my jobsite

Huck | Posted in Photo Gallery on April 29, 2007 03:12am

My current jobsite – renovating a 26-unit apartment complex into townhouse condominiums. This is a view of the complex, and the pool.

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“…never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too” – Mark Twain

Replies

Huck | Apr 29, 2007 03:16am | #1
Robert is my right-hand man. He is in charge of materials and organization of same. This is his storage area, and he works hard to keep it in shape.

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"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain

Huck | Apr 29, 2007 03:18am | #2
Bob is a contractor friend of mine, who helps out with the finish work, when I need him. I swear he's right out of Mayberry RFD. A super nice guy.

View Image"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain

Huck | Apr 29, 2007 03:20am | #3
Here's Robert at work, nailing baseboard (he's learning - his experience is in HVAC installation, so a lot of what we do is new to him.)

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"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain

Huck | Apr 29, 2007 03:26am | #4
I bought a used jobsite trailer. It was bright white with bright blue trim, and it was instantly dubbed "the snow-cone wagon", and "the burrito hut". The first condo I parked it next to, demanded that I move it. I did. But I decided to make it look more "acceptable". So I painted it to match the complex, and built a porch and a trellis. I gutted it, painted the inside, and designed custom cabinets. This is a Sketchup drawing of my design for the exterior.

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View Image"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain

Huck | Apr 29, 2007 03:33am | #5
Here is a photo of the newly painted exterior, with the trellis. I didn't take any "before" pictures - I was in such a hurry to dress it up before they ran me off again!

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View Image"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 03:34am | #7
Here you can see the porch. I built a small fence around it to screen the trash dumpster, which it is right next to.

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View Image"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Heck | Apr 29, 2007 03:33am | #6
Great photos. Looks like an awesome gig. How long will this take?_______________________________________________________________

When Augustus came out on the porch the blue pigs were eating a rattlesnake - not a very big one.
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 03:42am | #8
How long will this take?

Probably another 5 or 6 months. It could go faster, but they don't have the $ to do it all at once.

Here is my Sketchup drawing of the cabinet design.

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View Image"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 03:45am | #9
Here's a view of the interior after the cabinets went in. My painters thought I was crazy for choosing this cabinet color with blue carpet, but it looks good now that its all in. The blue carpet was a free remnant one of the installers left on the jobsite. I painted the cabinets with latex, then polyurethane over the latex.

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"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 03:48am | #10
Here is my painting foreman. He's leaving for a prevailing wage job, but things have slowed considerably, so I encouraged him to go for it. He's a great painter, but sometimes hits the bottle a bit. Gotta watch those painters!

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View Image"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 03:50am | #11
Here's my painting foreman at work. The 2-bdrm unit has a volume ceiling, with skylights. Air balance is a pain.

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"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 03:55am | #12
We gut the old apartment cabinets, and install new cabinets. Also new floorcoverings, new texture and paint, new interior doors and baseboard, and refinish the fiberglass tub/shower units. Outside is new color-coat stucco, and they actually repainted the spanish tile roofs. I'm encouraging them to put a little more cabinets in the next phase, this is just not enough storage, even for a small kitchen. This is the 2-bdrm model, which has a slightly smaller kitchen than the 3-bdrm.

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View Image"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 03:59am | #13
This is my other (self-appointed) painting foreman. As you can imagine, these two guys butt heads quite a bit. He'll be real happy when the other painter leaves! He's a good painter, but has all the tact of a bull in a china shop. He's pizzed everyone here off at one time or another, including me, more than once! But he's a go-getter, and a hard worker.

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View Image"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 04:01am | #14
This is my rig. A '94 F-150 with a straight six, and an enclosed trailer.

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View Image"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 04:04am | #15
This is my HVAC contractor. This guy is awesome. Can troubleshoot anything, real smart, highly trained. Just bought himself a big chevy van, but loves this VW death-trap =)

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View Image"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 04:08am | #16
This is Teddy, my "handyman". 67 years old, and goes a hundred miles an hour all day long. I call him "Tazmanian Teddy". He does microwave hood installs, d/w installs, installs thresholds, runs to the store anytime we need something, and about a million other things. He's retired from GM, used to build cars. Now he restores VW bugs with his son, an HVAC contractor.

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View Image"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 04:10am | #17
This was my makeshift office before I got my trailer set up. I got the trailer also because they have asked me to build another 23 condo's next door, once this project is finished.

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View Image"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 04:12am | #18
One of the condo owners hired another contractor to install a new front door. Here is his rig - table saw and chop saw on a wagon. Nice set up, for what he does.

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View Image"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 04:14am | #19
Jimmy is my elec. contractor. 60 yrs. old, and going strong. Very capable electrician.

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"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 04:16am | #20
Brandon is a very talented tile-setter. Unfortunately, with the crash in the sub-prime lending market, we've had to cut costs, and are now doing the tile in house, so we don't currently have any work for him. A real nice guy. Comes up from the Orange County area to do our tile work when we need him.

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View Image"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 04:21am | #21
Carlos sprays texture. Jeff the painter does too. They both think they're better than each other, but they're both pretty good, so its close. Jeff tends to spray a little heavy, in my opinion. Carlos is good with drywall. He does carpentry, and is now doing our tile. He tends to be a little rough around the edges - always in a hurry. He's learning to work to my standards, but its a learning curve, for sure! He speaks good English, but is from Sinaloa Mexico.

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"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 04:24am | #22
Edgar is always smiling. But when I pointed the camera at him, he stopped smiling for the first time. His buddies call him "Huero". He's good with drywall, despite being pretty new at it.

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"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 04:26am | #23
Our regular carpet guy was just taking too long. I think he's got too many jobs going. So we called these guys, and they blew it out in a few hours. I guess we have a new carpet installer!

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"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 04:30am | #24
This is one of the owners. He lives on site, in one of the condo's. A real nice guy. Looking the part of the harried businessman that he is!

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"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 04:36am | #25
This is the owner's wife - she's got one baby, and another in the oven. I don't think she's crazy about me - for whatever reason (I don't know! Maybe she thinks I cost too much? Or maybe its just hormones from the one in the oven?). Anyway, she's really pretty, and we just finished a condo for them to live in. We did some real custom stuff for their flat-screen TV, so that no wires are visible between the DVD, receiver, etc., and the screen.

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"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Gunner | Apr 29, 2007 06:33pm | #38
    Very cool gig you got going. I think I have the thing with the owners wife figured out. She probably just busted you taking pictures of her husband from a partially closed door, and now your taking pictures of her while she's Prego. LOL No brainer dude.

   I like your HVAC guy too. The van and the lab coat make him look interesting.

    Who dares, wins.

http://thewoodwhisperer.com/
Huck | May 04, 2007 02:02pm | #39
Carlos and Edgar grouting a tile floor. Carlos is pretty good at tile, but I never like his layout. Here he has a grout line centered on the front door, and as a result, there is a grout line 2" from the west and east walls. IMO, it would have been much better to center a tile on the front door, with a resulting half-tile along the west and east walls. I hate grout lines so close to the wall.

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View ImageThe house itself was not so much. It was smaller than Buckingham Palace, rather gray for California, and probably had fewer windows than the Chrysler Building.

I sneaked over to the side entrance and pressed a bell and somewhere a set of chimes made a deep mellow sound like church bells. A man in a striped vest and gilt buttons opened the door, bowed, took my hat and was through for the day."--

Farewell, My Lovely (Chapter 18)
Huck | May 04, 2007 02:06pm | #40
Here you can see the grout line centered at the front door by Edgar. And if you look close, you can see how the layout left a grout line so close to the walls perpendicular to the front door. I thought the grout was mixed too thin, but Carlos assured me this is common practice. He spreads it with a squeegee, then works it with a sponge.

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View ImageThe house itself was not so much. It was smaller than Buckingham Palace, rather gray for California, and probably had fewer windows than the Chrysler Building.

I sneaked over to the side entrance and pressed a bell and somewhere a set of chimes made a deep mellow sound like church bells. A man in a striped vest and gilt buttons opened the door, bowed, took my hat and was through for the day."--

Farewell, My Lovely (Chapter 18)
Huck | May 04, 2007 02:11pm | #41
This is a kitchen on a 3-bdrm model. In an effort to cut costs, we went with Formica on the countertop, and vinyl on the floor. The formica was still not cheap, $1300 for the kitchen and two bathrooms. I'm finding that the cabinet guys are not checking the bathroom vanities for level when they install. Our guys noticed when putting in the mirrors. So I'm gonna have to start watching their installation closer.

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View ImageThe house itself was not so much. It was smaller than Buckingham Palace, rather gray for California, and probably had fewer windows than the Chrysler Building.

I sneaked over to the side entrance and pressed a bell and somewhere a set of chimes made a deep mellow sound like church bells. A man in a striped vest and gilt buttons opened the door, bowed, took my hat and was through for the day."--

Farewell, My Lovely (Chapter 18)
Huck | May 04, 2007 02:13pm | #42
This is a view of the stove and microwave hood. We are not bringing the project up to current code, as its not required on a townhome conversion. But we are adding a dedicated circuit for the microwave. Lots of wall cutting and patching. But what the hay, that's what we do best!

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View ImageThe house itself was not so much. It was smaller than Buckingham Palace, rather gray for California, and probably had fewer windows than the Chrysler Building.

I sneaked over to the side entrance and pressed a bell and somewhere a set of chimes made a deep mellow sound like church bells. A man in a striped vest and gilt buttons opened the door, bowed, took my hat and was through for the day."--

Farewell, My Lovely (Chapter 18)
Huck | May 04, 2007 02:15pm | #43
This is Michelle, the realtor/sales girl. I don't know why she's smiling, 9 units have fallen out of escrow since the crash of the sub-prime lending market. And she doesn't get paid till escrow closes.

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View ImageThe house itself was not so much. It was smaller than Buckingham Palace, rather gray for California, and probably had fewer windows than the Chrysler Building.

I sneaked over to the side entrance and pressed a bell and somewhere a set of chimes made a deep mellow sound like church bells. A man in a striped vest and gilt buttons opened the door, bowed, took my hat and was through for the day."--

Farewell, My Lovely (Chapter 18)
Gunner | May 04, 2007 02:48pm | #45
She's smiling because she's a hotty. No matter what she'll always have that in her favor.

Who dares, wins.

http://thewoodwhisperer.com/
Huck | May 04, 2007 02:57pm | #46
Yeah, I reckon. To me she's just another jobsite stepchild - but a pretty good one. When I can't get a sub to show up, I'll have her call and plead in her sweetest voice. Somehow she can get results when I can't! And she can bat those eyes for the 442 escrow inspector, to distract him from a few unfinished items.The house itself was not so much. It was smaller than Buckingham Palace, rather gray for California, and probably had fewer windows than the Chrysler Building.

I sneaked over to the side entrance and pressed a bell and somewhere a set of chimes made a deep mellow sound like church bells. A man in a striped vest and gilt buttons opened the door, bowed, took my hat and was through for the day."--

Farewell, My Lovely (Chapter 18)
JulianTracy | May 04, 2007 07:45pm | #49
Thanks for sharing all the pics - makes me feel like I'm working there myself - feels like I just met the whole family.Your jobsite trailer/office is a class act. Funny, when you spend the time working on stuff like that, or tool/fastener organization projects - you feel like you are sortof either wasting your time or at the least like you should be doing something that actively makes you money.But then the projects you "wasted" your time on - they pay you back 100 fold in the days, weeks, months, years ahead that you benefit from the increased productivity and the more professional appearance to your clients.Good work!JT
Huck | May 04, 2007 11:52pm | #50
Funny, when you spend the time working on stuff like that, or tool/fastener organization projects - you feel like you are sortof either wasting your time or at the least like you should be doing something that actively makes you money.

So true!

This is one of the biggest obstacles I deal with, within myself, being self-employed. Its so easy to put off those activities that aren't directly related to jobsite work, but they're so vital to survival. And not only a battle within myself, but also the perception of others. I know a lot of people thought I was crazy for the work I put into my trailer - including the owners of the complex.

Now that its done, no one gives it a second thought, but at the time, it was a big deal for me to push myself to do it, in the face of a certain pressure to lay off, and get to the "real" work.

The house itself was not so much. It was smaller than Buckingham Palace, rather gray for California, and probably had fewer windows than the Chrysler Building.

I sneaked over to the side entrance and pressed a bell and somewhere a set of chimes made a deep mellow sound like church bells. A man in a striped vest and gilt buttons opened the door, bowed, took my hat and was through for the day."--

Farewell, My Lovely (Chapter 18)
Huck | Dec 30, 2007 05:14am | #54
Well, I just finished this project, and its on to other things. Time for a little reflection, and update for anyone who cares to know.

There were actually two more units left to complete, and they ran me off, figuring they could do them without me. Using my sub's. Which grates on me somewhat, but hey, this has been a very good job for me, and the owners/investors took a hard hit when the subprime market collapsed.

There's still some talk about building 23 more units next door, but who knows if or when it'll happen. And besides, since they lost so much money, they had to get "partners" for the building next door, and guess what? The "partners" have the say-so since they got the money, and they have their own favored guys to do the work. I became the red-headed stepchild.

Still, the job has to be viewed as a success, from a lot of standpoints. I did a write-up on it for my website, here's the link if anyone is interested.View Image â€œGood work costs much more than poor imitation or factory productâ€ â€“ Charles GreeneCaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
Huck | Dec 30, 2007 05:43am | #55
So the project lasted one year, almost to the day. It was really longer, but one year is from the time I took over as general contractor. It ended with a final check and a handshake, and they even invited me to a party next week, so how many big jobs end like that?

True, there are a few hard feelings about the way they handled some stuff, but overall I think they were fair. I've had jobs end way worse!

What this job allowed me to accomplish:

I now have an office/jobsite trailer that I didn't have before this job. And in my office/trailer, I have a file system for all my paperwork that is very organized (my office girl set it up, I actually don't know where everything is, but she sure does!)

I now have five employees I didn't have before this job (OK, three of them are working for the Townhome owners, finishing up without me. Which is ok with me, since I don't have any work for them right now. But I do use them from time, with the blessing of the townhome owners, and I plan on using them a lot more in the future, and full-time when they finish the townhome - and if work pans out for me. The other two work only for me - my office girl three days a week, and one full-time carpenter who's on a remodel I'm doing). My accountant now has me set up with legitimate payroll for all my employees. I was a one-horse show before this.

I have a truck toolbox drawer system I built while supervising this job.

I took one year of cabinetry night school classes during this project.

I have a website that I never had before this project.

I have an official business bank account, with a business bank, I didn't have before.

I have a new name, a new logo, and new business cards. The new name I'm not crazy about (HP Construction - it came about as a result of one joint venture I did with the condo-owners, who are HP Properties) but its a hassle to change it, so I'm keeping it for now. The logo I do like - I designed it myself years ago for a buddy, but he's not contracting anymore, and since I own the copyrights as the creator, I adapted it for myself.

I now have a million dollars liability insurance I didn't have before this job.

I'm now on the bid list for city, county, and school jobs, which I never was before.

I have a fax #, which I never had before. (I'm thinking of switching to v-mail, anyone out there using it?) I can receive faxes, but not sure I can send them. There's an explanation for that.

New tools I accumulated during this job: pancake compressor, large jobsite compressor, 14' stepladder, 12' stepladder, rolling platform scaffold, 14' extension ladder, bosch sds-max hammer-drill, 2 screw-guns, numerous 18v cordless tools, 2 Delta miter saws and 2 stands (in addition to my Bosch dbscm saw, which I already had), Craftsman mini compound miter saw (7 1/4"), extra skil worm drive, extra Milwaukee sawzall, two airless paint sprayers (one good one and one dog which can still be used for spraying lacquer), one cup-gun, and one texture gun with hopper (come to think of it, I think one of the guys I fired made off with that one!).

I have two yellow-pages ads, and one claims-pages ad.

I have a lot more gray hair, and a lot less hair altogether!

I don't have much money in the bank, because I spent all my money on growing my business, but what the heck!

On to other projects!

For those who shared this experience with me via BT - thanks for your companionship and cameraderie! Oh yeah - and here's wishing for everyone to have a prosperous and safe next year!

View Image â€œGood work costs much more than poor imitation or factory productâ€ â€“ Charles GreeneCaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
Huck | Dec 30, 2007 02:21pm | #56
I now have an office/jobsite trailer that I didn't have before this job.

View Image View Image View Image â€œGood work costs much more than poor imitation or factory productâ€ â€“ Charles GreeneCaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
basswood | Dec 30, 2007 05:17pm | #63
Thanks for letting us follow along.Good stuff.I'll post pics of my temp office in another thread...not as nice as yours, but amusing.
Huck | Dec 30, 2007 02:37pm | #57
I now have five employees I didn't have before this job

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View Image View Image â€œGood work costs much more than poor imitation or factory productâ€ â€“ Charles GreeneCaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
Huck | Dec 30, 2007 02:39pm | #58
I have a truck toolbox drawer system I built while supervising this job.

View Image View Image â€œGood work costs much more than poor imitation or factory productâ€ â€“ Charles GreeneCaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
Huck | Dec 30, 2007 02:41pm | #59
I took one year of cabinetry night school classes during this project.

View Image View Image â€œGood work costs much more than poor imitation or factory productâ€ â€“ Charles GreeneCaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
dcarroll3000 | Dec 30, 2007 03:22pm | #62
Quite the journey in 2007! The project came out nice and I like your perspective on all the good that came out of it in spite of the challenges. Best of luck in 2008.

-D
Huck | Dec 30, 2007 02:46pm | #60
I have a lot more gray hair, and a lot less hair altogether!

View Image View Image â€œGood work costs much more than poor imitation or factory productâ€ â€“ Charles GreeneCaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
Huck | Dec 30, 2007 02:52pm | #61
Montecito Villa Townhomes - it was a good project, may it rest in peace! (meaning no call-backs for punch lists!!)

View Image View Image â€œGood work costs much more than poor imitation or factory productâ€ â€“ Charles GreeneCaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
katiewa | Dec 30, 2007 06:14pm | #64
I don't use faxes a whole lot, but what I like is OneSuite.com for long distance phone calls and incoming fax (<3 cents/minute anytime, $1/month for fax) and greenfax.com for outgoing (7 cents/minute). This set up does not require a phone line or fax machine--all done via e-mail, which I find much more convenient. Time purchased on greenfax.com either never expires or has a very long expiration. I set up an account 3 years ago with $25--still using it.

Best wishes for the New Year!

Kathleen
roger g | Dec 30, 2007 07:15pm | #65
Clap! clap! clap! Thoroughly enjoyed reading every post. A very nice holiday present from you to us.

After a year of work and worry you should have come out with money in your pocket over and above what you have said. I guess a lot of us have had similar situations (though never wrote about it sooooooooooo well) and now is the time to reflect on the past year and try to turn it into a lot more money in future jobs.

Again, thank you Huck.

roger
Huck | Dec 30, 2007 08:07pm | #67
After a year of work and worry you should have come out with money in your pocket over and above what you have said

You're right. I sometimes get a little discouraged when I think about that, but it was my choice to spend it the way I did. Growing my business was something I have been wanting to do for years, so I jumped at this opportunity.

If the sub-prime market hadn't collapsed, I would have made significantly more on this one. We had to re-negotiate my contract after that happened, and I agreed to work for less, as the market was devastated here - we're in the top 10 foreclosure cities in the nation. Then they canned me, so I lost the last two units altogether, which was another hit to the pocketbook.

Plus, the crash here came at the peak of a building boom - meaning we had big national builders and developers moving into town, and our contracting and construction-labor market was saturated when the market went down. Real estate prices had experienced a huge surge, so all the sharks smelled money, and it was like feeding-frenzy time. Tract builders were building 100-plus tracts all over town with no thought to traffic and quality of life implications, realtors were rolling in money (lotsa scams are now coming to light), and every other vehicle on the road was a brand-new dually with a contractor logo on the side.

So when the real estate / construction market fell here, it fell hard. Ka-boom! I was fortunate to have this job. I bid on a big t.i. job, and ran a help-wanted ad in case I got it (I didn't) - but man, was I ever inundated with desperate guys looking for work. I had no idea - never would have given a phone number in the ad if had known.

The builders/developers on this project took a big hit too. They went from high society in San Diego (some of the most expensive real estate in the nation) to living in their own condo project here in Bakersfield. They let me know that their wives are decidedly unhappy about the situation! So I kinda feel bad for the way it turned out for them.

Like I said, may we all have a more prosperous year in 2008!View Image â€œGood work costs much more than poor imitation or factory productâ€ â€“ Charles GreeneCaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
Huck | Dec 30, 2007 07:31pm | #66
That is exactly what I'm after. I will definitely look into this - thanks!View Image â€œGood work costs much more than poor imitation or factory productâ€ â€“ Charles GreeneCaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
Gunner | May 04, 2007 02:47pm | #44
If he bent over another half inch you'd get a time out for showing butt crack. LOL

Who dares, wins.

http://thewoodwhisperer.com/
Heck | Apr 29, 2007 06:34am | #31
Wait until basswood sees that cart!_______________________________________________________________

When Augustus came out on the porch the blue pigs were eating a rattlesnake - not a very big one.
basswood | May 04, 2007 03:01pm | #47
Who me?That cart does look smart...I'm always looking for new ideas. Most of my good ideas are ripped off from you guys.The drawer unit I built for my work van is based a copy of something Huck did...I call them "Huck Drawers".
Heck | May 04, 2007 03:47pm | #48
I thought the cart was pretty cool , thought you might like it too._______________________________________________________________

"The artist is not a person endowed with free will who seeks his own ends, but one who allows art to realize its purposes through him. As a human being he may have moods and a will and personal aims, but as an artist he is "man" in a higher sense - he is "collective man," a vehicle and moulder of the unconscious psychic life of mankind." - Carl Jung
rasconc | May 05, 2007 11:40pm | #51
That does look cool but I think I would do something to chock or lock it in place. The thoughts of either of those being used on four tires kind of scares me. A kind of T with a second sliding crossbar locked down somehow comes to mind.

Bob
Huck | May 06, 2007 04:45am | #52
Because the 2-bdrm unit has a volume ceilng two-stories high, air-balance has been a pain. We have gone to adding dampers to force more air downstairs. And the addition of this ceilng fan has helped a lot too. During winter it forces warm air down, and serves as a mixer.

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View Image"I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun."

Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
Huck | May 06, 2007 04:49am | #53
That does look cool but I think I would do something to chock or lock it in place. The thoughts of either of those being used on four tires kind of scares me. A kind of T with a second sliding crossbar locked down somehow comes to mind.

The guy that this belonged to is a door installer for Home Depot. He drives a trailer where the door is a fold-down ramp, and just wheels this thing to wherever he's working. I thought it was a cool idea. If it was mine, I'd have drawers in it =) "I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun."

Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
DougU | Apr 29, 2007 04:37am | #26
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Huck, there's a story right here, just cant put my finger on it! He does look serious though.

Doug
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 04:43am | #27
I just can't say enough good things about this guy. He really rescued this job. The original general contractor (before me) was an HVAC contractor, playing General Contractor wannabe. He had this job soooo screwed up, you wouldn't believe it. And most screwed up of all were the HVAC units! A real nightmare. Richard came out, and turned that part of the job around.

He is new at contracting, and doesn't mark up his parts. Which is another thing I love him for! He was highly trained by the hospital he used to work for, doing electrical and HVAC. But he got sick of the politics, and just up and quit one day, and went on his own. I think this job helped launch his business. "...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
EricPaulson | Apr 29, 2007 05:02am | #28
You took the words right out of my mouth!

I'm looking at that thinking.................only in Cali![email protected]
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 05:56am | #29
I honestly have no idea what you guys are talking about. But then I'm a Calif. native."...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
DougU | Apr 29, 2007 06:14am | #30
I honestly have no idea what you guys are talking about.

Cant speak for Eric but I dont mean it in a negative way. Its just his clothing and the look on his face, nothing derogatory at all. Just a funny look, nothing wrong with that, and maybe its just the camera shot, not real sure.

Doug
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 07:10am | #32
Oh, OK, I get it. He's wearing the coat because he spends a lot of time in the attic. Which may also account for the look on his face - not the best shot, I'll admit. It does look like he's getting ready to hit me! =)

This is on a good day. Some days he shows up in tank top and sandals. I told him I'd send him home if he was my employee! I teased him about his VW van - told him it looked like a surfer van. So he got an old surfboard, and strapped it on top. A real character. He definitely dances to the beat of his own drum. But like I say, he's good at what he does."...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
johnAwalker | Apr 29, 2007 07:55am | #33
Hi Huck,Its nice to see the trades behind the scenes, as a building contractor myself its gratifying to have trades you can rely on to provide good results, I get along with all my trades and the loyalty from them is returned by me, building is hard enough good tradesmen make it worthwhile.Thanks for the post of real people.Cheers,
Johnhttp://www.johnwalkerbuilders.com
EricPaulson | Apr 29, 2007 09:14am | #34
A real character. He definitely dances to the beat of his own drum. But like I say, he's good at what he does.[email protected]
Huck | Apr 29, 2007 09:24am | #35
yeah, but how could you know that from that picture? that was my point!The house itself was not so much. It was smaller than Buckingham Palace, rather gray for California, and probably had fewer windows than the Chrysler Building.

I sneaked over to the side entrance and pressed a bell and somewhere a set of chimes made a deep mellow sound like church bells. A man in a striped vest and gilt buttons opened the door, bowed, took my hat and was through for the day."--

Farewell, My Lovely (Chapter 18)
EricPaulson | Apr 29, 2007 02:05pm | #36
A picture is worth a thousand words. It's obvious this guy has a story, you can tell from the picture. I can, Doug saw it, perhaps we have a gift.

Not meant in the slightest way to be derogatory or perverted.

He's probably a very interesting man ans a good technician. I can tell that from the photo as well.[email protected]
woodguy99 | Apr 29, 2007 06:05pm | #37
I saw it too. He just looks like he cares about what he cares about, and doesn't give a s*** what other people think is important. In a good way.

He also looks like you might not want to piss him off though....