All Forum Posts by: Randy F.
Randy F. has started 9 posts and replied 343 times.
Post: Pink and Green Bathrooms
- Contractor
- Anchorage, AK
- Posts 351
- Votes 196
Originally posted by Aaron McGinnis:
Originally posted by Brian Hoyt:
On the other hand, I bet they also never imagined what horrors would be found in 30 year old carpet...
I liked carpet until I got into this business and saw the unimaginable terror that lurks in carpet after even a few short years of relative good care. Now I consider carpet to be right there with bad ideas like flat roofs, mullets, and DIY rewiring jobs.
Concerning the OP's question - Color has to do with indoor bowel movements. Seriously!
When plumbing moved indoors, it was met with some degree of skepticism by the general public. Home builders would advertise "CLEAN AND SANITARY WHITE!"
You see, white was considered to be "Sterile" and "Clean"... it also happened to be an easy enough pigment.
(Notice that prior to about 1920, any kind of wall color was basically wallpaper. Really awesome, really expensive wall paper. White, lead based paint was simply too available and too durable not to use as a primary building component. If you ever get the chance to see some old-school wall paper up close and personal, take the opportunity to notice how completely badass it is and how thoroughly it kicks modern wall paper in the nads. The raised lettering. The tasteful thickness of it. My god... is that a water mark?)
The green and yellow colors you see so often that historically come after the white were that color because, again, the pigments were available in a postwar America. (Bear in mind, most houses we typically deal with are going to be built after the 1910's and 1920's... and renovated sometime after the war during the housing boom)
After the public got used to the idea of taking a **** indoors, and various advancements in microbiology happened (To say nothing of advancements in manufacturing), people started realizing that they could have colors other than white in their bathrooms. Pink, blue, and teal were popular art-deco colors in the post-atomic age and naturally, folks just had to have a pink toilet. Or a blue toilet. Heck, cars now came in a variety of non-black colors... why not toilets and vanities?
Then, along came Wilsonart and suddenly the atomic ranch exploded into a whole sea of new building materials... formica, plastics, Congoleum, Vinyl, and so on. Wilsonart made a point of creating groovy, awesome-looking colors and patterns to satisfy an increasingly consumerist society.
Now - in the early days, you often saw stained trim. That had to do with quality of lumber. Back when the world was new, getting awesome quality lumber was a no brainer. (Once upon a time, Sears and Alladin offered kit houses with the promise of a dollar refund for every knot hole you found. Try getting a lumber company to do that now! ... Also, Heart Pine floors were once not so uncommon. Nowadays, you'd pay through the nose for reclaimed, once-used heart pine flooring)
So anyway, with awesome quality lumber comes awesome-quality, stain-grade trim. Stain was generally easier to lay hands on (Or simply make) than paint, so a lot of the time trim was stained instead of painted.
Also, staining was less of an issue as far as cuts go... a strictly average carpenter in 1925 would pass today as a master carpenter... so coped joints were a no-brainer, and stain is easy on tight joints.
Aaron! .... Dude! ... Yer scarin me!
:c)
Post: Bare minimum work with max roi?
- Contractor
- Anchorage, AK
- Posts 351
- Votes 196
I can relate, Justin! There are many that will tell you its all about the money, but you wont be happy unless you put yourself into your projects. I dont know how much experience you have but if you havent already, you WILL eventually learn that quality doesnt have to cost more or even take more time. It takes being very organized and focused on your VERY detailed scope. If your scope is detailed enough, you can do a take-off from it that gives you a materials list and a schedule. You will have thought thru every task, start to finish and in order. If you follow the schedule youll be in good shape and the process will in itself become a driver. I enjoy seeing how close I can come to my labor estimates.
I worked for YEARS without tracking my jobs adequately, and I continued to be surprised at how much longer things took than I anticipated. I chaulked it up to... "Im all about the work". But, my pride didnt pay the bills. I will still take less profit at times so that I can just do it the way I want it, but satisfaction found in happy homeowners and buyers is worth A LOT!
Just remember that you cant turn an outhouse into a cathedral. Dont get too caught up in one detail. Stand back and have a look at the big picture. Often! You'll do great!
Post: Estimating Rehab Costs on wholesaling deals?
- Contractor
- Anchorage, AK
- Posts 351
- Votes 196
Those are great tips. Knowing the cost of materials is key. But an understanding of what materials are appropriate for a given application is also needed. Every property is different and each will present it own needs and challenges. The ability to readily identify those is a skill learned with much time and experience. The last thing you want is to start out building a negative reputation with potential buyers. The best thing you could do is find yourself a remodeler or contractor who will work with you. Rather than pay them per estimate, offer them a percentage of what you make on deals. Pick his brain and pay attention. Track the costs and over time you will be able to plug numbers in on a walk-thru and have the confidence that the numbers you provide buyers are reasonably accurate.
Based on a properties characteristics, experience will tell you of the hidden potential problems a buyer could run into during a rehab and nothing will cement their trust in you more than when they see your evaluation of the property and the numbers prove out. Only an experienced contractor/remodeler/rehabber will see the unseen and all the "little things" that can add up. The better the information and numbers you give buyers, the more they will want to see your deals and the quicker they will likely move on them. Its worth giving up some of your profits early on to gain the knowledge and build a solid business and reputation for a prosperous future.
Just my opinion... Take what you can use and leave the rest!
Post: Anyone use a Home Depot or Lowes Commercial Credit Card
- Contractor
- Anchorage, AK
- Posts 351
- Votes 196
With the Lowes card you get the 5%, and on orders over $2500 you can submit the order for approval for an additional up to 10 percent off. I have them hold countertops and the like in "will call" so stuff isnt on the job in the way till Im ready for it. I make the purchases and then can send guys in to grab materials out of will call. I have them look everything over well and if its scratched or damaged just change it out. If the powers that be knew what I was doing they may not like it, but the employees think nothing of it. I figure they owe me anyway, for all the direction and advice I always seem to be giving their other customers!O
Originally posted by Will Barnard:
Originally posted by Tim W.:
Tims point is only a poor one if all teachers must carry or any teacher can carry. It is highly unlikely school districts/ boards would simply decide it ok for teachers to carry, without establishing criteria that must be met to qualify to carry in school. I agree that it would be best to leave it to police or professional security, but if a towns police dont have the manpower or schools cannot afford it, would you rather have no security, than a qualified teacher?
Originally posted by Will Barnard:
Not sure how arming teachers with guns is the answer or why that has become the topic.
Will, I think the reason this has become the topic is because it is a part of the larger dialogue going on across the country. Shortly after the shooting, there were weapons training businesses offering either free or discounted training to teachers, with an astounding number enrolling in them. And it is a natural direction for the conversation about potential solutions to go, considering that to many of us, it makes no sense whatsoever to talk about issues that do not directly address the problem.
Banning certain weapon and clips may have a positive impact over the course of many years, however in the short term is seen as only having effect on law abiding citizens. The guns and clips exist out there and arent going anywhere soon.
Originally posted by Will Barnard:
I agree, as long as all schools can and do hire security, but Im afraid not all school districts can afford the cost of doing so. Here in Anchorage, all the High Schools have a police presence... Two uniformed "resource officers" at each one who are also responsible to cover the middle and elementary schools in an emergency as well. But, a great deal could happen at an elementary school before they could get there. Their offices are at the high schools.
If I still had kids in school, I would feel better knowing that there were several well trained, armed adults on the premises at all times. If the training and testing were rigorous and comprehensive enough, I dont see the problem with them being teachers. And I agree with Tim, that knowledge there are armed personnel in the schools may cause a would be shooter to think twice.
Post: When to replace furnace.
- Contractor
- Anchorage, AK
- Posts 351
- Votes 196
Hi Amie!
Just curious... Is the furnace in a mechanical room, closed off from the rest of the house, with a return air phlenum simply ducted thru the wall pulling air from one central location? Im confused why heat techs would say they wont install new furnace without ducting the return, while an inspector says it meets code. Was it a private home inspector or a city inspector?
As long as the furnace is in its own room, with a fire door and outside combustion air vent, and return air drawn from main house, It should be good to go and doesnt have to have return air ducted throughout house.
One important thing I would recommend for all those with rentals is to place a sign at combustion air vent in mechanical rooms that instructs tenants to NOT close off or obstruct that vent. Not bad idea to have one saying not to put stuff on or in front of furnace either.
Post: I Need A Proof of Funds Letter Today!
- Contractor
- Anchorage, AK
- Posts 351
- Votes 196
Guess I need to check original post dates. Oh well...
Post: Renting to a Mexican citizen living in the US
- Contractor
- Anchorage, AK
- Posts 351
- Votes 196
Originally posted by Rich Weese:
At the risk of coming off as confrontational...
You dont care? As long as you get your rent all is well in the world, right? If you dont know if they are legal or not, I dont suppose you know if they are adding to my health care costs by utilizing a system meant to care for legal residents.
Here in the USA theres this little thing called the "rule of law", which actually means something to most of us. The fact that political ideology and pandering to a voter block trumps principle in Washington DC, doesnt mean the rest of us have to sell out to either complacency or greed and aid and abet criminals. Thats what illegals are and that is what you are doing by renting to them.
@Tim W ... NO, it is not racial profiling to recognize that they are Mexican nationals without the documents needed to check the same info you check on anyone else. If they cannot provide what your business requires, they are also not able to prove legal status. Do the right thing! Why reward criminals while others wait in line for years to come to this country legally.
Post: I Need A Proof of Funds Letter Today!
- Contractor
- Anchorage, AK
- Posts 351
- Votes 196
As far as a POF letter for someone with no funds to prove... As my Dad always told me... "there aint no free lunch".