All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Greg M. Seems like a alot of different and regional enforcement. On Tuesday of last week city of Sunnyvale issued a stop notice to us in person while doing a 2000ft addition to a machine shop. Thursday had stop notice on site work for mobile home park in Amador county. Friday general contractor and I and plumber were told to pack it up in coffey park Santa rosa, homeowners funds tied up in escrow, can't even get a t.o.p. Strip mall site work in placerville now on stop order. No building dept are returning my calls. 2 gun stores closed in placerville but big 5 still open

Lots of cars out now on weekend. Enforcement seems arbitrary. My personal observations.

Ah yes pravda...er mainstream media ;)

609 deaths just now reported out of 40 million people. Large "central " orders over very different regional areas. People who are administrators earning a living via the internet essential. Gavin Newsom calls California a "nation state". Gun stores closed, pot shops open. Private builders in Santa rosa not allowed to work, but section 8 builders doing work under the Davis bacon act allowed to work. Government desides who is "essential "

Neighbors encouraged to turn in others. The affluent travel to tahoe while the "working class " and small business told not to work. Controlling 40 million individuals? Life in California.

@George Griffeth sorry I tagged it wrong. :)

Hi Joseph sorry if I'm replying incorrectly, I'm using the app. I'm not sure I understand the unpack part but I'll do my best. As a contractor you will be a small business.  Whether it's just you or with employees. Either way you will have COGs (cost of goods and services) i.e. fixed overhead as well  as overhead per job. Many small businesses suffer from lack of understanding how much this is. You'll have regulatory costs and many other costs. It sounds like you have a good idea of a business template laid out. But it may also be possible that you'll have to diversify to maintain a revenue stream. A business needs both profit and cash flow. There are far better business coaches than me. Business books are great. Read as much as you can, there's more than I can list but the E-myth is a really good one. As far as labor vs capital...Dale Carnegie is a good starting point. Leveraging capital is different than leveraging labor. You'll be in a unique position to see both sides. BP is an awesome place to learn also. We lost a lot of contractors in the 2000, 2008 recessions and more are disappearing now. You'll be positioned to do great. Best of luck !

@George Griffeth so California is a challenging state to be a licensed contractor. The CSLB is VERY pro consumer. The residential building sector is price point sensitive. Understanding the capital vs labor dynamic may have value to you. Really really understand your b&p codes that will be a part of your test. Just my ..02 as a licensed contractor since 1992.

@Jack B. So I'm guessing this is a "medium" base screw in light bulb? FWIW these are called E26 or edison base standard. Sometimes when theres been alot of high heat incandescent bulbs used it softens up the center pin (which is the hot or black wire) it may be making bad contact there which can shorten the life of CFL or LEDs. Turn of the light switch and use a small hook and delicately pull it down a little.

The lights should not affect each other as they should be in parallel. That being said there's the possibility of a funky slice in either one of the boxes or a junction box. Wish I could help more.

A little tip...get a small tube of di-electric grease (sometimes) called "no-alox" use it on bulb threads lightly. It might save you of some grief. Property management can be challenging.

@Jonathan Farber paint it all light grey, leave the doors and window frames as is. Real standard flip colors.

@Alan Robson pay attention to Merritt's post. Adverse possession laws suck. Read up on your states laws because time frames are important. Rural areas are notorious for this stuff. Usually there is a "monument" that becomes the starting point for the surveyor. A good surveyor that's familiar with the area is also very beneficial. Good luck, I've been through this and it's pita. Disclaimer I'm not a lawyer.

@Yi Chung Chen Keith's response is great but costs are likely to be even higher.

Contractor license numbers are issued chronologically...so the lower the number the longer they've been in business. Staying in business in California a long time is challenging. Be weary of contractors that don't want to pull permits. A good contractor will be weary of customer that doesn't want permits. Have their insurance "accord" sent directly from their broker to you. Just my 2c as a contractor that works San Jose.