LF: Carpenter to build fence section

[killramos]

Oh deer

[bjstare]

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Yeah, at no stage could that ever have been on the right track. Wow lol. Furniture building/finish millwork is1000 miles away from framing and rough carpentry, which he's always seemed pretty good at . I assume a lesson was learned here by both parties but costs should have only been incurred by one so hopefully refunds were made.

Costs were definitely incurred for materials time and tools. Unfortunately no refunds were made.

[JRSC00LUDE]

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Costs were definitely incurred for materials time and tools. Unfortunately no refunds were made.

Well that's unfortunate. There's always another side of the story but there's no point in time where any of that quality is acceptable, I can't imagine a scenario where I'd pay anything toward something that ever looked like that at any point in time haha

If someone makes you pay for materials up front it's a pretty good sign to go a different direction.

Too bad for sure.

[sxtasy]

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If someone makes you pay for materials up front it's a pretty good sign to go a different direction.

I don't have much to add to this thread, other than I recently built a fence around my back yard and cost of material alone was well over 3k for basic pressure treated lumber.

Also have to disagree with this statement, why should a reputable contractor not get material costs up front?

[Gman.45]

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I don't have much to add to this thread, other than I recently built a fence around my back yard and cost of material alone was well over 3k for basic pressure treated lumber.

Also have to disagree with this statement, why should a reputable contractor not get material costs up front?

It is CRAZY how much costs have risen for materials over the years. The 2nd house my x-wife and I built was in Cranston in 2000, Morrison was the builder (excellent at the time), and we had secured a very large pie shaped lot (wife wanted the lot more than the 1400sq/ft-ish house with double front, she didn't even care about the house, just the damn lot). Anyhow, I forget how many feet exactly it was, to build a fence around the home, with a gate at the rear, a large gate for the at that time "mandatory" 2 car parking pad in the rear (which I changed to 1, ha ha on them), but it was a ton. We'd built the deck first, and about a couple months later the mrs bought a fence kit from home depot or wherever, and I know it was about $1200 for all the materials. Less than 1/2 what you said costs were now. Insane.

[benyl]

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I don't have much to add to this thread, other than I recently built a fence around my back yard and cost of material alone was well over 3k for basic pressure treated lumber.

Also have to disagree with this statement, why should a reputable contractor not get material costs up front?

It’s not the norm. Any reputable contractor I’ve dealt with has asked for payment after work is complete. So if half the work is done, they get half. The shitty ones I’ve dealt with get me to pay the concrete company directly before delivery. lol.

[ExtraSlow]

Smaller, 1-man-show kind of companies often take a down payment about equal to the cost of materials, which is pretty reasonable in my opinion.

[killramos]

Want someone to float your project working capital for you, that will cost more.


Want the cheapest guy on the block who operates with no overhead, you might have to front for materials.

Not rocket science.

[ExtraSlow]

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Want someone to float your project working capital for you, that will cost more.


Want the cheapest guy on the block who operates with no overhead, you might have to front for materials.

Not rocket science.

Yes this.

[firebane]

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Smaller, 1-man-show kind of companies often take a down payment about equal to the cost of materials, which is pretty reasonable in my opinion.

Pretty much was this for us when we got the fence built. We were a bit hesitant but it worked out.

[bjstare]

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Want someone to float your project working capital for you, that will cost more.


Want the cheapest guy on the block who operates with no overhead, you might have to front for materials.

Not rocket science.

And, believe it or not, you usually get what you pay for in terms of quality as well.

[max_boost]

My contractor bros were always good with progress payments but so much of that is relationship and trust. Im also realistic with their work, they are more of the builder grade quality vs lotoski grade and price is reflected in that

[tirebob]

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Want someone to float your project working capital for you, that will cost more.


Want the cheapest guy on the block who operates with no overhead, you might have to front for materials.

Not rocket science.

Yeah it can be tough... I deal with a lot of small and large companies who do this kind of work right through full home builds etc and it is insane how many clients bail after having you order goods which cannot be returned without penalty if at all, or once the job is done they drag you out for long periods of time or shaft you completely. The big companies usually have people to deal with collecting but the small guys are not in a spot to always be able to go through everything that is required to collect in a short period of time. A deposit of material costs (or a chunk at least) is a weight off the mind knowing at least his suppliers can get paid up until the job is done and money has been collected.

It is a tough spot for both the client and the company. Trust is a tough thing after being burned a few times either way.

As for the SpikerS incident I know nothing of that, but the only thing I can say is SpikerS has never come across as a guy without good intentions always. Can things go sideways with jobs? Sure they can... Can someone get in over their head trying to advance their skill sets? Yup, no doubt... But how issues are dealt with when something goes sideways is everything. I would hope for both parties this would have been resolved properly but sadly it sounds like it has not yet. That type of thing will haunt a business and client both for a long time to come and nobody needs that.

[mr2mike]

Being on the both sides of the small side hustle jobs, it can be tough to say, "I'm not good enough to build that for you with my skills". But usually takes something to learn that lesson. Seems like this was that time. Red Seal doesn't come with the saw purchase.

[JRSC00LUDE]

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Want someone to float your project working capital for you, that will cost more.


Want the cheapest guy on the block who operates with no overhead, you might have to front for materials.

Not rocket science.

And we've seen the risk. So I guess if your risk tolerance allows for that, give'r.

To me, you're not dealing with 6 figure jobs here building fences/decks/entertaining units (yes I know it's entertainment but clearly this one was built as a joke).

Special order materials are a different story, but anyone can take back a lift of fucking fence boards or melamine sheets if they need to should someone cancel.

None of that would solve this problem though. I can't imagine not returning every cent if we accidentally put out anything like that to a client. When you figure out you're in over your head, bow out with some dignity. There could have been a hundred problems with the client, but none of those excuse the lack of workmanship.

[Gman.45]

Since the pics have been posted, wouldn't it be fair to have some pics of the good jobs SpikerS has done that have been mentioned here?

[max_boost]

He has a thread
He was really good with decks and fences
He did this small job for me many years ago

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

Spikers did my fence in 2016. It's still standing. I should stain it. I was/am happy with the work he did.

[ExtraSlow]

I don't see any point in trying to adjudicate this. It doesn't serve to benefit spikerS, or his former customers, or his friends.

[ThePenIsMightier]

I was once in an elevator with James Short. He farted in that elevator and I was unbelievably offended so I complained on the internet, thoroughly.

Now they changed the name of his CPA Lot-40 to "Harmony Parkade". Who's laughing now, Fart Criminal!!??!?!!