Episode 2061
How to Spot the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in Contractors
Eric G and John Dudley are diving deep into the wild world of hiring contractors, and boy, do we have some juicy tales to share! Ever heard of the phrase "you get what you pay for"? Well, strap in because we’re about to break down why that’s a hard truth when it comes to home improvement. From the “amazing” contractors to those charming hacks who’ll leave your DIY dreams in shambles, we’re shedding light on how to separate the gems from the total duds. We’re tackling everything from contractor licenses that might as well be written on a napkin to the absurdity of trusting the guy who shows up in a beat-up Celica with a skill saw. So, grab your favorite drink, settle in, and let’s make sure you don’t end up with a horror story of your own!
Kicking off the conversation, Eric G and John Dudley dive deep into the wild world of hiring contractors—a topic that’s as thrilling as watching paint dry, right? But seriously, we all know the horror stories: contractors who ghost you after cashing your check, or worse, leave your home looking like a scene from a DIY horror flick. Eric shares a gut-wrenching tale about a buddy who decided to save a few bucks by hiring a contractor that turned out to be more of a hack than a home improvement wizard. Spoiler alert: it didn’t end well. They discuss the importance of doing your homework before hiring someone to work on your castle. Because let’s face it, if you’re not careful, you might end up with a kitchen that looks like it was designed by a blindfolded toddler.
As the episode rolls on, our dynamic duo explores the red flags to watch out for when seeking a contractor. They have some solid advice: always check if they’re licensed, bonded, and insured. If they show up in a brand-new lifted truck, you might want to ask why they need such a flashy ride instead of investing in good tools. And hey, using social media to find contractors? Yeah, that’s a slippery slope. You might find yourself taking recommendations from your neighbor’s cousin who once fixed a fence—yikes! Eric emphasizes the importance of getting multiple estimates and not just going with the cheapest option because, trust me, you get what you pay for.
In the second half, they really hit their stride, sharing tips on how to ensure your project runs smoothly. They stress the importance of having clear communication with your contractor. It's not just about throwing money at someone and hoping for the best; it’s about building a relationship. Eric shares how knowing your budget, being clear about your vision, and having a solid plan can save you from a world of pain later. And of course, they drop some hilarious anecdotes along the way, transforming what could be a dry subject into a lively banter that’ll have you laughing while taking notes. So grab your coffee and buckle up, because this episode is packed with everything you need to avoid becoming another cautionary tale in the realm of home improvement!
Takeaways:
- Hiring a contractor can be a wild ride, and knowing how to vet them is key.
- Always do your homework on a contractor's credentials; it could save you from a disaster.
- Check references and project past work to avoid hiring the next handyman disaster.
- The cheapest bid is often a red flag; remember, you get what you pay for in renovations.
- When dealing with contractors, trust your gut; if they seem sketchy, they probably are.
- Foundation repair companies can be a homeowner's worst nightmare, so get a second opinion first.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- LG
- Ryobi
- Angie's List
- Nextdoor
- CNS Remodeling
- Sitehypedesigns.com
Mentioned in this episode:
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Transcript
Foreign.
Speaker B:Welcome to around the House with Eric G. Your trusted source for all things home improvement.
Speaker B:Whether you're tackling a DIY project, hiring it out, or just trying to keep your home running smoothly, you're in the right place.
Speaker B:With over 30 years of remodeling experience, certified kitchen designer Eric G. Takes you behind the scenes with expert advice, industry trends and the latest innovations for your home.
Speaker A:Home.
Speaker B:It's everything you need to know without the fluff.
Speaker B:Now here's your host, Eric G. Welcome.
Speaker A:To the around the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Speaker A:I'm Eric G. Thanks for joining us today.
Speaker A:Make sure you follow us over on social media.
Speaker A:You can find us just look for the around the House show or I can make it even easier for you.
Speaker A:Just go over to our website, around the House online.
Speaker A:Go to the bottom of the page and just start clicking and following and make sure you check out the YouTube as well.
Speaker A:That way you can find all of our video over there.
Speaker A:There's a lot of stuff over there and some new stuff that I'll be posting up here in the next week or so.
Speaker A:So stay tuned for that.
Speaker A:And we have back a recurring guest co host today, Johnny Dudley.
Speaker A:Welcome back to the show, brother.
Speaker C:Thanks, man.
Speaker C:Thanks for having me.
Speaker C:Those little you're talking about on YouTube, one of those is the dancing one, right?
Speaker A:Not yet.
Speaker A:I got all month, I got all.
Speaker C:Month, the choreographing over there.
Speaker A:Oh yeah, I'm dancing with the stars.
Speaker A:Actually, I can't dance.
Speaker A:I'm gonna see if I can find somebody, I think to make me do it.
Speaker A:But that's a whole other story.
Speaker A:So today I wanted to talk about how to hire a contractor and how to do that because I tell you what, there are some amazing contractors out there, but there are also some serious hacks.
Speaker A:And depending on where you live in the country, I mean, you know, here's the problem that I see.
Speaker A:And John, you know this too.
Speaker A:As a, you know, licensed bond insured contractor, it doesn't matter.
Speaker A:Well, it does matter if you're in Oregon or if you're in Washington, D.C. or if you're in Alaska, Hawaii or Texas.
Speaker A:It's the wild west.
Speaker A:Because every state has their own rules and even some areas don't even require contractors to be licensed in this day and age.
Speaker A:And so really what these contractor licenses can do is you as a consumer, it can really help protect you from finding somebody that's just going to take your, take your dollars and run like you were on my buddy Skip.
Speaker A:Adele and Adam Carolla's show that catch a contractor show where people would pay the money, the job would get done, and guess what?
Speaker A:It would be worse than what they started with.
Speaker A:And then they have to pay them again to do it.
Speaker A:And that's the sad part.
Speaker C:The guy shows up in a Celica with a skill saw in the back and the missing hubcap don't do it well.
Speaker A:But at the same point, I always worry about the guy showing up.
Speaker A:Could be, he could be good.
Speaker A:But here's the thing.
Speaker A:I'd almost rather see that though, versus the guy showing up in the, you know, in the Lexus SUV that's brand new or the140,000 lifted truck, you know what I mean?
Speaker A:So it's.
Speaker A:It's six in one hand, half a dozen the other.
Speaker C:There's extremes there, there, but yeah, it's.
Speaker A:Yeah, you know, it's.
Speaker A:It's interesting.
Speaker A:And that's one of the things.
Speaker A:And great example.
Speaker A:And this is where you as a homeowner need to be diligent.
Speaker A:We'll talk about all the steps you should take here, but I want to start out with this kind of story because it really tells what happens.
Speaker A:And this is where you as a homeowner, it's on you to do your research.
Speaker A:Had a buddy who's a realtor reach out and go, eric, I got a guy, he's trying to help his parents out.
Speaker A:He hired a contractor, he's $200,000 in and the house isn't getting done very well.
Speaker A:Can you go take a look at it?
Speaker A:Sure, I'll Cruise over.
Speaker A:There's 10 minutes from my house, not a big deal.
Speaker A:I cruise over there.
Speaker A:Holy hell.
Speaker A:I felt so bad for this guy at first because this guy had already spent a couple hundred grand on this remodel and everything had to be start, just start over.
Speaker A:So he the contract.
Speaker A:And again, I don't know who the contractor was.
Speaker A:Never saw him look like he might have been a painter in some previous life.
Speaker A:Maybe because the painting skills were halfway decent.
Speaker A:But he decided to build his own kitchen cabinets.
Speaker A:Well, it looks like he started out with some cabinets from maybe a donation place and then kind of tried to build frame to frameless whatever with them.
Speaker A:I knew we were in big problems when the guy, the homeowner, had a double oven sitting there, nice LG double oven.
Speaker A:There was a cabinet that was built out of one by twos that didn't look very good and kind of face frame kind of thing.
Speaker A:I look in the back and there's 14, two Romex in the back of that.
Speaker A:So there is a 110.
Speaker C:Wow.
Speaker A:You know, 15amp circuit going to the back of that.
Speaker A:And I'm like, that's not gonna work.
Speaker A:But the crazy part was that was going to a 40amp breaker.
Speaker A:So who knows what happened.
Speaker A:So I went and looked at the bathrooms.
Speaker A:The bathrooms were even worse.
Speaker A:It looked like, you know, you watch some of these HDTV shows and they have the host trying to set tile on camera and you can tell, it's like you have never touched a trowel and a piece of tile in your entire life and tried to put those two pieces together.
Speaker A:Didn't you know, you could just go, wow, that's foreign to you?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:This was foreign to this guy too.
Speaker A:He had started out the shower with drywall.
Speaker A:He built this base shower base.
Speaker A:It was really nice, but it was on a concrete slab because it was in the basement.
Speaker A:And he had not put the drain down in there.
Speaker A:So the drain was off by like an inch and a half.
Speaker A:Now the only way to do that is to rip the floor back up.
Speaker A:So it was.
Speaker A:It was just one of those things.
Speaker A:And then I walked around to the back.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah, it was even worse.
Speaker A:The deck had a 50% cantilever off the beam.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So, guys, what I'm talking about is that, you know, sometimes you'll have like two feet of the cantilever.
Speaker A:You'll have the beams and the floor decking going on it.
Speaker A:You have the.
Speaker A:The posts and the beam across there, and your two by six tens, twelves, whatever the size of the deck is, is sitting on there.
Speaker A:Yeah, it was right down the middle of the deck.
Speaker A:So you had.
Speaker A:If you put five people out there, you had a springboard going, and you're hoping that that didn't pull out of the side of the house because otherwise you're going on the ground.
Speaker A:Y.
Speaker A:So it was those kind of things, you know, just.
Speaker A:And I'm like, brother, you're gonna have to start over.
Speaker A:You have spent all this money and, you know, try to get some of that money back.
Speaker A:But I think it's all been spent.
Speaker A:And when I see Ryobi tools sitting around.
Speaker A:Sorry, Ryobi.
Speaker A:Most contractors aren't going to have those in their hands that are serious.
Speaker A:I was like, okay, that tells the story.
Speaker A:So the guy was getting some money back, but he decided to hire somebody else.
Speaker A:And I said, okay, man, here's the contractors I would use.
Speaker A:And this is where it gets crazy.
Speaker A:This is where I have to put it on the homeowner again.
Speaker A:He went out trying to save money, was hiring another unlicensed, unbonded, uninsured contractor that was 60,000 doll, thousand dollars less to do it again.
Speaker A:And I walked away and I said, hey, man, can't help you.
Speaker A:You're making the same mistake again.
Speaker A:And they're gonna probably take your money and now you're gonna be three or four hundred thousand dollars again and have to do it all over again.
Speaker A:Couldn't help themselves, you know, and that's.
Speaker A:That's the problem.
Speaker A:And that's one thing I learned with people as well.
Speaker A:And, you know, we've got the smartest audience out there at Home Improvement, all you guys out there listening.
Speaker A:But this is the one thing that I've learned even when I was out helping companies, like, I'm not going to use a company name, but when you and I both worked with Vern, and I'll just use that name.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker A:Couldn't get out of his own way.
Speaker A:Yeah, I tried to help him, My buddy Corey and I tried to help that company get turned around.
Speaker A:And as soon as we left, he ran right back down into the ground again.
Speaker A:And a year and a half later, I see the auction, you know, of my desk and stuff.
Speaker A:You as a homeowner have to get out of your own way and not make those decisions based on money because it's not going to usually work out.
Speaker A:You might get lucky, and it works out great.
Speaker A:But that's kind of how that's going to go.
Speaker A:It's going to get expensive.
Speaker A:So in the next segment, Johnny, I want you and I to kind of walk through here.
Speaker A:We're going to run to break here, but I want to walk through the stuff to make sure that everybody understands kind of the process, what to look for and what are the tricks that some of these people that you see on nextdoor that aren't licensed or will never be able to get a license, bond, or insurance, how to keep those people out of the mix so you can find those good contractors and have them come work on your project.
Speaker A:We'll do that just as soon as around the House returns.
Speaker A:Don't worry, we're gonna get positive.
Speaker A:We got the secrets for you when we come back.
Speaker A:Don't change that dial.
Speaker B:Time for a quick pause.
Speaker B:Go measure something twice, cut it once and regret it forever.
Speaker B:Around the house.
Speaker B:We'll be right back.
Speaker A:The kids these days will never understand what it's like to play an instrument, to be in a band.
Speaker C:What's up?
Speaker C:This is Sticksydenia and Satchel from Steel Panther.
Speaker C:And you are listening to around the House with Eric G. Yeah, we love.
Speaker A:Eric G. And you should too.
Speaker A:1987.
Speaker A:I never want to leave you.
Speaker A:Welcome back to the around the House show.
Speaker A:The next generation of home improvement.
Speaker A:I'm Eric G. Thanks for joining me.
Speaker A:Of course.
Speaker A:We got Johnny Dudley here in the studio.
Speaker A:Sight Hype Designs.
Speaker A:Contractor, web designer.
Speaker A:This guy helps contractors out there get their businesses turned around online.
Speaker A:So you're the master of that, brother.
Speaker C:Is it speaking of a good way to find a good contractor?
Speaker C:And it's not always the truth, and I'm not pitching web design, but for goodness sake, man, if you're a contractor, Scotty used to be like that.
Speaker C:I did this little thing on wix.
Speaker C:I'm like, brother, if you want to look like your York's remodeling, then make it look like you're legit.
Speaker C:That tells people you're spending money on marketing, you're spending money on your business and you're building something real.
Speaker C:Not.
Speaker C:I threw up a site on a Sunday night and hope this thing works.
Speaker C:Like having a legit looking site that gives people good information, valuable information, tips on how to find a good contractor, even if it's not you.
Speaker C:Things to consider before you call us for a proposal.
Speaker A:Luly.
Speaker C:Budget sheets, realistic budget.
Speaker C:What are you trying to do?
Speaker C:That.
Speaker C:Providing that kind of information provides impetus and interest for people to use your site.
Speaker C:It leads to more leads, it leads to more revenue, it leads to better projects.
Speaker C:And it also helps you cipher out the guy that wants to do a bathroom model for twelve hundred dollars.
Speaker C:You're like, yeah, that's not gonna happen.
Speaker C:Yeah, so yeah, no, that's important, guys.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:If I can help in any way, even if it's just advice, hit me up, send me an email, whatever, brother.
Speaker A:That's the thing.
Speaker A:And with AI and all these things out there nowadays, there's different.
Speaker A:Used to be jump on Angie's List, you'd grab somebody, you jump on, you know, wherever, and you'd find somebody.
Speaker A:Craigslist even.
Speaker A:You'd see people do that.
Speaker A:And nowadays so many of these other sites and not saying Angie's List, but you get on to Nextdoor, Nextdoor and Facebook are the two that I would say are the biggest offenders of having unlicensed, unbonded, uninsured contractors.
Speaker A:They're not following the rules.
Speaker A:Those are the honey holes to find those guys.
Speaker A:Because they are prevalent there.
Speaker C:Yeah, they just want the ad money.
Speaker A:They ain't consent Sunday ads, they're just jumping on there.
Speaker A:You'll have somebody will say, hey, I'm looking at my fence built, or I'm having a deck rebuild.
Speaker A:Who do you know?
Speaker A:And then somebody jumps on and goes, I'll make a name up.
Speaker A:Let's say it's Mrs. Carlson will jump on and go, oh, yeah, call CNS.
Speaker A:I'm making a name up.
Speaker A:CNS remodeling.
Speaker A:And then somebody will jump on there.
Speaker A:Oh, I'm Mike Carlson.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:From CNS Remodeling.
Speaker A:And then, of course, you'll look them up.
Speaker A:They're not licensed, bonded, insured.
Speaker A:And if you're seeing us remodeling, I'm not talking about you, but I'm just making this up, not trying to dog anybody out there.
Speaker C:As a guy that's built several businesses, those are the leftovers.
Speaker C:Like, that's where you go scavenger in when you're first starting out.
Speaker C:And you need to, like, basically do a job for free to get your name out there, which means I've got no experience.
Speaker C:Otherwise I'd be showing it off and getting good jobs.
Speaker C:So I'm on those boards, and I'm hunting down people that I need a WordPress site built.
Speaker C:And you're like, oh, yeah, I'll get that.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Like, when you're first cycling 12 years ago, I was doing that.
Speaker C:I was searching the boards, going, who need for any.
Speaker A:Who needs my work?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:And get my foot in the water.
Speaker C:And I get that.
Speaker C:It's hard to break a business if you can do a $200,000 remodel.
Speaker C:You don't want that guy that's scavenging for a fence job.
Speaker C:Like, don't do that.
Speaker A:Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker A:So the first thing is understand really what the rules are in your state, in your region.
Speaker A:Like here, where I'm at, where Johnny was at, the state of Washington, the state of Oregon, they have a statewide contractor licensing program, which is great.
Speaker A:Now, the big thing is you get into other places, like on the east coast, they don't have that.
Speaker A:It's the city that maybe, let's say Philadelphia has it.
Speaker A:But if you're the next town over, you got to be licensed with them.
Speaker A:There's not a statewide thing, so that could be a little bit tougher.
Speaker A:But really understanding what the rules are, where you live and what's required, that will sure help you understand what you're looking for.
Speaker A:Because, for instance, here in the state where I'm in, there's a contract has to be an approved contract with the state, has to have these things in it.
Speaker A:You have to have Lead paint things.
Speaker A: If your house is built before: Speaker A:So that way if somebody comes over and they don't have those, that should be a warning sign that maybe this person's not on the up and up.
Speaker A:And I've seen that more often than not that even somebody will be trying to say, oh yeah, I'm this contractor.
Speaker A:But they're basically stealing the license number of somebody else.
Speaker A:And that can be a big one.
Speaker C:Yeah, we're going to hit a lot of points here.
Speaker C:And I think this is definitely something we make a list out of to be able to provide, put it on the site, I'm sorry for the email, send it out in a newsletter, that kind of stuff.
Speaker C:Because it's just bullet points.
Speaker C:They're not big deals.
Speaker C:It's just if, especially if it's your first time, there's going to be things you didn't consider absolutely budget realistic, is the guy licensed, is the etc.
Speaker C:Etc.
Speaker C:We'll hit all that in a second.
Speaker C:But yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Speaking about budget, that's the thing.
Speaker A:You can do some research and find out what the average cost is across the country.
Speaker A:So you have an idea because that's a lot of the.
Speaker A:That's another one of those warning signs.
Speaker A:When someone's coming in at half what the national average is.
Speaker C:There's a reason.
Speaker A:There's a reason.
Speaker A:Great example out there.
Speaker A:If you're going to take a bath, remodel.
Speaker A:And I'm talking about that bath remodel that's in the hallway.
Speaker A:It's got the five foot tub at the end.
Speaker A:It's got a 36 inch vanity, the toilet next to it.
Speaker A:You walk in.
Speaker A:It's the typical hall bathroom that we see across the country.
Speaker A: The average right here in: Speaker A:And I'm talking about just, you know, laminate countertops, just really basic.
Speaker A:That starts at $25,000.
Speaker C:Guys, I'm getting back in the business.
Speaker A:See.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And so when you look at that and I'm gonna.
Speaker A:And here's the thing.
Speaker A:And when you look at that, okay, what's a mid range bathroom?
Speaker A:Up.
Speaker A:Here's the rules on that.
Speaker A:I'll give you the specs.
Speaker A:That's taking a 5 by 7 foot bathroom replace all fixtures include a 30 by 60 inch porcelain on steel tub with a 4 by 4 inch ceramic tile surround, single level of temperature pressure balance shower control, standard wide toilet, solid service vanity counter with integral sink, recessed medicine cabinet with light Tile floor and some wallpaper.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker C:If anybody out there needs a bathroom model, I'll come up from Columbia and take care of it for you for 20.
Speaker C:I used to do them for eight.
Speaker C:I know.
Speaker C:That was 15 years ago.
Speaker A:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker A:But here's the one thing that you gotta.
Speaker A:Listen, you got to pay attention to this.
Speaker A:They just listed off.
Speaker A:What's one thing they didn't do?
Speaker A:A cabinet.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:They didn't list a cabinet there.
Speaker A:So that's reusing the old cabinet.
Speaker C:Yeah, Just swapping the tub.
Speaker A:And what used to be a hundred dollar tub is now a 300, but that's swapping the top.
Speaker A:So 20.
Speaker A:That's on average across the country.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:So the guy comes in and says he can do it for 10.
Speaker C:He's not.
Speaker C:Yeah, you got a problem, he's gonna tell you 10.
Speaker C:And that means it's gonna go up 2 grand a day for the next 10 days.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Now here's the thing.
Speaker A:Let's say you want to do an upscale one.
Speaker A:Let's say you want.
Speaker A:I want something nice to like 100 square feet.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Something a little bigger.
Speaker A:When you gut that.
Speaker A:I'm not going to go into the details on this because we do that with our cost versus value report episode when we do it.
Speaker A:But this 100 square foot basically gut to the studs kind of project like a typical one.
Speaker A:A new angle shower, all that stuff.
Speaker A:Maybe electric and floor heating, new cabinetry.
Speaker A:That cost now average across the U.S. and this is crazy.
Speaker A:78,000.
Speaker A:Almost $79,000.
Speaker C:You've got to be.
Speaker C:Dude.
Speaker C:I'm seriously considering coming back up there and starting business again.
Speaker A:Johnny.
Speaker A:We'll do that just as soon as around the House returns.
Speaker A:Welcome back to the around the House show.
Speaker A:The next generation of home improvement.
Speaker A:I'm Eric G. Hey guys, make sure you follow us over all of our stuff you can find over@aroundthehousonline.com whether you're looking for Twitter, Instagram, Tick tock and make sure you check out the YouTube as well.
Speaker A:All those links are right there.
Speaker A:That way you can follow us.
Speaker A:And if you're on the radio checking us out.
Speaker A:Hey, thanks for listening to us on the Talk Media Network.
Speaker A:Make sure you check us out on the podcast because we do have a midweek episode that comes out that doesn't hit the radio airwaves.
Speaker A:You can check it over there.
Speaker A:Just find us on your favorite podcast player.
Speaker A:I got Johnny Dudley here from side Up Designs, contractor that I used to work with years ago and we've been talking about trying to hire that contractor and find the right ones.
Speaker A:And we were talking about some project costs really to make sure that you understand going in what's a good bid and what's not.
Speaker A:Because so many times people get a number and go, that's half the price of everybody else.
Speaker A:And I'm going to go with the low bid.
Speaker A:And as Johnny that's usually the most expensive way to do that.
Speaker C:Get what you pay for still holds true 99% of the time.
Speaker C:Man, what's this reality?
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:One last number here before we get into the hiring secrets that I have to take a 200 square foot kitchen with functional layout of 30ft of semi custom wood cabinets, 3 by 5 foot island, laminate countertops, standard double bowl, stainless sink, signal over faucer range vent hood basics, vinyl flooring, a little trim, that kind of stuff.
Speaker A:The average cost on that kitchen model across the US is $80,000 with laminate countertops.
Speaker A:Now if you wanted those quartz and you wanted the tie.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:And vinyl flooring.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Okay, so I lived in an apartment like that once.
Speaker A:No kidding.
Speaker A:So really guys, this is what I'm worried about is just understanding what the costs are first.
Speaker A:But one way to do that is that's just Google up cost versus value report.
Speaker A:That's where you can find it.
Speaker A:It's out there.
Speaker A:You can find it for your area.
Speaker A:There's a couple hundred markets across the US where they've got it, where they can tell you what the prices are in your area to give you a rough idea.
Speaker A:And they've been doing that every year.
Speaker A:They just got bought out last year.
Speaker A: So that's the: Speaker A:And unfortunately I'm going to say that remodeling never gets cheaper.
Speaker A: ers have probably gone up for: Speaker C:Note it's crazy.
Speaker C:Add that link to the list.
Speaker A:Yeah, we'll put it on there.
Speaker A:We'll put it on there now guys.
Speaker A:You know, and some of that is just some of our building material prices out there.
Speaker A:She rock.
Speaker A:Last time I looked last week is almost 20 bucks a sheet.
Speaker A:It's just crazy because that stuff's coming out of Mexico or at least the gypsum is.
Speaker A:So that's a little expensive right now.
Speaker A:So really educate yourself first on the project, what you're going to do.
Speaker A:But here's the thing I want you to look for and this is some of the stuff that we've had and that I've learned over the years is first off, talk to them, have them come out and give you an estimate.
Speaker A:Now, I have a thing that I've been talking about for the last couple years as well.
Speaker A:If you want a detailed estimate, I have no problem with that contractor charging you a few hundred bucks to give you a line item estimate.
Speaker A:And I'm not a big fan of the free estimates anymore.
Speaker A:I'm not asking the contractor to go spend eight hours of their day putting together a detailed estimate for your detailed project for free.
Speaker A:If they want to come in and go, ah, this is going to be 80 to 90 grand for this project, depending on what you do.
Speaker A:You got a budget.
Speaker A:If you want it to be, it's going to be $92,000.
Speaker A:You're going to have to probably pay a few hundred bucks for them to do that bid.
Speaker A:Now, most of the guys that do that, generally speaking, they'll give that money off the project if you go with them.
Speaker A:So I don't have a problem with that.
Speaker A:That way you can work through that process.
Speaker A:But really making sure that they're licensed, bonded, insured, and it's easy.
Speaker A:Check and see.
Speaker A:Like in my state, it's awesome.
Speaker A:If you're an Oregon resident, they made it easy.
Speaker A:I can call the Oregon Construction Contractors Board.
Speaker A:They answer the phone and I can say, hey, I'm looking up John Dudley at ASM Construction over here.
Speaker A:What do they tell you?
Speaker A:And they'll go through and they'll tell you exactly, John.
Speaker A:It was never licensed in Oregon, so he wouldn't have showed up.
Speaker A:Yeah, but that's the thing.
Speaker A:They're going to go through and say, hey, wow, this person's been in business for 35 years.
Speaker A:They've had two complaints.
Speaker A:That's pretty good.
Speaker A:Because people like to complain just because they have one or two complaints out there.
Speaker A:It's not about the complaints, about how they handle them.
Speaker A:That's the thing.
Speaker A:And that's what happens.
Speaker A:And so doing that research, because here's what happens, if you're actually out there and you hire somebody that's not licensed, bond insured, and they're coming up to do your roof, you are now their employer, Johnny.
Speaker A:So you're paying for them.
Speaker A:You're paying them.
Speaker A:Guess what?
Speaker A:If they fall off that ladder, they break their leg or worse.
Speaker A:That's your medical bill, not theirs.
Speaker A:Because you're now the employer.
Speaker A:So they can go after you, the homeowner.
Speaker A:For them getting hurt, that can be a problem and can get really expensive.
Speaker A:That can be a problem.
Speaker A:So one of the things also that I like too, and this is one thing and Again, I want to get your take on this, Johnny, and we got a little time to do it here in this segment.
Speaker A:But homeowners, when we have a shortage of trades out there, are at a severe disadvantage trying to general contract their own project for sure.
Speaker A:Because what happens is, like, when Johnny was doing his general contracting, he had his trades that he worked with that were loyal to him.
Speaker A:If you called up as a homeowner and wanted one of those people to come work, have you, hey, can you come work to his electrician?
Speaker A:Hey, come work on my project.
Speaker A:As a homeowner, you're a one time and done.
Speaker A:So you are the lowest generally on the list.
Speaker A:Because what happens is the contractors, that they are their big meat potatoes, if they call up and go, hey, man, I need you tomorrow morning at this job site because something went sideways, you're the one that doesn't have the guy show up in the morning.
Speaker A:He's gonna go, she's gonna go over to the conch, to the project that pays them, you know, the weekly dollars.
Speaker A:So it's really tough.
Speaker C:Like, you really become a team.
Speaker C:Like, I was tight with.
Speaker C:I mean, we're a family with all my subs, the drywall guys, the plumbers, the electricians, like, you remember Paul Larkin.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:All those guys, man, we were tight and we all worked well together and we didn't step on each other's toes.
Speaker C:And having a general contractor that brings that kind of team to your project is invaluable because they've done it 50 times before together as a team.
Speaker C:They know that the electrician is going to do this way just like he did the last 50 times, which lets the drywaller know not to cover that yet, because there's an X mark there, which lets the floor guy know.
Speaker C:Don't run the floor all the way to the edge.
Speaker C:It's silly things that if you're not in the know and you don't do that stuff every day, is it can't be faulted for it.
Speaker C:But you got to put some trust into whoever you decide.
Speaker C:And to speak to that, like, for me, I want to say one thing I think is maybe the most important, obviously skill, and especially if you're doing something super specific that requires specialized skills, like, you probably want to get really good at that.
Speaker C:But if you're doing a bigger project and it's not just one thing, it's not just tile, it's not just a fence, you'll have a general contractor that has good people, hopefully.
Speaker C:But the vibe, for me, you'll know the guy.
Speaker C:You'll know the snake oil peddler, used car salesman, and you'll know the guy that's authentic.
Speaker C:And he's not going to be the cheapest, but he's also not going to be the most expensive.
Speaker C:Always.
Speaker C:Yeah, but it's.
Speaker C:That's going to be a bigger company, which you think you can trust.
Speaker C:But they're just humans, just like the rest of us.
Speaker C:They screw up too.
Speaker C:And I say that because you remember, Eric, I was a little bit wily.
Speaker C:Long hair, tattoos, earrings ripped up, chains.
Speaker C:And I would walk in and sell $250,000 remodels because I was honest with the people.
Speaker C:I told them what I was capable of.
Speaker C:I had great referrals because I always delivered what I said I was going to deliver.
Speaker C:And I did it on time, and I made sure I did it right.
Speaker C:And people danced and cried in their kitchens because of that.
Speaker C:And that's why I never ran out of work.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker A:People.
Speaker C:I'd walk in with Kevin, he'd be all suited up with a tie on, his Mercedes.
Speaker A:In his Eastern European Mercedes gangster car.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:I'd walk in covered in sawdust and ripped jeans and hair hanging out of my head.
Speaker C:And the people loved me because I was just genuine and authentic.
Speaker C:And I think that connection with your contractor goes a long ways.
Speaker C:You don't want to, in my opinion, be a micromanager for your contractor.
Speaker C:It's better buddies.
Speaker C:Buy the guy a beer, give him a dinner or something like that.
Speaker C:Give him a sandwich at lunch.
Speaker C:They're like, these people are cool.
Speaker C:And then the shows in the work, they start caring about you as a person, as a friend, as a client.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker C:On a human level.
Speaker C:And I.
Speaker C:In my opinion, that goes way further than it goes along.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:And we gotta go to break.
Speaker A:But that is the honeymoon period.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:That is the part that everybody's loving each other.
Speaker A:If it's rough right there, it's gonna change, just get worse.
Speaker C:And we're.
Speaker C:We feel that.
Speaker C:You start feeling that friction, like she's pushy, she's a jerk.
Speaker A:Oh, boy, here we go.
Speaker A:Here we go.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker A:We come back.
Speaker A:I want to talk about one of the contracting groups out there.
Speaker A:One project that is like the big one for people taking money out of homeowners pockets.
Speaker A:If you're not educated on this, we'll talk about that just as soon as around the House returns.
Speaker A:Don't go anywhere.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:Welcome back to the around the House show.
Speaker A:The next generation of home improvement.
Speaker A:If you want to find out more about us.
Speaker A:Head over to aroundthehouse online.com.
Speaker A:send a message to Johnny and I over there.
Speaker A:You can do that right there.
Speaker A:Just use the contact Us page.
Speaker A:And today we're talking about how to hire a contractor.
Speaker A:Some of our tips, tricks, horror stories when we're going out to break.
Speaker A:I was teasing ahead to you guys that there is one project out there or one project that is probably one of the most fearful for homeowners.
Speaker A:And I think it's one of the most dangerous as well, because the bad contractors can use fear and get you to write big checks when you don't need it.
Speaker A:And that's foundation repair companies.
Speaker A:You've seen it, Johnny.
Speaker A:It's crazy.
Speaker A:Some of these guys.
Speaker A:I'll tell you an example.
Speaker A:Here's a great example.
Speaker A:I was working with a company back in my days when I was on another station here in Portland, Oregon.
Speaker A:Back when I was working with Bob, I was working with these guys.
Speaker A:So I went on a job site.
Speaker A:I pull up in my company car because I was helping do some estimates for him, and I see the competition is still inside the house.
Speaker A:And I'm watching my watch going on to 30 appointment and competition still in there.
Speaker A:So I gave him a minute.
Speaker A:Finally, they rush him outside, and he gets in the truck and drives off.
Speaker A:I come up and I have a.
Speaker A:Two homeowners, husband and wife in tears.
Speaker C:Oh, geez.
Speaker A:Have a leak in the basement.
Speaker A:Coming through someplace.
Speaker A:There's water in the.
Speaker A:Your typical northwest, west coast, California splash in the basement.
Speaker C:So there's one that doesn't leak.
Speaker C:I've never seen it.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:So when I'm walking up to the door, I see the window there, and there's a sprinkler.
Speaker A:I'm waiting for the door to open.
Speaker A:They're collecting them stuff.
Speaker A:I can see that there's a crack in the concrete underneath the window because the grade comes up like halfway up on this floor.
Speaker A:It's kind of like a half basement.
Speaker A:Basement dirt is like dirt outside.
Speaker A:The terrain is waist high or higher.
Speaker A:Come in, take a look.
Speaker A:I'm like, oh, you guys okay?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:We just got a $80,000 bid or whatever it was.
Speaker A:It was so crazy.
Speaker A:What'd they say?
Speaker A:Oh, I have water coming up between the slab and the well.
Speaker A:And so we have a high water table.
Speaker A:They gotta.
Speaker A:They said that we need to dig up the basement floor and do us.
Speaker C:I said, you know, draining system.
Speaker A:Yeah, do the French drain or anything.
Speaker A:I said, okay.
Speaker A:I'm not gonna take that as gospel.
Speaker A:Let's start over.
Speaker A:Start from the beginning.
Speaker A:Let's head down there and take a look.
Speaker A:So I'm like, I walk down, what's the first thing I see?
Speaker A:9 by 9 asbestos tiles on the floor.
Speaker A:And I'm like, did you mention having to abate this, guys?
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:All right, there's another 30 or 40 grand on top of that.
Speaker A:I said, that's going to get more expensive.
Speaker A:Let's see what we got here.
Speaker A:So she.
Speaker A:I'm like, where's the water?
Speaker A:And they, oh, it's coming up under the drywall over here.
Speaker A:I'm like, the drywall.
Speaker A:I'm looking, I'm like, that's the window.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:I said, and I had a Milwaukee inspection camera, one of those little fiber optic ones out in the car.
Speaker A:I said, let me go and get the car.
Speaker A:I said, I might be able to save you some serious money.
Speaker A:Can I punch a hole in the drywall here?
Speaker A:About the size of a pencil.
Speaker A:Do what you need to do.
Speaker A:I go in there with that and I can see daylight through the crack.
Speaker C:Yeah, grind out the crack.
Speaker C:Epoxy resin.
Speaker C:Done.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker A:So basically I said, okay, here's the thing.
Speaker A:I can see where the water was coming out.
Speaker A:I said, you got to sprinkle it out there.
Speaker A:It's probably leaking a little bit.
Speaker A:It's coming in right here.
Speaker A:It's coming in right here.
Speaker A:This is what it is.
Speaker A:I go, I can have somebody come in here.
Speaker A:We'll take out the drywall, we'll put in carbon fiber over the top of it.
Speaker A:We'll use urethane to patch it with carbon fiber over it.
Speaker A:It'll be the strongest part of the foundation.
Speaker A:It's two grand.
Speaker A:At the time, they were so happy.
Speaker A:They were like, let's go, let's rock.
Speaker A:If they would have gone with that fear based contractor, they'd add a hundred thousand dollar in that thing by the time they got it cleaned up.
Speaker A:And it wouldn't have fixed the problem because the water wasn't coming up through the floor, it was coming through the sidewall.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:No, and the worst thing about it is it's such a niche space.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:There's not a lot of guys that are out there doing the French drains and basements and doing.
Speaker C:And so they know they can get away with it.
Speaker C:Look, everybody knows a little bit about painting.
Speaker C:Everybody knows a little bit about installing a cabinet or the basics of household maintenance.
Speaker C:But you start talking foundation, nobody knows.
Speaker C:They're like, I don't know.
Speaker C:I've never done concrete.
Speaker C:No.
Speaker A:And when you have a hundred thousand.
Speaker C:Dollars to paint a bedroom.
Speaker C:They're like, no, I could paint a bedroom for less than you know what I mean?
Speaker C:You tell them, you got to fix the foundation.
Speaker C:Oh, my God.
Speaker C:That's holding our house, ma'.
Speaker A:Am.
Speaker A:The house could fall down.
Speaker A:You know what I mean?
Speaker A:It's just one of those things.
Speaker A:It's crazy.
Speaker C:It's gross that guys play on that.
Speaker C:And to put years.
Speaker C:Shame on you.
Speaker A:Yeah, and here's my fix for that.
Speaker A:If you're having to have foundation work done, don't call the foundation repair company first.
Speaker A:Call a structural engineer.
Speaker A:Have them come out, pay them the hundreds to thousand dollars to write a report.
Speaker A:Yeah, they will go through.
Speaker A:They'll write up a plan.
Speaker A:They'll draw up a plan.
Speaker A:Or they'll go, hey, that's good.
Speaker A:That's not even structural.
Speaker A:That's just cosmetic.
Speaker A:Easy.
Speaker A:Or they'll say, hey, we can fix this.
Speaker A:But here, there's always a fix, guys.
Speaker A:There's always a fix.
Speaker A:And most of the time, it doesn't require jacking up the house and tearing the foundation out.
Speaker A:So most of the time, there's a fix that they will come up with.
Speaker A:Then you take that fix, then you put it out to bed.
Speaker C:Yeah, that's exactly how you do it.
Speaker A:And it's just so simple that way.
Speaker A:But before we run out of time, I want to make sure we run down the list here real quick.
Speaker A:First off, check the references.
Speaker A:Now, some contractors get around that because they got their friends, their neighbors, their cousins as the references.
Speaker A:But go take a look at the project.
Speaker A:Now, here's the one rule I have.
Speaker A:If you're going to go take a look at their project, if you hire them, you need to let a couple people come take a look at your project.
Speaker A:When it's done, give back to that guy or girl.
Speaker A:Make sure that you give that back.
Speaker A:Use those references.
Speaker A:Take a look out there.
Speaker A:And by the way, there's this thing called social media and online reviews.
Speaker A:Take a look.
Speaker A:Now, angry people, the first thing, they don't call the contractor, they go jump on Google and put a review up.
Speaker A:So keep it in mind, there will be bad reviews for almost every contractor out there.
Speaker A:Somebody's not going to be.
Speaker A:We see these people on the TV screens.
Speaker A:These are the same people that are stealing the baseball out of the kid's hand at the ballpark.
Speaker A:So there's always that person out there.
Speaker A:But really, oh, you're playing the band at the.
Speaker A:At the seventh inning stretch.
Speaker A:You were not there playing baseball.
Speaker A:But anyway, it's one of Those things that really doing the research to make sure that you find out who they are.
Speaker A:Heck, if you're trying to get something framed up, go down and talk to the lumber yard, the independent lumber yard, and say, hey, who do you like around here?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:And they'll go, hey, stop smiling every day.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Who's the one that.
Speaker A:Oh, man, everybody loves this person.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:That's gonna be better than jumping on social media and trying to find somebody.
Speaker A:Ask your friends and family, who did they use?
Speaker A:Did it go well?
Speaker A:Referrals are great that way.
Speaker A:And just do your research.
Speaker A:And by the way, if you go into the home centers and hire the Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, whoever out there, if you go in and hire their contractor, guess what?
Speaker A:Those big box stores are marking them up 30 or 40% because they got to make their cut, too.
Speaker A:So they're doing it below cost.
Speaker A:And usually those are the new contractors.
Speaker A:Those are the ones that don't have the business.
Speaker A:And they're like, at least I'll get some work from them.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker A:That's the farm team for contractors.
Speaker A:And that's how you do it.
Speaker C:I just.
Speaker C:Final word.
Speaker C:Want to say the most.
Speaker C:Not the most important thing.
Speaker C:I only think it's the most important thing because I'm saying it, Eric.
Speaker A:There we go.
Speaker C:I will say it's hugely important to really plan your plan.
Speaker C:Otherwise, you don't know what you're missing.
Speaker C:Really know what your real budget is.
Speaker C:Don't try to mess around.
Speaker C:Don't try to tell them it's 20 grand less than it is.
Speaker C:Don't just know what your budget is.
Speaker C:Know exactly what you want to do, and then certify and qualify somebody that's good to do it.
Speaker C:But really create a list of questions, like, for each contractor that walks, have you ever done stairs?
Speaker C:How many tile jobs have you done?
Speaker C:Are you familiar with Viking appliances?
Speaker C:Whatever it is, get really specific about your plan, and it leaves way less room for error.
Speaker C:So it's super, super important.
Speaker C:Take your time.
Speaker C:Don't rush your project because you want it done by Thanksgiving.
Speaker C:You'll regret it.
Speaker C:Plan a good plan and you'll know where the holes are in the contractor's story.
Speaker C:That way.
Speaker C:Make some squirm.
Speaker C:I like watching.
Speaker A:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker A:And then yet, do the online research.
Speaker A:Find out.
Speaker A:See what you will see what you see out there.
Speaker A:Take a look and see.
Speaker A:Are they coming up on good projects?
Speaker A:Are your friends showing up pictures of their stuff?
Speaker A:And like you said earlier, check the website.
Speaker A:That almost sounds like a sponsor.
Speaker A:We could have slid that sponsor and brought to you by Side Eye Designs.
Speaker C:All you contractors out there with a website that looks built on Netscape better be sending me a message so we can get you looking legit.
Speaker A:Geez, I just turned into the heckle fish there.
Speaker A:What's going on?
Speaker C:Where's my kazoo?
Speaker C:Where's my kazoo?
Speaker A:Where's your kazoo?
Speaker A:I love it, brother.
Speaker A:Yeah, guys, just do your research.
Speaker A:And when in doubt, if you have a state licensing agency, reach out to them to see what they say.
Speaker A:If they take phone calls, use them as a resource.
Speaker A:Those people are sitting in there doing their thing in my area.
Speaker A:Probably half the states out there have some kind of research that way.
Speaker A:And then the other thing is to, if you're worried about, make sure that the things are consistent.
Speaker A:If they give me a business card, does it look like a real business card?
Speaker A:Does it look like these guys work?
Speaker A:And when in doubt, jump online and find the business owner and make sure that these people actually work for them.
Speaker A:I have seen people out there that have off of the social media pages, at least that have taken somebody else's contractor's license number and is copying it, and they're out there trying to say they're with ABC Construction and they're not, but they go out and start ABC Contracting so they can get the check in the.
Speaker A:But the bank and that stuff happens.
Speaker A:So be careful, do your research.
Speaker A:Johnny, thanks for coming on the show today, brother.
Speaker A:It has been awesome.
Speaker C:I love it.
Speaker C:I love it.
Speaker C:And I'll be here anytime you'll have me, brother.
Speaker C:I appreciate it, man.
Speaker C:It's a lot of fun and it's always great hanging out and providing some value and being.
Speaker C:Trying to help people here and getting things done right, not getting burned and.
Speaker C:Yeah, no, we want to appreciate it, man.
Speaker C:Look forward to the next time.
Speaker A:Thanks for tuning in to around the House.
Speaker A:We'll see you next week.
