[00:00:01] Speaker A: You know, Tony, hiring a contractor can be intimidating, right?
[00:00:06] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, absolutely.
I feel like that. It doesn't have to be, but it certainly can be. You're going to be entrusting a lot of your money time.
You're going to be entrusting your space, your personal space to this person who you other wise don't know. So, yeah, I would say intimidating, to say the least.
[00:00:29] Speaker A: I agree. Yeah. I've hired contractors on several occasions throughout my life. We are weekend warriors, but sometimes we get to that point where there's a project that we just can't handle or there's some electrical work, some plumbing work or some sheet rock work. Right. I've said that on the show a million times. I hate doing sheet rock.
So hiring somebody, you need to consider some things before you just pull up Craigslist. Find the nearest phone number. Oh, yeah, call them.
[00:01:01] Speaker B: Don't. We don't do that at all.
[00:01:03] Speaker A: Sometimes you're asking for a disaster waiting to happen.
[00:01:07] Speaker B: Yeah. We've definitely got some tips for you on the best, safest and most successful way to choose a contractor for your project. And the list is created and we are going to work down the list. But the very first item on the list, in my opinion, is not the most important one. I know that you may feel like that it is, but I'm going to jump to three instead.
[00:01:33] Speaker A: All right.
[00:01:34] Speaker B: The first one on the list, which we're not going to cover just at this moment, is credentials and qualifications. But I'm going to jump to number three, reputation. In my opinion, the reputation of the contractor that you're going to choose is paramount. Because if you know the reputation of your contractor, then that means you've done your research.
And if after knowing his reputation, because you've done your research, you still think that that contractor is the right person, then now you know something. Do you see, if you're choosing a contractor and you're not basing your decision on reputation, then you're doing yourself a disservice and potentially setting yourself up to fail. So for me, reputation is number one.
[00:02:27] Speaker A: Well, you make a good point, because when was the last time someone asked you personally, hey, do you know a plumber? Do you know an electrician? Do you know a framer that I could call or a cabinet person I could call?
Everything is about reputation. And when you're recommending someone, especially to friends, family, colleagues, you want to make sure that the person that you're recommending is going to do right by them. Right.
[00:03:01] Speaker B: There is almost nothing more important. If somebody calls me and I put my name on the line and I say that I recommend this contractor. That contractor better hold up their end of the bargain. That's where I'm at. If I'm going to recommend you, you better do a bang up job. Yes.
[00:03:21] Speaker A: You're hearing that contractors.
[00:03:24] Speaker B: Yeah. Reputation. Very important. Second to reputation, in my opinion. Credentials and qualifications. Obviously, you're not going to hire a do it yourselfer, handyman type person to build your home. You're going to want to hire someone that you know has done the job successfully and can do it again. Successfully. Yeah.
[00:03:54] Speaker A: You want to make sure they're licensed, bonded, insured, that they have the necessary certifications or qualifications.
Back in the day, a contractor, all they had to do was go out, take a test, and they would get the piece of paper that's saying you're a contractor, good job. And they don't do that like in other parts of the world. You go to Europe, you go to England, you actually have to prove that you know how to be a contractor before they'll give you a license. They don't do that here. However, they have made some strides. They've added in certain requirements for contractors to get their license renewed, and I think it's a good thing. They call it continuing education.
[00:04:41] Speaker B: Right.
[00:04:42] Speaker A: Par hosts these events all the time, where we invite contractors to come in and learn about energy efficiency, building practices, and new products, new products that make sure that that person is up to date.
The biggest thing that I hear all the time from old timers is we've been doing it this way for 40 years.
[00:05:07] Speaker B: Well, that was great 40 years ago.
[00:05:09] Speaker A: With 40 year old technology.
If you're still using the same caulking that you started using in 1981, there's a problem because the technology and caulking has come a million miles, and the products they're coming out with today far surpassed the technology from 1981.
[00:05:30] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:05:30] Speaker A: So it's making sure that someone has the proper credentials and qualifications. Like I said, licensed, bonded, and insured.
I think that's the most important. That's why I put it at number one. But I agree with you as well. Reputation is super important. I mean, you look at our list, all of them are.
[00:05:52] Speaker B: No, you're right.
[00:05:53] Speaker A: Honest.
[00:05:53] Speaker B: You're right. They absolutely are.
[00:05:55] Speaker A: Because the very next one is what experience.
[00:05:59] Speaker B: And that's not to take something away from someone who has just gone to college for four years. And maybe they studied contracting and maybe.
[00:06:10] Speaker A: They just graduated and they project management.
[00:06:13] Speaker B: They have all of the information that they need to be successful, but they don't have any on the job experience. Not saying that they won't be successful, maybe they will. But is that a risk we want to take? I want the contractor that I hire to be tried and true. I want the contractor that I hire to have accomplished this same task before successfully multiple times. And now I want this contractor to do it successfully. For me, experience for me is very important.
[00:06:46] Speaker A: Yeah, they need to have relevant experience as well. You could hire somebody that builds pole barns to do your kitchen.
[00:06:55] Speaker B: Right?
[00:06:57] Speaker A: Your kitchen remodel. They might have 20 years of experience in construction, but it might be rough framing and not necessarily finish work. Finish work. Finished carpentry, tile work, countertops. These are the things that are important. You need to have someone with experience, and maybe not necessarily that person, but experience enough to bring in someone.
If you're hiring a general contractor and they have subs that that general contractor has enough experience to know who he's working with or she's working with, they need to have that experience.
[00:07:35] Speaker B: Yeah. This is also important.
It is a dog eat dog world out there, and contractors are oftentimes clamoring for every bit of business that they can get their hands on. So it is a probability that you could offer a portion of your project to a contractor who has an expertise in that area. And this contractor might say to you, oh, I can do some of this other stuff, too. I can do concrete and I can build that shed and I can do finish work on that staircase. Just because they say they can doesn't mean they can.
Doesn't mean they should or should. This is where experience, and this is where reputation, and this is where referrals come in. And you should be able to trust the contractor that you hire to be honest with you and give you good, solid information. So trust is another very important one, of course. And so with all of that, I think we need to just be on alert when we're looking for the contractor.
[00:08:55] Speaker A: Camping on what you were just saying, learning about a contractor, and like you said, I can do this. I can do concrete. There's an easy way to figure out if they can.
You need to maybe read some online reviews, get testimonials, check, do the checks, call the references, ask for pictures, put a list of questions together for that previous client, and you'll probably want to make sure that it's not just the contractor's mom.
[00:09:33] Speaker B: Just saying if a contractor does good work, then they're likely to have some sort of a portfolio to show off their good work. Ask to see the portfolio. Can I see some photos or some posts online of some of your previous jobs that are similar to mine so I can see what kind of work you've done? Contractors that are worth their salt will be excited to show off some of their work. Come to my website and take a look at all of the projects I've done. You'll love it. You can get some great ideas there.
If they don't have a lot of successful work to show you, it's a red flag, if I'm being honest.
[00:10:21] Speaker A: Yeah, I agree.
That term, worth one, worth one salt.
[00:10:28] Speaker B: Worth one salt.
[00:10:28] Speaker A: I actually heard something about this the other day and the origins of where that came from. And back in the day, it was not terribly uncommon to pay people in salt. Salt was very valuable, really, in some parts of the world.
And when you would say that that person is worth their weight in salt or worth their salt, then they're worth it.
[00:10:59] Speaker B: That's interesting. I'll tell you what.
I've always thought about the fact that the human body is made up largely of salt. And so I was thinking that since your human body was made up largely of salt, that if you were worth your salt, then you were worth what you were made up of.
[00:11:23] Speaker A: Yeah. Actually, this thing that I saw, it was talking about, it was the Romans. And the word salt came from. The root word was sal.
Salination salt.
[00:11:38] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:11:39] Speaker A: That's where we got the word salary.
[00:11:41] Speaker B: Oh, really?
[00:11:43] Speaker A: Yeah. It's kind of funny.
[00:11:44] Speaker B: That is funny. That's great. It's a great term. It is. My dad used to say it a lot.
[00:11:49] Speaker A: I remember seeing that thing and I actually hadn't thought about that in a while until you said worth is.
[00:11:55] Speaker B: I didn't even know I said it.
[00:11:57] Speaker A: Anyway, the next one on the list is communication skills. Dealing with a contractor that can read your mind is nonexistent, right?
[00:12:09] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:12:10] Speaker A: Or they can read your mind. So you reading theirs, they're reading yours. Just doesn't happen. So the only way to get around that is to deal with someone who has good communication skills. They can tell you and convey clearly the details of the project, things that you need to be prepared for, because working with a new customer, a homeowner, for example, somebody like me, who's not a professional, but being able to explain to me what's going to happen, managing my expectations, because I've watched too much HGTV and I think that this bathroom remodel should be done in three days and it should cost $5,000. You know what I mean? There's a lot of those sorts of people. So managing your expectations with good communication skills, letting you know what's happening and when, I think it's extremely important, and honestly, it's a very good question to ask a referral.
When you talk to a reference of that contractor, that's a good question to write down on your list, does he have or she have good communication skills?
[00:13:26] Speaker B: That's a great question. Yeah, that's certainly something that they would be able to answer if they had gone down the road with the contractor. They would certainly be able to answer whether or not they had good communication skills.
The next one on the list is budget and payment terms. This is very important.
[00:13:46] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:13:47] Speaker B: What is the contractor's vision when it comes to getting paid? Getting paid. And where does that start? What is the down? What is the regular, what is the wrap up? What is the total? How much of it is for the contractor, how much of it is for the subs, how much of it is for material, all of that stuff. Understanding how the contractor views the payment process and how it's going to work is extremely important because you need to definitely be on the same page in that area.
[00:14:23] Speaker A: Well, it needs to be clearly defined. If you have something in your head and say, well, I'm going to pay this person 25% up front and I'm going to pay them the rest later when I'm satisfied.
That might not fly for that particular contractor. That contractor has to let you know ahead of time the exact payment terms. And there's a lot of different terms. It's not just you pay me, I do work.
[00:14:49] Speaker B: Right.
[00:14:50] Speaker A: It could be cost plus it could be half upfront and then a payment schedule. A lot of contractors will want 50% upfront so they can buy materials. They might not necessarily be able to bankroll ten or 15,000 or $20,000 worth of material for your job.
[00:15:09] Speaker B: Right.
[00:15:10] Speaker A: So they might require you to pay that money up front so they can go buy materials and then have benchmarks.
[00:15:17] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:15:17] Speaker A: When I get this framing done, you have to pay me more. When I get the sheet rock done, you have to pay me more so they can pay their subs.
[00:15:25] Speaker B: Right.
[00:15:26] Speaker A: It's a very complex dance that many contractors play in. Right? Dance? Yes, absolutely do.
So anyway. Being understanding to avoid misunderstandings is definitely important.
[00:15:46] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, you definitely have to figure in the fact that while your contractor may have one responsibility or maybe several responsibilities besides being the general, maybe your contractor is the general and also doing the framing, installing the windows.
And so they're going to pay themselves for the work that they do as well as pay themselves for being the general. But then when they bring a sub in, those subs need to be paid in a timely fashion. So the subs oftentimes want to be paid immediately, as soon as the job is done. And so if the job is done on a Friday, they're expecting to have a check in their hand Friday afternoon or first thing Monday morning.
[00:16:36] Speaker A: I've been seeing lots of these videos lately of contractors going crazy where they do a job for a homeowner. Homeowner says, no, I don't like it. I'm not paying you. So then the contractor says, okay, well, I'm going to take my stuff back.
[00:16:53] Speaker B: Right?
[00:16:53] Speaker A: And they're in there with jackhammers, sludge hammers and saws and chopping everything up. I could not imagine getting to that point.
If you have terrible communication skills as a homeowner or if you have terrible communication skills as a contractor, and things are just happening and the homeowner is in there talking to his spouse, this is the worst job I've ever seen.
I'm not paying them. And the contractor is outside getting everything done, thinking, this is great.
[00:17:26] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:17:26] Speaker A: Can't wait to get paid.
[00:17:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:17:28] Speaker A: And they're not committed. I mean, it's just so crazy to me. It's crazy.
[00:17:35] Speaker B: I did see a post recently.
[00:17:37] Speaker A: I've been seeing them a lot lately.
[00:17:38] Speaker B: Where contractor was tearing up the back patio that they had just laid. And the patio was beautiful. I'm looking at it myself and I'm like, this looks great. And the homeowner was unsatisfied and the contractor tore it up and hauled it off. The contractor did twice the amount of work just so that the homeowner would not be able to withhold payment and then benefit from it.
[00:18:08] Speaker A: Right.
[00:18:08] Speaker B: And honestly, that was a lesson well learned.
[00:18:12] Speaker A: I'm sure good contractors have their ducks in a row and they'll file liens, especially if they did it. They're a licensed and bonded contractor and they've done everything with permits and done everything correctly. They'll just file a lien.
And then you need to worry about doing that.
Going through that process in a court of law.
That doesn't sound like fun.
[00:18:36] Speaker B: Here's another one, Corey, I'm going to just jump to this one. Insurance, this is very important. Obviously, licensed and bonded and insured. We talked about licensed and bonded and insured. This is very important for a contractor because they're bringing people onto your property, subcontractors. They're bringing them onto your property to do work. And if somebody gets injured there, you certainly want the contractor to be able to cover that. Right. So a contractor that has insurance in case something goes wrong with your property is very important. And if a contractor tells you insurance is not necessary or he doesn't think that, he or she doesn't think that.
[00:19:20] Speaker A: It'S necessary, they are lying to you.
[00:19:22] Speaker B: That would be a red flag for me. Yeah.
[00:19:25] Speaker A: If you have someone on your property that's not properly licensed and they fall off or they injure themselves, you're on the hook. You. So think about that when you hire the next contractor.
Next on this would be timeline, clearly outlining a project timeline to ensure that a contractor hits the deadlines and a lot of contractors will have stipulations and things. Obviously there are things outside of a contractor's control.
Maybe you special ordered a tub for your bathroom and said tub just isn't available supply chain. I mean, the last several years here in the United States have been a nightmare with the supply chain after Covid. So there are know, holding someone to something that's unrealistic. I want you to pull a tub out of the air.
[00:20:25] Speaker B: Right.
[00:20:25] Speaker A: And I'm not paying you till you do.
[00:20:27] Speaker B: Right.
[00:20:29] Speaker A: What are you talking about? So there are things. Right. But there is also situations where contractors will just not get the Job done. Maybe they took on too much work. Maybe they took on a project over here that's paying them more than you.
And homeowner B says, well, I'll pay you more. Just be on my job site every day.
[00:20:51] Speaker B: Right.
[00:20:52] Speaker A: And contractor might say, great. So that's another thing that you can talk with references about. That's a good one to write down. Write it on your list.
Did the contractor complete the job in a timely manner?
Did they get it done when they said they would get it done?
[00:21:09] Speaker B: Right.
[00:21:09] Speaker A: Did they show up when they said they were going to show up?
Very important. And you can also add provisions for delays. I know some of these, not all contractors are going to go for that, but in the commercial world, I do a lot of commercial projects and there's penalties to be had if you don't hit certain milestones by a certain time, the contractor pays penalties.
So something to keep in mind.
[00:21:42] Speaker B: Yeah, the next one is really good. Including all of those things we've talked about, like timeline you were just mentioning. Also the payment terms we were just talking about. You will find these things included in a contract. Contract that is drafted by the contractor and then signed by you and the contractor. And if the contractor tells you that a contract is not necessary. That is for you to decide based on the amount of money you're spending. But if you're spending thousands and thousands of dollars, it's a really good idea to work with a contractor that thinks that a contract is a good idea. Yeah. Contract protects both of you. It protects the homeowner and the contractor, because what it does is it binds the thoughts and words and processes of the communication prior to the start of the project. So if the contractor said it and it's in the contract and you agreed and it's in the contract, then we're just making sure that the contract is fulfilled, gets everybody what they want, and everybody wins. Everybody gets paid, the project gets done, and everyone is responsible.
[00:22:58] Speaker A: Yeah. Most good contractors that you hire will have some sort of contract or documentation drawn up by their attorney that they just use over and over. Right. But sometimes there's things specific to your project that includes scope of work, scope of what types of materials. It's not just about money and timeline. How fast can you do it and how cheap can you do it for?
[00:23:27] Speaker B: Right.
[00:23:27] Speaker A: What if you're a person that wants a good job?
What if you want specific tile for your bathroom? Are you just going to say, yeah, whatever you want, whatever you think is best? Of course you're not going to say that.
[00:23:42] Speaker B: That's definitely not suggested.
[00:23:44] Speaker A: You're going to want a contract that says, I want Carrera marble from this manufacturer. I'm going to go pick out the slab myself, and it will have my name on it. And you'll cut it up and you'll get it manufactured and installed to my specifications. You're going to want that. And if it's not in some sort of documentation and you refuse to pay and he liens you, I mean, that's on you.
[00:24:08] Speaker B: Yeah. You might end up with poor mica.
The next one on the list is subcontractors. If the contractor plans to use subcontractors, you should verify the subcontractor's qualifications and ensure that they are licensed and insured as well.
[00:24:25] Speaker A: Always.
[00:24:26] Speaker B: Yeah.
I'll tell you what. Contractors probably have some subs that work for them that are also just laborers. Right.
If your contractor hires a drywaller and the drywaller shows up on the job site and is prepping the wall for drywall, well, the employee or the contractor? The person. The worker that's there doing work might.
[00:25:01] Speaker A: Not be a sub.
[00:25:04] Speaker B: No, he's a sub, but he might not be the main guy. He might not be the licensed guy, the licensed contractor might have guys working for him that are doing prep work or this or that or whatever, cleanup or packing. They might send some laborers there to pack material into the house. They might not be licensed contractors. That doesn't mean that the sub is not a licensed contractor. Every single person that steps foot on the job might not be a licensed contractor.
[00:25:31] Speaker A: Yeah, they're operating under the umbrella of the license.
[00:25:35] Speaker B: Right. So you don't have. Every single person on the job site is not necessarily a licensed contractor, but maybe working for the licensed contractor who maybe isn't there in that moment, at that time, on that day. I was just making clear that the sub that you might walk up to.
[00:25:52] Speaker A: And talk to, I need to see your license.
[00:25:55] Speaker B: Right.
[00:25:56] Speaker A: Are you bonded?
No.
[00:25:58] Speaker B: This is my point.
[00:25:59] Speaker A: He's not a contractor, but he's covered under the large umbrella of the general contractor. As long as the general contractor you hired is license and bond.
[00:26:09] Speaker B: Right. And it wouldn't be our responsibility as homeowners to question every single person that walks onto the job either.
This is why you hire a contractor that you trust, because the contractor has relationships, strong relationships with subcontractors. And if the contractor you chose, you trust, then you should trust that he is going to bring somebody onto the job that he or she trusts as well. So there is a long line of trust taking place there. And you wouldn't feel obligated to interrogate people that came onto the job site to determine whether they are licensed, bonded and insured. Instead, you would trust the contractor is making the right choice.
[00:26:58] Speaker A: All right, the next one on the list is for permits and regulations. It's important that when you're hiring a contractor, it's in your documentation, it's in your contract that they pull the proper permits. I've seen it before, horror stories where people have hired contractors, they didn't pull the permits, and then their job gets flagged by the city, and then the contractor says, oh, yeah, just forgot.
I mean, that happens. And sometimes they're trying to do things non regulated so that they're not doing things properly. So it's really on you to ensure that that stuff is happening and make sure that they're complying with local building codes.
I've seen people do things where it might be okay in their country.
[00:27:50] Speaker B: Well, I'll tell you what I've seen results of people doing things were not done the correct way. I'm not sure that I've been on hand watching it happen, but I've certainly seen the results of it, and it's unfortunate. If the home that you spent, all of the money that you spent on is now having additions or remodels or facelift done and it's not permitted, that can cost you in the end in more ways than one. If it's unsafe, it could cost you that way. Or if you go to sell the house and the sale falls through because of unpermitted work, these are things that you wouldn't want to have happen.
[00:28:32] Speaker A: If you hear this coming out of the person's mouth, it's fine. I've been doing it this way for 40 years.
[00:28:39] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a red flag.
[00:28:41] Speaker A: Not always. Not always.
I don't need permits. I've been doing it this way for 40 years.
Okay.
[00:28:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:28:52] Speaker A: The next one on the list is problem solving skills.
Assessing a contractor's ability to handle unexpected issues. We talk about can of worms on the show. It's happened to me, it's happened to Tony. You open up a wall and there is literally a can of worms inside of problems.
Every contractor knows that not every job is going to run smoothly. At least they should. If you go into a project thinking, man, this is just going to run so smooth.
If you've ever done any sort of DIY project and you've gone to par lumber more than once in the same day, you know for a fact things don't go smoothly.
[00:29:37] Speaker B: Yes. So one of the things Corian always say, expect the unexpected.
[00:29:42] Speaker A: Yes. So being able to hire a contractor who has good problem solving skills, again, that's another question you can add. You can add that to your list of questions, to the reference to the references.
[00:29:57] Speaker B: Does this contractor have good problem solving skills? Yes.
[00:30:00] Speaker A: Did they have a problem arise? Did you have any problems arise where this contractor came up with a solution for you? Hey, the tub that you wanted, that's not going to be here for another 36 months.
I found this tub. It's very similar, and we can get it now done, problem solved. I don't know if you've ever dealt with people who they just say, sorry. Yeah, sorry. It's happened to me a lot where I'll call a particular vendor looking for something. And the supply chain thing over the last few years I was talking about earlier has been terrible. And you call this supplier and you say, hey, do you have this in ten foot? No, sorry, we're out.
[00:30:54] Speaker B: No alternative.
[00:30:55] Speaker A: And then your next question is, how about twelve foot?
[00:30:58] Speaker B: Should you really have to ask that question?
[00:31:00] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, tons of those.
[00:31:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:31:01] Speaker A: You know what I mean? That person's problem solving skills are limited.
So anyway, we've all dealt with those people. You know what I'm talking about?
[00:31:12] Speaker B: Yeah, this is a good one. I like this one a lot. Guarantees and warranties. Guarantees and warranties.
[00:31:21] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:22] Speaker B: This is something that would be in the contract. For example, what is my guarantee that this work is going to remain to be good, it's not going to fall apart. Everything is going to work as it's supposed to. And if something goes wrong over the course of a predetermined period of time, what is my recourse? And will you come back and fix it? And will you fix it for free and all of that stuff? Right. These are things that you would have in the contract and you would agree with the contractor on these terms and you would feel good about it moving forward, knowing that the contractor has your back and the contractor is going to fix whatever goes wrong for a period of time and so on. So, yeah, this is something you would want to agree with the contractor on as well.
[00:32:18] Speaker A: Keep in mind, there are laws in place that protect homeowners and warranties and guarantees and that sort of thing. There are things out there, laws, but good contractors will go above and beyond the bare minimum. That is the law. And it's good to have that conversation. I had a situation where we got tile work done and all the grout fell out within the first week. They came back, regrouted it, and it fell out again.
[00:32:51] Speaker B: Yikes.
[00:32:51] Speaker A: They came out, regrouted it and it fell out a third time.
[00:32:54] Speaker B: Oh, no.
[00:32:55] Speaker A: Then they sent somebody out to ground, like take all the grout out and then regrout it from the very get go. Apparently the mix was too dry originally, so then all the grout they were putting on top of the already too.
[00:33:10] Speaker B: Dry mix was not solving the problem.
[00:33:12] Speaker A: Yeah, it was just sticking to nothing, so it just kept falling out. And my warranty was not very good on that project because they came out, did it for the last time, and they said, this is it, we're not doing anymore. They give me a little bit of refund money and to this day it looks terrible.
So make sure that who you're talking to has the right warranties in place for you.
[00:33:41] Speaker B: Yikes. Yeah.
That is not a good situation there at all.
[00:33:45] Speaker A: No.
[00:33:46] Speaker B: You're unhappy with the end result.
[00:33:48] Speaker A: I learned the hard way.
[00:33:50] Speaker B: Yeah, that's tough. That's a tough one.
[00:33:53] Speaker A: Last one. Well, second to last one. I added one more.
[00:33:56] Speaker B: Yeah, let's do your one more. Let's do your one more first.
[00:33:59] Speaker A: I came up with this because I just thought about this, I had a contractor one time that was doing some siding work on my house and I had these neighbors who lived across the street. They were crazy neighbors. They were nosy. They were always worried about who is parking on the street in front of my house because we shared a mailbox, their mailbox, they lived across and then next door. So Kitty corner from my home and their mailbox was in front of my house because I had mine, my neighbors and theirs, all three in front of my home next to my driveway.
And it was according to the postal service laws, you had to have x amount of feet on either side of the mailbox so that the mail person, mailman can come in with his little car and deliver the mail.
Well, my contractor the first day didn't know that, propped up shop in front of the mailbox and the postman drove right on by, said, I'm not delivering your mail.
[00:35:08] Speaker B: Peace.
[00:35:08] Speaker A: Kept going.
[00:35:09] Speaker B: Oh, man.
[00:35:10] Speaker A: So then my neighbor, nosy neighbor who lived in that house, Kitty corner, called the postman, the post office, the postmaster general. Yes. And they said, we require at least 5ft beyond the mailboxes.
So I had a conversation with my, he had a conversation with me. I said, I'm really sorry about that. And the next day the Contractor showed up and I said, hey, you got to park 5ft this way. We measured it, set a cone. I'm like, just stay, keep your equipment in your vehicles past this cone and we'll be good. And I didn't make it 5ft. I think he made it 7ft just to be sure.
[00:35:54] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:35:56] Speaker A: And this guy, this neighbor, he came out cussing, he was so mad. Came across the street ready to fight.
[00:36:06] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:36:07] Speaker A: And my contractor did not have very good temperament and he almost got in a fistfight with my neighbor over this parking situation in front of my house.
[00:36:21] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:36:21] Speaker A: It was crazy. He called me on the phone, I was at work. So I had to come home and mediate this situation. And I'm like, this is crazy. What is going on here? So anyway, temperament.
[00:36:35] Speaker B: Yes.
Any person that you have to deal with in your life, whether it's a contractor or a neighbor or a coworker, whatever it is, anybody that you have to deal with in your life that is quick to anger is going to be a challenge. And when you're spending the kind of money that you're spending with the contractor that you're going to spend it with, you do not want that person to be quick to anger. That is the opposite characteristic that you want from your contractor. So determine that the contractor you're choosing is patient, kind, loving and slow. They love their work and slow to anger.
[00:37:19] Speaker A: Yes, I've talked to contractors. I know lots and lots of contractors, and some have a very big disdain for customers. They don't like people.
[00:37:28] Speaker B: Right.
[00:37:28] Speaker A: They like doing work, but they don't like people. And honestly, that's pretty common. People get into the trades and they really like doing tile work. They don't like talking to you. They just want to do their tile work. They want to get it done, make it look great, get paid and leave.
They don't want to be in there talking about their tools.
[00:37:50] Speaker B: Jibber jabbing.
[00:37:51] Speaker A: Gibber jabbing? Yeah.
So I've seen those situations where homeowners test the temperament of some people.
They go in there with their blue tape and they're, like, going crazy.
I feel like it's one of those things that you need to establish up front. If you're that sort of person, you need to hire the right sort of contractor. That is the perfectionist that will do the job that you want to do, and you're probably going to pay more for it. If you're a perfectionist and you hire the cheapest contractor because you're also a perfectionist and a cheapskate, then you're probably going to be one of those people that has the contractor show up after a couple of weeks and jackhammer out your patio.
[00:38:41] Speaker B: Right.
[00:38:43] Speaker A: I'm just saying there's recipes for disaster, and if your expectations aren't managed properly, and a lot of that has to do with doing your homework, making sure that you're getting the best bang for your buck, and hiring a contractor that has great references, and then you know they're going to do a good job. And sometimes that means waiting.
They're not available till June. Well, sometimes that means you got to do what you got to do.
[00:39:19] Speaker B: Yep. Absolutely.
[00:39:21] Speaker A: What's the last one on the list, Tony?
[00:39:22] Speaker B: The last one on the list is cleanup and final inspection. Of course, this is another one of the things that you would have in your contract, the agreement that the job would be cleaned and free from debris and back to a living state, as well as being getting your final inspection, passing the final inspection, and then usually there's some verbiage in here that allows for the contractor is done.
We've been inspected and it is good. But in my opinion, as the homeowner, there are some things that aren't maybe quite up to my expectation. Let's have a conversation about those. That doesn't mean that you see a drip of paint or a run of.
[00:40:13] Speaker A: Paint on the wall and you withhold $10,000.
[00:40:15] Speaker B: You withhold $10,000 until it's scraped away and repainted.
Obviously, I feel like that we are all human, after all, and quality and appearance and structurability are all very important words. But perfection oftentimes, while expected, probably that word, very practical. Probably that word is not in your contract.
[00:40:47] Speaker A: Read your contract.
[00:40:48] Speaker B: Does it say perfection? It probably doesn't. Most Contractors would not be looking for the word perfection, but within industry tolerance. Yes, absolutely. This is a very important thing when it comes to final inspections and you've got a roll of blue tape and you're about to run around and stick it on every single thing that you see that you think is not good enough.
There are tolerances that are allowed. Industry tolerance and perfection generally is above.
[00:41:19] Speaker A: And portion of that, right?
[00:41:21] Speaker B: Is not a portion of that.
[00:41:22] Speaker A: Real last quick story. I just thought of this in regards to cleanup and final inspection. I redid my backyard several years ago. You remember this?
[00:41:33] Speaker B: I do.
[00:41:34] Speaker A: And in that process, I hired a company to come in with their machines, digging machines and backhoes and dump trucks and haul dirt away. We actually hauled away 22 dump truckloads of dirt out of my backyard, which is not a big backyard. I mean, my lot is only like 8000 sqft.
So they hauled all this because it was crazy. So much dirt. But when they were done, they had to drive this machine, several machines actually, down the side of my house to get rid of this dirt, which I didn't think of. It wasn't like a thing that I was like, oh, what are you doing with the driveway? I just saw over the course of three days as this machine went back and forth down the side of my house 150 times with dirt.
The contractor had put down plywood to protect my driveway. And then they came by, he lifted all the plywood up, took it away, and all this mud was everywhere. Well, then next thing you know, a pressure washer comes over. He's pressure washed the whole driveway. I was amazed it was in the contract that they were responsible for cleanup and they were going to make it look like they were never there.
[00:42:56] Speaker B: Interesting. That's awesome. Yeah, that's great.
[00:42:58] Speaker A: Something to think about.
[00:42:59] Speaker B: Yeah. There's always going to be those things. There's always going to be little loose ends and things that you agree with or don't agree with. We all have to take a little bit in stride. I feel like take a little bit with a grain of salt, if you will, but remodeling and home building. And these types of projects are, it's a very big job and there is a little bit of room for imperfection.
[00:43:33] Speaker A: Yeah, no, I agree.
Well, there you go. Hopefully you got some useful information out of this podcast. We really appreciate you listening. Feel free to check out all of our other ones and subscribe if you'd like. We also have a YouTube channel. You can hit us up at Slash wwomeshow. If you have any questions or comments, you can email us. We are
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[00:44:02] Speaker B: Thanks so much for tuning in. Have a great week.
