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What is with General Contractors!?

:rofl I've been a GC for 25 years. I almost never leave the city of Alameda for work. I would definitely charge more to work in SF for many different reasons. The economy is booming for contractors now so there are more unqualified people out there to take advantage. While I do agree there are a lot of shitty contractors, some customers aint so hot either. There are always two sides to every story.
 
mlm said:
That's our experience. I'm guessing the meth business is booming too.
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No kidding :laughing

Having lived with carpenters and construction workers, and growing up with my dad working through the ranks of a construction company all the way to the top, I can tell you that many in the trade are substance abusers. Just pot and booze if you're lucky, meth isn't at all uncommon, though. Want to fuck with a contractor? Post an official looking sign saying there'll be drug tests on the site the next day. Everyone would call in sick I bet!

Of course not all carpenters and contractors are flaky addicts. Some are quite functional. But finding good workers is hard in any field. I wouldn't want to be a GC having to rely on the workforce that construction seems to attract.
 
NorCalAthlete said:
Tim, do your rates go up for redoing something that should have been done right the first time, but the contractor sucked? :p
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I always charge the same for my time no matter what the job. It does often cost more to fix sub par work just because it takes more time.
 
Cheap...fast...good

Pick 2 out of 3

If you want cheap, fast...it aint gonna be good.
Cheap, good..it aint gonna be fast.
 
VicTim said:
...some customers aint so hot either. There are always two sides to every story.
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+1
I have several uncles in construction, mostly roofing and carpentry. I can imagine someone changing their mind about what they want and then expecting the same price/time-line being difficult. Soaking up a few beers with my uncles is always fun for a few stories.

OP, the best luck I've had with contractors came as the result of recommendations from friends and my insurance agent.
 
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VicTim said:
:rofl I've been a GC for 25 years. I almost never leave the city of Alameda for work. I would definitely charge more to work in SF for many different reasons. The economy is booming for contractors now so there are more unqualified people out there to take advantage. While I do agree there are a lot of shitty contractors, some customers aint so hot either. There are always two sides to every story.
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I live in the Oakland hills. I'm not looking for a bargain just quality work done on time. I'll PM you my info.
 
9integra2 said:
Cheap...fast...good

Pick 2 out of 3

If you want cheap, fast...it aint gonna be good.
Cheap, good..it aint gonna be fast.
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I think thats over simplifying a little.

Theres nothing wrong with a reasonably priced and accurately cost controlled project, meeting or exceeding industry standards of quality, done in an efficient, timely manner.
That is pretty much good labor management, and good customer relations.

Sure, sht happens...just seems to happen to some contractors more than others.

Referrals only, do not use listing services...you might get lucky and you might not. Just my $.02
 
Med23 said:
Please, yes. If anyone can recommend some solid contractors for work on things like decks, doors, roofing, etc., it would be really valuable for us in the middle class that don't want garbage but also can't pay the big bucks.
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Roofmasters did my roof project (also my neighbors).
They were excellent
 
Sharky said:
Roofmasters did my roof project (also my neighbors).
They were excellent
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I think part of my bitter tone is due to the fact that I know I am in for more than two 2015 Yamaha R1's worth of house work. So I expect people to make that amount of money feel like it isn't so tragically spent when I could be building a beast bike instead. :(
 
Med23 said:
This is more of a rant, but I would love to hear the nightmares you guys might have had with this group of people. Misery loves company and all. General Contractors :nchantr

Never in my life has one group of people earned my lack of respect so much. It must be self-selected to the occupation, but man they are just bassackwards as all hell.

Flakiness - They probably don't function under the same deadlines as us in the corporate world do, and so they really don't give a fuck about deadlines like we do. Always canceling appointments, always missing appointments or at least being 20-40 minutes late. It is baffling to my mind how these people can't simply commit to a time and stick to that time more than 20% of the time.

Horrible estimators - Was there ever a job done in the amount of time that they estimated it would take? In my experience, no. Isn't this what they do for a living? How do they lack such basic foresight as to be unable to estimate a week window of project completion?

Integrity - Why oh why do so many of these people (not all, but the majority I've dealt with) try to take shortcuts? Why do they lack the pride in their work that the old tradespeople once had? And how can they justify a blatant and transparent 15-25% increase in their rates on an equal job done in San Francisco to one done in Redwood City or some equivalent suburban town? That is an asshole way to do things. Not all of us in SF are tech money wielding kids that can just pay whatever for whatever.

In the past several years, I have had 3 appointments cancelled by 3 different contractors within two days of said appointments. I've had about 5 contractors just never call back when we request appointment for quote. Just have the decency to call back for fuck's sake. I've had one contractor who was completely incompetent and hired incompetent subs. I've had another contractor miss his completion date by 2 months. I've had one plumber do things all wrong and forced me to re-hire another to do it right. And I've had several estimates that were so badly trying to gouge me that I just laughed out loud.

Get your shit together contractors! The rest of us don't function in a world of complacency and mediocrity.
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Contractors are one step below Army recruiters and one step above politicians in terms of honesty.
 
People, in general, are pretty disappointing.

Most motorcyclists really are a breed apart.
 
It's gonna be tough to find a decent GC in SF. All the good ones are booked for months and all the flaky ones are what's available. Parking is a bitch and so are the logistics of getting the materials onsite. Where is the closest Home Depot? I can also imagine dealing with the building department/ getting a permit in the city is probably as fun as fighting a parking ticket with DPT.

I lived in a rural area where it was same situation, good ones booked for months and fly-by nights who put the CON into Contractor.
 
Check to make sure they are licensed first

Second insured.

Third bondable.

I have had good experiences with all but two over the last 20 years. At least for the home stuff.

One commercial left me holding the bag for 25k. Sucked. Most commercial guys have to be good/ competent to survive. I know lots. GCs in commercial used to be bldg pros. Now they are more paper pushers than real builders, but still some good ones. The superintendent is the guy there. If he is good the job should be good.

Mostly I would say if you are having trouble you are not doing enough homework on the front end. Be vigilant. Check references. Check their license info. Etc.
 
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