awards or quality work

They come a round every year , we see them in the papers and on line there not hard to miss  telling you to vote for your best builder or restaurant along with a hole list of other category's.

Then that is followed buy businesses  advertising for your vote or phone calls from people you know wanting you to vote for them .

What does it all really mean  while some businesses do deserve the award ,is it really well deserved    

or just that you have more friends that you had vote for you than others .

Than there are those that do nothing to solicited your vote  what about them are they bag company not worth dealing with because they have no award.

does getting the award make you better than others , I think not I know of one business that spends more time every year getting your vote that they do running their business , to them getting the award is more important than just supplying a prefect product to their clients .

I am sure that there are more company out there like them as well .

Don't get me wrong I think if your work deserves an award than why not, but look over the winners every year they are the same time and time again and in most cases its who you are and who you know not how well you run you business.

I have run my company for over 37 years I spend all my energy on providing my customer with the best product and service they deserve.

In all that time I have never tried to or won an award .

I have been lucky enough to have had one of my project placed on the front cover of a home plan magazine as well as a few write ups in publication .

As for the awards they are what they are and while one should not discount  getting one it is more how you got the award and what is more important the award or providing a service that warrant  getting the award.

  

Cottage and Home Maintenance

Cottage and Home Maintenance

With the long drive up from the city dealing with stop and go traffic after a long week of work the last thing you would want to do is yard work , lets face it ,you went through all this so you could just relax and enjoy you weekend .

More and more people are contracting out to have their cottages and its property looked after so that when they arrive at the cottage its just unpack and rest.

Some owner just have their yard work done while others go for the hole package from yard work to repairs and home cleaning as well as regular inspection during the off season for insurance .

while there are many company in muskoka offering these services one should take there time and do their home work when hiring ,check reference and make sure you spell out what you expect and the cost .

Custom1contracting looks after all your repairs and renovations as well as deck and dock construction .

when it comes to the company that I would recommend for all your winter and summer maintenance it is

"Total Cottage Coverage"

Wayne Barlow is committed to providing you with professional service so you can just rest and enjoy.  http://www.totalcottagecoverage.com/

finished coffee table

 

Trestle Tables

over the past few weeks I have redone and built a few tables and have decided too make a few more The first one was for a client that wanted a 4x9 foot pine table , it turned out so well that now I have some orders for more tables .

 It was quite the learning curve to make the first one ,I had to find a way to clamp the hole table together as well as sanding them down .

lucky for me I have a floor sanded and I used it to sand the table top smooth then hand sanded with the grain till I was able to take out all marks.

All of our tables are stained and sealed with 4 coats of varathane  and we use 100 year old hand made nails 

we have started to make tables with unique  item for legs that we salvage from places we pick from

as well as using stumps and old doors to make one of a kind tables .

come check us out at 7 bay st Baysville   we will be having a open house on july 27 during the baysville walk-about between 11 & 2 so stop by and see our tables and our home for sale 

The Kiss Theory

How many times have we herd this from business professional just keep it simple and you will succeed      

It sound so easy but  and heres the big but  we just need the money work slow so we jump at the chance to make some money with a job a little out side of what we do.

most of us have been there your doing a little yard work and your client asks if you know someone that can build a deck or dock .

maybe your a painter and they ask if you could instal some flooring .

well some of the time it works out but far to many times it turns into a mess and you wind up losing money  .

This sort of thing can damage a new business and many have been affected , the saying is true keep it simple and work hard to grow your company .

just today I have been to 2 job sites where things went bad one was a property management company  

tried to build a deck , it was a mess . the other was a handy man service fig they could build an addition  lucky for the home owner they did not get very far before she notice something was not right 

what kills me is how many people out there think they can do the work I saw a pic of a deck by a carpentry company on twitter today that has problems they have placed the decking back and forth so the the joint goes right down the centre off set by what looks like 12 " it clearly shows that these guy do not have the experience  to be on there own .

I do feel for all those people out there that find them selfs left with substandard work because workers just don't know when to say no.

If more home owner would ask for recent ref and google how the work is to be done then maybe just maybe this kind of bad judgement will stop.

Remember you only hurt your self in the long run for a little extra money now so keep it simple and stick to what you know best 

old to new

decks !!! many people have one attached to their home and as they get old and start to decay they stop using them and thats when your deck become dangerous . 

The biggest problem is that once the deck is built you start using it but most never maintain their decks

Thing like just keeping the trees and bushes cut back to let the wood breath and not to let the leaves and pine needles sit on it . 

You should shovel the snow off in the winter the added weight could do damage .

Inspecting you deck every year and fix anything that starts to show signs of decay or damage will help make your deck lasts , adding a stain or wood renewer every few years helps to extend the life of your deck .

If you stay on top of it you will not only keep the value the deck adds to your home but you will continue to enjoy your deck and not have to spend a hole lot of money to replace it .

From small decks to large out door living area fix , repair and maintain so you can enjoy for years to come .

here are some pic from a deck that was not looked after and needed over $15,000.00 in work to fix

Trades I Trust

Yes when it comes to making sure the job gets done right then I trust in my own trades .

I am constantly asked by my clients why I bring my Trades from outside the area when doing their project . 

It is simple when your reputation is on the line and performance will be judged you need to bring your game , many guys out there try to build with low bidder or un tried trades and soon find themselves in trouble .

Yes there is always luck and experience to help get you through but using   untried trades can and will complicate thing sometimes .

for this reason I take some of my trades with me when doing projects out of town  , I know their work and can trust them to do the job right and on time .

Just last week this was quite evident when I sent my tree guy's down to Toronto to cut trees down for my next build , the client was worried the neighbour  is a big problem  but my client was very pleased my guys not only clean their yard but cleaned the neighbour yard of all mess from cutting the trees down .

 The neighbour was happy and my client remarked to my tree guy that they can see why I was insistent on using my trades. 

The fact is my project must reflect the quality of work that is expected and for me to deliver that when ever possible I use only trades that I trust from other jobs that I have done or trades sent to me from my friends that are builder that deliver the same quality work that I do .

By sticking to this system I can control and deliver a project  On Time On Budget Total satisfaction