Over priced engineer and architect

Architects and engineer
Overpriced


One thing I have learned over the past 30 years is that quite often people pay way to much for the services of a architect or engineer .
Yes I know that these people have gone to school to get their degree and paid out a lot of money for that schooling.
It is that reason they charge so much for their services .

Well that is the problem if you pay for the fact they went to school and got a degree then they should get it right, if you and I did our job wrong we would get fired.
And it is not just them now think about it when a set of prints is made for a job it must go through many hands to get approval, and still mistake happen.

I know your thinking some small mistake overlooked right. Well this can happen and walls not lining up is not to much of a problem but how about 2nd story decks just hanging in mid air with no way to support them.
Or drawing the building with walls layout to fit a 40x25 foundation but having drawings for a 38x25 foundation .
Keep in mind this was a multiple unit condo so many eyes went over these drawings before I got them.

Then there was the time that a client wanted an engineer to give them a drawing for turning their roof from cottage to cathedral, we'll a lot of money latter a drawing with posts and LVL and ripping walls open to extend point load to footings, this was in his professional opinion the only way it could be done.
Well so much for his schooling I submitted my drawing for permit and surprise it pasted so I suggested to the client they pay me what they paid the engineer.

This next one was priceless it was a large custom home builder here in muskoka that I was going to build a large cottage for.
Well the general for the company shows up with prints for the job lays them down on the seat of his truck opens them up to show first and second floor, right away I'm like sorry but I can not build this cottage like that.

So here is the problem they somehow overlooked the fact that the stairs going up went right into the roof line giving you about 4 feet head space at top of stair.
Keep in mind this a million + cottage how can this kind of mistake keep happening,  so right there I showed him how to fix it and did a drawing for him.

So my question is why?  They charge a lot,  they went to school for that degree so how is that they get the money.
First off I did not go through school as an engineer yes I did study how to be an architect in high school but my experience comes from working in construction for 37 years.
The main thing that separate me from most is my ability to see something built or go together from the first nail to the last nail in my mind very fast.

With this ability I can see problem before I start to build, this along with my experience has made it possible for me to challenge engineers and architect, now if only I would get paid what they get.
In the past I have figured out how to fix and do the drawing just to have the other parties put their name on it and charge.

Maybe some day after enough buildings cave in or bridges crack and more builder complain about drawing not being right they will start listening to us the builder at least we know how to build it.
Here's a thought maybe engineer and architect should have to go and work with a builder for 2 year so they get some idea how it is done before telling us how to do it.

Real make it right show

Great idea for a TV show on HGTV.
Just like Holmes we look for homeowners that have work not finished or just bad workmanship.
We can walk through showing all that's wrong and build it up with the heart break on the homeowners faces.
Of course we need to show how the reno has impacted their day to day lives.

It is at this point where we look into the way they hired the builder's ,what his quote was and other builder quotes.
With this we can show how the job went wrong and unlike mike Holmes we are not going to start blaming the 80% bad contractor in Canada or so he has stated.
As with most builds gone wrong the homeowners went with the lowest quote and as is the case most often that low ball bid is so low that the build can not be done for that cost.

What we do now is make up a quote for the job that was to be done and a quote to fix or take out everything so we can do the original reno.
And yes. “ We Make It Right ”. But at the homeowners expenses so they and everyone watching just what happens when you try to get things done cheap.

Work work work almost every year christmas comes around and suddenly no work.
No matter how many time you try to schedule work there is always something getting in the way, this year I had 4 house builds in the works and one by one they decide spring would be better ,sure when every man and his mother suddenly wants things done before they arrive at the cottage for the summer.

What kills me is do they not think what are we going to do all winter to pay bills, or even get by Christmas.
It's not that they don't have the money, they just don't think we can work in the winter and do not want drive up here in the winter to check progress.


Yes I know there is some work going on, not all of us are out of work but over the 36 years I have been doing this it happen quite often.
I am so tired of scraping by some winters, and for what ,I do quality workmanship I have extensive experience in all aspects of the trade.

I find myself looking at having to drive to the city to work if I can,t hook up with work soon.
I do have some work coming up but that is in the air could go after the holidays or before but not solid.

I can tell you that this will be my last winter here in muskoka moving south where work is on going and I do not have to look at my family at Christmas and say sorry.

Kijiji under cutting adds

This type of under cutting is so detrimental to the construction trade it make me wonder wtf goes through these people's minds.
In contracting there are expenses that go with the trade that determine how we cost out jobs.

We all have family to support as well gas , tools, advertising and of course our employees so when you take this out at the end of the week what we have left should show a good reason to stay in business.
This is how we gage our rates for different trades, and these rate will differ as to subcontract work or directly to the client.
You find out average for each trade in Ontario or elsewhere on the Internet.

Yes there will always be some under cutting buy substandard builders or maybe some young guns new to the trade that have not gained their winds yet but what's going on right now on Kijiji is just criminal.
Even at best for subcontract work the cost to lay flooring should be $1.50s' but there are guy advertising to do it for under a dollar and this is to the client.
This is just nuts direct to client should not go below $2.50s' I have never gone below $3.00s' and most jobs are $5.00s' so to those out there doing this you are just hurting yourself think of the money you can make if just stick the going rate .

This type of low balling is going on across the board and no one wins it makes it harder for everyone to make a living.
Then there is the homeowners if you believe  that you are saving money buy engaging in employing these low ball contractors guess again it has been my experience that the workmanship will be substandard and thy calling them back all I can say is good luck.

Remember this the joy at getting a great price is greatly diminish by the bad workmanship.
You can never stop homeowners for searching out the best price but check on line as to what should be the average cost and if you are quoted under that than start to wonder.

Good contractor need to charge what they charge to do a good job and stay in business so if you need them again they will be there.

Job hunting the winter

Well that time of the year where I find myself looking through Kijiji adds for work and it bewildered me at what I see.
Yes there is a lot of job offering for southern Ont. And some sound like good jobs but I still have to wonder.
When looking at these job listing you can see just as many people looking for work as is looking for employees which beg the question why.

You see if you need a job then answer the adds and apply for that job.
Is it that these people do not have the skills they say they have or are the jobs that are listed do not pay or are just not the right fit.
I do believe that a little of both may exist but for the guys looking for work it just may be that they have worked for so many people that they have burned out there area .
So finding work is now a chore.

One of the hardest things when looking for work is if you have been self employed for a long time many employer do not want to hire you for the simple fact that as soon as work starts to pick up in spring you are gone just like that.
Another problem is that you simply are over educated for almost all jobs and what the employer does not want is someone showing him how to do his job egos run high when it comes to contracting.

The best we can do is stick to looking for what we can find be it hourly or subcontracts

Mike Holmes

So here we go again it does not matter how many time you explain to people that tv is most fiction and there only to sell you something, they just don't get it.
Now mike Holmes with his I am better than everyone mouths off saying that 70% of builders in Canada are bad and 10% are ugly. Keep in mind that this guy could not make it as a contractor, he was nearly bankrupt working for another contractor when he started the show.

To this day you can still find things wrong with the work done on his show but yet we are all wrong.
Then look at the other shows on HGTV mistakes everywhere on one show they let home owners bury live wires in the wall behind cabinets.

On these shows they should have to post a disclaimer saying that everything you see is not quite to code and not done right, hire a professional contractors to do your home renos.

These shows do more harm than good filling home owner minds with the idea that there can do it.
Next there will be shows on doing your own dental work or brain surgery,
This madness needs to stop do the job you train for and hire someone to do what you did not.