Loyalty versus price

I have been having a lot of discussions with my contractor friends lately about the status of the remodeling market. What I have been experiencing and continually hearing about is that even contractors with great relationships with longstanding clients are being "bid against" by two or more other contractors. It is hard to speculate why, but I have a few opinions I would like to offer up to the consumers.

If you are bidding contractors against one another you are certainly only going to eliminate the opportunity to work with the best in the business. The reason that the best contractors have been in the business for a long time is that they understand the costs and time necessary to do a job properly. Because the best contractors have strong ethics, they will not cut corners or provide mediocre product on a job. If you combine this with the fact that the operating costs of a business rarely decrease significantly, then it is irrational to think that this is the time to seek a bargain in the contracting world. Despite what you are hearing from the news and print media, experienced contracting professionals are not willing to reduce their price to match the cost of an inexperienced low quality contractor.

Another observation I can tell you I see all the time is that a low quality job does NOT show it's ugly head until months and even years after the job is done. Once the check is written to the low priced guy, the odds are he won't even be in business when you need your repair done. Remember the guy who you trusted and USED to use for your work? People have a memory of disloyalty and when the economic conditions return, as they already are beginning to do, you may be surprised that your best asset disappeared. So when your floor squeaks, your roof leaks, and your toilet overflows you may find your best guy doesn't have the time for you because his loyalty isn't there any more.

Finally I would like to point out as a member of the Oregon Remodelers Association that I do not know of a single contractor who strikes me as REALLY WEALTHY regarding money and material items. They may live a comfortable existence, but our trades are filled with simply great honest people who would rather work for a living and deliver quality service to good people. Wealth is measured in so many ways beyond money and the wealth of a quality contractor is his client relationships. So please consider that bargain hunting only hurts consumers, not quality experienced contractors with integrity.

The price isn't right

One of the things I have been startled about lately is how the hardwood floor refinishing market in Portland has been subject to really large variances in price. At our company we try to deliver a service with considerable value that includes very personable customer service in addition to a quality product. We make a very disciplined effort to hide no element of what is included, which are the questions that consumers should ask in order to make an apples to apples comparison:

1) How many finish coats will be applied? This determines longevity to a great degree

2)What type of finish will be used? Home Depot polyurethane versus GlitsaMax 2 component waterborne urethane isn't really a contest, the latter will start to outperform after 2-3 years easily. Just look at my floors, which are the test subject of 2year old and 4year old boys dragging toys and dropping everything. They look brand new one and a half years later.

3)How is the floor being filled? Is the floor being trowel filled across the whole area to alleviate gaps or simply spot filled in the large areas? This has a considerable impact on labor in the process.

4)How clean is the contractor? I think most people who want a refinish might care about a clean house. Does the contractor vacuum the house and vents after sanding and before coating the floor? Do they use dust collection? These are questions to ask when you want to know how MUCH service you are paying for.

5) Is the contractor licensed and CURRENTLY bonded? Do they pay their taxes? These may seem like simple questions but I assure you they are essential because if the contractor does not have a current bond, then any damage they are liable for upon entering your home comes from your pocket in most cases if there is no bond. Paying taxes is essential for supporting our parks, schools, etc... so it goes without saying that it is important for a community.

6) Do they contribute to any organizations or have ANY credentials beyond a license?
Our memberships and certifications alone cost us close to $2000 per year alone not counting any time for involvement with committees or helping educate other members. This may seem like a minor element, but I say that it is the fundamental building block for a quality contractor for two reasons. The esteem of being known for quality work goes with being in an organization and secondly the access to the latest information ensures better quality in your business.

I hope that these questions stay current amongst the consumers of Portland so that during the trying times we can all maintain or hopefully elevate the state of this industry rather than take the path of least resistance by lowering quality and price simultaneously.

Squeaky wood floors, argh!

Around Portland, OR and the rest of the northwest the seasonal changes are definitely beginning to happen. In addition to the leaf change the rain increases and there definitely is about a 5-10 percent increase in the interior relative humidity. This change may seem minimal, but is just sufficient to begin to make the wooden structures within a home swell just enough to start making more noise by the increased friction. One case in point is my staircase leading upstairs to my bedroom where the treads have begun to squeak with walking against the skirtboards on the staircase into which they are mortised.

Now I realize that the noise drives some people absolutely crazy from squeaky floors. In most cases the noise from the floor originates because the subfloor and joist structures are coming loose from one another. There are a few approaches to fix this problem: shimming the subfloor from below or using some sort of screw to secure the subfloor to the joist. When you screw down the subfloor, you can toenail screw the subfloor to the joist from below. This proves relatively effective, but may often be difficult to do because of HVAC ductwork and wiring in the way. The other method I like is to use #10 trimhead screws because they have a screwhead diameter no bigger than 3/16". The decking screws used for composite decking are best because they have threads running clockwise and counterclockwise that prevent the screw from backing out and really seating into the subfloor. If you can locate the joists you can screw down the subfloor from above. The hole is very minimal, and almost always the squeak will go away as long as you have contacted the joist.