Beth n Rod

In my day, I would have answered "Who cares! Just give me one!" Rod!~

Hi Reed! :) Got any deck glamor shots from this season to share? You know we love to see your work! Beth

Thank you William Medley! :) Beth

Glad to see you both here. Check out the library and also the FAQ's in the navigation bar above. ;) Beth

:) That's the ticket! :) Beth

Conviction is very important. Enthusiasm is contagious. :) Beth

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of knowledge people bring to this industry that is not realized due to discriminating factors such as # of years in business. Backgrounds that people bring with them into this industry is an untapped resource. TGS has a community comprised of a broad spectrum of experience. This experience translates into a well of diverse and yet valuable input which has the capability to influence the industry. In short, we have some pretty intelligent people here and it shows. Rod!~

Ours is specific to wood restoration in the fact that is contends with the conditions and limitations that must be taken into consideration in this field. While the actual document is comprehensive, here is a cliff notes version with explanations where applicable. We address: -Our guarantee on the labor and workmanship. -What is covered and what is not including a list of specifics like structural defects, misuse or abuse, neglect, wood conditions contributing to a shorter life expectancy etc... -Problem resolution and disputes clauses for any instances concerning work performed and remedies including time frames for inspections. -Limit of damage liability clause. This is based upon the value of the contract and a segment exclusive for vegetation damage replacement. -Customer obligations for job site safety, inspection and maintenance of window and door seals/weatherstripping, electrical outlet G.F.I. circuits, and other obstacles which need to be addressed before work can begin like; removing deck accouterments and decorations, furniture and planters. Reason being that in our area, many people do not frequently inspect these items after the freezing winter conditions. Deck items can shatter, break, crack and degrade during these times with not always noticeable results until moved. There is often a situation where if we were to move these items we would be blamed for it. Having the responsibility for removal placed upon the customer avoids us being liable for replacement of something that has already been damaged. In the event of service for someone who is not capable of doing it themselves, we have them sign a waiver of liability along with the contract specifying that we are not responsible for items suffering from exposure related damage but not from our responsibility to move them as carefully as possible. -Mutual party agreements. These consist of the legality clauses and any disclaimers or responsibility for additional costs created on the part of the consumer through no fault of the contractor. There have been times of set backs and unnecessary trips to a job site because of a consumer who did not inform us of other contractors working on the site whose scope of work impeded or prevented our crew from being able to execute their duties in a manner according to various factors including safety, accessibility, or being unable to warrant the work due to exposure to traffic, debris etc. This could have been avoided by making a simple phone call to inform us that the time was not good and reschedule. -Neighbor notifications of necessity for access or impending subjectability to our processes providing ample notification for them to take action and/or move items out of the subject area. This also allows us to better protect the property having excess items moved out of the way. -Timely execution of contract and disclaimers concerning weather related delays etc. For the most part, I will suggest strongly that once you come up with a terms and conditions, that you submit it to an contract attorney to make sure you have the correct verbage and are not making mistakes that are not allowed by law. These vary from state to state and could put you in serious jeopardy if you don't get them validated. Rod!~

Thank you Aaron! Beth :)

I have heard of the use of poultices but for removing paint and other similar coatings. I wanted to venture a guess as to why the use of Talc powder (presuming that is what your were talking about) in the mix but I will defer back to you for this. (my guess is it is an absorbency medium) Thank you in advance and welcome to TGS. Rod!~

We will be praying for him as well. Beth

We came in around that figure too. That is one hell of a big job and would take a crew of 3 guys around 5-6 days (weather permitting) to complete. Now my estimate is based upon just the fence having not seen the landscape, the trees, bushes, dividing fences apportioned to any private yard that may increase time and other obstacles that could impede the work progress. Using WTW for example, just the product alone would run 19k before shipping. That's 55% of the job cost before you get into fuel, chemicals, applicator supplies, tarps, plastic and anything else a company may use to complete the work. This does not include any travel time expenses for labor and fuel, insurance and vehicle payments accrued monthly in addition to overhead percentages which should be part of the calculations. Now, a contractor would be movin their butt to get the job done and maintain schedules and keep O.T. as low as possible. On site people are working their usual 8 hours and would not be motivated to move any faster as it is their regular job. They have other work to do but that goes with the job and when they get to it, they get it done...in an 8 hour a day attitude. This job would probably take them at least a month to complete and the results cannot be spoken for as no one can attest to their abilities to use a power washer, knowledge of chemicals to use (if any), application knowledge etc.... My advice to P.M.'rs is to shop the market and make a budget to fit this type of maintenance. They spend 10's to 100's of thousands of $$$$$$$ on landscaping and mowing alone each year. This should not be that big of a deal unless they just don't have any idea as you had mentioned by being out of touch with the market. This type of job would need to be done on a 5 year basis depending on the product, preparation and application methods. At that point, it is only maintenance and the process would probably cost them <+> 5%-10% depending on product costs, labor costs and other fluctuating (mostly rising) incidentals. Rod!~

Thanks John. We try, and so do all the members here. :) Beth p.s. it is a really good thread!

Mark, Rod is going to see what he can add here tomorrow. :) Beth

Welcome Daniel! Glad to see you took the plunge. Please let us know if you have any questions. We're all glad to help, and we were all new once. No questions is stupid. Beth

Sometimes it's not easy to come from different places and work together. Not everyone uses the same terminology or language, not everyone thinks the same way, and we certainly all have different backgrounds and ideas. But if we can all keep open minds and try to listen to each other, we can accomplish things together to make the industry a better one for all. Beth

Cool idea Tony! :) Why not brand your local meetings? After all, you do want them to be recognized and remembered in your area so people will attend regularly. Beth

Well if you think about it, if you need complex surgery, you want to check the Dr out right? Before you go to college you check them out? I see nothing wrong at all in wanting to know what qualifications a person has....their resume so to speak. In fact, it makes sense. Beth

Then get off dial up and post man, post! ;) Beth

We seem to be getting (and have for quite some time) quite a few guests...who are viewing particular topics. We encourage you to login and be a part of the community. Welcome! Beth

Bump! There are soooo many guests who visit here each day - same ones....you know who you are...why don't you just login or register? ;) Beth

Some points I would like to make here is that throughout this thread people have been doing a great job of keeping it for the most part, productive and having a lively discussion. There is still some undertones of enmity and I would like to encourage that water under the bridge be considered here and let's take a fresh look at what we as a community can do. We have learned from the past and still with numerous opinions and ideas, the focus is narrowing. People look to places like TGS for information and I would like to emphasize that word. Information. It is not education. That is conducted in a different manner. TGS is an information resource, networking and a place to keep in touch with the latest developments in the industry. With that said, I think we collectively would agree that the point of 'quality' and 'reputable' education in this industry is needed. Again, in this post, I would like to point out that the opportunity is here for change. Only a relative few have posted here in relation to the number of actual members the community consists of. We need a stronger and broader range of voices on this. Perhaps it is that we have in this thread the most assertive of individuals who are not afraid to speak out and push for change. I would like all of you to look at that. Is this as high as we feel the need to set the bar? Who is going to take us seriously? Especially if only a small percentage are speaking up? We have our Round Table meetings and keeping everything light and informal, but is this sending a message? Perhaps an environment without politics is more preferable? Perhaps there is something lacking in the formal arena that is available in the RT's. The popularity and success of the RT's is not linked to any one factor but people do benefit from them in ways that are not always easily definable. Those who attend them find value in the networking and the mini-seminars but I will point out that it is attended by the majority of the business owners themselves. The affordability and timing is likely a key factor. Also, the numerous events being held in various parts of the country are another. On another note being discussed, here is something else to consider. Many have portfolios and testimonials to show but even those come under fire by consumers who have been burned. I myself have been accused of only using the best photos of the best jobs and that our testimonials were possibly illegitimate. Having the main form of credentials fall into doubt what is left? My word? My years of experience? My license number? What has helped to ease fears of illegitimacy were affiliations. They had weight and strength of numbers that were publically available for inspection and inquiry. Arbitrarily, one can debate the worth of affiliations but I don't believe anyone can deny that they have been in this position before. So, where does that leave us? Lacking credibility is a hard thing to overcome without a publicly verifiable accreditation to fall back on. Do we to conduct our businesses this informally? Without any publically acceptable substantiation? Rod!~

I understand what Tony is getting at. How do you determine who is experienced? There has to be some criteria established. The question is, what is a fair method of determining that? We don't have 10 years, but several years ago we were considered as wood care instructors. Didn't get it, but that's okay too. Boy did this grow last night. Beth

It's unlimited. You should be fine. It must be a file size issue. .....reminds me I need to post more tomorrow. Beth

Good memory...he is! Beth