Fire protection waste vs masonry waste - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

HgWhiz · 03-21-2009, 03:36 AM

One saturday a fire protection installer asked me if I had seen allthread anchor (I can't remember what he called it) and at first I was puzzled but I soon remembered I had taken something that was fire protection related.
It was the all thread I had needed so I told him that had borrowerd some allthread but I was finished and before I could tell him where to find it he interupted me and said he found the allthread already but couldn't find the other piece that was attached. So I went to where I remembered tossing and found it. He said "I'm sorry to bug you for this but I have been with for this company for 6 years and they always send just enough to finish and this is last piece I need then I can go home".

Isn't that kind a like a Mason going to the lunch area at lunch and telling someone to give back the block they were sitting on so the they could finish the job.

A company sending exactly enough material for a one man crew to install it on a commercial building (a Staples retail store for instance) impresses me.

I would love to hear from those who are this good.

slowforthecones · 03-21-2009, 05:27 AM

sounds like the estimator didn't spec enough hardware or this company operates on a very tight profits. Well you said it was stapes, probably they operate on a tight budget. I do fire protection and I'm like wow?? you joking? that's pretty tight not even an extra or two. What's up if your 50 feet high up and drop a connector and well you can't find it anymore.

dakzaag · 03-21-2009, 06:49 AM

I build block crawlspaces for a particular contractor who is always very close on his block estimate. He always provides material and several jobs I have done there have been 0 or 1 block left after I am finished.

The flip side, I always take a bag or two of premix with cause I usually need them to finish.

bwalley · 03-21-2009, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HgWhiz

One saturday a fire protection installer asked me if I had seen allthread anchor (I can't remember what he called it) and at first I was puzzled but I soon remembered I had taken something that was fire protection related.
It was the all thread I had needed so I told him that had borrowerd some allthread but I was finished and before I could tell him where to find it he interupted me and said he found the allthread already but couldn't find the other piece that was attached. So I went to where I remembered tossing and found it. He said "I'm sorry to bug you for this but I have been with for this company for 6 years and they always send just enough to finish and this is last piece I need then I can go home".

Isn't that kind a like a Mason going to the lunch area at lunch and telling someone to give back the block they were sitting on so the they could finish the job.

A company sending exactly enough material for a one man crew to install it on a commercial building (a Staples retail store for instance) impresses me.

I would love to hear from those who are this good.

I wish I was this good at buying just enough material.

When you said you borrowed some all thread, are you saying you took material from another trade without asking first?

If a guy is sitting on the last block that I need to finish up the job, yes I would take it.

HgWhiz · 03-21-2009, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwalley

I wish I was this good at buying just enough material.

When you said you borrowed some all thread, are you saying you took material from another trade without asking first?
I would have asked but he had left already that day. I am not proud of what I did but I do not regret it because if hadn't I would still be under the assumption that every trade on every job has waste which is not true

If a guy is sitting on the last block that I need to finish up the job, yes I would take it.

I wasn't insinuating it would be rude to take it(I would take it too) just that it is unlikely for a masonry company to be that precise in their estimation of materials that one block missing would get noticed

HgWhiz · 03-21-2009, 04:17 PM

Bidding a job is like playing spades in my opinion. Too much material left over after the job is complete can sandbag you while not enough material can be worse. I believe minimizing the unknown factors is essential for any company to be competitive in bidding.

What are some known unknowns.
A material misplaced
(puttting unit in the wrong place leaving you with one useless unit left over and one more unit needed to finish)
B material stolen (or borrowed)

C material damaged
I. from your supplier
II. from your employee
III. from other workers on the job
IV. from weather

consolidatedbui · 04-03-2009, 01:24 AM

Hello all,
Any estimator who thinks its better or cheaper running to the store for one more part rather than have a little extra to take is a complete fools....................
FUNNY EXAMPLE.. i once had a worker who bragged to me that while they were at home depot they needed shims for a door install or windows, whatever it was...... the worker was so proud to state that he remembered to come to the shop and pickup the shims he saw laying at the shop... i was so lucky to have an employee who decided to save me the dollar a pack shims from home depot and DRIVE TO MY SHOP 10 MINUTES AWAY TO GET THE SHIMS..... i said to him as the smile faded away " so you cost me $10 in gas and labor to save a dollar pack of f*&^in shims, ...what the ****?"
dave

consolidatedbui · 04-03-2009, 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hgwhiz

one saturday a fire protection installer asked me if i had seen allthread anchor (i can't remember what he called it) and at first i was puzzled but i soon remembered i had taken something that was fire protection related.
It was the all thread i had needed so i told him that had borrowerd some allthread but i was finished and before i could tell him where to find it he interupted me and said he found the allthread already but couldn't find the other piece that was attached. So i went to where i remembered tossing and found it. He said "i'm sorry to bug you for this but i have been with for this company for 6 years and they always send just enough to finish and this is last piece i need then i can go home".

Isn't that kind a like a mason going to the lunch area at lunch and telling someone to give back the block they were sitting on so the they could finish the job.

A company sending exactly enough material for a one man crew to install it on a commercial building (a staples retail store for instance) impresses me.

I would love to hear from those who are this good.

i would have cursed you taking my all thread.... Ask first is polite, they would have said yes im sure..... But what if they decided to take your drywall like it was nothing? Unless of course you guys are on a good status already... Which i find hard cause most sprinkler guys ive met are the bigget primadonas in the industry.. Even more than hvac

Anti-wingnut · 04-03-2009, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by consolidatedbui

cause most sprinkler guys ive met are the bigget primadonas in the industry.. Even more than hvac

I have found most sprinkler fitters, and especially those trained by the UA, very professional and courteous

HSConstruction · 04-03-2009, 01:52 PM

our local lumber yard does not charge a "restocking fee" so an extra handful of everything is always picked up.

sprinklertech · 09-18-2009, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HgWhiz

I would love to hear from those who are this good.

We're not that good but sometimes our computers are.

Sprinkler working drawings are very specific and we show everything including individual hangers. NFPA #13 requires we show exactly where hangers are located on the system so we get exact counts.

On something like a staples store everything is prefabricated in the shop, bundled and set out to the job with (hopefully) everything that is needed. We don't make up fabrication sheets the computer does and it goes exact.

But things happen. Sometimes a line needs to be moved, a sprinkler head is damaged or maybe a plumber wants to borrow some all thread rod (no problem there, we got to help each other) so our trucks have a goody box with a few extra things.