can U read blue prints ?

I know what your thinking of course you can , to be a builder you must know how to read blue prints.
Sadly this is not the case with a lot of builders yes they can look at wall placement and fig out floor joist the simple layout stuff but when it comes to cross ref for point loads or nailing patterns for trusses and beams then it is a hole new story,
I can not tell how many story's I have heard from building inspectors about contractor not having a clue.
It is the responsibility of the builder to have the place ready for inspection not for the inspector to give them a list of things to fix and how to do it .

sadly this is the case more often than not , part of being a good builder is knowing the hole job so that you know what you are talking about and can do professional work.

Most builder did not go to school to learn we learn from others as we work our way up so it is up to those that are teaching to teach I show my guys everything so that when they go on their own they are equipped with the right tools to succeed.

The one most important part to this job is blueprint reading with out it you are just guessing.

design builders ?

As the name implies you would expect that when you hire a design builder you would think that the builder would be able to design your project or offer ideas to make your project come alive.
as a design builder it gets me excited when i see the clients reaction to the finish product, to see how happy they get and the way the act like it is their birthday .

the best joy i get when building is the satisfaction of knowing that what i have designed and built will be enjoyed by my client for years and that when they have friends or family over they will be proud of the build.

being able to design all aspect of building and landscaping is a gift and even though there is many design builders out there and other trades using the term design .
many will use cookie cutter building practises just rehashing what other builder do or using design out of magazines while at first glance they look good but will not stand the test of time and most will see it for what it is.

when designing for a client you need to be able to first here what they want and then judge what they need, with this you then need to be able to come up with a design that fits the clients life style
as well full fills all their needs.

above all the end result is to have a client that is overjoyed by the build and totally satisfied

huntsville cottage

this cottage was started by someone else and by the time they had the floor on it was apparent that there were problems so this is where i come in after checking out other builder they decided to go with me .

after fixing the problem i then started building the cottage here are the pic so far

Here we go again

once again the ugly truth about GTA builders that i run into has happen again.
It seems that every time I find my self excepting work from a builder in the GTA area i find my self having to fight to get my money .
these guys seem to think that they can get away with not paying , maybe in the past most times they would get away with it but now with social media we can get the word out about these guys.

another great thing is that we can research them and people they know and make life very hard for them.
the fact that people keep pulling this kind of crap is disturbing but when you have so much work availably you will have those that take advantage.

the best thing you can do is place a lien on the job before you start but this does cost money and i know most of us that get screw for don't have the money , that is how these guy get away with it.
as some people have started doing you can post about these guys on kijiji and facebook and other sites to let people know .

it also helps to get as much information about the person you are dealing with before you start so if it goes south you know where to find them.

my person of problem is 02 Frame Inc . Dave Henderson
he has always got some kind of excuse why my money is not here yet
i have told the owner of the home that he needs to hold back payment till i sign off as being paid so this is going to help me in the end but still waiting is causing cash flow issues.

so no matter what you do this will and can happen so get information and try too stay clear of these guys.

Well 3weeks into this build we have had rain snow wind screwed up trusses but we are getting it done 3800 sq ' home in Hockley valley.
Check out pic

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.