Landscaping project rant

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We would ALL be in jail if we were prosecuted for every crime we commit.

It is estimated that we commit 3 felonies a day. And that’s the law abiding people.

https://athlonoutdoors.com/article/how-many-felonies-does-the-average-person-commit-in-a-day/

How bad would a contractor have had to piss someone off that they get the law called on them, and the law cares, for putting in some irrigation?

It's more likely if something happens during the install like lines cut, someone's lawn or tree has damage, etc. Would they call law enforcement at that time? I doubt that but they could raise a stink and that could then lead to legal matters later on.

In our area when google fiber came around no one had a say on it because they were installing in easements but there was a damaged driveway to our neighbors because they put heavy machinery on it (never should have), they cut our neighbor's U-Verse line so that had to be re-installed and because of where it was it was run under our driveway causing them to bore through our yard and under the driveway. The neighbor nextdoor their only tree at the street (city requires 2 unless your lot doesn't allow for it) had a large part of the root cut and dug out for it. For us the grass tore up by the street has never recovered 9 years after the initial google fiber install because the grass hadn't had enough time to take root. The whole area had a huge problem with how google chose their subcontractors for the job and you better believe they had the proper licensing and permits. It was quite the uproar.

But if any of that damage happened to someone and they found out you knowingly did it without the proper permits and licensing that could lead to be problems more than just being financially responsible for the damage done. I don't disagree with you that many of us have probably done some work that should have had xyz done along with it.

 

[kdonnel]

Best I can recall I have had 9 projects that I got a permit for, NOT counting the permits to build the house (house was 4 years old when we bought it 42 years ago). Every one of the permitted projects revealed conditions of previous permitted projects that never should have passed inspection. So not sure, other than revenue for the county, the point of permits and inspections. Last roof I put on, the inspector showed up WITHOUT a ladder. I guess now they can use drones, but he didn't have that either. I had to let him use my ladder to get on the roof to inspect it.

Here is my permit story.

It used to be extremely common that basements were finished without permits in metro Atlanta. But as more people move here from parts of the country where permits are more common it has sometimes become a negotiation issue when selling.

So when I went to finish my basement I got it permitted.

When it was time for the framing, plumbing, and electrical rough in inspection I watched as the inspector arrived.

He was back in his car less than 60 seconds after getting out. In that time he supposedly inspected 1200 sq/ft of three major components, signed the permit, and walked to and from my basement, a distance of 100 feet round trip.

I got resale value from the permit, I hope, but did not get any actual check that the contractor did the work to code.

In my opinion it’s all about revenue.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Things have been this way since at least 2020 or so, as soon as homes started to be built all the contractors and repair people just vanished and there have been very few new people. Seems like the US lost a lot of tradespeople after the 2008 housing crisis and subsequent economic mess because those who managed to keep their homes couldn't afford to do repairs so the workers found other things to do... we sure are paying for that now.

We sold our home last year and had a really hard time getting anyone to call back for any sort of task leading up to it, roofing issues were the worst but lawn& snow care was also laughable until we found a local HS graduate looking to start a business. In the end we found a couple of handyman types with good references from Nextdoor, if you ask patiently and don't use words like "reasonable" (code for I'm cheap) you'll get people to answer. Be prepared to pay a fair wage for the effort, and I totally believe it is fair. In my experience these side job sorts like cash and a nice long punchlist of to-do tasks you can talk about and they can tackle one by one or forget it. I usually pay a portion when they show up and the second half when they are done. Sometimes breaking up a job into smaller bits is the best way to get help because those who do this sort of thing on the side don't want to overcommit for time and this also helps you avoid being scammed with giant deposits and a no show. We broke our porch job into multiple smaller tasks. First task was removing and replacing a portion of the porch. Second task was scraping off the old paint of the whole thing and hitting it with a a pressure washer (got the whole house pressure washed). Third task was painting it maybe 6 months later when the person had time. I imagine breaking up your task would allow for you to keep the tasks under the legal $ limit in your state.

In my opinion this a great space for anyone looking to start a business who has any ability in this sort of way for people who can't do it or don't know how or even just don't want to anymore. In my hometown in PA the a few local people who stepped into this space ended up with very successful home businesses, very very successful making a lot of money because all the homes are roughly 25 years now and they all need different kinds of work. Stuff like replacing outdoor and indoor lights (paid $50 each), replacing all the door deadbolts and door knobs, replacing the faucets, putting in a nice new metal mailbox, taking down the kids old monkeybars & cutting down overgrown shrubs all that sort of thing. Quite a few of the most popular found themselves out of work and just started doing stuff and it grew. Seems to me like there is a new space in contracting for this size work.

In the end I love having a rental now because the property management manages all this sort of stuff plus insuring the premises, all I need to worry about is renters insurance for what is on the inside and that is only $30 a month for much less liability, it is so nice to not care about rain storms or wind damage anymore.

I may end up having to do it myself, over my wife's objections. The thing that interests me is in California, if a project total is more than $1,000 labor and materials, it HAS to be done by a licensed contractor. I figure this is about a $2,500 project, so anyone agreeing to do it that is not a licensed contractor is breaking the law.

What? We had a house in PA and that sort of rule would never ever fly there. How on earth did they convince people this was good for them?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

if you ask patiently and don't use words like "reasonable" (code for I'm cheap) you'll get people to answer.

That translates the same here too, a rant just several weeks ago in fact, with exception to vet recommendation requests where asking for reasonable is not considered a problem. I think that's more because people are tired of seeing rehoming requests so much.

There are certainly people who overprice their services but plenty of customers who also may not want to or realize costs associated with whatever.

 

[tvguy]

Things have been this way since at least 2020 or so, as soon as homes started to be built all the contractors and repair people just vanished and there have been very few new people. Seems like the US lost a lot of tradespeople after the 2008 housing crisis and subsequent economic mess because those who managed to keep their homes couldn't afford to do repairs so the workers found other things to do... we sure are paying for that now.

We sold our home last year and had a really hard time getting anyone to call back for any sort of task leading up to it, roofing issues were the worst but lawn& snow care was also laughable until we found a local HS graduate looking to start a business. In the end we found a couple of handyman types with good references from Nextdoor, if you ask patiently and don't use words like "reasonable" (code for I'm cheap) you'll get people to answer. Be prepared to pay a fair wage for the effort, and I totally believe it is fair. In my experience these side job sorts like cash and a nice long punchlist of to-do tasks you can talk about and they can tackle one by one or forget it. I usually pay a portion when they show up and the second half when they are done. Sometimes breaking up a job into smaller bits is the best way to get help because those who do this sort of thing on the side don't want to overcommit for time and this also helps you avoid being scammed with giant deposits and a no show. We broke our porch job into multiple smaller tasks. First task was removing and replacing a portion of the porch. Second task was scraping off the old paint of the whole thing and hitting it with a a pressure washer (got the whole house pressure washed). Third task was painting it maybe 6 months later when the person had time. I imagine breaking up your task would allow for you to keep the tasks under the legal $ limit in your state.

In my opinion this a great space for anyone looking to start a business who has any ability in this sort of way for people who can't do it or don't know how or even just don't want to anymore. In my hometown in PA the a few local people who stepped into this space ended up with very successful home businesses, very very successful making a lot of money because all the homes are roughly 25 years now and they all need different kinds of work. Stuff like replacing outdoor and indoor lights (paid $50 each), replacing all the door deadbolts and door knobs, replacing the faucets, putting in a nice new metal mailbox, taking down the kids old monkeybars & cutting down overgrown shrubs all that sort of thing. Quite a few of the most popular found themselves out of work and just started doing stuff and it grew. Seems to me like there is a new space in contracting for this size work.

In the end I love having a rental now because the property management manages all this sort of stuff plus insuring the premises, all I need to worry about is renters insurance for what is on the inside and that is only $30 a month for much less liability, it is so nice to not care about rain storms or wind damage anymore.


What? We had a house in PA and that sort of rule would never ever fly there. How on earth did they convince people this was good for them?

Yeah, I see in PA your project can cost up to $5,000 before you are legally required to use a licensed contractor.
Hey, until the first of this year in California, it was $500! Then they doubled it to $1,000.

 

[ronandannette]

Not sure I agree. I just had all the siding on my house replaced, dual pane windows put in and the house painted, $50,000 in total of work, so not a small job. The Contractor was VERY aware that everything they did at my house......from how they parked their trucks........at one point they had 7 marked trucks on my street.....to how their workers behaved.....how long the project took....and how it looked when done......were being watched by the owners of the other 43 houses on my street. As he put it, they are all potential clients. And as it is, they are bidding on replacing the siding on one neighbor's church, a project that will cost several hundred thousand dollars based on the work the neighbor saw on my house..

Well, this may indeed be a case of "who you know". Call whoever did your big project and talk to somebody you dealt with there personally. Tell him what you're looking for. Everybody has a professional network these days. They may be able to point you towards a company that would take the job for the sake of the professional relationship, or maybe even some more formal referral-agreement. It's worth a try. And if you're on LinkedIn, put your situation out there too.

 

[tony67]

Well, this may indeed be a case of "who you know".

Yeah - this is a problem everywhere to be honest and for many things IMO.

Needed a very small roof fixed - maybe 30 square feet - not a porch roof but close enough.
No one wants to do it - its just not worth their time.
I have a friend who is in the trades, but not very good at it and very unreliable.
He knew a guy who used to be a roofer, but was a bit older and was afraid of heights now so did handyman jobs, but at least he had insurance. He would not have even done the job, but because of my friend he did it as a favor.

Even with a friend it can be hard - wanted to get my pickup truck fixed - needed to be welded and the part is no longer made - its the spare tire holder that supports the frame in the back - they rust through and its a common issue - there are some third parties that make a replacement. Problem is no one wanted to touch it - even the Ford dealer - they no longer have the part and they wont weld the third party one on.

Spoke to a good friend who does autobody and even he would not touch it - even if I was willing to pay more than the job is worth. Replacing a pickup truck these days is very pricy so even its it was 1500 would have been worth it to me - its 10K for something that might run as well, really wish I could have found someone to do it.
Ended up just trading it in for next to nothing. They turned around and sold it - as it was - for about 10 times what I got for it. They are taking all the risk so fair enough I guess.

Right now I have some brickwork I need done - and again no one wants to touch it - too small a job.
I'd just do it myself as its not that difficult and I have all the tools - but its the top of a chimney so really not something I want to do.

Back to landscaping - just trying to find someone to do yardwork work is tough.
My brother has tried several companies - they all charge by the hour/person and they all have a three person minimum.
Problem is they have no incentive to get the work done in a reasonable time - they wont bid the job - its all hourly.
So work I have done for him in a day in the past - takes 2 days for 3 people.
I've done the work and done it better - I just don't have the time - I help him when I can.
Most people are not even there to see they guys are just slacking off most of the time - and the owner does not care as he has no shortage of work.

 

[longboard55]

A couple tips, forget the 3 bids advice. No one wants to run around giving bids. A lot of bid jobs never happen, it is just one of the spouses fishing for advice. The best thing is to watch what was going on in the neighborhood and if you see a contractor doing a good job approach them. They will often dovetail it in with the job they are working on. And they can see who they are dealing with it is not just a phone call.