Working At A Customers Home

Richie-C

Hi All,

I've been wondering if any of you have any good ideas for setting up shop at a customers home (when customers are living in their home--not new construction). Dust is always a sore spot with HO's - even when you clean up at the end of every day.

- Where do you make your cuts - always outdoors, or in a garage?
- What do you do when it rains-its a PITA running in an out of the rain with 14 foot piece of crown!
- Where do you store your molding-in the home or in the garage?
- And finally, are there any good vaccums/gizmos out there that would allow you to work in a customers home?



Richie

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Richie-C

send_it_all

I usually do all my cutting outside or in the garage. I live in So. Cal. so rain is rarely a problem (I usually just dont work if it's raining)...If you absolutley have to cut indoors, You could try to drape a room with plastic and tarp floors as if you were scraping or painting ceilings. I tell customers that even though they are still occupying their house while I work, it is still a construction site. Dust will happen. I try to contain it, but there will be dust. If you want to go the extra mile, you can rent a dust removal device that looks like a steel box on wheels with a screen and filter on one side and a big A/C duct on the other, which runs to the outside of the house. You can even go as far as bringing an EZ-up to the job and hang plastic from that to create a tent. I used to do this when I was doing A.D.A. work at Bank of America branches at night.

send_it_all

ALso, I like to store my mouldings inside the house if I can. If I'm able to leave them there for a few days before I install, all the better. It helps the acclimate to the humidity inside the house and they should be a bit more stable and not expand and contract as much after installation.

Mrmac204

I always tell my clients to store the crown/trim IN the house three days before it is to be installed. Reason? it shrinks!!!!! here on the west coast it rains- a lot! and November is one of the wettest months. The following pictures are of six inch medite crown molding that was stored in a garage - yes it was kept "dry" but the humidity was very high. The guy I was working for was a framer at heart, he didn't have the paience to do finish work - he figured it was the GC's problem because he asked the labourers to move the crown into the house the week before. Anyway he installed it- and a few days after that it shrank- about 1/8" at the joints/corners. I spent a week and 1/2 ripping it all down and replacing it- the HO was very upset, and with good reason too! he paid twice to have it installed.

karma_carpentry

1. Use the bags with your shop-vac, not just a cannister filter.

2. Plenty of plastic sheeting and wide blue-tape and a bit of duct tape to put up dust baffles. Overlap at entryways by at least a foot. Some people use the stick-on zippers to make zip-up doors, but I find them annoying. There's some company that makes them for dust-control.



I usually get a space where I can work, a room near the working area. Foot travel from the saw to the location 100 times a day can add up to a lot of time. Also leads to bad work when you don't feel like going down the stairs to shave 1/32" from a piece, or get the correct length screw, or whatever.

Protect the floor with homosote or masonite boards - whether it's hardwood or carpet, it will save the floor. Tape the joints together.

Just a few ideas.

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Richie-C

These are all good ideas. Ultimately, I'd love to have a room sealed off, as Karma eluded to. But time aftertime, it seems that customers get squeamish about you bringing a saw into the house. The scenario is always "last time a guy did work here, he cut the wood out on the front lawn and they were so neat!". Yeah, but we're redoing the base and casing throughout your entire home-not just a bathroom. And it's snowing out!!

Over the winter we had a bad experience. We had to use the customers one car garage--I don't even think you could fit a car in it. We hung tarps and covered stuff, and I blew out the garage at the end, but the customer laced into us that there was dust everywhere and he'd have to spend hours cleaning. You can't win sometimes.

I am very sensitive to the fact that the customer needs to live in their home while we are working. 99% of my business is trim installation and interior re-paints. That's why I am trying to get a sense of "best practices" when it comes to this stuff.

This seems like a good topic. Keep em coming.

Richie

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Richie-C

tcleve4911

Hey Richie
This topic is right down my alley - I'm a finish remodeler. Work in peoples' homes all the time.
The mind set should be this - This is now my area. I will do everything in my power to minimize dust.

1. Preconstruction meeting - make decisions with the customer about the following :
Dumpster location & trash removal
Material storage location
Tool setup location
Bathroom facilities
Keys to the house
2. Dust Protection
Expectations - there will be dust - this is how I will minimize it
Plastic floor Pro Tech - Buy a roll for carpet & a roll for hard surfaces - use it!!!
Zip walls with zipper doors
Vacuum attachment to your table & miter saw. There is a switch you can buy from the elec supply house that will turn on the vacuum when you turn on your power tool
Jet makes a small portable dust collector that you run a pipe through a window or dryer vent to the outside, then into a trash can
Portable window fans
Mask off all the window sashes in your work area - saves cleaning at the end
Cover all masonry completely
Have plastic booties by the door for ALL people to wear while they are in your area.

Hope this helps - there's more that's all for now

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Mike Finley

The simple solution for alot of your customer relations problems is to learn to always under promise and over deliver.

During some phase of your relationship with the customer before the work begins

"This part of the contract talks about dirt, dust and debris... we do our best to try to keep dirt dust and debris to a minimum, but we are doing remodeling work and will be cutting and creating a lot of dust.... we will sweep up at the end of each day, but you have to realize that in order to get this work YOU want done accomplished in an efficient manner there will be some inconvenience to you and some dust... you both realize what I am saying right?..."

Customers always will be very agreeable 99% of the time. You've set the bar that there will be dirt, now when you do what you normally do and try to clean up but don't get it all, you are actually going to be exceeding their preconceived expectation. You customer satisfaction will be going up instead of down if you do this.

Also, if at that time right after you say "but you have to realize that in order to get this work YOU want done accomplished in an efficient manner there will be some inconvenience to you and some dust... you both realize what I am saying right?..." if they start squawking or giving you issues, then now is the time to give them some options. We can use zip walls, tarp the entire garage, move your furniture, put you up in a hotel... the cost for that will be $400 in addition...

At that point the decision is theirs, they can pay for the extra time you and your crew will need to take to keep them happy or they can agree to no additional fees and except the fact that there will be dust, either way they are making the decisions and the expectations have been set.

You'll start getting rewarded financially from customers who are demanding.

Mr. D

i use the zip walls and zipper doors. the big hepa filter box machines luan on floors tape the seems. pass white glove tests on the other side of the barrier. homeowners are blown away.

WNYcarpenter

One of our carpenters hardwired an extension cord to the table saw switch. He plugs the shop-vac in and attatches the hose to the dust chute.

reveivl

All the above, I've also set tarps from under the gutters out to a 2x4 frame which I can set up under right outside the door. Has to come down every night though, in case of wind.

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karma_carpentry

I don't have it, but the Fein vacuum has a plug for any tool, when it draws power, the vacuum turns on automatically.

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StairBuilder

That Fein vac is great. I don't have one either but I have used one that belongs to a friend. He made a "custom" shroud out of cardboard and duct tape for his miter saw to better catch the dust.

WNYcarpenter

My co-worker and I talk all the time about buying one of those pop up canopies (sp?), 10x10. Seems like they would be perfect for those rainy days. I think we're both waiting for the other to spend the money....$100

wolffhomerepair

I use the pop up shelter in the driveway most times. It works for rain and hot sun. I carry a 8x8 in the trailer but a 12x12 would be nicer.

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Richie-C

I think I might invest in one. Maybe even put my logo on it. Would look cool when cars are passing by.

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Richie-C

WNYcarpenter

That's a good idea!

tcleve4911

The canopies are great. Shade in the hot sun, protection from the rain. Not-about dust collection or protecting customer's homes except that you're outside tracking everything in................

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Doin' good stuff ......