I can tell you as an hvac contractor things have changed. The problem as I see it is what the customer can afford and is willing to pay. Plus the serious problem of finding willing and able support labor. I own my buisness and was a union electrician for 24 years. My skill set for building is in tact, yet the time required to do a near perfect install requires an adequate profit margin along with reliable support labor. Neither of those requirements are being met by most customers. Skilled labor is getting as rare as a unicorn. So... I do my best to give them as much quality as possible on the budget required to land the job. These are strange times, as the last two generations are near worthless.
The illusive unicorn 🧐. I definitely have lowered my standards from what I expect of our subs and I’m trying to find a happy medium them. Not caring about any type of quality is what I think is causing this. Right back to my Walmart mentality, client or worker just doesn’t care that much any longer. It’s just not the way I’m made, I like craftsmanship and want to be around people that exude it as well.
A better question might be, "How can a homeowner, once they have called a reputable contractor, get them to actually call you back?" I think it is more of a supply and demand thing. There are not enough "good" contractors, and the good ones can pick and choose what they want to do because they have an arms length list of jobs already penciled in on the calendar.
I can only speak of my area of the country. We’ve had Hugh growth in NC and it’s drawing in large remodeling company’s. Their not actual remodeling company’s but rather a business that offers a very limited lines of services. They promise a 1/2 day of turn over and its been very disruptive to the construction industry. Pre pandemic or thereabouts is where we started seeing these company’s selling their services and a lot of contractors started saying they were having issues competent with them. Not to mention they offer 0 percent and no payment till who knows when 😀. It’s basically Wall Street entering Remodeling. I totally agree about there being a shortage of workers at least for some of construction. Since I work on most all of our jobs it was amusing to hear and see all the complaining from the owners(contractors) that they might need to work themselves over the past couple years. I should have put this in but it was a really spontaneous video. Ive been saying that carpenters or for that matter the construction field is no longer respected in the community anymore. Carpenters are looked as one step above a handyman living paycheck to paycheck. I even noticed in the different churches that we have attended unless your Engineer or an Architect people really don’t want to associate with you. FYI don’t feel bad for me, Darian and Harley are pretty comfortable what were doing and we don’t need acclamation all the time.I believe a lot of younger people have got that same impression as well. Why work so hard if your looked down on also their thinking. That’s why we have that Hugh Void or lack of younger people in this trade is my belief. It’s a lot deeper conversation then the video conveys and since I’m not Jordon Peterson I’ll try and stay in my lane of this conversation😀. Yes I know no one feels appreciated these days and I definitely don’t want to fall into that crowd. Just what I’ve observed these past years. Always a good comment John
@campbellbuilt all great points. I think there really is mix of things going on. The one you mention about the contractor actually having to do work themselves is a big one I think. I hired a friend roofing contractor from my teenage days to replace my siding and roof after a storm. It was an insurance job. I decided to get my self an adjuster for good cause. There's the insurance company factor, as well. They are good with taking your premiums, but trying to minimize the repairs when something happens. Boy did I learn a lot about the house insurance repair process. Anyway, did he do the work....noooo. but, a gang of people, let's say from south of the border that he paid cash did the job. Guess who got stuck home watching them to make sure it was done right, and learning how to overcome the language barrier...lol.
@johnfitzgerald5158 Holy smokes insurance company’s are not your friend. It took us 8 months to get paid on the last Insurance job and they tried renegotiating at the very end of the job to lower the approved amount. They said their end of the quote didn’t add up and I said yes it does, just use a calculator. Apparently they finally found one. We very seldom do insurance work for this very reason. With the board thing I don’t think we’ve seen the full ramifications of what some in this country are trying to accomplish. When I said its an interesting time to be the building industry thats some of what I was talking about in the video. I won’t pay cash like so many other contractors will and it’s definitely hurt, I’m just trying to play the game.
Exactly the same here in the UK. Customers want the cheapest quote, quickly add value to the property and then sell and buy bigger. The skill level has dropped significantly, it doesn’t matter if material you use are good quality, it just has to look good ish and it doesn’t matter what will happen with it in a couple of years or so.
Wow, interesting to here its not only us dealing with it. I wonder at the rate we’re going where we will be in a few years 😀. Keep things plumb friend.
It's the same in manufacturing maintenance and production. You could fire the bottom 25% of the people, hourly and salary, and things would run better.
I’m 32 and I’ve spent the last 10 years or so learning the construction trade from some old school guys. I work hard and take a lot of pride in my work. But, it’s hard to give my best when I’m so underpaid. The same goes for the non skilled guys. I can’t tell you how many 19 year old guys I have seen come and go because there is no incentive to learn the trade. I’m actually looking at leaving the industry because my pay just doesn’t match my skills, or meet my needs.
It hurts reading this comment but its so true. Carpenters, tile setters, concrete guys in general are viewed as the lowest of the trades. I didn’t realize that for the longest time and that are society doesn’t really respect the time it takes to become skilled at these jobs. Mike Rowe with Dirty Jobs is always talking about getting into the trades but even he always only says electrical, plumbing,and mechanical as a trade to get into. Appreciate the comment.
@@campbellbuilt Yeah it’s even reflected in the prevailing wages. It’s always seems strange to me that as a carpenter I can do everything from pouring the foundation to putting on the roof but the guy who puts in the wires makes way more than me. But it comes down to pricing and time it takes to complete a project. A crew of 2-3 electricians might finish a $50,000 project in a few days whereas a $50,000 construction project might take 2 weeks plus for 2-3 guys.
There's no reward for taking pride in your work, and rarely any punishment for shoddy work. The only people that will ever notice the difference is the next tradesperson that comes along several years later. They're not going to track you down and give you $100 for having done a good job, even though you've made their life easier by leaving access to plumbing/electrical/etc when it would have been quicker for you to just build over it. So it all comes down to the individual. Good tradies will always do good work because it's in their nature. Scumbags will take every shortcut they can, jam rubbish in any gaps that will be filled, and use whatever fastener they have on them because they're too lazy to go back and get the right one.
@campbellbuilt I've seen 30 storey buildings where 1 of 3 expansion bolts holding up a glass balustrade has been siliconed into concrete because they messed the hole up. Not epoxy - silicone.
I couldn’t agree with you more, even manufacturers are the same way. I really notice it with car/truck companies and ESPECIALLY the RV industry. Car/truck companies are charging you more and giving you less AND don’t let me start my rant about the RV industry. They are just pumping out RV’s which end up in the service department many times in the first year, THATS if you can even get an appointment!!!!!. I know first hand that in the RV industry there are no regulations or standards. Sorry for the rant but you touched a nerve, great video guys
The RV world is out of control. It’s a miracle most of these make it back home after each use. My father passed away this last year. In his later years he purchased insurance RVs and then repaired, sold these late model new RVs. So after his passing I helped take care of the unsold RVs, yeah I had hands on with some last year. You are welcome to rant here 😀.
I just saw a knewly remodeled M Bath where the Home Owner was bragging about it. It litterly had missing grout because the contractor sponged it to soon. I just nodded and said it looked great, they were really happy and I wasn’t even sure why they took me into that bathroom.
@everettw I have been saying that for awhile that I think Americans have a Walmart Mentality. Good example is Rubbermaid trash cans. A few years ago, Rubbermaid was contacted by Walmart and told if they did not get their price down on their product, they would be removed. Rubbermaid responded and lowered the price, but lowered the quality of their trash cans. People were happy, because they thought they were buying Rubbermaid, but it turned into a disposable trash now. Concerning the photos, I possibly may do another video, but I’m going to have to be very careful. I’m not going to show clients homes. A lot of the jobs that we end up getting is because our clients know that we hold a certain standard. There will be another video with photos.
Why is it English commenters are always so racist? I've worked in construction crews with all kinds of nationalities, you can't predict skill or work ethic from a man's skin or accent. It's bizarre to me you'd judge a guy for being foreign while thinking someone from your own country won't be a complete imbecile.
I agree 💯 a lot of guys these days are lacking pride in their work.
Totally agreed
I can tell you as an hvac contractor things have changed. The problem as I see it is what the customer can afford and is willing to pay. Plus the serious problem of finding willing and able support labor. I own my buisness and was a union electrician for 24 years. My skill set for building is in tact, yet the time required to do a near perfect install requires an adequate profit margin along with reliable support labor. Neither of those requirements are being met by most customers. Skilled labor is getting as rare as a unicorn. So... I do my best to give them as much quality as possible on the budget required to land the job. These are strange times, as the last two generations are near worthless.
The illusive unicorn 🧐. I definitely have lowered my standards from what I expect of our subs and I’m trying to find a happy medium them. Not caring about any type of quality is what I think is causing this. Right back to my Walmart mentality, client or worker just doesn’t care that much any longer. It’s just not the way I’m made, I like craftsmanship and want to be around people that exude it as well.
A better question might be, "How can a homeowner, once they have called a reputable contractor, get them to actually call you back?" I think it is more of a supply and demand thing. There are not enough "good" contractors, and the good ones can pick and choose what they want to do because they have an arms length list of jobs already penciled in on the calendar.
I can only speak of my area of the country. We’ve had Hugh growth in NC and it’s drawing in large remodeling company’s. Their not actual remodeling company’s but rather a business that offers a very limited lines of services. They promise a 1/2 day of turn over and its been very disruptive to the construction industry. Pre pandemic or thereabouts is where we started seeing these company’s selling their services and a lot of contractors started saying they were having issues competent with them. Not to mention they offer 0 percent and no payment till who knows when 😀. It’s basically Wall Street entering Remodeling.
I totally agree about there being a shortage of workers at least for some of construction. Since I work on most all of our jobs it was amusing to hear and see all the complaining from the owners(contractors) that they might need to work themselves over the past couple years. I should have put this in but it was a really spontaneous video. Ive been saying that carpenters or for that matter the construction field is no longer respected in the community anymore. Carpenters are looked as one step above a handyman living paycheck to paycheck. I even noticed in the different churches that we have attended unless your Engineer or an Architect people really don’t want to associate with you. FYI don’t feel bad for me, Darian and Harley are pretty comfortable what were doing and we don’t need acclamation all the time.I believe a lot of younger people have got that same impression as well. Why work so hard if your looked down on also their thinking. That’s why we have that Hugh Void or lack of younger people in this trade is my belief.
It’s a lot deeper conversation then the video conveys and since I’m not Jordon Peterson I’ll try and stay in my lane of this conversation😀.
Yes I know no one feels appreciated these days and I definitely don’t want to fall into that crowd. Just what I’ve observed these past years.
Always a good comment John
@campbellbuilt all great points. I think there really is mix of things going on. The one you mention about the contractor actually having to do work themselves is a big one I think. I hired a friend roofing contractor from my teenage days to replace my siding and roof after a storm. It was an insurance job. I decided to get my self an adjuster for good cause. There's the insurance company factor, as well. They are good with taking your premiums, but trying to minimize the repairs when something happens. Boy did I learn a lot about the house insurance repair process. Anyway, did he do the work....noooo. but, a gang of people, let's say from south of the border that he paid cash did the job. Guess who got stuck home watching them to make sure it was done right, and learning how to overcome the language barrier...lol.
@johnfitzgerald5158 Holy smokes insurance company’s are not your friend. It took us 8 months to get paid on the last Insurance job and they tried renegotiating at the very end of the job to lower the approved amount. They said their end of the quote didn’t add up and I said yes it does, just use a calculator. Apparently they finally found one. We very seldom do insurance work for this very reason. With the board thing I don’t think we’ve seen the full ramifications of what some in this country are trying to accomplish. When I said its an interesting time to be the building industry thats some of what I was talking about in the video. I won’t pay cash like so many other contractors will and it’s definitely hurt, I’m just trying to play the game.
Exactly the same here in the UK. Customers want the cheapest quote, quickly add value to the property and then sell and buy bigger. The skill level has dropped significantly, it doesn’t matter if material you use are good quality, it just has to look good ish and it doesn’t matter what will happen with it in a couple of years or so.
Wow, interesting to here its not only us dealing with it. I wonder at the rate we’re going where we will be in a few years 😀. Keep things plumb friend.
It's the same in manufacturing maintenance and production. You could fire the bottom 25% of the people, hourly and salary, and things would run better.
Great video guys 😎⚒️😎⚒️😎
Thanks 👍
I’m 32 and I’ve spent the last 10 years or so learning the construction trade from some old school guys. I work hard and take a lot of pride in my work. But, it’s hard to give my best when I’m so underpaid. The same goes for the non skilled guys. I can’t tell you how many 19 year old guys I have seen come and go because there is no incentive to learn the trade. I’m actually looking at leaving the industry because my pay just doesn’t match my skills, or meet my needs.
It hurts reading this comment but its so true. Carpenters, tile setters, concrete guys in general are viewed as the lowest of the trades. I didn’t realize that for the longest time and that are society doesn’t really respect the time it takes to become skilled at these jobs. Mike Rowe with Dirty Jobs is always talking about getting into the trades but even he always only says electrical, plumbing,and mechanical as a trade to get into. Appreciate the comment.
@@campbellbuilt Yeah it’s even reflected in the prevailing wages. It’s always seems strange to me that as a carpenter I can do everything from pouring the foundation to putting on the roof but the guy who puts in the wires makes way more than me. But it comes down to pricing and time it takes to complete a project. A crew of 2-3 electricians might finish a $50,000 project in a few days whereas a $50,000 construction project might take 2 weeks plus for 2-3 guys.
There's no reward for taking pride in your work, and rarely any punishment for shoddy work. The only people that will ever notice the difference is the next tradesperson that comes along several years later. They're not going to track you down and give you $100 for having done a good job, even though you've made their life easier by leaving access to plumbing/electrical/etc when it would have been quicker for you to just build over it. So it all comes down to the individual. Good tradies will always do good work because it's in their nature. Scumbags will take every shortcut they can, jam rubbish in any gaps that will be filled, and use whatever fastener they have on them because they're too lazy to go back and get the right one.
So you do have first hand experience with that fastener comment. Most people would know that.😀
@campbellbuilt I've seen 30 storey buildings where 1 of 3 expansion bolts holding up a glass balustrade has been siliconed into concrete because they messed the hole up. Not epoxy - silicone.
I couldn’t agree with you more, even manufacturers are the same way. I really notice it with car/truck companies and ESPECIALLY the RV industry. Car/truck companies are charging you more and giving you less AND don’t let me start my rant about the RV industry. They are just pumping out RV’s which end up in the service department many times in the first year, THATS if you can even get an appointment!!!!!. I know first hand that in the RV industry there are no regulations or standards. Sorry for the rant but you touched a nerve, great video guys
The RV world is out of control. It’s a miracle most of these make it back home after each use. My father passed away this last year. In his later years he purchased insurance RVs and then repaired, sold these late model new RVs. So after his passing I helped take care of the unsold RVs, yeah I had hands on with some last year. You are welcome to rant here 😀.
@@campbellbuiltMy condolences Sir 😢
I just saw a knewly remodeled M Bath where the Home Owner was bragging about it. It litterly had missing grout because the contractor sponged it to soon. I just nodded and said it looked great, they were really happy and I wasn’t even sure why they took me into that bathroom.
Can you show examples of what you see on video? So far I have no idea of what you mean by "Walmart" vs what you would consider good
@everettw I have been saying that for awhile that I think Americans have a Walmart Mentality. Good example is Rubbermaid trash cans. A few years ago, Rubbermaid was contacted by Walmart and told if they did not get their price down on their product, they would be removed. Rubbermaid responded and lowered the price, but lowered the quality of their trash cans. People were happy, because they thought they were buying Rubbermaid, but it turned into a disposable trash now.
Concerning the photos, I possibly may do another video, but I’m going to have to be very careful. I’m not going to show clients homes. A lot of the jobs that we end up getting is because our clients know that we hold a certain standard. There will be another video with photos.
I think I know what YT channel your thinking about at 4:16 Reno Man?
You would be correct
same here in uk but we got invaded by foreigners and quality went down . iv still got pride in my work but im not seeing it on building sites now
Why is it English commenters are always so racist? I've worked in construction crews with all kinds of nationalities, you can't predict skill or work ethic from a man's skin or accent. It's bizarre to me you'd judge a guy for being foreign while thinking someone from your own country won't be a complete imbecile.