Went to work for a"framer" today - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

rick0913 · 07-02-2009, 11:13 PM

I framed houses for about 20 years ,then got out of construction completely for a couple.
I picked this year of all years to decide I loved building & had to get back into it. I thought I could pick right up where I left off ( WRONG).

Long story short is I ended up taking a job with a "framer" who has been in business for a long time in this area.
I couldn't believe this guy had EVER framed a house before.
Today was my first day and we were setting roof trusses.
Small ranch but fairly complicated roof.
This guy starts off by setting a 3 ply girder,he hooks all three up w/cables & booms them up to us with his Lull , doesn't bother to nail them together just sends 'em. He then hands me up a 10lb sledge & tells me to beat the ends 'till they are flush.We finally get em flushed up & his guys start nailing them together while they are standing.
These are 3 ply , 12' tall ,42' long w/ 2x10 bottom chords.
they nail 'em off as high up as they can comfortably reach & as far out as they can reach from the walls they are standing on

As far as I can tell this is all the nailing they'll ever get.
We set trusses on both ends of the house but left out about 20' in the center. When I asked why he said he hadn't figured out how to set those yet

2 more girders set same way as first. Garage walls not built yet.
1 of the girders sits partially on garage wall so we now 6' of 2 ply sticking out there & will have to shove garage walls up under it.
At one end the house is 2 1/4" out of square in about 32'.
when I pointed this out he didn't even blink just said "don't sweat the small stuff"
O h yeah, forgot to mention , whenever they have a truss that has to be set off of the 24" layout , they start layout 24" from that truss so nothing stacks and sheathing will have to be cut all over the roof.

Help !!! Someone out there must need a competent carpenter. I can't work for this guy. How in the hell is he still building when most can't find work.

cleveman · 07-03-2009, 01:30 PM

The startup costs for a framing company shouldn't be too high. Just do it.

**genecarp** · 07-03-2009, 01:35 PM

what a disgrace. G

Warren · 07-03-2009, 01:41 PM

You didnt work for a "framer" You worked for a hack who called himself a framer and gives the rest of us ,who are real framers, a bad name.

JustaFramer · 07-03-2009, 01:53 PM

And that is why I won't work for these so-called "framers" again.

Just for ****s and giggles I like to call ads for help. I end up interviewing them. I end up telling them I cost to much and they couldn't afford me.

XanadooLTD · 07-03-2009, 02:02 PM

hes probably still in business because he builds so cheaply. One good lawsuit and he'll be gone too. He'll prbably do it for tree fiddy!

Sasquatch · 07-03-2009, 03:36 PM

You have done it before do it again. Get the hell away from this guy and do your own thing. That or go show him how it is done right.

Chris Johnson · 07-03-2009, 03:47 PM

If you stick around after this house take the bull by the horns, take control from the get go on the next one. worst case this guy fires you but hopefully in the process someone of importance see's you know what your doing and you get going on your own again.

bighammer · 07-03-2009, 04:16 PM

I bid against people like that, make me sick to think a homeowner - once in a life time thing building a new house (most of the time) getting a half a** job - you NEED to either come to Iowa and work for us or start your own company - good luck

strathd · 07-03-2009, 04:54 PM

Hacks man..... Just hacks.....Here this shi* all the time....nationwide. Where I'm at quality don't matter. Just price. And my prices are not much higher than the hacks. I have posted it here a few times. I'm done with new construction. Amish, Illegal's, hacks, they can have it. Been a framer for 29 years, in biz for 15. HO's, GC's they can kiss my hack.

There are a few builders here that appreciate quality. But they are few and far between.

hughjazz · 07-03-2009, 10:42 PM

yup, price rules.

the hack undercuts a real crew by $1000, then gets the job.

the wal-mart mentality at work.

if homeowners only knew what that $1000 costs down the road, they wouldn't try to grind us so hard.

galla35 · 07-03-2009, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hughjazz

yup, price rules.

the hack undercuts a real crew by $1000, then gets the job.

the wal-mart mentality at work.

if homeowners only knew what that $1000 costs down the road, they wouldn't try to grind us so hard.

amen to that man

jkfox624 · 07-05-2009, 11:30 AM

Sad thing is ive been in these hack builds trying to fix all the mistakes and 9 times out of 10 you get from the homeowner "you know how much i already got in this place and you wanna charge me x to fix it?!?" Sorry it aint my fault you hired the amish because they were 2500 cheaper, either you want it fixed or you dont.

ClemS · 07-05-2009, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkfox624

Sad thing is ive been in these hack builds trying to fix all the mistakes and 9 times out of 10 you get from the homeowner "you know how much i already got in this place and you wanna charge me x to fix it?!?" Sorry it aint my fault you hired the amish because they were 2500 cheaper, either you want it fixed or you dont.

i gather that the amish don't build well eh?

mccarty.74 · 07-09-2009, 11:36 PM

First off, when the inspector comes he should be checking the nailing pattern on those girder trusses, specifically designated in the truss packet. Secondly, how the hell can you be a framer and not understand the importance of square? Two inches over 32 feet is not the small stuff. He must be underbidding the competition by a mile to even be in the game. GC must be his father, otherwise he'd show up with a truss cantilevering 10 to 20 feet, and think "aw hell time to find a new framer."

rick0913 · 07-13-2009, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bighammer

I bid against people like that, make me sick to think a homeowner - once in a life time thing building a new house (most of the time) getting a half a** job - you NEED to either come to Iowa and work for us or start your own company - good luck

I am in Iowa get ahold of me sometime hart0964@yahoo.com

john5mt · 07-13-2009, 02:02 AM

THat far out of square??? are your trusses gonna reach the entire span of that 32' by the time you get to the end?

TempestV · 07-14-2009, 11:13 AM

If he thinks 2 1/4" is "small stuff", I'd hate to think what he considers borderline....

I'm not sure what is more sad when it comes to the girder- the lack of quality, or the fact that doing it right from the beginning would be quicker and easier than the shoddy way that he did it.

Any decent inspector should spot the lack of nails, and then he'll have to pay to have guys climb up there and nail it off.

TempestV · 07-14-2009, 11:20 AM

If he thinks 2 1/4" is "small stuff", I'd hate to think what he considers borderline....

I'm not sure what is more sad when it comes to the girder- the lack of quality, or the fact that doing it right from the beginning would be quicker and easier than the shoddy way that he did it.

Any decent inspector should spot the lack of nails, so overall it will probably cost him even more to get it all done.

lodigirl07 · 07-16-2009, 11:49 PM

you are the bomb ask him what a board stretcher is and if he dont know it is have him look it up and find you one hell look for it all day hell be out of ur hair for at least 10hrs i say show off yur mad skills by doing this board stretcher stunt ull have tons of fun making ur self over it oh u rock keep up the safe habit while on the job site and who ever works for this so called frammer is in need of new job i wish i could hire you but to many carpenters already hey some needs to hire this guy the one that posted this thing

Quote:

Originally Posted by rick0913

I framed houses for about 20 years ,then got out of construction completely for a couple.
I picked this year of all years to decide I loved building & had to get back into it. I thought I could pick right up where I left off ( WRONG).

Long story short is I ended up taking a job with a "framer" who has been in business for a long time in this area.
I couldn't believe this guy had EVER framed a house before.
Today was my first day and we were setting roof trusses.
Small ranch but fairly complicated roof.
This guy starts off by setting a 3 ply girder,he hooks all three up w/cables & booms them up to us with his Lull , doesn't bother to nail them together just sends 'em. He then hands me up a 10lb sledge & tells me to beat the ends 'till they are flush.We finally get em flushed up & his guys start nailing them together while they are standing.
These are 3 ply , 12' tall ,42' long w/ 2x10 bottom chords.
they nail 'em off as high up as they can comfortably reach & as far out as they can reach from the walls they are standing on

As far as I can tell this is all the nailing they'll ever get.
We set trusses on both ends of the house but left out about 20' in the center. When I asked why he said he hadn't figured out how to set those yet

2 more girders set same way as first. Garage walls not built yet.
1 of the girders sits partially on garage wall so we now 6' of 2 ply sticking out there & will have to shove garage walls up under it.
At one end the house is 2 1/4" out of square in about 32'.
when I pointed this out he didn't even blink just said "don't sweat the small stuff"
O h yeah, forgot to mention , whenever they have a truss that has to be set off of the 24" layout , they start layout 24" from that truss so nothing stacks and sheathing will have to be cut all over the roof.

Help !!! Someone out there must need a competent carpenter. I can't work for this guy. How in the hell is he still building when most can't find work.