well it been a week or so so since my last post just so wraped up with my website and work.

so I am building a 12 plex out of shipping containers, thats right shipping containers.

we stake them together and on top of each other then frame inside walls .

we them add a roof and clad the outside with siding .

as it turns out this way of building save about a 1/3 off the cost to build .

so check out the photos and drop me a line or coment let me konw what you think.

Word Of Mouth

We have all heard that saying so many times be for, I do not have to addvertise I go by word of mouth.
Realy do we just beleve that person or does it work ?

You could be the best contractor out there or have done a better job than someone eles but does the client go around telling everyone they know how good there renovation was or that the new deck is great.

Well what do you think, is it remotely possible to get by on just word of mouth.
I know many contractors that say they do and yet they are not always working.

I my self have had many client over the years and if just 10% of them were to recommend me to there friends or people they know, than I would be so booked up that I would have to turn work away or grow so big that I just could not handle the work load.

Word of mouth will and has managed to generate work from past renovation projects but to base your hole contracting business on it does not make good business sense.

While most client will mention your company to someone when at there house to see the work you did .
That person is not likely to write down your number.
As well if that person is not building or renovating right away than there is a good chance that you will be for gotten.

The key to all this is to keep in contact with your clients send out update about your work or deals that they might be interested in.
Even Christmas cards or if you know client birthday.
In this way you keep your name on their lips and maybe you will generate work.

rant storage containers

Well what a week started to frame in the interior walls for the building made out of shipping containers.
Talk about different stuck inside steel containers and building apartments out of them.
They do turn out not to bad , some are small but that what you gat .

Of course like all ways there is always something to mess you up and this time is no different .
The welder are on hourly so what do they care lose 2 days just from them taking there time and then when I have had enough and start moving there crap out of my way they get mad sorry about your luck .

Of course thing will come to a head Monday when I have my say with the developers more money and more control over these other trade if they can get there shit together.

The project look to be a nice one and look forward to seeing it to the end if all go’s well.
Will keep you all posted and will add pic when I get the cam to work.

So you made it through another hard winter and the days are longer the sun is hotter and the snow is almost gone.
While not quite hot enough to sun out on the deck just yet you do start thinking about the long hot summer ahead.

That is when the to do list that you put away last fall comes out and right there at the top, The deck !
You have been putting it off for to long now its time to take charge and you know your old tired deck will not make through another summer.

Where to start there are just so many choices to choose from.

Well lets start at the beginning, It’s not what you choose to build with that is important right now but how you do the job.


First you need a permit

Then you need to take the grass out that will be under the area that you are building over.

Dig down a min of 48” and install sono tubes or Bigfoot to support your deck, Note if you plan on adding a roof over your deck at some point your support pads will need to meet code and that will require a min 32”x32” pad below your sono tube.

Once you have your supports in and filled with concrete lay down landscape fabric and cover with 4” of gravel this will stop plants from growing up under your deck and stop mold from growing.

If your deck is higher than 48” then the gravel makes for a clean area for storage.

These step seem so simple but almost all deck company and home owner never do this I have been doing my deck this way since 1987 and my client appreciate it.

Now it is time to build your deck to your plan and using the material that you went with, if you follow these simply steps you will have a deck that will last and give you years of pleasure.

Had it with TV DIY shows

That’s right your sitting down again in front of the TV and there is yet another how to building show on and they are showing you what’s wrong with this job or that job.
Or they are telling you how to build this or renovate that, really !
Is this really how it is to be done? or did they really do such a bad job?

Your not a builder so how would you know they make it look real after all they are the experts.
They keep telling us how they are licensed, all that tells you is they went to school or paid for a licenses.
I can’t tell you how many licensed carpenter I have fired over the years because they just where not capable of doing the work.

You need to be real careful when watching these show they have some fact but mainly they are there to entertain you or sell a product.
We can not forget the fact that what is being built or worked on might not fit for your area, if the show is being done down in California then the way they build is not going to work up here in Canada.

The shows that really get me going is when some so call expert is out there shouting their mouth off about how every contractor out there is doing it wrong and then you see them do something wrong or just not quite right.

Or when they go down south and make a big deal for the hole world to see about helping out when disaster strikes, the helping out part is great but please all the good Canadian builder are watching this and shacking their heads.

I mean we do not frame like that putting up scaffolding everywhere and taking weeks to put up a home that could be framed in less than 13 days.
Not only that but the weather is in the high 90 and what doe’s this guy hand out tool belts that are so big and heavy that you would need to be a pack horse to carry.
One minute its look we coat the cuts with this blue stuff to protect it and the next minute you can clearly see them putting the wood together without using the end cut paint.

It this was not enough are tax dollar’s paid for the gov. to take so called expert to Europe as a adviser to a meeting on global warming and sustainable building practises, for what just Google it you will get the answer you need I think that would have saved us some money.

renovating advice

Advice on renovating

Thinking of renovating sometime soon, Then stop and think about just what you are about to do.
When looking for advice or tips you need to keep in mind just where this advice is coming from.

Look at the person that is telling you or the author of the information to find out if he or she really knows what they are saying.
There are many people out there that will have something to say but that does not mean that they know what they are talking about.
Just because it is on the internet or in a magazine on home renovation that it is the right way for you renovation.

You need to keep in mind where the information is coming from, are they talking about your type of project and in your area.
Canadian building codes differ from US codes and then there is a lot of information on the web from the UK, all things to be aware of.
If you plane on using contractors to do the work then you need to follow a few steps when choosing one.

1 All references should be recent and picture are nice.

2 Contract, this is a must set out the work to be done and the cost as well as time frame. You also set out all other guide line here that way there are no surprises.

3 Get 3 quotes for the work so you have a good idea what you should be paying.

4 Ask for Insurance this is not always needed it is your choice but unless they have really good references then I would want it.

5 When you have picked your contractor then you need to know that he is doing the work and if he has subs coming in then I would ask for references for them as well.

6 Make sure to get a building permit if your renovation requires on.

7 Now this is where thing need to be stated up front when doing renovation and you are going to be doing demo, There most always are problem that come up and will requires added expense so set out ahead of time if your contractor has made allowances for this in his quote or if this will be added.

8 When choosing your contractor do not go with the lowest bid go by references and your gut feeling remember The joy of a low bid will turn sour by a bad job.

afordable housing

All I can say is What !

So I went to look at a new project today, I know going in that it was to be affordable housing and that it would be mostly inside construction .
I had spoken with the people in charge and had been informed that the outside was up and that all that was needed was the inside walls framed up and some ceiling work.
No big deal so I get into my mind that we are talking about a renovation of I old building into apartments.

Now the same story as with all these type of build they tell you that it is affordable housing so keep your price low and we have a lot of work coming up , the old bait and hook that far to many new guys fall for .

Well I go up to the site and I have the address so no problem right wrong, I mean I drive by the address twice and even go into a reality office to ask for direction thinking something is up.

Not the case they inform me that that is the site and even show me a news article about it.
So by now you are thinking what’s up, To begin with all I can see at the job site is large storage containers the kind they ship over seas and on trains.

So I go on in and I just can’t believe what I am seeing they have welded the shipping containers together and are stacking side by side and on top of each other over a foundation.

As it turns out they are going to frame inside walls and finish off the outside pop in some window and doors and there you have it affordable housing built out of shipping containers a first for me.
Will be putting up some picture as soon as I start working there.

rant

I have had it !

whats with this crap this winter u can't call it winter anymore , my god one day it snows next day it rains .

then we go down below -20 and right back up to +7 the hole winter thing is over you can not work in this stuff . I liked working in the winter I could always dress for the cold and get things done now it just seems that u are wet or frozen your body can not keep up with the changes.

This type of weather is affecting my clients as well they just do not want to get things done . The added cost for working in these condition, and the time delays is just making thing stress full.

On top of everything the gas prices keep going up and in turn the cost of materials gos up making the cost of doing the projects go up .

Just when you think it can not get any worst with so many people out of work ,the low baller start coming out, they do not have over head or lic. or most times the skill to do the job but when your price is twice there's its hard for most clients to get past it .

Then that's just one more job lost and they can add up and before you know it your bottom line is not so good .

when money starts to shrink you have to cut back and if that is advertising then you start that slow slide to being out of work .

Add to all this mess the big push on TV and at box store for DIY please this is just another straw in the camels back , most people can not do what they think they can and then there is the fact that building permits are almost never taken out.

Those that think that they did a great job find out just how bad they did when it comes time to sell and possible buyers start commenting on the quality of the work .

Of course there is those that screw up so bad that they need to call in a contractor to fix there work and finish.

well I am in for the long haul because I truly love what I do and my client can tell be the quality of my work and the respect I show for there personal projects.;

spring time

So I am off to Oakville to do a job should take 2to 3 days sad that I have go down there to get work but sadder that the client would have had to wait 3 week for someone from Oakville to do the job. well spring is on its way so work should start up once again I hope . I have some things line up so bring on spring at least the rainbow will be running

so let see u every have one of those days when u just want to start over I have a project that after we start they change thier minds now what do u do u can not put it back together . then u get another client looking over your bill and saying it seem a little high then tem min latter they call back with more work .all the time u are thinking I need to get my own house done before the wife has a fit , I just love these days

so I worked all weekend on the tender for the club house at the golf course what a treat that was trying to get hold of everyone for pricing made for a lot of scambling around this morrning to get all my cost in but it is done and in on time . I like my chances for this one heres hoping

so spring is on its way in and things r starting to come together i have beeen in meeting with a client about a club house for a golf course thing look good so i will keep thinking positive. our house is coming alone well as well hope to sell when done . then it on to new and bigger things .

kitchen coming together , back splash in island in and added a bank of cabinet next to door

check this out walk into home depot and they have some kitchen cabinet marked down total cost for everything would be $2000. good deal since full price would have been $5000.00 , but my wife gets going and when all is said and done we walk out with then for $950.00 way to go joanne

what a day high winds blinding snow squalls on the ice lifting a boathouse , then driving in town to pick up wood for my kitchen . to morrow will be much like today , hoping to get out on the ice for some fishing.

just added black doors to the island for our kitchen

more pics

demo the old kitchen and took out back wall and added 6 feet to house , took down old ceiling and fond quite a mess joist r not supported right .the front beam holding the floor is under sized and not touching the joist from the front they added a scab peice and bolts its a wonder the floor did not fall in , well new kitchen going in and new beams