For those who may have not heard, I am sad to report that we lost Sonny Lykos today.
You can read a lot about this over at JLConline.com.
Sonny, thanks for all that you have contributed to us in the remodeling industry, you will be sorely missed, RIP my friend.
RJC
Upgrading the footings and columns that support a girder beam is an opportunity to level out the floor above.
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I enjoyed and learned from Sonny's posts - he made a lot of sense in a world where not much does.
CaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
Thank you.
My condolences to his family and all his friends.
A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Sonny leaves an amazing legacy behind and will be missed.
He explained to many of us that the trades are not just artists plying a trade, but also belong to the service sector. Service is how a trade person turns a job into a profitable business.
I'm still trying to learn that lesson.
thanks , rj......
i have many of sonny's epistles in my business plan
we lost a good friend of the industry with his passing
I got some of my ideas from him as well. Still use them today.
He was my greatest mentor on here.
He came along or I did . [anyway we met here] Dont know who was here first.
Said that to say that I read a lot of posts from him and discussions in that portion of time .
At first I didnt believe him to be honest. I could not fathom the way he charged for everything . I remember saying several times at least he couldnt do it here in this depressed economy. He simply said he could do it anywhere !
Of course any time we listen to someone here the shoe doesnt quite fit . You arent able to do rentals where you live and I wasnt making estimates to charge for them.
Still I took the thought away like the super market aproach. Take what you need and leave the rest on the shelf.
I started a surcharge for scrapping out the drywall in a house if it wasnt done for me . I recieved a lot of resentment on here for doing it . I didnt scrap out any more houses for nothing though. Then I figgured out commercial guys had clean up crews the GC paid for and they gave me better money. If it wasnt for Sonny I would have scrapped out a lot more houses for the same price finishing .
Today in the rental business Im much the same way. They pay for everything .
We could probably fill this place up with personal stories from the people Sonny has helped. I went to JLC to read into this matter and found out the same thing Im writing . Lots of people who owe Sonny. I told Sonny he was my hero and Im glad I got er done . Yup, I owe him a lot and he never got repaid .
One of your sayings I hold in my memory and always will;
"Never, ever invest your money into someone elses dream."
Did that come from Sonny or is that an MS original?
If it came from you I need to say thanks cause youre gettin pretty old . <G>
I had the same complication Sonny did . I was lucky. 5 bypass and a stroke on the table. They didnt know right off about the stroke unitil I didnt come around . Story sounded the same . Sonys operation was a success then he didnt come around .
Tim
I'll say thank you to you and Mike Smith, for being two great mentors on here.
Sonny is on the big remodel in the sky now.
My condolences to all to whom he was close.
what little I know about the business end of this is largely due to Sonny.
on his gravestone should be "Free estimates are not Free"
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"After the laws of Physics, everything else is opinion"
-Neil deGrasse Tyson
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If Pasta and Antipasta meet is it the end of the Universe???
Its a great loss to this neighborhood.
I learned a lot from him and always expressed it.
He could have wrote a book.
Tim
"He could have wrote a book."he did and we are the pages of it
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
"He could have wrote a book."
"he did and we are the pages of it"
Thats all any of us could ask . If we somehow made the world a little better through others.
You have certainly done that here many times over . I had to tell you that and say thanks . Youre gettin old too. <G>
We had a hardware store owner here until last year that had been here all my life doing the same thing . He was a great mentor to me as well. He taught me how to work on things like plumbing I knew nothing about . When I learned the store I would ask for help and he would say you know where its at . What do you think IM here for ? Id ask a question and he would say I already told you that .
I was there one day helping my self and he was waiting on an older man. He told him he didnt know if he could extend him credit anymore. The man was half embarrased and a little mad . Then he told him he was getting old and he could die .
All that was kidding but that was his testament to life . He would be covered up all day with customers that had problems which isnt easy but he would joke all day long . If you were the butt of one of his jokes then it was just your turn.
Tim
My condolences to the family.
I bet he's "Having a ball" up there though, as he was fond of saying. Probably meeting people and solving problems already.
Thanks for letting us know; it's always a painful duty.
Bon voyage, Sonny; you've earned it. No more worries where you're headed....
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....