7 Things Contractors Do That DIYers Should Learn From

Comments · 584

• TI

  @tinman1955 · 5 months ago

  I must respectfully disagree. As a fairly accomplished DIYer things seldom take twice as long as I expect. More like 3x or 4x.

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• GE

  @GettinWired · 5 months ago

  When customers tell me they'll provide the materials, I say "No, you don't know what to buy or how much". When they want me to do partial work with the understanding that they will finish it I say "No, I can't warranty it and it's a liability issue". When they say "Here's my written scope of work, my drawings, example pictures of what I want, and a full list of material quantities, can you please look it over and let me know what you think", I say "I love you, let's work together". There's been a handful of times in my career that I've worked with some extremely impressive DIY folks who have the drive,determination, and have truly done their homework and it's an absolute pleasure to work with those people.

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• KM

  @KMFS2008 · 5 months ago

  The 1st skid steer I rented was about 3 times bigger than it needed to be due to availability. Out of the 6 hours I put on the machine, 4 hours were from trying to get it out of the sinkhole I found in a drought.

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• WI

  @williamhart8974 · 5 months ago

  for the new DIY'er, step #1 Volunteer at Habitat for Humanity. Learn basics skills while helping out someone in your community.

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• FA

  @Factory400 · 5 months ago (edited)

  Contractors / Pros are the reason I DIY. Maybe 10% are good. The rest of them just rush through, they fail to keep up with details, they don&apos;t know what screws are proper. <br><br>This has been my experience over 3 decades from east coast to the Gulf Coast to the west coast. <br><br>It is EXTREMELY rare to find contractors that do things right. They ALL say they are amazing and never had a complaint. I&apos;ve worked with a few amazing contractors, but tons and tons of terrible ones. <br><br>Now, I do everything. Even when I make rookie mistakes, it&apos;s typically better than most contractors. When I actually hire a contractor, I have to take off work and watch everything they do. It&apos;s a full time job to hire a contractor or a full time job to do it myself. <br><br>The industry, overall, is terrible. This guy is 1 in a million.

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• ZA

  @zapaholic · 5 months ago

  I started out bidding &quot;Time and material&quot; because it was the easiest way. I considered my work quality work but soon realized NO ONE wanted to pay for quality work but EVERYBODY wanted quality work. Until a customer got to know and trust me, I had to &quot;hide&quot; my quality in a hard, heavily padded bid. I didn&apos;t get every job but soon enough I got a reputation for providing quality, affordable, work.

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• BR

  @brianzachary5618 · 5 months ago

  When I was 21 I went to work for a framing contractor. After a couple of years he decided he wanted to buy a shrimp boat and get away from construction. He offered to sell all the pneumatic equipment to me and another fellow and the two of us became partners. We kept doing the same job but overnight we were making twice as much money. The main reason I am sharing this is for the advice our boss gave us. He said if anyone asks us to quote a price, figure out how long it is going to take you, and double it.

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• BU

  @BubbasDad · 5 months ago

  I started out as a DIYer and then transitioned into being a General Contractor building spec. &nbsp;The hardest part of doing remodeling and building for others was dealing with the customers. &nbsp;I eventually found that when a customer wants the cheapest price, you don&apos;t want to work for them.

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• BL

  @bluehawk7342 · 5 months ago

  YouTube is a great resource for DIYers. &nbsp; Sometimes it&apos;s hard to know which technique or plan is the best, but I have great confidence in the advice this man is giving.

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• MI

  @Mikego55 · 5 months ago

  I’m kinda glad I’m out of the business. I started when a handshake was a man’s word, and ended when contracts and permits and loans and plans and insurances equaled the weight of the project

  85

• AS

  @asmith7876 · 5 months ago (edited)

  A simple rearranging of kitchen cabinets to install a free dishwasher turned into a full blown kitchen renovation. Removing the old sink base revealed the previous owners had a leak they didn&apos;t repair, rotting the floor out and to hold up the piece of plywood they slipped in under the sink we found out they used firewood. Yes, chunks of firewood. &nbsp;And of course my wife HAD to have the stone and tile backsplash...🤣 &nbsp;A few thousand dollars later we had our new kitchen with free dishwasher. &nbsp;Two months later it broke and we had to buy a new one. &nbsp;Did I mention we had the worst home inspection ever?

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• IN

  @ineedmoney299 · 5 months ago

  Love love your channel sir. Like a grandfather I never had. Literally.

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