All Forum Posts by: David Marr

What kind of fees do these one day loads carry? and what if it goes over 1 day?

In my area it is code to have the water meter in the house isolated with gate or ball valves Usually the valve before the meter has a lock out on it that only the water dept. can open or some sort of tamper seal to prevent people from by-passing their water meter.

I completely agree that every house, not just rentals, should have a ball valve main shut-off that is easy to get to and find for emergency situations. All family members should know the electrical main disconnect and the water main shut off.

Ah, this is what I do! As you can see in my signature line, Construction Services. I am a PM for hire and this is how most of my clients pay me.

I have one client that pays me a flat weekly fee + expenses + a per diem for travel if necessary. he negotiates all contracts then gives me his schedule, I make revisions and then we discuss. When we are done, we have negotiated on the time frame and if I go over the agreed schedule I work for free, however, if I complete the project early then I get a bonus, usually the remaining weeks + $5-10k depending on size of project.

The rest of my clients pay 15% of construction costs + expenses + per diem if necessary. They have me do the bidding with their drawings, I present them with the bid results and they select the subs. Their architect sets the schedule and before I sign a contract I review the schedule to see if it's reasonable, if it is, I sign and commence construction. If it's not, I meet with the client and their architect and discuss the schedule. If I bring the project in early and within 1% of the budget (over or under), I get a 5% bonus. For each percent over 1% over budget, I lose a percent (i.e.: 3% over = 3% bonus) Note: Most of my projects are commercial and in the $250k to $600k range so my bonuses are substantial.

Quality in materials usually isn't a problem because most of my projects have national suppliers and the subs for the most part are just bidding their labor.

My company used to do a lot of urban (ghetto) rehab work for the local government so you can guess the places were nasty. Smoke was a huge concern. We used KILZ primer on all the walls and ceilings where there were heavy smoke stains and that worked extremely well. KILZ is more expensive than regular primer, but once you've had smoke tar bleed through a wall with one coat of regular primer and two finish coats, you'll pay the extra price for the KILZ.

All cracks in concrete are structural issues to some degree. Usually spider cracks (little hair line cracks that resemble a spider web) look minor at first, but over time will create a crumbling effect. A crack that you can stick a dime in is considered a structural crack and movement for some reason has taken place and most likely will take place again. The only way to fix a structural crack correctly is extremely expensive, it involves removing the concrete around the crack, compacting the sub grade, doweling the existing concrete and pouring new. In most cases the new pour will be un-even with the old pour and concrete planning may be required.

More detail on the nature of the crack would help identify the problem. foundation heaving, water problems etc. all need to be taken into account. If all the previous is ok and you can't wedge a dime in the crack then you'll most likely be okay for a few years maybe more and cosmetic methods should work sufficiently.

best advice is to have three or more well respected concrete contractors view the crack and give you their advise.

The stains (if there aren’t too many) can create a rustic look or you can use a darker stain to make them less noticeable.

DIY floor finishing is very possible, I had a 20 year old niece that was not all that smart and she did her floors with just the help of her just as smart girl friend. they did a terrific job and did it in just a weekend.

Jumping into a pile of lime would not be a good idea. Lime is one of those natural minerals that will help decompose flesh. Enough lime on your skin and it will burn badly. As much as I hate to say it, the shower after idea is probably the best, well, hiring someone else to do it sounds better to me :D

I agree, the paint needs to come off. If a scraper doesn't work, then try a grinder with a 4" sanding disc. You can get these discs at home depot for about 5 bucks each. they will take off the paint for sure. You may only need to use them in the stubborn areas.

Also, if the floor is a large area such as a 2 car garage and or has any cracks, you'll want to put down an isolation membrane first. this will keep the cracks from telegraphing through your tile. (it's a liquid product that you trowel on like thin set but very thin)

Transfer to Saginaw Valley State University here in beautiful Mid Michigan, The rent for that same duplex here (minus the leaks and yucky carpet) would be about $700 :D

Seriously, do check for mold. Mold is a serious problem these days. We've been living with it since the beginning of time, yet all of a sudden it's the cause of everything evil. Anyway, if mold exists and it's not too bad you can clean the area with a mixture of 1 part bleach to 5 parts water. Also, if the mold is dry, mist it first to keep the spores from spreading. for more info on mold go to this web site

http://www.toxic-black-mold-info.com

As for the carpet, rent a carpet cleaner from a local hardware / rental store and clean it really good yourself, you'll feel much better.

Good luck and good schooling!

Actually, the contractor part would draw $70G to $90G for a site supervisor (that's what I do) in the mid sized project market i.e. 2-3 story office building, or small school, retail build outs etc. The larger projects $10 mil and up would bring a six figure income. I do mostly 3 month retail build outs and if I'm lucky, 2 a year.

The design side is what really sucks. The average income for a CAD drafter in the Midwest is $45G's, but here as a project architect I barely made $40G. The reason my salary is low right now, is I am self employed and with the economy here, getting a project to design is touch and go. Sometimes I don't have an income for a month or two, but it averages out over a year.

That's why I'd like to have some additional income from some developments.