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Robyn, I have to say your posts have really stood out in a good way. Honestly, tapping into your information is amazingly valuable and coudl really make for a more smooth transition.
So --- thank you for sharing and I am sure many people feel the same way.
I second that. Robyn's posts helped to sell me on the Ponte Vedra area and I've bookmarked a lot of them for when I actually do move up here when I retire in a couple more years. I hope she sticks around!
As someone who has been in the development/construction biz, I can tell you that not finding good help is pretty common anywhere you go. I've had good luck in Orlando and in Asheville, but you still gotta ask around to find the good ones. They're out there.
Anyone have a recommendation for someone to fix some flashing on my roof that is next to my chimney? There are dark spots (rot or mold, I don't know which) on the siding roof meets the chimney. Also, the water falling off the roof there has made the trim on the chimney to come loose. I noticed a water stain on my ceiling where the chimney is. Exterminator found dead carpenter ants in the attic near the chimney, after they treated my attic.
I will also need some siding replaced.
Sounds like you need more than a home handyman. Probably a roofing company - and some kind of contractor who can repair any damage that's been done to your rafters/ceilings/etc. by water and/or insects. I don't know if a roofing company will go up into your attic to inspect and tell you what's going on - but - if it will - that is probably a good place to start.
FWIW - Benton Roofing did the roof on our house about 15 years ago:
But we've only had 1 small repair done by them over the years - replacing some shingles (the original work was excellent) - and I can't give you a current read on the company.
I don't have a termite bond. But - if you do - does your policy provide for any kind of free annual inspection? If so - perhaps that might be a place to start too. Especially since we're in the middle of termite swarming season now.
If the siding is a separate job - perhaps that's something our home handyman can do (he's not a licensed GC - and he's not a roofer). Robyn
P.S. This is something I'd definitely take care of before the rainy season starts.
I started browsing on this forum sporadically as we try to figure out if/where /when we might move-semi retire from the northeast.
We were originally planning to come and visit for bit but our travel plans have changed somewhat so no trip planned at this point, but the area is still being considered.
Robyn, I have to say your posts have really stood out in a good way. Honestly, tapping into your information is amazingly valuable and coudl really make for a more smooth transition.
So --- thank you for sharing and I am sure many people feel the same way.
Thank you . But I don't write only for you. I write because a lot of good trades people I've dealt with over the years have been hurt very badly by the housing crash here . They're good hard workers - and they need the business. I don't want them moving away because they can't make a living here. Robyn
Sure, if you live in this part of the country long enough you are bound to come up with a list of contractors, handymen and friends you can trust to do a good job at a reasonable price. My point was that the work ethic here pales in comparison with other big cities where competition in the trades may drive workers to be on top of their game always. I am just saying that people moving into this neck of the woods need to be aware that disappointment awaits you when you start needing help around the house. And this is particularly true when your builder's obligations run out.
Just as an aside - it seems that a lot of builders have this "1 year warranty stuff" on their houses. Your builder's obligation(s) may be a lot more extensive under Florida statutes. So don't assume automatically that if your house is more than 1 year old - that your builder is off the hook. Also - a builder may be liable to subsequent purchasers of a house - although the rights of an original buyer are usually greater than those of a subsequent purchaser. Robyn
It has been one of the three or four most frustrating aspects of living here. (I moved here from a large city.) I rely on the local BBB often and still have been disappointed in the availability, pricing, and workmanship of local contractors. I was hoping that Jax, being a bigger metro, would be better in this regard. Thanks for the info./warning! Makes me even less willing to consider properties needing updating. I don't want to repeat my current situation.
Negatives from the BBB are important - but positives are meaningless IMO. I once sued the BBB for giving a green light to an outfit that was engaged in a fraudulent securities scheme (and the plaintiffs wound up recovering money from it). Note that you can find out whether people in many professions are licensed through the Florida Department of Professional Regulation - but a license is just a bare minimum for most things. In my experience - remodeling/renovating is harder than building from scratch (although we will probably wind up doing some work like that if we live in this house long enough). Robyn
Oddly enough, I hear the same complaints from my customers here as I did from my customers in St. Louis, MO.
Most common is "You're the nth person I've called, and the first one to answer the phone." Right behind that is "The other guy I talked to said it would be x more than what you are telling me." (or, on the other hand, x amount less, which usually ended up being a misleading quote).
Basically, every metro area has good and bad contractors. Finding the right ones takes time and a whole lot of trial and error, unfortunately. I'm in the home improvement trade, and even I sometimes have problems finding a reliable person/company to do certain jobs.
I understand your frustration, but please don't lump all contractors and small business owners in one group. Some of us are honestly trying to please our customers.
As for the idea of not paying anything until the job is done, I appreciate the sentiment, but it isn't realistic. Only speaking from the handyman point of view here, but I know very few small business owners who can afford to float material costs while they are spending a week or two painting/landscaping/remodeling your home. My normal way of handling this is as follows:
If it's a job that is going to take less than a week and you already have the materials (or I already have the materials left over from a previous job), I don't ask for any deposit. Payment is due at the end of the job.
If I'm picking up materials for the job, I'm getting a deposit from the homeowner. The deposit is estimated materials cost plus 15%. The customer gets the receipts, the 15% is to cover fuel, wear and tear on my vehicle, and my time spent shopping. All labor charges are paid at the end of the job.
The rare job that takes longer than a week, I get paid on Friday of the first week for work completed, and the remainder at the end of the job. Frankly, I've never done a job that lasted longer than 2 weeks. If it's that big of a job, chances are it's beyond my license.
Customer wants me there every Saturday for the next 5 weeks due to their work schedule? I'm getting paid every Saturday for the next 5 weeks for the number of hours worked that day.
So far, I haven't had any complaints about my billing structure.
Your billing structure sounds entirely reasonable to me. Although most of the people we use have dealt with us for so many years that they simply bill us after the work is done (a tree job may only take a day - but it's usually more than $1k). The only job we've ever had that lasted more than 2 weeks in this house was putting in a new wall unit - and that was simply because we needed lots of little things done by different people (remove old wall unit - move Comcast outlets - patch drywall - etc.) - and it took us 6 months to get the wall unit. We do get estimates in writing - unless it's for something like cleaning out the gutters - small jobs.
OTOH - one way for owners to protect themselves when they're doing medium to larger jobs is to use workers/vendors who accept credit cards. Because - if you pay by credit card - and the worker/vendor is a bum and runs away with your money - you can put the charge in dispute and usually recover what you paid. No need to do this if you're talking about $100-200 - but it could be important when it comes to larger jobs. Robyn
And I made it a point to say I wasn't referring to ALL small contractors. And by the way just as there are good and bad contractors there are also good and bad customers when the time comes to pay up. I prefer to pay when the job is done and against a written contract. I have also been known to pay a worker over and above the contract terms if I felt he went the extra mile.
I also understand that the issue of cash flow may be more critical to the small business like yourself than to the large established contractor. I am also mindful of certain shady contractors who will disappear after the first installment and you never see them again. So there are villains on both sides of the equation.
But again I stand by my opinion that it is generally not easy to find good help in this town. I will go further and incur the wrath of a few by saying that you are more likely to find good hardworking reliable workers among the immigrant population than elsewhere. Don't ask me why.
You're somewhat correct about some immigrant populations IMO. But what I've found over the years is different immigrant groups tend to specialize - American-born groups too. When we built our house - the foundation guys were all from Bosnia. The block guys were all black guys who looked like linebackers. The rafter guys were all skinny white cracker guys - don't know how they "danced" on the rafters because they were for the most part boozers and drug users.
I know everyone has a stereotype of Mexican gardeners being the best. We had a landscape clean-up yesterday. The crew head was from Puerto Rico - and there was one guy from Mexico - and one white guy from JAX (whose SO is in nursing school). They were all terrific and fun to work with (we speak Spanish and help when they're working). And the one thing they had in common is they could do hard physical labor for hours - and go to work the next day (I couldn't even plant a small herb pot today - so I did taxes ).
Being older - I used to have a prejudice against guys/girls with tattoos. But - if I held on to that prejudice - I wouldn't have anyone to do any work (although I still think tats are a waste of money - and painful and expensive to remove)! And I've also found a lot of good people who do work for us are Harley owners - the kind who go to Biketoberfest. I guess that being a Harley fan isn't cheap - so you need a good work ethic to support that hobby. I also learned about motocross when our tree guy's teenage son was killed in a horrible accident. OTOH - my housekeepers now are very very religious Baptists (and the one before that - who is now a nanny - is from Peru). The Baptists will always tell me to have a "blessed day" - and will insist that they will pray for me or a family member if any medical problems are going on. And - on my part - I introduced them to home-made chopped chicken livers .
Took me - as a northern born Ivy-league educated Jewish woman - decades to warm up to any/all of this (I've been in Florida a long time - and first encountered culture shock going to court in places like Lakeland when I was in my 20's). But I'm comfortable with most of it now. Because - wherever competence and a work ethic and a sense of good-natured warmth comes from inside a person - I'm happy with it. Robyn
Did I post at the right place?
I am planning to tile my entire house. It's combination of vinyl and carpet right now.
I am trying to figure out where to find affordable tiles and installation. What is the typical market rate for installation. I am trying to see how much it's going to cost. My house is 2000 sq feet.
Any advice?
Did I post at the right place?
I am planning to tile my entire house. It's combination of vinyl and carpet right now.
I am trying to figure out where to find affordable tiles and installation. What is the typical market rate for installation. I am trying to see how much it's going to cost. My house is 2000 sq feet.
Any advice?
Thanks
Acup -
We just had new flooring put in two weeks ago from Affordable Carpet. The installer was a former mechanical engineer from Czechoslovakia (Robert). He is not the fastest , but he was the most meticulous to detail I have ever seen. Then again, when it comes to installing a floor that will be there for 20-25 yrs do you really want fast?
I would recommend you give them a call for a free estimate. Cant hurt! If you do call tell Julie that Jay in Julington Creek recommended them. Good luck! (PS - they were referred to us from friends)
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. But I don't write only for you. I write because a lot of good trades people I've dealt with over the years have been hurt very badly by the housing crash here 
. They're good hard workers - and they need the business. I don't want them moving away because they can't make a living here. Robyn
).
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