Take your lumps and keep moving, going back over your mistakes a million times after you learned the relevant lesson isn't going to help any. I struggle with the same thing, it's a process to learn to let screwups go once you've learned from them. I screwed up an order for an entire house worth of windows, and I lost sleep over it for weeks. Didn't change the situation, just made me worse at everything else I was doing at the time.

I don't know what your overall health is, but if you're otherwise healthy the chest pains could be anxiety attacks. Try some breathing exercises, if you have a Fitbit they have one built in. Also, when you're having the shortness of breath and chest pains try to focus on the environment around you, count inconsequential things like how many parking spots are in a row at the supply house, and try to note colours and sounds, this can help deescalate your body's fight or flight response.

As far as the window, I've never heard of somebody just tossing a smaller window into a framed opening without at least putting some cripples in, but there's always somebody's cousin that can do the job on the weekend for a six pack 🤷. Now you know to always check, put it behind you and move forward. I wonder what's holding the window in, they probably nailed through the head and called it good 😬.

 

I don’t know how they did the window, but yeah a good carpentry lesson on remodels is whatever is behind the siding or drywall isn’t going to be the same as the way you would do it. On an old house, about half the time the window openings won’t be done to current building code. Sometimes you have to write up a quote for exploratory demolition work before you can give them a bid on the actual remodel work. Going to the city and checking for permit records is a good idea too before you get started. Another thing you might see on old homes are the windows with the large weights that pulls the window back up. Those would be framed with a larger window opening like you said.

It doesn’t sound like this would be hard to fix, you just need to add some backing for the awning? I would get it done right and charge her what you said, she’d probably use you again if you did a good job. This won’t be the first time you have unexpected things come up in remodels. That’s why you generally mark up more if you’re doing remodel work.

 

Normal stuff. It's a learning curve.

I used to get panic attacks and anxiety attacks all the time. Got to where I couldn't get out of bed in the morning.

You know what fixed it. Raising prices. I was working my butt off and still starving. Raising prices allowed me to deal with the unknowns and still make money. Or not lose enough to matter.

I also always add a caveat that we may run into unexpected issues and we will discuss them if there is an extra charge.

I always have a percentage of Oops margin on my quotes. So a 500 dollar job might have 100 bucks added. This would have allowed you to just pull thebwindow and add backing. Sure, you wouldn't make any money, but it would cover your time to do a quick fix.

How hard is it to pull the header trim and add backing. 20 minutes tops? If they want a better fix, charge them.

 

Re: the window, if I’m understanding right, not your fault it wasn’t installed right, but you dropped the ball by making seem like your fault to the customer. The window needs to be framed right and you aren’t doing your job if you don’t communicate and bill for that or refer to someone who can fix it. Windows are not supposed to be floating and that needs correction.

im a remodeler, work on homes as old as 1912 and mostly 1950s, so every week I see screwy **** but its not my fault and my customers understand because I explain the situation and ways to cure the defect (at fair cost). subsurface clause helps too

re: everything else. You seem to need a support system. Not just strangers on a forum. And in general, toughen up if you want to hack it owning a business in this space. Go work for someone else if setbacks this small gives you heart palpitations.

 

I've seen a lot that were just set in place on top of whatever framing was there. Trim locates the sides.

 

It's fairly common?
I asked a buddy and he says it's within code because they attach to the header/crippler and that's enough.

 

I used to get nauseous all the time cuz I was nervous, but that doesn't really happen anymore and I'm okay looking stupid in front of people because I know sometimes this stuff does happen, it was more in relation to my last post about being overworked and needing a break. My chest pain and shortness of breath ihas been around before this job and it's been 4 days and I still have it, I just need to go see a doctor I don't think it's stress related.

 

This new experience need added to the memory log, better yet make real notes so you can look back. Next time you look at a similar job you can refer to your notes and allow for any similar issue.

I went on my own 20 years ago and still make notes on jobs, what went well and what didn't. Application rates, paint coverage for something unusual etc etc.

The difference between a professional and a DIYer is the professional has solved the problem before he has encountered it.

 

How old are you?

An anxiety attack over something like that means you may need to switch to decaf.

If it makes you feel any better I had to make the call on a 150 yard pour this morning to cancel because of site conditions. My backup date isn't for two weeks so I single handedly pushed the entire project back by two weeks for everyone.....it is what it is, can't change it.

 

you may need to switch to decaf.

You mean brown sadness water?

 

Ouch. That's a stress induced.

But like you said, it is the way it is at times.

 

Is this the same guy who wanted to get big really fast? or was that someone else?

 

Probably not me. I'm trying to grow, but I'm not planning on being anything more than just me

 

Definitely get to a doctor ASAP! You should probably also go to an x-ray and imaging center and get a heart plaque scan. It’s probably not covered by insurance but it should be less than $100. I just had one done and was in and out in less than 30 minutes. I have two friends that getting the scan saved their lives. If my brother in law hadn’t been so stubborn it might have saved his life too.

 

How do they remediate any issues if they find one?

 

I'd get the blood work done no harm 30 or not. You may not be built for a larger business, you don't have to be a big business to make money and smaller is less stress speaking from experience. Like calimike says stay small keep it all.

I say that because you have to kinda want that burden and stress to grow. I get "anxiety'" when chits flowing and going good and start a project to improve at this point but for 15 years it was grow grow grow. Wanted it like I need water to live.

When you want it like that You'd think it wouldn't stress you out but many do, seen a dude break out in hives running three houses and I could do that in an 8 hrs day alone. Legit hives. Not worth that.

Focus on profitability not growth and improving skills and value offered to your clients and prosperity will follow amigo

 

I'd get the blood work done no harm 30 or not. You may not be built for a larger business, you don't have to be a big business to make money and smaller is less stress speaking from experience. Like calimike says stay small keep it all.

I say that because you have to kinda want that burden and stress to grow. I get "anxiety'" when chits flowing and going good and start a project to improve at this point but for 15 years it was grow grow grow. Wanted it like I need water to live.

When you want it like that You'd think it wouldn't stress you out but many do, seen a dude break out in hives running three houses and I could do that in an 8 hrs day alone. Legit hives. Not worth that.

Focus on profitability not growth and improving skills and value offered to your clients and prosperity will follow amigo

I think my retirement plan is going to be firing everyone and going back to doing repair work with a bucket of tools and a truck. It will keep me busy but will be basically stress free.

 

Until you need a second set of hands to do something...

 

I got a blood panel and expected high cholesterol, blood pressure and cholesterol and all was like a kids, but liver was elevated. Thought it was booze although I'm not an every day drinker, nope, 6 aleve a day was the cause. Last drink was in early February and aleve. The proteins you wouldn't make if it was booze I'm above normal, AST is still elevated. 13 years x 365 x 6 is a lot of aleve. Glad never used energy drinks I'm down to 4 cups of black coffee a day, was 2 pots lol

 

Wow thats a lot of Aleve

 

4 cups of coffee is about the same as 2 energy drinks.

 

Yeah I know lots of calm healthy dudes who drink coffee and don't wig out or have anxiety attacks like my guys. I'm 41 they got popular when I was banging nails as a hand and I've never done them. 5 hr energy if I have 2 12 am wake up for foundation pours in a row maybe.

Also I drink 2 before 5 or 530 am laterst and one about 9 and one at 1 or 2 pm, not at once

 

Energy drinks can trigger afib, which makes you tired .

 

That IS a lot of Aleve. After a couple weeks of Aleve, my system backs up. I go for a few days at a time when I'm hurting.

 

Caffeine was making my heart beat funny 30 years ago; doctor made me quit. I can have a half caf now and again like when I've got a long drive without affecting my heart or sleep. I love the mood boost. When you're off caffeine and you take a hit, it's like cocaine.

If I glance at an energy drink, I get high.

 

I've been having chest pain/shortness of breath and need to be over this and get in touch with a doctor)

I get both when I'm run down. Hasn't killed me yet, but sometimes they have other triggers.They have any rhyme or reason? Drywall and cedar dust both hit me hard. You carry any sort of inhaler? Sometimes that helps. Sometimes it doesn't. Just a thought. Saw the other guys mentioning panic attacks. Those feel the same sometimes

 

Is this the same guy who wanted to get big really fast? or was that someone else?

Probably not me. I'm trying to grow, but I'm not planning on being anything more than just me

No it was you

"Spending a lot of time marketing, in meetings, promotional stuff too. Trying to grow as fast as I can"

 

There's a very big difference between growing and getting big. I don't know about anyone else but who is fully booked in their first year of business?

 

Weeds grow fast. Weeds burn out fast. Slow and steady is the only way for a one man band. You can only do so much. Eventually you find yourself dropping the ball a few too many times. You can do a few things really well, or a bunch of stuff moderately well, but eventually you will over extend yourself. Either physically, mentally or financially. Or all three at once. Then the real burnout happens. Then your customer's aren't happy as you struggle to keep up and drop the easy stuff as well as the big stuff. Remember, to most of your customers, their job is the only job, just human nature.

I am struggling to take weekends off. Always a goal, I rarely make it happen consistently. It's always, well, I'll just do this one small job Saturday, but I won't do anything Sunday after I run across town and grab materials, and I can swing by so and so's and quote that job real quick, then I'll take the day off and clean the trailer and load the gear I need this week, then I'll relax and send some emails and order parts.

You need real time off. Your brain needs to catch up. You will be amazed at how much more focused you will be if you stop every once in a while. I get the go, go, go. I'm usually one of the few guys grabbing materials and running to the job all weekend. The lumberyard guys laugh about it with me.

Work Saturdays if you must, you are young, and there are times when you truly need to go full throttle for weeks at a time. But take Sundays off whenever possible. Really take it off. It will pay dividends during the week.

 

And if you did as was suggested earlier after that big job was done you would have lost many customers to fill the following year. Build up relationships and reputation one of which should not necessarily be the most expensive without backing it up

 

Your gonna have to add some context or rewrite this, it makes no sense

 

You probably do need to raise your prices, going by you saying you aren't making 80k, but not necessarily. Some people don't harness their overhead well, usually because they haven't built a road map to profitability (business plan) to assign all the nickel and dimes where they belong, if you take care of nickels and dimes dollars take care of themselves. Check your overhead and look at what it cost you a month and then however you bill, t&m or fixed you need to be able to pay that, plus 40% (just my personal rule of thumb when I was a smaller show, not a rule or anything) as a minimum to set aside for taxes and surprises and putting into your capital or captial reserve account, atleast 15% for me when I was running a few hands and doing remodels needed to be saved, usually 30%. Then if you want 80k add 7k a month plus your labor burden to it. Those three numbers are your bare nut, no profit. That's if you included EVERYTHING you need to run your business including repairs and tires and down time and holidays etc. Most one man shows should expect 10-15% dead days where they are doing billing or something didn't show up etc.

Divide that number by how many hours you figure into the job a month or hours billed if T&M and that is your hourly rate to buy yourself a job, no profit.

Read Running A Successful Construction Company and Nail your Numbers by David Gerstal to learn how to do this systematically

 

This would fall under warranty in my company and we have a line in our annual planning each year for warranty

 

Anytime I do that I have them pay my guys directly per hr. Helps fill voids and keeps them honest as the work is not "free". Amazing how much less motivated people are when labor is free.

Some guys seem to like a little down time here and there, others are sliding into Friday without enough money for lunch. I've met guys you could pay 1k/hr and they would still be broke on Friday. We always have things to do on off days so it never really comes up.

 

Oh no, I get it if it's optional. You get reprimanded if you aren't there at 6:15. I always aim for 10 min before start time but I think a lot of guys get too hung up on it. I've met plenty of guys who just weren't morning people but would work circles around you once they get moving.