Headed To Galveston

cookco

Im a remodeling contractor from atlanta georgia and I am looking for anyone to give me some information on the hurricane work. Is there much work there?

dougchips

Cookco, call up their building inspection office and ask them (along with getting answers from this site). Some BI's are very open with the amount of permits they issue.

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Deadhead Derek

as a matter of public record, they should be open with that info...smartassery by me aside, most municipalities post permit statistics online.

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SLSTech

Blog on the rebuilding
http://blogs.chron.com/galveston/

Don't forget to look into how long it takes to get licensed, etc... Last I heard they were having fun tossing out of state contractors - well out of their state

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precisionbuild

There's TONS of work there. However, you might find breaking into it hard. When I was down there, (right after Ike) there were many guys sitting in the Home Depot parking lot without work looking for some. Alot from out of state were sent back home.

Plus everyone from FEMA to the permits office to insurance is taking a LONG time. If you can't get something OK'ed or can't draw a permit or if the insurance claim is still being worked, then you've got problems.

Plus alot of the owners just are not on the island.

And Galveston always has been hard for outsiders to come into.

Good luck if you go. But, please check it out thoroughly first.

My family and I are probably moving there within the next two months. I LOVED it there.

onenia

It is definitely moving along slowly. The insurance companies are dragging their feet and the homeowners want to fight the insurance companies. It's a big mess for some and other people have gotten repairs made to their houses. It is definitely not quick money and many contractors don't want to sumbit all the paperwork required by the adjusters; is what I've been hearing from my customers.

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cookco

what type of rebuilding have your company been doing in galveston?

damianjwalker

I am a Paint Contractor from Bolivar Peninsula ( which took the worst of the storm). We had been on the peninsula for a few years before the storm and came back about a month after.

We are doing alot of repaints under a local GC, but we have also been building stairs, garages, and replacing siding

Initially there was a decent amount of work from people that did not want to wait for insurance settlements. That work has died down because everyone else is fighting for insurance payouts. Very few homeowners have been paid. We work mostly in the higher end neighborhoods and no one has been paid out.

There are many out of state contractors running around, but very few working. The locals are working though. We have contractors coming up to us on jobsites everyday. Home owners are not around to talk to, so getting in is pretty hard if you do not know anyone.

Don't count on making buttloads of money, Galveston and Bolivar contractor rates were low before the storm. We are getting about 30% more than before, but it won't help pay for the hotel, gas, food, etc...

There will be alot of work for years to come, but if your looking for quick easy money, I would just stay at home, it is not there.

The_Game

i hope you speak mexicanos my friend ,
i was awarded 2 contracts after the storm, through Travelers and nation wide, we did good for 3 weeks, after the storm , the problem is the people do not have the money to get the work done since the insurance does not paid for flooding.

second problem :45% are hispanic and don't even speak any english at all.. the average salaries per house in galveston is under 40gs a years look at the stats on google,
and a lot a lot of illegal working ,the border patrol can not keep up with them.

i would not go there again, and on the private side we gave up after a week ,we couldn't compete with the prices out there.

Good luck if you go

bew102

We initially were going to Galveston but to many people trying to get at the work. We have ended up in Houston and have steady work. Been there for 3 months now doing roofing. My suggestion would be to definitely get with a local contractor. Lots of people messing with other peoples money down there. Also you need to know that there isn't a lot of money down there. We look like we are going to have enough work for a couple of years but the money SUCKS! Now... beggars can't be choosers and work is work so best of luck to you!

Cole

Guys, this is Texas, home of the illegal labor worker.

I would stay away, as far away as I could get.

Do not even waste your time, I have numerous contacts down in that area and I am hearing the same thing, too many guys working for nothing.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME!

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tiny

Any commercial sub work there for roofing contractors we do everything from duro-last ,pvc,tpo,epdm and mod bit encludeing sheet metal.Small crew all my own equipment and insurance me and my second have over 31 yrs exp each so we can handle most all roofing problems and i have 1 carpenter with 18 yrs exp.e-mail @flatroofer@yahoo.com

rbsremodeling

GUYS DON'T LIST TO COLE. HE IS TRYING TO KEEP THE MONEY TO HIMSELF

LETS ALL HEAD TO TEXAS yeeeee haawww!!!!!!

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precisionbuild

Cole is pretty much right.

damianjwalker

I agree with bew102. If you are wanting work, you will need to get on with a local GC. Before the storm we rarely worked as a sub, but we had to join up with a local GC to get their paint work. Most homes are already tied up with GC contracts, but they do not necessarily have the work force to get the job done.

We have a 10 man carpentry crew from the Outer Banks, NC working with us under the GC.

tiny

What about commercial roofing anyone? Anyone know a GENERAL down there that needs a topnotch crew?

Cole

Your not getting it, will you compete with illegal labor?

Do you want to work for a living or do you want to make money?

I would highly advise you to look elsewhere for work, you might be able to get in with a GC, but be ready to work for nothing and make nothing.

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tiny

My quality of work is outstanding and i compete here with both mexican and arabics and i have to think all the people moveing there are not working for peanuts.There has to be money there or you could just paint a crew zhit brown and feed them beans

damianjwalker

I do not know much about commercial roofing, but as far as residential, when we were allowed back to the island the local roofers "raised" their pricing up to $250.00 a square and the home owners and GC's were shocked by how expensive they were.
Also factor in that most standing beach homes have roofs upward of 60' in the air along with pitches of 10/12 or steeper.

I know that elsewhere on this forum, the roofers were saying that at $250 a square that they wouldn't even unpack their tools.

precisionbuild

Insist if you must, but I was there. I was managing 20+houses there from assessment, to demo and remediation, clean-up, etc. to getting new services, permits, to wind/storm and flood claims including initial meetings and claims with insurance adjusters to working the claims, reworking them, supplements, etc.

I was there before homeowners or out-of-state contractors were allowed in. I stayed until things came to a standstill. I living in my truck and in a tent with only a generator for electricity. I do believe I know the situation there.

I was working for an established commercial/residential contractor from Houston (who already had most of those 20+ houses as clients BEFORE the storm. He already had his subs and crews too. He just needed me for management. He was managing over 25 in Houston himself.

I had dozens of guys come up to me that I believe were capable. They were BEGGING for work. I felt bad because they came from all over and I couldn't help them.

I could type for hours on why this is a bad idea, but you would ignore me anyway.