Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeke
Not to hijack the thread, but having been a contractor for 48 years I have seen the deterioration of the building trades over the years. When I first became a general and was building room adds, I was 10-12 years in the biz. I was still young for a general and I used to hire other contractors that were older than me. I learned a hell of a lot from these cats. I used the hood of my truck for an office and wrote checks then and there. They were good men and weren't sloppy.
Nowadays, I'm just an old man to most of those in the trades right up until I walk up and show almost any worker a little secret. I gain some respect a little bit at a time. But would you think that any of these workers would pick up their burrito wrappers? Not a chance and getting all wound up about that just undermines the process. Just like a coach, you have to instill spirit.
Is it acceptable to leave a nail in the tub? Fook no, but siht happens. The one thing I know now is to walk the entire job once a day, even if that means picking up burrito wrappers.
Denis, you have little tolerance, something I know first hand. It won't work if you're trying to coordinate 20 guys. And there is one thing you can't do and that is fire someone else's employees. That's sometimes a problem although just last January I ran a plumber, working for a company, off the job. And it cost me personally some money but it was worth every cent. But if I 'fired' everyone of the jokers that wasn't up to high standards every minute of every day, I would never get a completed job. Actually, I'd get sabotaged.
I heard the plumber got fired not long after that which validated my action. But I didn't get my money back.
Back to the thread, standing water or not, a tub protector should always be in place. Especially for fiberglass. And in my experience, standing water is only needed for one day at the most. In fact, I don't see the need for it at all. The DWV system is checked for leaks way before a tub or shower pan is installed. But if the trap for a tub needs to be checked, then that's how it's done. Might be a good idea before covering up the ceiling below. My inspectors don't require that, though.
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Sound like you have been around in the "Good old days". I still look up to those older guy who did things correctly and respected people's properties and personal items.
I am 52 now and have been in this mess since I was about 19. I wanted to do this more then anything else then beside being a pro cyclist but they didn't exist in the US back then, so off I go with my trusty table saw, make some money to pay for college. Got my lic in my mid 20s except I use the tail gate instead of the hood. I tell clients up front, we are not the fastest but you will get excellent service, and true custom work. If they like to wait, great, if not, next. I run a very small crew, mainly for doing finish work and some misc stuff. Anything else bigger, I hire out but I use the same guys all the time, so we get to know their employees. Oh, those fooking food wrappers and drinks. I no longer pick them up. One of my guy does and he cracks the whip. Nothing says irresponsible more then leaving food all over the place. We make sure the place is cleaned, owner living in the house or not. Its more of a dog and phony show then anything else. I don't like the big crew or plumbing companies or electrical companies that send guys out that we don't know. There's always personal conflicts with the typical trades guys. thanks goodness my subs are good and keep their mess to a somewhat manageable mess. If I tell you I have no nails in the tub, I am lying to ya, but it rarely happens now. Some of the plastic tubs we put in to these homes are running between 3-5 thousand bucks. There better not be anything on them. It takes a lot of btiching on my parts to get them trained. My three guys have been working for me for a long time. Its between 15 -17 years, so they are trained from a young age.
Hey A930Rocket, We use a paint on tub protector. Its a tough thick latex coating. It peels off when you are finish. I do it only because I can't scratch a 4000 dollars tub. No amount of card boards, drop in tub protector is going to keep crap off the tile man's dirty shoe. I will try and get you the name if you like.