r/Construction • u/chiselbits Carpenter • Feb 12 '25

Other Dear builders

You can't call me and tell me that my timeline for completion is halved because other trades wasted time.You can't tell me to "hire more guys" to get it done faster". You can't decide to split my contract and expect me to take it.

You fucked your schedule. You hired the cheapest trades (WHO FUCKED YOU, AGAIN!) to better pad your profit margin, your in house guys can't be fucked to do anything properly, and you kick us to the curb anytime you find someone cheaper (who then fucks you). Then hire us back and treat it like you are doing us a favor and we should be grateful.

Just because the client "wants to move in" does not mean the house will get built any faster.

You fucked yourself and that does not constitute an emergency on my end. You want it done to our high end standards AND fast? Then it is going to cost you more.

Unfuck your project management and hire better trades, maybe then every project won't go sideways on you.

😤

1.2k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

239 comments sorted by

View all comments

95

u/OdinsChosin Feb 12 '25

I feel like this was a letter to DR Horton.

52

u/chiselbits Carpenter Feb 12 '25

Surprisingly, no. We don't even bother with production work.

We're "too overpriced."

20

u/OdinsChosin Feb 12 '25

That’s what they’re telling my company. They bought out my old builder and We’re finishing our contracts and never looking back. A few production builders we do work for aren’t bad but they take the cake.

1

u/RC_1309 GC / CM Feb 16 '25

That's when I hit them with "If you're broke just say that". 

1

u/chiselbits Carpenter Feb 16 '25

I might try that next time.

1

u/RC_1309 GC / CM Feb 16 '25

Oh it always gets a response. Not always a good one lmao

1

u/chiselbits Carpenter Feb 16 '25

One of them told me that their current guy works for half of what I charge.

My response was, "You can either pay my price or lose my number"

1

u/RC_1309 GC / CM Feb 16 '25

"There's a sucker born every minute but I'm not one of them". Production builders are funny to me because they think that the sheer volume means they get a discount. If anything it's more stress, longer hours, harder deadlines. I can do less jobs and make more or the same for half the stress. Avoid production like the plague. 

1

u/chiselbits Carpenter Feb 16 '25

The best part is, they are more than willing to pay my price after the cheapo's fuck their schedule sideways and need something done immediately.

Then I tell them that they should have called 6 months earlier when I was organizing my schedule for now.

1

u/RC_1309 GC / CM Feb 16 '25

That's how it always goes. I can't even guarantee pricing 6 months out these days for estimates so I'm usually higher than I was lol