Google Ads, Internet advertising, advice needed

[DeeVeeEight]

I have a small contracting business, handyman stuff and my business is slow. I used to do a lot of print advertising, a 1/4 page display ad in a local rag that was very effective, but the costs have gotten prohibitive. I also believe that "The times, they are a changing" and that print advertising is giving way to internet searches when services are needed. Who uses a telephone directory any more? Everything is now "Googled" or searched for on the web.

OK - I know little to NOTHING about this new media, internet advertising, Google ad words, keyword searches and the like. Can anyone shed some light on the do's and don'ts? I have a website and my business does pop up when you do a specific search but I need more.

Thanks in advance for your replies. :thumbs:

 

[mrvette]

I have a small contracting business, handyman stuff and my business is slow. I used to do a lot of print advertising, a 1/4 page display ad in a local rag that was very effective, but the costs have gotten prohibitive. I also believe that "The times, they are a changing" and that print advertising is giving way to internet searches when services are needed. Who uses a telephone directory any more? Everything is now "Googled" or searched for on the web.

OK - I know little to NOTHING about this new media, internet advertising, Google ad words, keyword searches and the like. Can anyone shed some light on the do's and don'ts? I have a website and my business does pop up when you do a specific search but I need more.

Thanks in advance for your replies. :thumbs:

My wife is long term Book Keeper for a business undergoing a very similar change of operations, because of the death of the owner father, so the son and grandson are having to deal with a bunch of crap, as well as change directions on marketing.....totally unrelated to the construction business, but into bar supply distribution......not booze, but hardware....

PM me your email, and you and she can discuss her knowledge with her client without getting too much involved with THEIR business details.....

surely she knows much more than me, but I was a contractor here in Florida as well as Maryland for years .....so she can be a great support, I suspect.....:smash::thumbs:

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

- get people to recommend you on Angie's list IMO this is the best type of advertising these days.
- in your business word of mouth is by far and away the best advertisement
- avoid google and such like the plague; they don't get you business and end up taking your time through spam and people who are just lookie-lous
- same with yellow pages
- put a sign on your work-vehicle and drive nicely
- BBB isn't worth one B let alone 3 Bs
- go places where people who need your services are.... you'd be amazed at how much business is church-driven (or any service organization); although going to church, kiwanis, lions, or any other service organization to get business is a double edge sword (fakes are easy to spot, and often people think they should get a discount)
- and finally, avoid the marketeers that claim to have an inside track

and last of all, you're right, internet presence is a good way of driving more business; but in my experience, it's more negative - people look for reviews of you, and sometimes will look at your website and if they don't see you specialize in whatever they need done; they'll go to someone who lists that attribute on their site. With that said, you can avoid such problems, but you have to take the role of consumer - what helps you decide to buy or not buy something? As your job is part sales, your own intuition is the best way to get people you'll enjoy working for to hire you.

 

[mrvette]

- get people to recommend you on Angie's list IMO this is the best type of advertising these days.
- in your business word of mouth is by far and away the best advertisement
- avoid google and such like the plague; they don't get you business and end up taking your time through spam and people who are just lookie-lous
- same with yellow pages
- put a sign on your work-vehicle and drive nicely
- BBB isn't worth one B let alone 3 Bs

I never wanted to attract attention to my work van, a 6 door typical Dodge 3/4 ton van, but when the State of Md. got all shitty and I had to put my Maryland Home Improvement Contractors License # on the side in ~2" letters....I decided to put the name of the company and the license and phone number......THAT was a good up that cost me 850 bux in power tools back in '89 or so.....they Jersey Hooked that truck and GONE while I was picking up a counter top, took the money from that job/install to buy another sawzall with blades, ALONE, needless to say those names/lic # came off the truck the very next morning, fuck em, damn stupid .gov , all that did was set up every man for getting killed by criminals.....

When looking for help for anything I have always gone to Craigslist, mainly looking for more specialized help since I'm a jack of all trades and master of most.....

:thankyou::smash::twitch:

 

[DeeVeeEight]

- get people to recommend you on Angie's list IMO this is the best type of advertising these days.
- in your business word of mouth is by far and away the best advertisement
- avoid google and such like the plague; they don't get you business and end up taking your time through spam and people who are just lookie-lous
- same with yellow pages
- put a sign on your work-vehicle and drive nicely
- BBB isn't worth one B let alone 3 Bs
- go places where people who need your services are.... you'd be amazed at how much business is church-driven (or any service organization); although going to church, kiwanis, lions, or any other service organization to get business is a double edge sword (fakes are easy to spot, and often people think they should get a discount)
- and finally, avoid the marketeers that claim to have an inside track

and last of all, you're right, internet presence is a good way of driving more business; but in my experience, it's more negative - people look for reviews of you, and sometimes will look at your website and if they don't see you specialize in whatever they need done; they'll go to someone who lists that attribute on their site. With that said, you can avoid such problems, but you have to take the role of consumer - what helps you decide to buy or not buy something? As your job is part sales, your own intuition is the best way to get people you'll enjoy working for to hire you.

I have a couple of good Angie's list reviews. The only thing bad about A.L. is that it costs $10.00 to join if you are a consumer. And yes - Angie's List DOES try to get your business to pay them for advertising, contrary to the statement on their TV ads.

I have been around for 15 yrs. - there is a lot of repeat business. The old saying that 95% of your business comes from 5% of your customers is true, but also scary. A lot of my customers are getting older and moving away, I need an infusion of some new blood.

I will avoid Google and adwords as per your advice.

Beware of "Tradeworkers Online" and similar companies offering you work - see my old rant in O.T. about them. They are not what they say they are, an internet search shows that.

I agree with you about the BBB, all they are is full of B.

I sold my work van and work out of my passenger van. Last year things got so slow I had to trim the budget. Commercial registration and insurance had to go. Why pay for 2 vans when one will do? The only drawback is that the old van was professionally lettered and was a rolling bill board. I am considering a trailer with professional lettering. I have to talk to the Ins. agent and see how it plays out with my policy.

I am not a church goer but do patronize local businesses who are mostly willing to take a stack of my business cards and give them out to their customers. Local business supporting local business.

And on that track, I am referred by the local Hardware store to many of their customers and I direct as many people as I can to do business with them in return, as well as buy many of my supplies and tools there. I also bring a big sandwich platter (with chips and soda's) to them once or twice a year to show my appreciation.

I need more!

When people type in their neighborhood name and "Handyman" or search for a service that I can provide, I would like for them to be directed to my website.

:thankyou:

 

[DeeVeeEight]

- get people to recommend you on Angie's list IMO this is the best type of advertising these days.
- in your business word of mouth is by far and away the best advertisement
- avoid google and such like the plague; they don't get you business and end up taking your time through spam and people who are just lookie-lous
- same with yellow pages
- put a sign on your work-vehicle and drive nicely
- BBB isn't worth one B let alone 3 Bs

I never wanted to attract attention to my work van, a 6 door typical Dodge 3/4 ton van, but when the State of Md. got all shitty and I had to put my Maryland Home Improvement Contractors License # on the side in ~2" letters....I decided to put the name of the company and the license and phone number......THAT was a good up that cost me 850 bux in power tools back in '89 or so.....they Jersey Hooked that truck and GONE while I was picking up a counter top, took the money from that job/install to buy another sawzall with blades, ALONE, needless to say those names/lic # came off the truck the very next morning, fuck em, damn stupid .gov , all that did was set up every man for getting killed by criminals.....

When looking for help for anything I have always gone to Craigslist, mainly looking for more specialized help since I'm a jack of all trades and master of most.....

:thankyou::smash::twitch:

I have been cleaned out more than once Gene. I agree about keeping a low profile. The less the .gov and the street thugs know about me the better.

I am a bit leary of Craigslist for advertising my business. It seems that every Tom Dick & Harry is in there and it somehow undermines my opinion of the contractor doing the CL advertising, I don't know why.

 

[BBShark]

I need more!

When people type in their neighborhood name and "Handyman" or search for a service that I can provide, I would like for them to be directed to my website.

:thankyou:

Go to Google Adwords and take a look at the Traffic Estimator. Type in your keywords (specify a local search in you area only). That will give you an idea of how many times the keywords are "searched" in your area per month. At the top will be a graph that shows how many "clicks" you might get from these keywords and the cost.

Developing your keyword phrase is crucial if you have a fixed budget. Google advertising is fairly expensive so don't be suprised at the cost.

All of the suggestions from SBG look good.

 

[phantomjock]

Google, Bing and other search engines would only pay-off if you have a web site.
We are in the midst of a major Master Bath remodel - hence slow work on the vette as I do the demolition. Breaking up shit is fun!

How did we pick a contractor. "She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed" went to Service Magic. They didn't require any membership, they have licensing details, and Better Business Bureau info that was important to our decision. (Money I could be spending on a ready to race GT1!)
Four were selected from the lot. All 4 were interviewed and shown our proposal. Everyone "was excited and we really want this job" Each was in the top 5 of the qualifications.
The winner - had the best response, was up front, communicative and responsive. We did a bit of back-grounding with previous clients, too. What was the difference between the top two?
The winner was organized. Left us with a DVD of their previous projects. Always showed up on time, and met those details my CFO/Project Manager needed.
The second rate - sloppy note book, a "we'll do it my way" attitude, and lack of "flexibility with stretching to use new materials.

Bottom Line - what ever you do to get the entry - you've got to match with real follow through. Each interview, and contact during the job needs to be as important as the first that got you in the door. [Unless you find its not the job you want - then at least have teh courtsey to follow up with a "No Thank You" call. We're still waiting on the #3 and #4 --NOT REALLY.

We haven't started - and won't until we have all materials on hand (my preference.) So I can't comment on the entire project until finished. If you have a nice web site, that would give a great impression, a place for your "portfolio" and gives your customer a place to hang out and work the "daydreaming" while waiting to start. With the web site - you now play the Google-game.

This approach was called "High Tech-High Touch."

Cheers - best of Luck - Jim

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

To be clear, I wasn't suggesting getting religious; I was suggesting doing some good for the community - which has the added benefit of getting you in contact with people who would pay for your services - let me re-recommend Kiwanis or Lions. The people who are members run their own businesses, care about the local guys (and gals), and do great things giving back to the community. The side benefit is you'd be amazed at how many recommendations you'll get without doing any advertising to them (especially if you don't do any direct advertising).

I didn't mention craigslist because the couple times I've considered using someone from there; how do I say this nicely? they were dirtballs and there is no chance I'd ever let them in my home (and yes, I did say that nicely - one stole an aluminum wheel from my house while he waited for me).

 

[SmokinBBC]

I have used services on Angie's list before and I'll use it again.

My local church also sells adds in their Sunday bulletin....lot of local business on there including my dentist:toothbrush:

 

[010752]

Google, Bing and other search engines would only pay-off if you have a web site.
We are in the midst of a major Master Bath remodel - hence slow work on the vette as I do the demolition. Breaking up shit is fun! ........
Jim

Major master bath remodel :bounce: :clap:
This sort of intrigued me because of many past experiences, so I did a little scan of Service Magic, especially since you are also in Florida.

Service Magic, without doubt has a superior marketing ploy, but sadly is almost 100% bullshit. :bullshit:
BBB runs a close second.
Just sounds like you ran into a good salesman.

I rather quickly went thru a few categories locally and clicked on their references and so called accreditations and they no more did background and financial checks for them than I did.
For remodels, only 17 listed for South Florida (a mini New York), highly suspect of who is listed. I could list more off the top of my head.
Of any real licensed companies some of them had a license number a couple years old. but claimed to be in business for 20 years. Doesn't jive.
Some catagories and listings clearly require a state or county license, which was not listed, obviously not checked.
Any insurance and license that was listed, was just from the DBPR database minimum requirements.
No workman's comp insurance checked or listed, although required by everyone in construction.
Generally of all I checked, most seemed very new companies, with little history, or questionable history, and a lot without the proper licensing and insurance.

Service Magic is just a marketing/advertising scheme paid for by the contractors looking for work. Great for them, bullshit for you.
You may want to check with the Deocrativc Party if Obama has their okay for prez. :amazed:
You may find someone good in there, good luck.

Florida DBPR governs all construction in Florida

Residential bathroom remodels require a permit in Florida no exceptions.
Also required is a licensed contractor, general, building or residential, and a licensed plumber and a licensed electrician and a licensed hvac (even just for a fart fan).
Contractors can only do the structural aspect, no plumbing or electric or hvac.
Plumbers can do nothing but plumbing.
Electricians can only do electrical.
HVAC can only do a/c ventilation.

You can check licenses by company or by individual here
https://www.myfloridalicense.com/wl11.asp
An individual can also qualify a legal company like a corp.

Check legal companies
https://www.myfloridalicense.com/wl11.asp
Company names or officers separately
If they have owned muliple corps be leery

Required workman's comp.
http://www.myfloridacfo.com/wc/index.htm
In construction, any number of employees must be covered, Up to 3 officers of a corp can be exempt, but must prove exempt certificates.
Subs and subs of subs etc must also be fully covered.
Also gen liability.
Ask for proof.

Cross all the info to make sure the names all jive.
County licenses are valid too, check with your county, same insurance rules apply.

If your prospective contractor disputes any of the above, be leery.

I could give you dozens of examples, but one was an acquaintance of mine contracted for a new kitchen, in the neighbohood of 40 grand, gave a down payment, the contractor dribbled the job on, sending out inexperienced teenagers every other day, couldn't remedy obvious problems etc. Demanded full payment before remedies. Threatened to sue. I looked him up at the state level. He was advertizing a license number of a dead contractor, no insurance of any type. Had a legal carpet corporation, nothing to do with contracting. Was using trucks with dealer plates (illegal). Did illegal plumbing and electric.
Confronted with the info, just disappered and the guy had to finish on his own, but had held enough back to cover it.
Stories like these are more common than uncommon, but hey, this is Florida.

My suggestions,
Get an all inclusive contract total costs all itemized, WITH time constraints.
Alternative is for you to hire your own separate subs (plumber etc).
If at all possible, don't start until you have all materials to the last nail on site.
Don't change your mind midstream.
BTW, all estimates by law, must contain the Florida Construction Recovery Fund paperwork.
If built before 78, must get EPA certification.

With the economy the way it is and will be in Florida for quite some time, upon the sale of houses, disclosures are required and permits investigated so be careful with that. They can come in and find past violations and fineyou and make you update legally. If considering doing it on the sly, it could cost you a bunch down the road.

Just trying to give you a little better insight.
Good luck with the project.

 

[phantomjock]

010752 - (zip)

Appreciate you insights. My CFO did all the exact due diligence you've suggested. I showed her those details - and she goes; "Yeah, got it - here..." Yep, sure a hell.
She did note the Service Magic was just her starting point and I put too much emphasis on that in my note. Surely, there must be a better way for DeV8 to get his company name "out there." Yellow Pages on line? I've found that less than useful and not always up-to-date. If Craigslist is overcome with fly-by-night, does eBay have a similar Services section? At least there is a feedback opportunity.
Its a challenge for sure. Just know without a web based presence - and that is not cheap - search engines would not be much help (except for the yellow pages.)

Cheers - Jim

 

[mrvette]

Christ, Noonie, no wonder no one bothers to comply with all that bullcrap legal shit, never get anything done.....

for instance, the 30+ houses that got flooded out at bottom of the hill here about 100 yards from my house, most all of them are back on line, but the ONE at the bottom of my street STILL has a dumpster in the drive, and work going on, you can BET the .gov is involved a LOT on that job....homeowner is just plain screwed.....the stupidity I have seen in most of those rehab jobs is just ASStounding......only thing I pulled ticket on at my house has been the 300' room addition, and that was by the guy who did the foundation/slab, and the list is LONG, too bad the price has fallen so far, oh well, I reversed mortgage outta here at the last possible second.....bank is under by about 50 grand on the joint now.....

 

[DeeVeeEight]

Christ, Noonie, no wonder no one bothers to comply with all that bullcrap legal shit, never get anything done.....

for instance, the 30+ houses that got flooded out at bottom of the hill here about 100 yards from my house, most all of them are back on line, but the ONE at the bottom of my street STILL has a dumpster in the drive, and work going on, you can BET the .gov is involved a LOT on that job....homeowner is just plain screwed.....the stupidity I have seen in most of those rehab jobs is just ASStounding......only thing I pulled ticket on at my house has been the 300' room addition, and that was by the guy who did the foundation/slab, and the list is LONG, too bad the price has fallen so far, oh well, I reversed mortgage outta here at the last possible second.....bank is under by about 50 grand on the joint now.....

edited

 

[DeeVeeEight]

Service Magic, Mr. Handyman, all bullshit. No better than the others, just more expensive.
A friend of mine got hooked up with Service Magic. They said that they would give him qualified leads, for a fee. Well, it turns out that they gave him and 10 other guys the same leads and let them cut each other's throats for the job(s). To me - that is not a qualified lead. I can compete like that on the street anytime, who the fuck needs Service magic for that? Now my friend is being threatened with legal action by Service Magic because he told them he is not paying for the bullshit leads. Who needs that kind of aggravation? I have learned to stand alone and stand tall.

Another one is Trade Workers Online. They call me at least once a week with the statement "we have booked more work in your area than we can handle, if you will submit to a background check and pay us $99.00 for the background check, we can start giving you some work". I searched the internet and found guys who paid the $99.00 and never got a qualified lead from them. All they got was ripped off for their $99.00. It is sad that these hard working people are being preyed upon by an unscrupulous company that has no real interest in providing work, all they want is your $99.00. :bomb:

I invested $250 in some lawn signs. They are now popping up on every street corner in front of every house I work on. That is what I call positive reinforcement. The neighbors see my sign here, there, everywhere. After a while they are bound to call...

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Service Magic, Mr. Handyman, all bullshit. No better than the others, just more expensive.
A friend of mine got hooked up with Service Magic. They said that they would give him qualified leads, for a fee. Well, it turns out that they gave him and 10 other guys the same leads and let them cut each other's throats for the job(s). To me - that is not a qualified lead. I can compete like that on the street anytime, who the fuck needs Service magic for that? Now my friend is being threatened with legal action by Service Magic because he told them he is not paying for the bullshit leads. Who needs that kind of aggravation? I have learned to stand alone and stand tall.

Another one is Trade Workers Online. They call me at least once a week with the statement "we have booked more work in your area than we can handle, if you will submit to a background check and pay us $99.00 for the background check, we can start giving you some work". I searched the internet and found guys who paid the $99.00 and never got a qualified lead from them. All they got was ripped off for their $99.00. It is sad that these hard working people are being preyed upon by an unscrupulous company that has no real interest in providing work, all they want is your $99.00. :bomb:

I invested $250 in some lawn signs. They are now popping up on every street corner in front of every house I work on. That is what I call positive reinforcement. The neighbors see my sign here, there, everywhere. After a while they are bound to call...

at least that's a cheap rip-off. I spent $2,500 on Yellow page ads and had one call. That call? was Wilma and Edna discussing whether or not you could get a ticket for going too slow. :bomb:

 

[phantomjock]

Just giving a customer's perspective. Thought that maybe you wanted to know from the customer's view where to place ads. As a customer - I have some experience. If I don't want to pull permits - then I'll do the job myself.

If I hire someone -- I don't want to run the risks of getting shut down, sued, or stopped. So I look for those attributes. Google will really only key on a web presence. For that - you really need a web site. If the yard signs do it for you - that seems like a cost effective solution. But, be sure and respond to phone calls! Best of luck.

 

[010752]

Christ, Noonie, no wonder no one bothers to comply with all that bullcrap legal shit, never get anything done.....

for instance, the 30+ houses that got flooded out at bottom of the hill here about 100 yards from my house, most all of them are back on line, but the ONE at the bottom of my street STILL has a dumpster in the drive, and work going on, you can BET the .gov is involved a LOT on that job....homeowner is just plain screwed.....the stupidity I have seen in most of those rehab jobs is just ASStounding......only thing I pulled ticket on at my house has been the 300' room addition, and that was by the guy who did the foundation/slab, and the list is LONG, too bad the price has fallen so far, oh well, I reversed mortgage outta here at the last possible second.....bank is under by about 50 grand on the joint now.....

The whole industry in Florida is a mess.
One of the biggest problems is that consumers make decisions on price alone 99.9% of the time.

So Julio, that can barely speak english (sometimes conveniently), without a license of any type convinces the consumer, he can do it for substantially less. Often he gets the job on price alone.
First of all, he cannot pull permits if he wanted to, he has all his Julio family and friends helping, so never is there any insurance or workman's comp and often the proceeds go into a family kitty and by family, I mean several families living in 1 house.
Bottom line, his costs are negligible compared to a legit guy.
I curse every month when I write that workman's comp premium check.

Then there are the legit guys that do pull a permit, that contract a job they have no business or experience doing and totally screw it up.
A friend of mine's son and daughter in law got their GC license (don't know how, it's not easy) and got a bath remodel for around 40k. They didn't know anything about it, hiring a couple of BS artists as employees that totally screwed things up. I ended up spending 2 weeks there straightening things out so they could pass all their inspections and get paid. I had to foam the backside of the shower walls so they wouldn't move because the dumbasses used unbraced metal studs for studding. Glass jacuzzi tub had to be reset because bottom was soft. Couldn't install tub fixtures because tub framing was wrong. Body shower heads wouldn't fit and the dumbass plumber even argued with the manufacturer's instructions and diagrams (his boss wouldn't pay him for rework, so nothing was ever his fault).
Endless list and these guys were legal, looked good until you tried to use it, imagine the unlicensed, no permitted jobs.

Then there is the homeowner that tries to sneak stuff in. Only complaint I have with that is that when they get in trouble they usually hire unqualified people too. Other than that, it's their place, they can screw it up.

Florida has made it such a PITA to do anything, it either doesn't get done or get's done illegally. Obama and the EPA new rules didn't help.
Ft Lauderdale after the boom bust, fired almost all of their building inspectors and hired triple the amount of code enforcement. Throw a toilet out for bulk pickup, knock on the door, let see that bathroom, then a fine, double permit fees, blueprints and inspectors that know they can bend you over because you got caught. Don't play along and you get a tax lien on the property, auctioned if not paid in 2 years. One guy I know of had 37k to pay out.
All cities around here are doing the code compliance thing. They know what's out there, just takes them time to get to it all. Those illegal rooms, driveways, screen enclosures, new windows aren't disappearing soon.

With the increase in home inspections, when you sell, it's pretty hard to hide anything, just another bargaining tool for the buyer. I had to demo a beautiful marble bath I snuck in 20 years ago, before I sold a place.
Your SIL is in pretty decent shape doing a/c, at least everyone can't buy the units, refrigerant and proper materials, protects him a bit.

As far as the OP for advertising, create a Facebook company page, it will get hits higher on the google searches with the right key words.
Craiglslist is OK, if you don't sound like a complete moron, you should get work over someone sounding like a dufus (a lot of them are). Learn to make the call short sweet and productive, but realize it's mostly for bargain hunters. Any jobs you do get should increase the word of mouth base.
It's all free.
Talk to hardware and supplier store managers, give them a personal spiff (don't cheap out) to post an ad at the store or referrals, church newspapers are good, community fliers don't cost much.
From memory here, large companies generlly have a net profit of around 2%, yet their advertising is around 30%, shows you how important it really is.
Have a website, but paying for top search results is prohibitive.

 

[mrvette]

Christ, Noonie, no wonder no one bothers to comply with all that bullcrap legal shit, never get anything done.....

for instance, the 30+ houses that got flooded out at bottom of the hill here about 100 yards from my house, most all of them are back on line, but the ONE at the bottom of my street STILL has a dumpster in the drive, and work going on, you can BET the .gov is involved a LOT on that job....homeowner is just plain screwed.....the stupidity I have seen in most of those rehab jobs is just ASStounding......only thing I pulled ticket on at my house has been the 300' room addition, and that was by the guy who did the foundation/slab, and the list is LONG, too bad the price has fallen so far, oh well, I reversed mortgage outta here at the last possible second.....bank is under by about 50 grand on the joint now.....

No one gets a dumpster because it tells the building inspector to come and be nosey. Who the hell wants an inspector up their ass?
I avoid pulling permits like the plague. Our local code enforcement inspector is only interested in being paid off. Fuck him, he gets enough of my tax money already. A couple of years ago I was waiting for him to give me a permit for a handicap ramp. He dragged his feet so badly that I went ahead and built the ramp without his approval. 2 weeks later he told me he inspected the site and approved my permit. What BULLSHIT! If he had driven past the site and seen that the ramp was already up he would have had a hissy fit. He's just a lazy, lying, thieving fuck who has a .gov job. Like I said, I avoid him like the plague, otherwise I might beat him about the head and put him in his place.:kissass:

DV8, the following is all true....

I was redoing a huge major kitchen remodel in a million buck house in Potomac Md, this was a mega buck in the lat 80's the kitchen/laundry/storage wing was the size of my house, on one floor, upstairs was 4 bedrooms, but not the master suite....reframe one of he bedrooms, and move laundry up there....clean out all the walls/cabinets/flooring/tile/ceiling on the kitchen level/main floor it had a full basement too, ticket was pulled, I spotted something really really really GROSS about the OEM framing, in that a major beam was fir on one side, yellow pine on the other it was 2x12, it was supported by a double header wall on one end, with NO STUD under it, not even a stud, it was setting 6-8" off the closest stud, and those 2x4 headers had sagged almost 2" where the beam rested, the other end of this beam had a single 2x4 resting on the steel beam in the basement, seen easily due to the wall being naked,

SO the inspector comes up to look at it for close in, I had told the homeowner it was going to be roughly ten grand to fix that shit him showing me the floors upstairs in the had pulled 2" away from the baseboard, so much so that a pencil would roll on the bare floor.....homeowner balked at any more money.....I stand there with my arms folded not saying a word, homeowner and bitch wife in dining room, inspector looks at that beam, turns to look at the other end, looks at ME, and basically shouts "That ain't YOU is it?'....I said HELL NO@@!!!, he looks again and sez that beam should be a MINIMUM of 3x FIR and the joist hangers needed serious nails, not #4 common carpet tacks into the beam.....SO the guy checks some paperwork in his hand, probably noting his boss's signature on the OEM close in, and he sighs, signs off on it, 'here is your close in'.......

homeowner screwed me on 850 bux, screwed my electrician over 650 bux, and screwed the tile guy over 1000 bux.....so we go to the country dept of consumer affairs, they call a meeting with the homeowners, he goes back into the dining room to discuss with them and hear their side, the 3 of us are waiting in the kitchen......consumer affair guy comes in alone, and whispers to us that the owners were NUTZ and that we are basically screwed....but that he was on our side...... while standing there, we noted that ALL the doors to the new kitchen cabinets were removed, for no reason far as I could tell.....WTF??? HELL with it, we all just left the joint.....

:cussing: I made about 5 grand, so I was happy enough anyway, piss on them.....:surrender:

 

[mrvette]

I guess we here in Clay Co. and even Duval Co. are lucky, see construction remnants all over the place, and when I was active here, I frequently dumped stuff at my curb....much less all the debris from this house....I have a complete atrium out back it was a tear out a friend had the contract for, he needed help, I said will do, but I want the glass and aluminum, so I reinstalled it at my house, right off the kitchen sliding door, paid 800 bux for concrete delivered and pumped to back yard where me an stepson screeded it off on my framing, and so we tiled inside the atrium, looks like a Wendy's restaurant with curved glass on the outer end wall....14x16'......I replaced all the windows in the house too, built another deck out front, knocked out a garage window and built a workshop, even a careless island looking lean to covering another back patio, no one ever said shit, kitchen, even redistributed the load in the attic when moving the bearing utility wall, but like I said before, I finally got lucky and reversed outta this house about 5 years ago, just before the crash....the bank sends me statements of loan value at 115k, they are upside down some 50 grand worth.....