All Forum Posts by: Bill Kramer

@William Wright

Standardizing your houses is a huge win for efficiency. I push all my clients to do it.

The only downfall, is manufacturer love to change model #'s regularly for the exact same product.

Example: you want ceiling fans in all bedrooms. Instead of listing the model number, use the name of the product like: hugger 52" brushed nickel ceiling fan.

And make notes that say: all finishes brushed nickel when possible.

Now your contractor knows what to buy.

By standardizing everything you can exercise buying in bulk. Same fixtures go in all houses, so why not buy bulk when an opportunity arise.

This also gets the contractor on the same page as you much faster. By job 2 he knows what to get, vs having to bug you with small decisions and petty details.

@Yuri Mathelier

Dig a hole, burn it and run a strong magnet through it multiple times. Then bury the ashes.

Just make sure you get all the sharp stuff out before burying. Have the fire going all day while you work.

Obviously dont burn toxic stuff like plastic and rubber.

@Alex Nelson

As a tub refinisher I can give ya some insight.

The DIY kits suck. As you just learned. There is a company out there called topkote, that has a roll on friendly finish we pros use in a pinch. Expect to spend a couple hundred bucks on materials. VENTILATION IS CRITICAL! AND WEAR A RESPIRATOR! Make sure to mix everything at the correct ratios.

Fill your low spots with bondo, sand smooth. Concrete like thinset wont work.

Time to sand and remove everything and start fresh. The topkote brand stuff is pro grade and should last a long time as long as long as you don't use anything with suction cups (bathmats) and you dont clean with any abrasives (green scouring pads).

@Joseph F.

Bad string of contractors?

If you ask any tenant, the maintenance guys are idiots and the landlord is a slumlord.

How do you know your tenants know work was done correctly? They know hvac building codes, electric and plumbing codes?

Just because "it works" doesn't mean it works correctly. I make a healthy living fixing stuff "that worked" just saying.

Light fixtures back feeding other circuits, but the light works (as long as you know which 2 breakers to trip, lmao)

Frankenstein's furnace? It works!

I saw 6 inches of missing water pipe fixed with newspaper and spray foam once (no pipe at all) . It worked though, I'll give the guy credit for that, haha.

Pex will still freeze solid. It wont burst, but it will freeze.

Open the walls and insulate. Check your foundation and seal it up as well. Cold air is the biggest pipe killer.

Downstream water meters are easy to install.

You have one pipe coming off your current meter for the city. Eventually it T's and goes to each unit. At that T is where you want your new meters. The downfall is that now you have to send someone out to read them, unless you get wifi versions that will enable to be read from afar. Some of the fancier versions will even allow you to control water flow and turn water off remotely.

Hard bids are a risk/reward scenario. Whatever happens, that number doesn't change.

What if yanks that toilet and the flange is broken, or the valve breaks? Its covered in that number. So if things go right, he gets rewarded. If things dont, he has built in room for error.

The contractor is also motivated to go faster to up his hourly wage based on that firm number.

Now let's look at it from an hourly standpoint. The contractor actually gets PUNISHED for being efficient and spending thousands of dollars on tools to make him more efficient. Because in an hourly scenario, the contractor makes LESS money for being fast and timely, and is instead encouraged to slow down and potentially not pay attention to the details, so he can rack up hours to make money.

Do you want the hourly guy or the hard bid number guy? Just depends on how long you want your house to be vacant.

$35/hour for a guy that has to provide his own tools, vehicle, workers comp/general liability insurance, marketing/advertising AND DO A GOOD JOB?

Your assumption is way off the target. I won't even fire up my van for less than $50, and that's if we have a proven record.

Go to homewyse dot com or home advisor and verify everything he bid if you think he is high. And those sites can be on the low end.

@Jim K. With the right slope and venting you can make a poo do whatever needed.

Done it. 40 feet across the house, nonetheless. Just gotta think ahead to make sure you can achieve a steep enough slope.

Also, you need to keep building codes in mind. There are certain distances that thing have to be from each other. And as I alluded to, ventilation. You can only go so far before you need to add ventilation pipes/devices.

Be proactive and sociable. If you see any humans, stop and talk. This disarms everyone in the neighborhood. Staying silent and to yourself, is inviting what you just went through. Talk to everyone you see, you will be surprised what you will learn.

Walking blatantly obviously vacant properties isnt a big deal. But you gotta calm everyone down and let them know you ain't a vandal.