I am slammed with work, as are many in the local area. I can't even get any other local crews to sub contract for me because they are busy... So if you are a carpenter who needs some work, or even semi skilled in the trades, please PM me. I am at the point of having to turn down jobs. And is why I have fished so little this season.
Location is Marblehead, Mass

Thats awesome for u. Things r pickin up down this way too. Job after job with gc ' s beggin for subs for everything. My boss is a gc and we r pushin our own jobs off for the sub work. In fact we got a client down here who needs his mothers kitchen remodeled up your way and i actually just talked to my boss last week about kickin it your way. Feast or famin.
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What do you say to a customer that was recommended to you for your excellence in design, quality and workmanship and then you subcontract the job to unknowns that do subpar work.
1.) Pay up or I will smack a mechanics lien on the property.
2. Convince the customer the work is good.
3. Redo the work yourself.
4. Don't do anything because the customer doesn't know better or doesn't want the hassle.
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That is the rub, and why I am having a hard time getting the labor force. I am always on the job and have the tools in my own hands. I am particular about the work that has my name on it.
.

I believe your work is good and customers will be willing to wait for a job well done.
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Feast or famin.
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Yeah I know that game O to well.

What do you say to a customer that was recommended to you for your excellence in design, quality and workmanship

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We're worth the wait

ive been looking for a contractor to finish my basement for about 2 months and cant get anyone. everyones to busy. Getting frustrated.

Any estimates for what a Portico looking like this should cost me? Also need a bannister from the house to the pole and down 4-5 stairs.

Thanks

Damn Ross, too bad you're so far from RI. Still can't find a job in my engineering field so been looking at stuff like this.Thats awesome for u. Things r pickin up down this way too. Job after job with gc ' s beggin for subs for everything. My boss is a gc and we r pushin our own jobs off for the sub work. In fact we got a client down here who needs his mothers kitchen remodeled up your way and i actually just talked to my boss last week about kickin it your way. Feast or famin.
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Mike, Your boss need any p/t help? Niko can vouch for my work,pretty good as long as we stay away from our boats :rotf2:

I got a guy that may be looking....He just parted ways with his old boss....does awesome work.

Did a lot of big dollar homes in Acton, Concord area as well as work in Hingham/Hull area if I'm not mistaken.....worked as lead on the projects.

Let me reach out to him.....

Any estimates for what a Portico looking like this should cost me? Also need a bannister from the house to the pole and down 4-5 stairs.

Thanks
about 4-5k. Lots of work in those.

about 4-5k. Lots of work in those.

Thanks
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Any estimates for what a Portico looking like this should cost me? Also need a bannister from the house to the pole and down 4-5 stairs.

Thanks

Not enough info to give you a real number. Is your house Brick? What is the plan for the steps (brick patio, framed decking with granite steps, etc. Trimmed with painted wood or done in AZEK for no maintenance? Are you tying into a roofline on a cape or is it a colonial? Crystaline white railing system or wrought Iron, etc. Lots of variables. Is the patio system from scratch or existing and in good shape. Rip and replace all from scratch as pictured on that house, closer to 10K.

Not enough info to give you a real number. Is your house Brick? What is the plan for the steps (brick patio, framed decking with granite steps, etc. Trimmed with painted wood or done in AZEK for no maintenance? Are you tying into a roofline on a cape or is it a colonial? Crystaline white railing system or wrought Iron, etc. Lots of variables. Is the patio system from scratch or existing and in good shape. Rip and replace all from scratch as pictured on that house, closer to 10K.

Agreed. Always nice to have a photo of what the promised land looks like, but need a pic of the "blank canvas" you are starting with as well. And the Azek still gets painted....

You guys are thorough. It is a cape so the roof line will be altered. I'm having the roof done by someone else even though it doesn't really need a new roof. Gonna strip off the old siding and replaced with cedar shakes. The stairs are stone with granite tops and where replaced last year. Put new windows in last week and will have the fascia boards and window casings replaced with Azek so I'm gonna use Azek on the portico. I have the old wrought iron railings which will need sand blasting and painting but not sure if I'll use them or have new wood railings built. Got a price off $4600 but need to talk with him again.
Thanks
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You guys are thorough. It is a cape so the roof line will be altered. I'm having the roof done by someone else even though it doesn't really need a new roof. Gonna strip off the old siding and replaced with cedar shakes. The stairs are stone with granite tops and where replaced last year. Put new windows in last week and will have the fascia boards and window casings replaced with Azek so I'm gonna use Azek on the portico. I have the old wrought iron railings which will need sand blasting and painting but not sure if I'll use them or have new wood railings built. Got a price off $4600 but need to talk with him again.
Thanks
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if I were to price something like this I would do it time&material. 50$ an hour for labor then charge for materials. I'm on a project right now where the roofing materials were 500$ a square to buy. Almost 45k in roofing materials alone. Project is being done on a cost plus basis.

PaulS, I witnessed in the last 4 days a deck tear down and rebuilt with composite deck boards, rails, steps, frame and new footings for less then 4k labor, excellent workmanship.
The railing system is a kit that consist of banister and conversion kit for the stairs which are not expensive. The installation is easy that consist of mounting the posts then attaching the rails using a screw driver. I would guess the labor would be about $1k and the rails costing the same, total $2k.
edit:
After rereading your last post with the iron railing the cost would be more then what I assumed.
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Project is being done on a cost plus basis.

This is your best bet. You may pay a a little bit more but you'll get what you pay for. Find someone good and LOCAL (won't #^&#^&#^&#^& in their own back yard) who has been around for a long time. Tell them what you want and work a cost + NTE structure. Offer to let him use your project photos for advertising and customer references. You'll get his best quality at what it really costs him to do it. Anything else, you're rolling the dice, especially if you don't know what it takes to do this type of work.

If you live in this world and you can structure and manage a contract and hold feet to the fire (in a legal sense), bid it out. You may save some money but probably not worth the risk to quality to your main entry. Think re-sale. Also, something else to consider. If you have a problem with a low bidder, it could cost you much more in time and legal fees to fire someone and pay someone to fix what the low bidder left you with. You're probably talking <$2k between top and bottom bids. IF you bid it, toss out the top and bottom and go with the middle and consider it cheap insurance.

I posted pictures of the stonewalls I have/am building. If anyone has a customer looking for a custom traditional (no cement) New England rock wall, I'm interested.

http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/showthread.php?p=1050463&highlight=stone+wall#post1050463