Why Do We Put Things Off Until the Last Minute?

March 8, 2020 by Mark Eastman

This Seems to Be Especially Prevalent in The Construction Industry

I was visiting with some people recently about the disappointing number of companies signing up for the upcoming Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal workshop. I’ve seen the results of poor communication between contractor and customer. This workshop would help with this problem.

Every one of the people I was talking with said the same thing. “They’re contractors, they’re not going to sign up until the last minute. I wouldn’t be surprised if they just show up.”

Later I visited with a few different construction company owners and asked if they were coming to the workshop. Their answers were eerily similar…I’m not sure if I have time. I’ve got a lot of work scheduled. I’m not sure that I can afford to take a day off work. I’ll have to wait and see how things are going.”

Why would this be a problem in construction more than other industries?

I don’t know if it is more of an issue in construction than anywhere else or if it just seems that way because that’s where my focus is. There are a few things that I think contribute to this situation, construction or not.

Why are there so many that aren’t signing up for the workshop?

We’re too busy – We’ve said yes to too many things. We feel pulled in so many different directions. It’s common to hear people say, “I don’t have enough time.” Most of us overbook and then spend most of our time fighting the hottest fire. My argument is –

God has given us enough time…it’s up to us to invest it wisely.

We struggle with prioritizing – I’ve got this important project that I’m working on. It’s more important than learning something new. Every day we are learning in a variety of ways. The question is, which is the better investment, learning from “on the job mistakes” or from someone else’s. On the job mistakes can be very costly.

Learning from what someone else has learned is a good investment.

Not sure if that training is for me – How will you ever know if you don’t check it out? Most of the time our uncertainty is fear. We’re afraid to learn new things. “I’ve managed to get along just fine so far”. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a predesigned system that would improve your communication and increase your accuracy? The question is…

How long can “getting along just fine” be sustained?

I can’t afford it – Things are tight right now. Profits are down. Maybe I can do it next time. What if your out of business before the next time. There is a cost to any kind of schooling formal or otherwise. How long can you afford to not invest in yourself?

Investing in this workshop now, improves your odds for a brighter future.

I don’t know if the construction industry procrastinates more than any other. What I do know is, if you’re in the construction industry, time is running out to invest in yourself and your business. Don’t put it off any longer. Stop procrastinating and get signed up for the Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal workshop.

If you or someone you know would benefit from learning how to do better proposals, sign up here.

There Are a Lot of Construction Questions to Be Answered

February 6, 2020February 2, 2020 by Mark Eastman

Cartoon man looking up at large question mark

So, Let’s Move on to the Next Ones on the List

I’ve answered 11 of the 21 questions asked by the scouts. The first eleven were answered in two separate posts, what are the best construction questions and construction questions about the physical process. Let’s see if I can squeeze the final ten in this post.

We’ll start with questions about types of construction.

Do you do more commercial or residential work?

I do more residential than commercial but do both. Commercial tends to be less relational than residential. I’ve always felt like the relationship between the customer and contractor is more than only a business transaction. In order to serve the customer well I need to get to know them. This only happens if a relationship is built. Commercial projects normally are more transactional.

Do you do more renovations or new building projects?

I do mostly renovations and remodeling projects. New construction is less challenging than remodeling. New construction has less restraints than renovations do. It takes more out of the box thinking to take an already existing structure and change it into something different. I love the challenge of finding a solution to these projects.

Do you build specially for earthquakes?

No. In this part of the country this hasn’t even been a part of the discussion up until recently. It still isn’t a big issue for local construction projects. If buildings are built up to the current building codes for our area, past tremors won’t be any reason to change this. Our focus should be on high winds and tornados.

How many permits do you need to build a new house?

This depends on where the building project is located, some places don’t require any. Normally there is at least one “building permit” for each project. There are also different permits for different areas of the project, i.e. plumbing, electrical, HVAC, etc. that are sometimes required. All permitting is determined by the local jurisdiction, so it is important to find out what the regulations are for the location where you plan to build before you start.

Have you ever built a tiny house?

Your definition of a “tiny house” will depend on how I answer this question. I have built three very tiny houses. None of these were built for living in, not that someone couldn’t have. The three tiny houses were built for playhouses but were more than a normal playhouse. All of them were built with the same construction as a full-size house…just smaller…a lot smaller.

Okay, I was kidding myself when I thought I could get all ten answered this week.

There are still five more questions. I will answer the last five next week. The remaining questions are about my education and my experience.

Those young people asked a lot of questions.

Round Three of the Construction Questions

February 6, 2020January 26, 2020 by Mark Eastman

These Are About the Physical Process

This is the 3rd in the series of answering the questions asked by the Scout group. The first week we discussed the willingness of these young people to ask questions, unlike most adults. Last week we answered some basic construction questions.

As was the case last week, most often answers to questions need answers to other questions. With this being a one-sided conversation, I’ll answer these questions without having any specific answers to additional questions.

Do you hire the electrical/plumbing or does the owner?

This will vary on each project and will depend on the customer’s needs and goals, but as a general contractor I usually provide subcontractors. As an example of varying between projects, the owner of the project we’re currently working on is a retired electrician, so he’s doing the wiring on this project.

What equipment do you use most often?

I think the piece of equipment that I use the most often is a hammer. Some people would probably consider equipment as something motorized or powered. According to Collins dictionary, “Equipment consists of things which are for a particular purpose,” which would include a hammer. If you insist on only power tools being equipment, the second most used piece of equipment would be a cordless screw gun…there are you happy. 😊

Do you prefer to use more manual or electrical equipment?

Here we are again, manual vs. powered. I definitely “prefer” using electrical equipment or most any power tool over manual. Power tools make most tasks they’re used for easier. However, depending on the task being performed in some cases the manual tool is better suited and more productive. For example, you shouldn’t use a pneumatic nail gun as a hammer to drive a board into place.

How do you dig a foundation?

The size of the project will usually dictate how the foundation will be dug. If the project requires moving a large amount of dirt, for example a basement, then typically a large excavator (link) will be used. If it’s something smaller, we would most often use a mini excavator. (link) If the project is small enough or inaccessible to equipment then it could be dug by hand with a shovel.

These next three questions relate to the dangers of construction.

Where are the dangerous places on a construction site?

Everywhere on a construction site is dangerous. Sure, some are more dangerous than others, but heights are among the most dangerous. Falling is the number one cause of construction site injuries. Some other dangers on a construction site are; power saws, pneumatic tools, electricity, heavy equipment and cave ins of ditches.

How often do injuries happen?

This answer depends on how we want to define “injury”. Some people would consider a splinter an injury. For this answer I’m going to define injury as something requiring medical attention, i.e. stiches, broken bones, requiring a doctor’s attention, etc. During my forty plus years in construction I have personally witnessed or actually been injured 8 – 10 times. If I take that number of times over the forty years, that’s .000137%. As dangerous as construction sites are and as much construction that’s done, surprisingly it’s not as often as one might expect. The key is working smart and safe.

Have you ever broken a hard hat?

This is one of the most interesting questions asked and easiest to answer. I can answer it with a resounding NO. This is not to say they can’t be broken, but it takes a lot to break one.

There are still several questions left to answer so next week we’ll look at types and specialty forms of construction.

If these questions raise additional questions for you, send them to us in the comments below and well answer them.

What Are the Best Construction Questions?

February 6, 2020January 20, 2020 by Mark Eastman

The Ones That Are Actually Asked

Last week I shared the list of questions asked by a group of Scouts. This week I’ll begin to answer them.

As I pointed out last week, due to the number of questions I’m going to divide them into different topics to keep the posts from getting too long. This week I’ll start by answering some basic construction questions. Keep in mind that asking and answering questions is communication and communication is a two-way process. This means that before I can answer questions fully and accurately, I need some questions answered.

How much does building a new house cost?

This is the most common first question. It only makes sense; cost is a critical part of deciding whether to build. It’s also one of the most difficult to answer, especially when asked without any specifics.

Here are some of the questions that need answered to determine a price:

Where will it be located? – location effects things like utilities, sewer, lot preparation, zoning, permitting, etc.
How big? – more square feet costs more.
How many levels? – stacked is typically less expensive per square foot.
Type of foundation? – slab, crawl space or basement.
How high are the ceilings? – higher is more expensive.
What style of roof? – more complicated costs more.
How many windows? – more windows cost more.
Quality of materials and finishes? – there’s a wide variation in quality which translates into a wide variety of price, i.e. cabinets, countertops, flooring, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, etc.

This is some of the things that need to be determined before getting an accurate price.

As a vague answer to a vague question, in the middle part of the US where we do construction, you can figure an average home to cost $110.00 to $150.00 per square foot of living space.

How long does it take to build a new house?

The answer to this question will be directly connected to the answers of the last question. Size, design, level of finish, etc. will all effect the length of time to build a new house. An average 2000 square foot home will take 6 – 9 months.

How much wood does a new house take?

Once again, the answer is going to depend on specifics of the house. Let’s just answer the question using the average 2000 square foot house that we have been using. Let’s assume that it’s going to have wood floor joists, sub-floor, wall studs, wall boxing, ceiling joists, rafters, roof sheathing, siding, windows, doors, cabinets, etc. All these things combined will be around 40 pounds per square foot. That means the wood used in a 2000 square foot house will weigh around 80,000 pounds, or 40 tons.

How much steel goes into a house?

There are some cases where houses are framed using steel, but typically that’s not very common. There are some steel things commonly used, like nails, screws, joist hangers, reinforcing steel in concrete, etc. Sometimes steel beams and posts are used for supporting heavier loads and wider spans. In a typical wood framed house, it takes around 10 pounds of steel reinforcing, fasteners and misc. per square foot to build. This means that our 2000 square foot wood framed home would have around 20,000 pounds or 10 tons.

Next week we’ll answer questions about the construction process. If you have any construction questions you would like answered, asked them in the comments below.

The Conclusion of The Construction Proposal Is the Contract

November 15, 2022December 29, 2019 by Mark Eastman

Putting A Period at The End of The Proposal Communication

The discussion of “Building a Better Proposal” began with the problems that arise from poor communication. We talked about this being the responsibility of the contractor and some of the reasons this is a problem.

Over the last several weeks we laid out the “Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal” going over the different parts of the system, an explanation of the system, gathering of information, writing a scope of work, putting a price to the project and finally how to put all of the pieces together into a proposal ready to present to the customer.

Once you have a signed Proposal, conclude with a Contract.

The Contract completes the Proposal process and covers things beyond construction. Things like funding, additional documents, property boundaries, time within which the project will be started and terms and conditions.

Construction Funds – This isn’t something that is relevant to every project but will be to some. If it is, the information would be included in this section of the contract.

Description of the Work – A complete and full Scope of Work could be included here but not needed if the customer has been presented a Proposal. If so then a brief description of the project can be inserted and a reference to the specific Proposal and any other additional documentation, i.e. blueprints, drawings, spec sheets, governing body documents, etc.

Property Lines – This is another category that isn’t relevant to every project but certainly can be. If working inside of city limits, normally there are set back requirements and easements, this makes it critical to know where the property boundaries are or to have a licensed surveyor make this determination.

Payment – Like the description of work above, this should be in the Proposal. If no Proposal was given to the customer, then this should be specified here. If a Proposal was given repeat it again here.

Time for the Completion of Work – The duration of the work from start to finish is typically expressed in the Proposal. Due to the varying number of Proposals prepared and presented to customers, there’s no way of knowing what order they will be signed and returned. With the Proposal being signed and returned prior to the preparation of the Contract, the start date of the project can be determined and specified here.

Terms and Conditions – An in-depth explanation of specifications, descriptions, expectations, insurance, warranty, media permissions, etc. These will be specific to your company, type of work and location.

I would recommend that to have a legal expert or attorney review your Proposal and Contract templates as well as any other agreement document to make sure they meet your specific needs.

We’ve now gone through the process of meeting with a customer all the way to getting a signed Contract. Now it’s time to do the “construction” part of the project.

Communication will be needed in this part too.

Just because you have a signed Proposal and Contract don’t think the communication is done. In most construction project changes occur. These changes need to be treated like separate, sub-projects of the original with Change Orders.

This is a topic of discussion for a different day and one that we’ll have in the future.

If you know anyone in a construction trade or related industry that you think would benefit from learning the “Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal” share a link to this Weekly Solution or the to the Solution Building website.

Don’t forget to check back in the next couple of weeks for the upcoming announcement.

How To Put The Pieces Of The Construction Proposal Together

November 15, 2022December 22, 2019 by Mark Eastman

The Last Piece Is Always the Most Fun

If you’ve ever done a jigsaw puzzle, you know how frustrating it is to get to the last piece…and you can’t find it anywhere. This is the same frustration a customer feels when they don’t have the full picture of what is to be included in their construction project.

Giving the customer a complete and thorough proposal gives them the full picture.

Doing puzzles growing up I remember when getting near the end of a puzzle the level of excitement would begin to amp up. In the accelerated push to get it finished more people would get involved, in the rush, often a piece would get lost. Finding the missing piece and putting it in made the picture complete.

There’s a real sense of accomplishment when the last piece of the puzzle is put in place.

It’s the same finishing a proposal…the final piece is now in place. The hard work of gathering the info, preparing the Scope of Work, and pricing are done. All that’s left is putting them together to provide a clear picture for the customer.

Jane Smith’s laundry/sewing room project.

Start with the Proposal template.

Insert the customer information in the open areas at the top of the first page as it pertains to the project.

To: This is the name of the person who requested the proposal or is responsible for the project organization.

Re: This is a name describing this specific construction project.

For: This is the party or organization for who the project is going to be done for.

At: This is the address of where the construction project is going to be performed.

Copy and paste the description of the work to be performed and material to be supplied from the Bid Sheet on to the Proposal template. (See below)

Next, take the prices from the Worksheet for each individual described action on the Proposal and place it on the right side of the page. At the end of each section put the total price for that section. (See below)

Now that the description of the work to be performed, the materials to be used, the prices for each action and the totals of each section have been placed on the Proposal template, it’s time for the project to be totaled. Complete the Proposal by defining the payment schedule, determining the date in which the Proposal will expire and the duration of time to complete the project. The only thing left is signing of the document.

Once the proposal is signed, I recommend following up with a Contract. Even though the signed Proposal serves as a legal and binding document, there is nothing in the Proposal about when the project will be started. The Contract also includes more detailed customer information, a list of any referenced documents, a place for construction funding information, property specifics and legal terms and conditions.

We’ll look at a Contract in the next post.

If you’ve found this series on the “Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal” helpful and you or someone you know would be interested in the templates for Building a Better Proposal, keep checking back. In the next few weeks we have a big announcement coming.

How To Price A Construction Project Proposal

November 15, 2022December 16, 2019 by Mark Eastman

Now It’s Time to Give the Project A Dollar Amount

The next step in the “Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal” is to determine the price for the project. We’ve talked a lot about the importance of communication to provide a clear description of the work to be performed. Now we’ll go through the process of determining consistent and accurate prices.

Poor communication will cause heartache, poor pricing will cost you money.

We’ve gathered the necessary information and prepared the Scope of Work so let’s put some numbers to the project.

Here we’ll combine the next two steps in the process; determining what pricing is needed for each specific construction tasks to be performed and quantities pertaining to each.

STEP 3 – PRICING THE PROJECT

This process uses two different Excel spreadsheets:

The Worksheet –
An Excel spreadsheet with all the construction sections and tasks listed out with optional overhead and profit markup formulas inserted in the appropriate locations.

The Data Base –
An Excel spreadsheet with prices for material and labor for a wide variety of specific construction tasks.

Based on the descriptions on the Bid Sheet, content from the Data Base will be copied and pasted into the correlating cells on the Worksheet.

EXAMPLE PROJECT:

Using Jane Smith’s Scope of Work for her laundry/sewing room addition we’ll determine the right information that needs to be copied from the Data Base and pasted to the Worksheet. Reference the Smith, Scope of Work here.

Questions need to be answered like:

Which tasks need to be inserted into the Worksheet? Many of the tasks have options; which to use, will depend on the specifics of the project.

For example; How is the excavation, trenching and landscaping going to be done…with a skid loader, mini excavator, by hand or a combination?

Smith, Addition – Scope of Work, Sitework Section:

Data Base:
Copy pertinent cells to be pasted to the worksheet. (highlighted cells)

Smith Addition – Worksheet, Sitework Section:
Paste copied cells in worksheet template. (highlighted cells)

More questions that need to be answered:
Is the footing going to be formed with wood or poured in the ditch without any forms?

Smith, Addition – Scope of Work, Foundation Section:

Data Base:
Copy pertinent cells to be pasted to the worksheet. (highlighted cells)

Smith Addition – Worksheet, Foundation Section:

Paste copied cells in worksheet template. (highlighted cells)

After the pertinent information from the Data Base has been placed on the Worksheet it’s time to fill in the specific quantities. This will then provide the prices for the work to be done.

STEP 4 – QUANTITIES

On the Worksheet you will fill in the quantity needed to do the work on that line item. This may be lineal feet, square feet, square yards, cubic feet, cubic yards or numbers of pieces. Once this is completed you will now have prices for the Proposal.

Notice the highlighted cells in this spreadsheet. These are adjustments made due to the attributes of specific tasks on specific projects. In the case of this project the small size and location of the work in the back yard require some additional work and therefore additional cost.

I know this is a lot of content and information but it’s not as scary as it appears at first glance. The question that you need to ask yourself…

Do I want to be intentional at serving the customer’s needs at a profit or just guess and take a chance?

The next step is to bring all the pieces together in a thorough and accurate proposal that will give the customer a clear picture of what they’re getting and how much it’s going to cost. Check back next week for this part of the process.

How To Price A Construction Project Proposal

November 18, 2022December 16, 2019 by Mark Eastman

Now It’s Time to Give the Project A Dollar Amount

Poor communication will cause heartache, poor pricing will cost you money.

We’ve gathered the necessary information and prepared the Scope of Work so let’s put some numbers to the project.

Here we’ll combine the next two steps in the process; determining what pricing is needed for each specific construction tasks to be performed and quantities pertaining to each.