Input and Decisions

In my recent experience in being a sub contractor, I have noticed a trend when dealing with clients. Due to the amount of sub contractors that can be employed on any given job site, many of our clients have admitted to feeling overwhelmed and overrun with options. Many of our clients have expressed feelings of not being heard or of their ideas being lost in the shuffle (think: broken telephone). When it comes to making those hard decisions that can either cost more or delay the finish date, it is ultimately up to the homeowner. That being said, if I am asked for my professional opinion, I will gladly provide it, good or bad. At C.R.L Construction, we strive to provide the best and most thorough feedback possible so the job gets done in a timely manner, and the homeowner loves the finished product. Because in the end, high customer satisfaction ensures our good reputation. The moral of the story, if there is one, is to weigh your options and ask for truthful answers. The choices you make, especially in choosing your contractor, are long lasting and important. 

Welcome to the Team

It’s been awhile since the last update. We have had a nice busy summer. Business seems to pick up every year. I am happy to say that we have added Brian Donahoe to the team. He has been with me for about a month now and I couldn’t be happier. He works extremely hard and has proven already to be a great asset to the company. Looking forward to a good fall and winter to top off the year.

Years of Experience

I see leads all the time that asks for contractors with only 10 years of experience to submit quotes. I think that people believe that the more years you have been in the construction business the better you are. While that may be the case for some; it is definitely not the case for all. There are guys that have been doing it for 20 years but those 20 years were doing things wrong. When I say wrong I mean an industry standard being done incorrectly, not just my opinion of their work.

 I was recently reading a tile forum where a homeowner asked if the pictures of the tile that were installed were acceptable. The grout joints were all over the place, the guy seemed to have forgotten the pattern as he was tiling, and the amount of lippage was insane. This particular contractor apparently had 30 years of experience installing tile. I’m pretty sure I could take someone off the street, give them a day of practice and they would have done better.

Years of experience are not an accurate gauge of the quality of the contractors work. Judge the contractor by how you perceive them during the consultation. See pictures of their work, or even better see if you can go and see it personally. References are a big clue as well, be sure to check those. I may not have the years of experience that many others have but my quality of work speaks for itself.

Price vs. Quality

One of the biggest issues I find being a contractor is the views on quality versus price. There is so much competition here and quotes can vary wildly, but are people actually comparing what you get for the price. This is something that I struggle with, with every quote I give.

One of the main points I try to make to potential customers is the difference in company size. C.R.L Construction is a small company, we like being a small company, that way we can give our clients the maximum attention they deserve. We don’t have high overhead, we don’t have offices and production facilities; we don’t have fancy sales people. With this we are able to offer our services at a competitive rate and still have high quality. With larger companies you are paying for things that don’t even affect your project because of how the company's pricing works. You don’t get as much attention to detail because they have more than 2 jobs on the go at once. Some companies don’t even have their own employees, all the work is sub-contracted out. These are what we call paper contractors. These people/companies just want the money; they have never even held a hammer or had there arm down a drain pipe. I’m not saying sub-contracting is a bad thing by the way; I have and am a sub-contractor to different great companies.

Im getting a little off topic. The old saying, you get what you pay for is something to live by when getting renovations done. I’m not saying go for the most expensive either. You need to ask questions, weigh things equally, and then make decisions. In very rare cases will you find quality trades people for cheap. I am reminded of a certain tile setter who would lay tile for prices you would usually see guys getting paid in new house developments. He did excellent work and should in my opinion have been charging 3 times as much, but that is what he felt he should charge. There is the other side as well. I have gone in to fix jobs where the contractor before me charged an arm and a leg, and the quality of work was just horrible.

People put to much focus on price; don’t accept the quality you get for the price you paid. Pay for the quality you deserve and be happy for a long time. The higher the quality the longer the smiles of the clients will last. And for contractors, if you strive to be the best and it shows in your work, your name will get passed along and soon enough you will have all the work you want. But remember to keep your overhead low, your prices reasonable, and never let quality and customer satisfaction suffer.

Things to consider when Drywalling a basement

When I go to look at a basement renovation the main things I look for are the following: what is the largest sheet I can hang here and can I get these sheets into the space. You want to try and get the longest sheets because it makes the process easier on the installer. Let’s say you have a 16’ span ceiling and you only bring in 8 foot sheets. That means that there will be a butt joint in every row of drywall. This in turn requires more work on the installers part as well as more work and material on the tapers part. This of course will cost you more money. If you were to get 16’ sheets of drywall, there are no butt joints, just straight lines of factory tapered edges. This will make it easier to install, easier to tape and easier on your wallet.

Other contributing factors to the cost are ceiling height, outside corners and bulkheads, small spaces like under stair storage and closets, floor finish, quality of framing and type of drywall. All of these variables will be looked at by your contractor.

So keep in mind these aspects when planning your basement renovation to optimize space and cost.

So I'm a day late but things have been busy trying to get things finished up on the job. The floor with the Raimondi leveling system turned out fantastic. You could slide a glass of wine across it without spilling a drop. To bad i didn't get this system sooner, would have made my wall install much easier. As promised here are the after photos.

New Tile Tool, Raimondi leveling system review

A little while ago I did some research on various tile leveling systems. There are a few on the market with varying price ranges, and I decided to give the Raimondi leveling system. The system consists of small plastic clips shaped like a T that sits hooked under the tiles, as well as a plastic wedge that gets squeezed into an opening on the clip. The theory is that the force applied between the clip and wedge evens out the tiles creating a lippage free floor. Lippage is the amount of unevenness when installing tiles that makes some tiles sit higher than others. This results from a combination of installer, tile quality and substrate. I have to say this system works like a dream and I was impressed at how easy it was to use. The Raimondi system didn't slow down the install at all and when it sets tomorrow I'll have a smooth as glass porcelain floor. I'll post pictures of the finished result tomorrow. Here are some tiles I installed using the Raimondi system today:

Also, this is a custom reducer made from oak i made on the weekend for this job.