I have been dealing with a few different trade vendors over the last several weeks as we are doing some things out of our core finish work for a great client that just wanted us to handle it for them. We are happy to do that for them as they really were a great client when we did a cosmetic upgrade for their interior of their newly purchased home. Anyway since I have been talking to other trade guys it has become extremely obvious that we are all in this economic slump together.

When talking to all of them they are dealing with the downturn in different ways. Everyone has downsized that goes without saying, although I just said it. But what is interesting to me is how understanding everyone is when it comes to price and budgets. All of us in the trades are being asked to provide our services cheaper than we would have last year and especially two years ago. And as far as I can tell most everyone is working on smaller profit margins, I know we are.  But the part that is interesting to me is that when the talk about price a budgets come up people seem to be more comfortable talking about what they can and cannot do a job for. My theory behind this is people have “had” to look at their actual costs very closely so they actually do know exactly what it takes to complete a job. Again I know we have become better at every person knowing what a job has been budgeted for thus we have been better at meeting those budgets.  I also have seen a more focused approach from the trade vendors on what “exactly” is needed and what is not to complete the project.

In the past they had more margin to play with thus they didn’t worry about the small things.. not so much now. But the intriguing part for me is just having the ability to opening (at least is seems more open) talk about the price or budget on a job. I like this approach better since we are always open to talk about our costs when general contractors contact us for favors, etc. It seems like there is more of a feeling we are all in this together so lets just figure out how to make it work for all of us. A novel approach but one that is not normally adhered to on the larger projects. That is my 2 cents on the current atmosphere of the trades. Have an amazing day.

Tags: trade viewpoints

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Over the past few years I have met with hundreds of customers. I have always wondered why they choose us or not choose us for a project. I know some of the reasons customers choose a contractor like; it was referred by someone you trust or you know someone at the company. These are easy to understand but what about the people who say “we just had a good feeling about them”. That is the reason I am trying to understand more.  We loose jobs and win jobs with this reason.  What “feeling” is it that someone feels good about? It is trust, sincerity, generosity or a little bit of all of that? My guess is trust is a major factor of the “feeling”. I wouldn’t let someone do work on my house unless I trusted them. But what makes someone trust one person more than the other. This is where it gets quite non-logical hence subjective to the individual.

Factors that make me trust someone is do they look me in the eye when they have an important point to make. How they shake my hand when I first meet them, is it stiff or are they relaxed. Does the person need to be talking or can they listen as much as they talk? Are they staying on a topic or are they trying to cover too many topics in a short period of time? Someone who makes a lot of compliments about me also makes me second guess the person intentions. This is what affects me and how I judge if a person is trustworthy. I am sure others have different things that make them feel that way but is my criteria. I think I just answered my question. There is really no way to have everyone trust you in the first meeting since everyone has different factors for trust. Sometimes the criterion just doesn’t match with what is being portrayed. But what if you could alter the way you interact with someone based on clues they would give you on how they trust someone.

Here is an idea, you should ask every person you meet for the first time what makes them trust someone. Then you could possibly change the way you presented trust factors to them. Although that sounds quite manipulative and it would probably cause someone “not” to trust you.

I will just keep acting like I act and keep hiring great people who I can trust and then hopefully that will match up with a lot of other peoples trust meters.  That is what someone needs to invent. A trust meter. That would be a great hiring tool that I would buy.  Have an Amazing Day.

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We have a booth at the home show this week for the first time. It seems to be working out OK. One of the things we are being asked a lot about is bathroom remodels and the costs that are associated with them. We had a couple ask us if we could do a bathroom remodel for less than $20,000. Our response was of course we can and have but we have also had bathrooms remodels that costs more. The costs are driven by how much plumbing, electrical and the kind of tile you want to use in your bath. One of the things that good companies can do is find places that you can get the things you want at a cheaper price. We know where to buy granite countertops, tile and cabinets and other products cheaper than you can normally find them. Everyone has a budget and everyone wants what they want. Sometime those two things don’t match. We can help bridge the gap between what you want and what fits within your budget. Do you really need to spend $10-12/sq ft on travertine? We can find it sometime for $8/sq ft if you are more flexible on the colors of the tile. Do you really “want” travertine or do you want it just because your neighbor has it?

Bathroom countertops are another place where we many times save people lots of money. Normally bathroom countertops are smaller so you don’t need to buy a full 4’ x 8’ slab of granite, but if you fall in love with a specific style you will need to buy an entire slab from the granite company as they don’t normally sell a half a piece of granite. So if you are flexible in the colors you want we can go looking for remnants (smaller pieces left over from other jobs) these leftover chunks of granite many times are large enough to cover the bath vanity top. You can save $100’s of dollars but asking us to find a remnant that looks like “whatever your 1^st choice is”.

My point is whatever your budget $5000-$45000 for your bathroom remodel there are ways that we can help to make sure you stay within your budget and still get what you want which is an updated bathroom that you can enjoy.  Have an Amazing Day

Tags: bath remodels

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We just returned from the PDCA national trade show (www.pdca.org). It is the Painting and Decorating contractors of America. The trade association is made of hundreds of painting companies that are serious about thier trade. I would say it is a good starting point for anyone trying to find a reputatable painting contrator for their project. The conference is full of educational sessions and the latest products that help the contractors do better work more effeciently.

We learned a few major things; The struggle to find work has affected everyone and how they manage costs. The better companies have made some very hard decisions to cut costs such as reduce wages and lay off long time employees but they have continued to break even or still make some profit. The more we train our people the better our company is going to be, sounds kind of obvious doesn't it.

We have talked for months about doing more training and have recently started doing more of it. Now we have some tools that we gathered at the PDCA that allows us to do a better and more consistent job of training. We now have all the tools necessary and have no excuses. We have created a schdule and started the process of continous training and I have posted on this blog that anyone can read. We are committed to having the best trained people in the area. Our new mantra is "We Hire the Best" and will train the best.  Have an Amazing Day.

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As you may or may not know we do a lot of interior and exterior painting. We do this many times on top of other cosmetic fixes or repairs such as flooring repairs, refinishes or custom cabinets. Many times when we are working with clients and they are trying to cut corners they always say.. “well we are going to do the painting”. I know you have seen me write about this before but it still surprises me how many times I hear this and how many homes I walk into and see the difference from a homeowners paint job and one done by a professional. (Whether it is us or not) I was just in a home last week and we are going to be putting new countertops in their kitchen and painting the cabinets white. But the clients are going to be painting the walls. I have seen other rooms that these people painted and I just don’t understand why they don’t have us paint the walls and ceiling in their kitchen. This is not a little condo with laminate countertops it is a nice kitchen in a nice house on Capitol Hill. They are spending some real money on their countertops and backsplash. Now I understand everyone has a budget and we can only spend what we can spend but really if you are fixing up any part of your house whether it is to enjoy or to sell your home spend the extra money on the paint job. It is by far the cheapest way to refresh your house.

We work with many realtors who use us to get their listings ready for sale. They always paint the walls/ceilings they are the one thing they always want done. The extras are the floors, countertops, new plumbing fixtures, etc. I am hoping you get the point of painting a wall is not just putting paint on the wall there is more to it than that. As a homeowner you may think just roll it on the wall and it is all “good” but please take a second and think about what is the goal. Are you painting because you wife keeps nagging at you because she hates that “yellow” on the walls or are you painting to increase the enjoyment of your home. Whatever the reason to paint at least contact a professional painter and see if the costs will fit within your budget.   Have an Amazing Day.

Tags: interior residential painting

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We have come a long way over the past three years. We have come from a couple guys doing a job to 25+ guys doing several jobs each day. We have a good reputation, many happy clients and people call us when they need finish work done. I think most people would consider us successful. But we still have more to learn. I talk to many clients before, during and after a project is done and for the most part when the job is done the client is normally happy. I say “normally” because we are not perfect and we do make mistakes but we always fix the errors and make sure the client is happy. But during the job as the work is being done we sometimes miss little things or don’t necessarily do it the “way” the client was thinking. I struggle with this because it really isn’t our fault or the clients fault. Both parties have something in mind but neither party completely explains what “it” is. Both parties have the same goal in mind but it just doesn’t seem to get written down or communicated in some way. And I honestly don’t know the best way to solve it or even if there is a way to really solve it.

The reason it is on my radar is because it costs us money. Normally what I am talking about our very minor things and are not huge things to worry about. But since we have 12-15 jobs going on each day in various stages and trades these little things add up. We train our guys and they are all good craftsmen and now what is “right” and “wrong” but sometimes these small mistakes I think don’t have to happen. I also know that it is unrealistic to believe they will “never” happen.

We do document what we are doing and the client tells us what they want but there are things that happen that cause us to redo things. Again I am not trying to look for fault I am looking for a solution to the process. One thing we have done is we have created a customer portal that is currently being tested that will allow the client to see what is going on as it pertains to milestones within the project, this will also include pictures. I believe this will help some but I am still looking for ways that we can keep both parties on the same page throughout the project. Our guys need more details and the client needs more details but some of these details are not available before a project starts. They show up once it is started and many of them need decisions instantly in the field. We always work on the side of quality but that does not always solve the mishaps. If you have any ideas let us know…We will continue to do the best we can.

Take care and Have an Amazing Day.

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Everyone knows a painting contractor. Right! It seems like we can always find a painter when we need one by asking our neighbor, friend or relative. But can you find a painter that is professional? Oh that is little harder.

Let me define what professional is, at least in my opinion.  Professional is; showing up at meetings as promised, taking notes and delivering an accurate typed estimate on a document that has your company name on it, returning phone calls within 24 hours, completing a project in a timely manner, having a website with a working phone number and never taking money for something that is not completed.

If you have a painter doing all of these on a regular basis, I think most people would consider them a professional painter. If you don’t have one, I am sorry to hear that.

You can help get rid of the painter that is not professional or does not have a license to paint. Here are three things you can do to help your friends and neighbors against the painter who starts and never finishes or commits to a start date and then never shows up again.

The number one thing that happens to homeowners. They pay before any work is started. Don’t give them ANY money for anything before they start working. If they cannot afford to buy paint then do you really want them doing your painting? Some companies have a policy of giving them a deposit to hold a date but most will waive that if you say you don’t feel comfortable. If they don’t waive it, look elsewhere.

If you don’t get return phone calls within 24-36 hours that is a good sign they are not really too organized. There are things that happen from time to time but rarely are they anything but well thought out excuses. Every business owner has a cell phone. If they don’t, they don’t have a real business.

If they don’t have a website then that is a sign that are not trying to run a real business. This is really the thing that differentiates the one man company from the company that is running as a business. Most “real” companies have a website of some kind, check to see if there is a working phone number on the website. If so, that is a good sign.

There are many good painting companies that do great work and they know how to run their business. If they don’t have any of the three things just mentioned, it is probably best to look elsewhere. If you do a little research in your area through websites like www.yelp.com, www.angieslist.com you can almost always find a good painter that will do great work for you. ‘

Remember it is very easy to call yourself a painter but it is hard to stay in business and build good processes and procedures. When you find a company that acts and performs like a “real” business, let your neighbors know and tell them to do a little research. It is everyone’s responsibility to get rid of the bad painters and support the companies that have worked at building a business. It will save you and your neighbors’ heartache in the future.

Have an Amazing Day

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We have done and continue to do many kitchen and bath remodels. I think some of it has to do with the economy but that is another topic. What we have learn for you to have a successful schedule for your remodel is to have the materials picked out before we start on the project. The difference between not having materials picked out and having some materials picked out is the difference for a bath remodel of four to six weeks than six to nine weeks with very little choices made and the difference of six to eight weeks than nine to 12 weeks for a kitchen remodel. Now we all know that there will be unknown issues come up during the remodel but if the materials are chosen and all we have to deal with is the surprises from the project we will still be able to stay closer to the original schedule.

If you can pick out what you would like from a check list we created it really helps both of us to keep within budget on both time and cost. Whether you are buying the materials yourself or we are buying them for you. We don’t really care if we buy the materials (you get our discounts) or you buy them but we can better pricing 95% of the time than you on countertops, tile, hardwoods, cabinets and plumbing and lighting fixtures. Plumbing fixtures we get better pricing 75% of the time where as lighting fixtures we get better pricing 50% of the time. Appliances we can rarely get any better pricing than you. Most good contractors with pass the discounts on to you as their clients.

The moral of the story is to plan as much as possible before the project starts. We rarely start a job without almost all of the materials chosen. We realize there may be a few things that need to be made as the job progresses but we just try to minimize those choices. It is like your dad or someone said “Proper planning prevents poor performance” I may be missing an adjective or two but you get the idea. Spend some time with your contractor before the job starts it will pay off big dividends in the end. Have an Amazing Day….

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I talk to a lot of homeowners and general contractors each week. Most people I talk to have a budget and are always trying to stay under budget. Many times this is what I hear "can't we just go ahead and paint the walls, so we can save some money". My response is yes of course you can paint the walls but we would rather do it since we are putting our name on the project the painting is what people actually see and we are judged by the paint job. So if you (homeowner, builder) do it yourself I can't control the quality of your painting. Granted some of you may be great painters but there is no way for me to know this so we are stating on reputation on your painting ability.

This is of course assuming we are doing other work on the project. If one of your friends come into the project and you say yes The Finish Company did the work here, you may be talking about trim, countertops, cabinets or tile work. But the next time some one sees or hears about us and they say yes The Finish Company painted this they will normall just assume that we painted the last project they say. So although I am always trying to help save money for our clients I really try hard not to have our reputation on the line and us not really doing some of the work. I believe that the finish work is the most important part of any job because it is what is seen and most of the time judged as the level of the work of the project.

Therefore the next time you ask us to only prime the walls or only paint one wall or just the bathroom or kitchen. Remember it is our repuation and word of mouth advertising that may be at risk for us so we would rather do the work ourselves to assure it is to our standards. We will always continue to work within clients budgets so sometime it is the only way to get a job done but consider our point of view when asking to paint the walls yourself. Have an Amazing Day,

Tags: painting yourself

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I have seen four clients in the past two weeks who are changing or fixing their walls in their showers. One thing that all of them have in common is they have all asked if they should replace all or just a part of their tile. The answer is yes to both. Here is the questions I asked to get to the answers for my clients.

Is there any portion of the tile that is failing or you have had problems with? if yes then yes replace it all since if you have one point of failure you don't know how much more damage could have happened from that one spot in the wall.

Are you updating for resale? If you are getting ready for resale then yes you should replace it all, as bathrooms and kitchens are the place to spend money to impress buyers. I would not spend a lot of money in guest baths but if the powder room is on the main floor and gets used alot then put some money into updating it as it will be looked at almost immediately after the kitchen with new buyers. You can cosmetically update a bathroom without breaking the bank. New tile and sinks and faucets can be done fairly inexpensively if you know where to look and/or how to do it yourself.

Are you doing it just because you are tired of it? Now this is a tough one as clients want me to say yes go ahead but I always want to point out is there something else in your house you would rather see changed. Since this really "doesn't" have to be fixed. This is where I usually here yes. I say this because for most people you are the only one that sees your bathroom... you don't have all your guests walking through your bathroom, especially the shower. So if there is something else you have been putting off that is where I would spend the money. I am of course assuming it is in a place that is used more by all family members or guests.

Again those are just my experience over the last few years and weeks. Have an Amazing Day

Tags: tile install

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Tags: contractors | hiring

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I just spent the weekend at the PDCA (Painting and Decorating Contractors of America) annual shop talk forum. It was a gathering of 50 professionals from around the US meeting to discuss the good and bad of our industry and to share best practices with one another. The forum focused on the residential sector. It was my first time attending and I found it very interesting to see what the leaders of the association believed where the industry was going and what the potential it has. One thing I think was my biggest surprise is the size of the association. You would think there are hundreds of painting companies in each city there would be thousands of members.. .not the case.... there are only 2300 member painting companies. I will say that the people I meet really know how to paint and do a job in the best way possible but there are not many of them.

I am very surprised by the lack of membership by other painting companies. My opionion is that companies just don't see the value in being a member, which I can understand because if you are not going to be a "real" painting company then you would not use some of the best practices and quality control information that is readily available as a member. It is not a very expensive membership but there would be no reason to spend the few hundred dollars if you are not going to try and create a great painting company. By using some of the tools that are available you could definetly learn some things much quicker than by experience or by asking other painting contractors.

I am sold on the association I think if you take the time to learn about the association and the benefits it provides you will see why others have joined. Also if you ask your painting contractor and he is a member you can likely be assured you will get a great quality job done for your home or office. Have an Amazing Day.

Tags: residential painting

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We did a installation of some safety anchors for a client in Tacoma last month and this week a roofer was working on the roof and fell. He was tied onto a lifeline and was saved by the safety system. This is a great feeling to know that what we talk about with all of our prospective clients and clients actually happens from time to time. The roofer would have surely been seriously injured or killed had he not been connected to the lifeline. Thanks to XS Platforms safety anchors and us there is one less serious injury to report to WISHA.

If you are a building owner or builder and you don't have safety anchors/lifelines installed on your rooftops you are taking a chance each day someone walks on your roof. I can't stress this point enough people die (800+ each year) from falls, it is very simple and inexpensive to meet the OSHA guidelines for saftey anchors and lifelines. Do it for your sub contractors or maintenance people or they just might own your building someday if they survive a fall and you don't have any protection installed.

Have an Amazing Day

Tags: safety anchors | lifelines | XS platforms

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We have finally gotten organized so we can get our blog updated on a more timely basis. As we go forward you will see entries from myself, Michael Grabham, President and Andy Olson who does a lot of things for us. My promise to everyone is to provide some interesting (at least to some people) information about the finish work we do with our clients. Our clients include residentail builders, commercial general contractors and homeowners. Since we do work in Paint, Carpentry and Tile installation we see a very diverse customer base. With the diverse base comes some very interesting events and challenges that we are going to share with you.

We will also be sharing some insights we know are important to the homeowners and builders we work for. We will not be disclosing names of our clients but we will be able to describe for you the place and challenges we come across and some of our solutions. It would be great if everyone could comment on what "you" think on what we are or are not doing. Maybe you have a better idea or a different/new product that would make it easier for a certain challenge we have described. Let us know what you know and even if you think we did something you don't agree with.

In our business there are many correct ways to do things and many incorrect ways to do things, our goal is trying to do a project the best way for "that" project. And since every project is unique this brings many challenges for us to face. Which of course we enjoy immensly. Have an Amazing Day, Michael

Tags: tile | painting | carpentry

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Here's a list of the Top Ten Tile Installation Mistakes.

1. Poor workmanship (grout, grout lines, cuts, chips, poor layout)
2. Cracked tile or Grout
3. Hollow sounding tile
4. Movement (Tented or sheared tile)
5. Water leaks into substrate or structure
6. Maintenance in general
7. Proper materials and conditions for installing glass
8. Failed outdoor decks
9. Lippage
10. Substrate preparation

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Here's a few tips for getting started on a painting project. When we start a customer's project, these are some of the things we do.

Start Out Right

* You'll enjoy the job more if you get everything together at the start. Organize a tool station in the middle of the area you'll be working in. Gather together your paint, brushes, rollers, hammers, screwdrivers, plastic bags, plastic wrap, rags, paint can opener, and drop cloths.

Plan for a Day of Prep

* Don't try to get everything done in one day. Use the day before painting day to gather furniture in the center of the room, patch cracks and holes, put blue painter's tape around doors and windows, and cover wall and ceiling light fixtures (light bulbs removed, of course!) with large plastic bags.

Clear the Decks

* If you can, clear out all the furniture and accessories. Take everything off the walls. If you can't move everything out, place the furniture and lamps in the middle of the room and cover them with a good drop cloth. Be sure that you tape the cloth around the furniture. Then put a second cover of plastic or old sheet over everything.

Remove All Hardware

* It may seem easier to paint around door knobs or cabinet hinges, but unless you're a professional, very experienced painter, you're bound to get drips around. So carry around some zip top bags and remove all cabinet knobs and hinges, door knobs, light switch plates and outlet covers, and light fixtures. Place the pieces together in separate bags and clearly mark the contents and location (top left cabinet, bathroom door, etc) you took them from. This is a great time to clean the hardware! Put them back when you're done painting.

Don't Paint Over Problem Walls

* If your walls have holes or cracks, fix them before you start with the paint. Any home center or paint store has knowledgeable personnel to guide you to the best products for the job. Wide cracks and large holes can be "bridged" with fiberglass tape, spackle will fill small holes and cracks, and texturizing products are available to match your existing wall finish.

Tags: painting

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