted a 1882 church. We always try to do good work. I want to be proud of things I make, and it's cool knowing things I built are still standing after so many years. I treated everyone's home as my own, and treated the customer with respect. Some customers can really grate on you but you just shrug it off and do good work. That's all there is. I know any more it's rush rush rush do more more more. I don't operate that way. There's craftsmen out there that care and want good work. You can be picky. Get referrals, look around town see who does good work. You can find them. Good luck and Merry Christmas.

 

[1320]

Hate to go against the grain but it's not your home, if your dad is footing the contractor bill, I'd give him the opportunity to be pissed and speak up. The job isn't finished so I wouldn't judge prematurely and trust me on this..lol, a gas spill never results in permanent damage this time of year and rarely anytime of year.

 

[RustyGold]

I disagree. Gas spills and the like can pollute the ground, water and garden as long as it’s there. It needs to be removed because it’s considered toxic.
It is his concern if he will inherit the house.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

A contractor only answers to the person paying the bill. If you criticized my work, I'd tell you to stick it. You're not paying the bill and I'm assuming it isn't your home. You are free to complain to your stepdad, but tread lightly with the contractors. Not your place to be telling them anything. Just my take on it....

 

[pepperj]

The job isn't finished so I wouldn't judge prematurely and trust me on this..lol, a gas spill never results in permanent damage this time of year and rarely anytime of year.

So basically your saying don't cry over a little spilled gas.
I'd be rightfully peeved if it happened in my yard and even when I owned a scrap yard I didn't allow/want any oils/fuels spilled on the ground. If somebody drove in and leaked something it would be cleaned up-and a charge back on their bill was applied, folks learned really quick when it's their $$$.
First thing that was done on a resale was the environmental testing for surface hydrocarbons being present. Perfect score no problems as I live by the old saying goes "If you crap in your own backyard you'll have to clean it up."
In doing a site remediation oxygen is the one way of letting the hydrocarbons evaporate into the air. [FONT=arial, sans-serif][/FONT]

 

[pepperj]

A contractor only answers to the person paying the bill. If you criticized my work, I'd tell you to stick it. You're not paying the bill and I'm assuming it isn't your home. You are free to complain to your stepdad, but tread lightly with the contractors. Not your place to be telling them anything. Just my take on it....

True a contractor only has to answer to the one paying the bill-but on the other hand if they did it right the first time they shouldn't hear anything negative about the work.
My main guy that does my finishing will say "What do you want me to do here?" I usually shudder inside as it's his way of saying something isn't right. I might of missed a gaff from a previous contractor or more commonly the other contractor didn't care how somebody was going to do the finishing work behind them. So I throw in my idea and if it doesn't fly he will say " Well if it was my house this is the way I'd do it, or leave it with me and I'll come up with something. Paying an extra $20-40 to have it done right as I won't remember the extra $$$ paid but I'll always see the mistake years later.

 

[RW]

I don't think you are the knit-picky type or else the title of this thread would drive you nuts too.

 

[pepperj]

In the renovation of a condo we hired a company that was the general also. Mistake on our part and if there was an issue it was criticising their work.
Drywall seams and corner beads cracked, so I pointed them all out to the general. He looked back and forth for a good 5 minutes and then turned to me and said " There must of been an earthquake Jim"

Years later we bought a cheap place that just had gone through renovations. First yr the shingles are blowing off, roof is sagging in one area, on inspection we found they joined two buildings ( house and carport) sheeted the roof and left two trusses out. The neighbor told me who did the roof work, so I called them up to come and have a look at house.
The owner came out and the first thing out of his mouth was " I have to tell you I had a small stroke, so I have lost my memory. I can't tell you if I have worked on a house or not" Best two stories I've got from contractors not worth their salt.

 

[ironhorse]

shoddy work from dirtbags...well that sounds like a recipe for disaster

I've been on construction crews doing contract work plenty throughout my years in the trade; there's a few things in your story make me shudder a bit
first off, it's apparent your guys aren't overly concerned about safety, and in my background, safety is number 1
spills are cleaned immediately, actually, our training insures that spills don't occur in areas that aren't safe and maintenance takes in areas that are meant for that
plus a report must made on every instance of a spill of volatile liquid or powder , that's just that part of responsibility

now the clutter , sounds like you have an unsafe site, dumpsters for debris, caution tape and site barriers should be in place, and basic safety procedures should be observed

every construction site should be able to be clearly observed by the workers AND the customer whenever they want, a clean organized site is safe for everyone
but if these basic things aren't being met I doubt that the result will be something anyone will ultimately be proud of, cutting corners at this level would cause me concern for the successful outcome of your project

even if it's your local handyman putting up a bird house or a giant company building a skyscraper...there's a right way and then there's your guys way
I get upset too when I see how slack people can be and expect to get my hard earned dollars for it when they try to pull a stunt like that
it's a shame that you have to put up with that and vent on here, it ain't right