All Forum Posts by: Ben Skaggs

@Sean S.

Mine is 2mm, 1/2 inch planks.

Scratches are usually in the finish. So what you want to look for is the wear layer thickness. Really good products would have .012 thickness or more. Most wood is finished with aluminum oxide in the finish to provide better protection. Better products might use ceramic beads.

The Janka rating is the hardness of the wood itself. It's resistance to denting.

The biggest help to wood floors are felt pads on anything touching the floor. Next is keeping it as clean as possible. Anything you walk on could scratch or dent the floor.

@Sean S.

I worked at a remodel store for 2 years. My thought was a technical guy would be the best salesman. My boss said I was the smartest guy to work there, but that didn't translate to closing sales.

Engineered hardwood is the most stable wood product. The plys, or layers, of wood are cross laminated improving resistance to warping and cupping. As mentioned it's not going to be refinished ever. And in my house, which is maintained temperature and humidity. The top layer, the actual species, delaminated on 2 pieces on 1500sf. But I still wouldn't change a thing. Beautiful results

@Brenden Mitchum

Thanks for your reply! I don't think I phrased my post well, but you got what I was after. I just want to capitalize on what I do have to the fullest.

I've heard others say they wish they would have done X, Y, or Z knowing what they know now. I don't want to say in 10 years if I just would have done X my 45k could be 4.5 million, instead of 150k.

I guess just getting into this whole thing, I'm realizing I'm kind of a systems guy? I like setting things up to run, and run well.

I have 45k to use. I don't know where to start.

I know what it takes to remodel a complete house, but I don't have the time to get a house done quickly.

I want to scale as quickly as possible.

How did you get your ball rolling? What would you do?

So my wife and I are ready to make the jump. We've been approved for a heloc. Here's the big hang up for me.

We have 45 to use. We're living paycheck to paycheck. I'm somewhat self employed truck driver. Time is limited to what I can put into any repairs. But I rebuilt our current house from the studs.

What's the most efficient way to scale? Cheap houses, paying others to do work? Try and do everything ourselves?

What would you do? What did you do? Our goal is to replace my trucking pay so I can do full time REI. We would need around 2500 a month to do that.

Thanks for your input!

@Christine Krizenesky

Yes good contractors will ask for a down payment. Would you yourself buy any materials for a job with your own money only to show up and the customer got someone else to do the work?

If you are unfamiliar with what goes into repairing the chimney, ask the contractor for a detailed estimate. All materials and labor each on its own line. If they are willing to show you what's going into the project so you understand, then you have a contractor that cares about their customer.

@Jeff Byrne

Chase your dream! It's yours, not theirs. I feel I've wasted almost 15 years sticking around helping the family farm only to be left with very little financially.

Do NOT let their poor mindset keep you in a safe zone of their liking. If you can stay positive and you see the end zone, go get it! Attitude has way more to do with outcome than aptitude. Best of luck!

@Angela Sobol I live an hour north of Columbus. That's 60-70 miles. It blows my mind how many people drive there everyday for work. It's very possible to buy multiple units outside the city as well if you would like to stretch your dollars. If you are moving here welcome to the Buckeye state.

@Delicia M. Why not see if the contractor would be willing to carry his labor into the sale of the home? Maybe you both have built trust that a simple contract could be written up. And this could be the start of a partnership moving forward. The contractor helps you on this house, and you help the contractor in the next house. Always be on the look out for winning scenarios!

@Ethan Teuscher

The contractor should have informed you whenever anything beyond the scope of the estimate came up. It's possible some of the things that were extra didn't need to be done. But since they didn't tell you, now they think they can charge you. Be fair, but firm. I don't know what way over is to you. Are we taking double, half, a couple hundred? If you have more units and you liked the work maybe future work can handle this situation? Communicate. If it's a good conversation great. If it goes south, I'd tell them "it's gonna take me a while to pay off all the extra you charged. Sorry"