Construction, busy or slowing down

[Nick87]

I think

seemed like every time I took off the bags, I stopped making money.

There's a fine line there where you either have to stay smaller and do this or go to the next step (big step) and have someone you can trust to do that for you. The in between doesn't work out well.

 

[hank4elk]

I think Hank added a zero to that figure.

Wilt Chamberlains house, hand carved rosewood crown in the dining room. I just helped install.
Lunch and a $500 bonus for one day install. We had 3 days. Nice guy.

I had a cabinet shop then and was doing good but it was a pain in the ass. I signed up for part time work to get my foot in on full time Park Ranger job.
2 years later I was 1st one hired in 10 years and worked 20 years and retired with pension I helped negotiate.
I'm a smiling poor.

 

[rogerthat]

I been working like hell for going on 5 years and I just can’t seem to cut into the backlog. As fast as I can complete one project my wife comes up with three more for me. I don’t see it ever slowing down.

Edit: I would add that it’s impossible for most of you to put the tool bag down. It’s who you are. You can take the tool bag from the man but you will never take the tool bag out of the man.

 

[Steiny77]

How many of you construction guys wear tool bags?

You do realize that the tool bag guys often wouldn't have employment if not for the pencil pushers?
It takes the whole team to successfully complete a project.

 

[warmer]

Just lately?

Since Feburary

 

[Hem]

You do realize that the tool bag guys often wouldn't have employment if not for the pencil pushers?
It takes the whole team to successfully complete a project.

Read the whole thread.
Polite suggestion from the " tool bag" guy.

 

[rjthehunter]

We are starting a shop today. Rained all night. Clay field should be a joy to scrape the vegetation.
Hindsight construction management would have been a good path. Classmate of mine is retired from building high rise in Boston. I don't mind my small construction business, probably always wear bags. Hate office work anyway.

Clay sucks.

The Construction Management degree has been a good path for me thus far. But I still often think about starting a small construction business. Even with spending most of my time in the office, I end up getting my time with the bags on, but it's fairly limited. I have a lot of hobbies, so the majority of my projects relate to me in some way. Kitchen remodel this past winter. Addition to the house next summer.

Get that office work done! No one likes it, but I remember a statistic saying that's the leading cause of small construction businesses failing, which makes sense. (I'm not implying you're not doing your paperwork)

 

[Hem]

Clay sucks.

The Construction Management degree has been a good path for me thus far. But I still often think about starting a small construction business. Even with spending most of my time in the office, I end up getting my time with the bags on, but it's fairly limited. I have a lot of hobbies, so the majority of my projects relate to me in some way. Kitchen remodel this past winter. Addition to the house next summer.

Get that office work done! No one likes it, but I remember a statistic saying that's the leading cause of small construction businesses failing, which makes sense. (I'm not implying you're not doing your paperwork)

We called it immediately this morning.
Asking for a stuck machine and making a mess.
Working on paperwork.

 

[rjthehunter]

We called it immediately this morning.
Asking for a stuck machine and making a mess.
Working on paperwork.

Best way to use a rain day!

 

[Nick87]

Thought I'd update. In the last 15 days or so it's seems like the work has really taken off and not just for the company I work for. Pretty much anyone I talk to on the regular is in a trade of some sort. Everyone is balls out and the halls are empty here. I hope it holds up and everyone on here who depends on it like I do is experiencing the same thing. Being exhausted from hitting it hard is one of the most bittersweet feelings. I feel like not everyone gets that.

 

[Nick87]

Best way to use a rain day!

Clearly never been to a strip club at 8 am on a rain day?

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Thought I'd update. In the last 15 days or so it's seems like the work has really taken off and not just for the company I work for. Pretty much anyone I talk to on the regular is in a trade of some sort. Everyone is balls out and the halls are empty here. I hope it holds up and everyone on here who depends on it like I do is experiencing the same thing. Being exhausted from hitting it hard is one of the most bittersweet feelings. I feel like not everyone gets that.

I'll know better next week when I meet with a few of the key estimators. From my side, bidding has stayed fairly slow for electrical gear

 

[Nick87]

I'll know better next week when I meet with a few of the key estimators. From my side, bidding has stayed fairly slow for electrical gear

I'm sure it varies from location. Obviously, when everyone was going nuts immediately after covid, we were steady at best.

 

[mtmuley]

The high end company that I work for is at least 3 years out. Residential if you can call it that. mtmuley

 

[rjthehunter]

We're still buzzing around here

 

[mtmuley]

We're still buzzing around here

Yep. Thank You Yellowstone. mtmuley

 

[Nuts]

In PA sitting in the office this morning. I start at 4:30am ish most mornings. My wake up time from the field wont go away. I read through some of these. My take. The office needs the field. The field needs the office. I was in the field for 30yrs before destroying my right arm. A good friend offered me an office job. Estimator/Project Manager. So here I sit. I love my job but man. In the field you went home physically whooped and relaxed watching TV, doing home projects and hanging out with family. A day in the office you go home mentally exhausted and want to stare at a wall or turn the phone off and get in the woods. 2 totally different kinds of exhaustion. Advantage of the field is the 6am-2pm work day. The office is whatever it takes. Supposed to be 7am-4:30pm but I don't have that late start in me and I don't leave early at the end of the day. On the flip side I have unlimited vacations and can come and go as I please and work from the cabin or a hill top in Alaska if I choose to. I rarely use that option. Very relaxing to through a tool belt on and go help for a day here and there. Although typically its a task that totally sucks and I want to help the guys get through it. Its way easier to pull the field guys from in front suffering with them then push from behind in a chair.

From a work stand point. A bit of a slow December bidding wise. But the year was so slammed I didn't mind the time to clean up paperwork and everything else. January is off to a bang bidding. For the guys in the filed its a slow February and March. Everyone will have work everyday but we wont have as many subs helping. Come April-December look out. We will be slammed.

 

[Nick87]

New company as of last September. These guys ain't messing around. We're already on OT in the middle of winter. Pretty unheard of.

 

[Addicting]

New company as of last September. These guys ain't messing around. We're already on OT in the middle of winter. Pretty unheard of.

No taxes on OT for the win

 

[Nick87]

No taxes on OT for the win

Devils in the details. @westbranch says not eligible if it's collectively bargained OT.