Lack of capable "tradesmen"

[Rmarsh]

Originally Posted by Pete F.

I used to have people ask how much a square foot for new construction.
I’d tell them it depends, how much was your car per wheel?
Most of them got it, of course that contractor’s clients cars ran over 25K a wheel. 😎
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Good point.
When I wanted to educate myself on construction estimating I bought a couple of books from RSMeans. For starters they break it down to four basic categories of construction, economy, average, custom, and luxury. The books were somewhat useful to me .....but I always fell back to stick by stick estimates to arrive at a number....then divided by square foot....every job was a different sq. ft. price. because of the variables. They have dozens of books on estimating...residential, remodelers guide, commercial etc.

They are not cheap....current issue in the picture is $398.

[Pete F.]

Originally Posted by Rmarsh

Good point.
When I wanted to educate myself on construction estimating I bought a couple of books from RSMeans. For starters they break it down to four basic categories of construction, economy, average, custom, and luxury. The books were somewhat useful to me .....but I always fell back to stick by stick estimates to arrive at a number....then divided by square foot....every job was a different sq. ft. price. because of the variables. They have dozens of books on estimating...residential, remodelers guide, commercial etc.

They are not cheap....current issue in the picture is $398.

I always did quantity takeoff and then framing labor by crew days.
Like basement walls day, first floor platform 2 days, first floor walls 3 days.
Exterior and interior finish labor was based on quantity takeoff.
I used one book for labor for odd things that I was worried about covering.
The trick to estimating is making sure you cover everything and have good sub coverage, you’ll be light and heavy on things but the project manager should be able to deal with it if he has a clue.
Of course as a friend of mine says, estimating is figuring out how long it’s going to take a guy you don’t know to do something you’ve never done.
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[Guppy]

Originally Posted by Rmarsh

Good point.
When I wanted to educate myself on construction estimating I bought a couple of books from RSMeans. For starters they break it down to four basic categories of construction, economy, average, custom, and luxury. The books were somewhat useful to me .....but I always fell back to stick by stick estimates to arrive at a number....then divided by square foot....every job was a different sq. ft. price. because of the variables. They have dozens of books on estimating...residential, remodelers guide, commercial etc.

They are not cheap....current issue in the picture is $398.

Way back when I had a steady diet of framing 3 bedroom ranches, I’d keep track of square foot framed by man hr. , framed, trimmed, windows, interior partitions,,,, if I remember right,,, 6 to 7 square foot per man hr., this was a great help trying to come up with an accurate bid $$$….. same for capes, full dormers, set back dormers,,, etc.

Now I fish …. :-)

[Rmarsh]

Originally Posted by Guppy

Way back when I had a steady diet of framing 3 bedroom ranches, I’d keep track of square foot framed by man hr. , framed, trimmed, windows, interior partitions,,,, if I remember right,,, 6 to 7 square foot per man hr., this was a great help trying to come up with an accurate bid $$$….. same for capes, full dormers, set back dormers,,, etc.

Now I fish …. :-)

I am in a good place right now....i make this kitchen installing gig look like childs play. No more estimating jobs for tight wads! Work hourly now so I cant be screwed with.

[Rmarsh]

Lack of capable tradesmen goes hand in hand with the lack of work ethic in the general population today.....along with the prevailing attitude that "work sucks".
If you were to run an add for construction workers how many applicants do you think would have these traits? I've hired dozens of guys and learned to keep my expectations low.
appearance, attendance, attitude, character, communication, cooperation, organizational skills, productivity, respect and teamwork
BTW.... Mike Rowe is an excellent ambassador for the trades....hes doing a lot to help with the problem.