515 Crew

is there anybody on this website that has some experience and is interested in doing remodeling type projects...I'm looking for 1 or 2 people to start a sort of buisness with, doing things like tile, windows, doors, trim, sheds, garages,roofing, siding?, remodels, additions?...those types of projects. If interested, let me know. Or if anybody needs any of these projects done, get ahold of me, i will offer the lowest bid. I will be done with my schooling in about a month, and will have a building trade degree. With a 4.0 in all the classes...which constitutes as 1 1/2 towards the carpentry apprenticeship. Which as of now its almost impossible to get into that union. So im out on my own. anyways, remodeling is where its at right now, as far as the housing market is concerned.
let me know. tools and truck is a plus. I have and am working on getting some nicer tools, and eventually a truck.
thanks
pm me if interested

i'd be all over this if i was around.

that would be ill.

bump...

i'd be interested in possibly doing some weekend projects. i have a truck and lots of tools.

weekends are about all that i could do right now anyways. I'm trying to get a start, as this is what i want to do as far as a 'career' goes. im a little in the blue about bidding out projects, i understand takeoff, but adding in labor and what not kinda baffles me. I'm also in sort of in the blue about getting started in general. what would be the best way to kick this off and get a name out there?

the best way to get your name out would be to construct a giant cross, put signs with your company name all around it, and then burn it

as far as bidding goes, maybe 5-10% over estimated materials plus the number of hours it'll take times how much you want an hour. some people will pay a lot to not do any work. I'm just making stuff up here, but it seems right.

yeah, that makes sense...its just a lot to keep track of, and i suppose you would want to bid a little higher in case the take off was off, or something goes wrong with the materials... so have you done this work before? how would i/we go about getting started? im also interested in taking advantage of having sustainable building practices in mind too...and yes, people pay alot of money to not work...and i am happy to do the work, i feel like its the right way for me to 'make a living' and support my fam.

nah, just worked for this general contractor for a while. he was a rip off artist though. but he knew how to do stuff. wind turbines and solar panels?

those are 2 things that i am certainly interested in doing, but have no experience, i have a friend in chicago that has a buisness, and its all based around installing solar panels...sustainable building products, and offering 'green' solutions...I hate that word, but keeping a promise to the buyer for a better alternative to the typical lumber product. Higher effiency windows, cork/bamboo flooring, concrete countertops...idk, i suppose that its up the buyer, but having that sort of edge on a buisness card or whatever would get attention, especially if you had general alternatives figured out and ready to cite...

servo wrote:the best way to get your name out would be to construct a giant cross, put signs with your company name all around it, and then burn it

I can help you with this, it wouldn't be my first time around a burning cross.

still wanting work!

i dont remodel but i do work at the ace hardware in beaverdale i will gladly give your info and shit out to people, we allways have people looking for others to do their work! get me some buisness cards or even a poster or some shit ill spread the word.

That would be great. I'm in there almost every week. I will try and drop something off this weekend! Tanks.

really, i am the tall guy with the beard and curly hair. i am allways there just let me know who you are. ill be there friday and sun.

Oh, I think I know who you are. I buffed the floors at the Beaverdale Ace on Sunday.

James, install some shelves in my room.

-Joe.

shane were you the kid with blonde hair that i totaly kicked your pile of dirt all over the aisle?

Yep. Shit was fucked.

i was high my apologies.

I have many years worth of experience in all of the fore mentioned trades, loads of union certifications, and my own tools, scaffold, and soon a skid loader. Plus I'm a licensed contractor. Unfortunately for you, I'm very happy with my employer, I have more side work than I know what to do with, and I live 80 miles away. My house was also torn to pieces by insane hail storm, so now I also have to fix it (although my insurance company is paying me WELL to do so). Sorry bud, hit me up if you have any questions.

thanks, i've found a few jobs i think...i need to get some more tools, if you have any your selling let me know
i could use a wet saw
a decent drill
compressor, and some pin nailers
maybe a miter saw....

I have nothing for sale.

Compressor - you can get a Porter Cable (quality) pankake compressor that will run 2 guns at Menards for under 200 bucks.

Brad nailers - dirt ass cheap, like $40- just go buy one

Wet saw - Do you really need one? Are you cutting tile? The only reason you're supposed to use a wet saw when it comes to masonry is safety, any chop saw with a disk/carbide blade will cut brick/block just fine, just throws a little more shit around without the water. Cutting tile with a dry saw tends to break it, but it can be done.

Decent drill - if you're talking one with a cord, look at pawn shops, you can usually get a dewalt heavy duty drill for under $100 (little over $200 retail). If you want a cordless, there's not a drill on the market that can keep up with an 18 volt milwaukee. My most recent one came in a kit. I got the 18 volt drill, a sawzall, a strong impact wrench (good for lag bolts, or workin on the car), a light, 2 18 volt ion batteries (last all day, I do steel roofing and put in an average of 600 screws a day without changing a battery) and a charger for $379, then I bought the curcular saw that takes the same batteries on ebay for $80 (retails over $300).
To be honest, you can get a lot of killer deals on tools on ebay.

Miter saw - If you ever plan to do trim, fascia, safet or vinyl siding you need a compund miter that will cut atleast a 45 degree angle. Masterforce is the higher end menards brand (don't buy tool shop), they make a decent miter for like $150.


As for bidding that depends on how many guys you're paying, how fast you can do the job, and how nice of a job you do. I usually work alone, and if I do use help, I always pay them hourly (my dad and I split a lot of jobs). I make stuff real purty, and do it in a timely fashion, if I can't make $3-500 a day profit, dependng on the type of job, I don't do it.

A word of advice, spend $400 bucks and buy ten foot of scaffolding, trust me, you'll need it. I turned down a lot of jobs before I had it. Also, a contractors license cost $50 bucks a year, and can be acquired on the Iowa workforce developement website, a lot of people won't hire you without one. The downfall to that is you will have to claim certain work, and pay taxes. So find a church, community center etc, make them buy the materials, do the job free, and give the IRS an assinine labor price for a deduction. All better.

shit! i never knew joe was that into contract work.

yeah, me either...thanks for all the advice,
i need the wetsaw for tile, i have some people who just bought houses that want upgrades, and i want to get a wetsaw so i can make decent cuts...they are fairly cheap....and yeah, i will need a compound miter saw for trim work..., i just am hesitant to cough up the 500bucks i know its going to cost me..i have a few jobs lined up, small remodels, im just trying to gather up everything i need, i figured i could use these jobs for obtaining my license, its mostly for work friends and what not, so its going to be small amounts of cash, just as a start to get myself out there a liittle bit....what about insurance? is it neccisary for remodel and smaller work like what im into? if so, any places with decent policies?

im planning on working by myself, unless drywall is done, where i will rough it in, but i'm not going to finish it, everything else i plan to do alone, unless its that or a bigger project(roof, siding)....i do a decent job and pay attention to detail(which is why rough carpentry is not for me), although im not as quick as i could be yet, that will come with gaining cofidence and experience in the real life work setting...all my initial bids are going to be low, and im going to work my way up from there..hopefully, my neighborhood is a good place to be in though, cuz every-fucking-body is redoing there houses, so i hope to use that to my advantage...i'll look into that kit, i just bought a nice skilsaw at home depot...i could use the sawzall though and that drill as well, i need to not just look at dewalt and think i need souly dewal tools...

You don't have to have references or completed projects to get a contractors license, all you have to do is print the forms, fill them out, mail them in with a check for fifty bucks, and you get one. The only way insurance is necessary legally is if you have employees, just know that if you fuck someones house up, or if your workmanship leads to someones house getting fucked up in the future, you will be held responsible, and will have to fix it, cough up some cash, or get sued. Some people will not hire you without insurance, I've only encountered that once, and I signed a waiver taking all responsibility for the project for the next 5 years. You can get a decent compound miter for under $200.

Another good idea is to offer a 1 year workmanship warranty. People will feel better about having you work on thir home, and as long as you're confident with the work you do, then you don't have to worry about going back (but don't be a douche, honor the warranty if need be).


Fliers at grocery stores etc are a good idea, but people will take the whole thing a lot, so check em like once a week. You can also call a mailing service ( a lot in DSM) and pay a certan amount of money (not that much) to hve a flier sent to everyone in a certain neighborhood. All you have to do is take them a copy of the flier, and they do all the rest. That's you're best bet. Don't bother putting an ad in the paper, they suck.

Check out Harbor Freight for cheap tools. Most of the power tools are on the fence between halfway decent and junk, but a lot of the hand tools are quality, and you won't get the shit cheaper anywhere. On Army Post a mile west of SE 14th. Mr. Money in Ames also has KILLER deals on good tools a lot of the time.

I just got back from the Mister Money in Ames. They have a Skil compound Miter saw for $59.99. Assuming it works (I'm sure they'll let you try it), that's a great deal on a good saw. I honestly would have bought it myself if I didn't allready have one.

Joey Chaos wrote:I just got back from the Mister Money in Ames. They have a Skil compound Miter saw for $59.99. Assuming it works (I'm sure they'll let you try it), that's a great deal on a good saw. I honestly would have bought it myself if I didn't allready have one.

Let me know the next time you are in Ames.

anyone got any projects goin on? i just put up a bunch of soundproofing and added a wal (also soundproofed)l to close off a practice space. i'm convinced that having a loft bed will simplify my life so i'm thinking i'm going to build one this weekend. if i can find my camera i'll take decent pics.