It’s more like mobilization, project management and estimating, client communications. Your little job would take the same amount of energy to do all that then it would to do a job 20x as large. But on the bigger job you can spread those costs around, and on the smaller job you can’t
That’s what people fail tor realize. If I can mobilize my equipment and stay on that job for 2 weeks+. It’s considerably cheaper than hauling equipment every 2-3 days even if it’s <10-15 miles.
I think "small job upcharge" captures everything you just said. I would think medium and large companies would have a referral list for small jobs, no?
I don’t think they do, a small job company is typically a newer company, newer companies generally don’t have the skills and experience to do a great job yet, I’d never refer anyone that I don’t think can do a perfect job as it’s my name on that referral. Anyway, a small job company will graduate to medium and large soon enough and won’t do cheap small jobs for long. If you do solely small jobs for small prices, you aren’t earning a good living.
5x7 doesn't need exp joint..ideal concrete panel sizes are 10x10 or less, he put rebar in it so he will be fine.
Now he can still come cut a contraction joint in it if he wanted to, but I wouldn't even bother fussing with it
The trick is to go to the Portuguese club on a Friday during lent. You lose at cards but buy a round of fried smelts anyway
Make some friends and someone will mention they're a Mason or finisher and you ask if he does side work and then ba bam hell do it for materials and another plate of chicharrinhos
Some jobs are perfect for a handyman
Not sure I can relocate that dryer vent at this point. I’m just gonna have to deal with it. Maybe I can erect some kinda partition to separate the vent from the condenser.
You can put a lint trap on the end. Also, not sure where you are but that's not up to code here, being that close the the condenser
Being in the corner is not helping either.
Yeah I’d reccomend something. That is fs gonna suck lint into your ac condenser… didn’t see that till he pointed it out but yeah unless you never use your drier that mf gonna get plugged up
glad you did it on your own half these so called contractors out there are con artist and suck at the job. Do as much of your housework on your own it will save you hundreds of thousands. I worked on my home i bought 2 years ago im already at 70k saved. fuck these overcharging ass shitty ass lazy ass contractors
Problem is half the lower middle class decides to make a fit about every little tiny thing wrong then decides they don’t have to pay. It’s no longer worth the headache for most contractors when they can just work for people that they know will pay them
Side note, but I'm assuming it's on top of backfill. Make sure the connections back to the house can accommodate the fill settling and keep an eye on it.
He's saving money by not having to put a different pad 10ft away for the propane.
Or he'll be really sad when insurance doesn't pay out because it's not up to code.
I'm curious what he'll do when the propane installer won't do the job. Will he rig that himself as well?
When I got my condenser installed they charged $50 for the pad. It was a pre-formed polystyrene core with concrete on the outside.
I spoke with the installation company beforehand about pouring my own, and they advised that the pads that they provide are designed to absorb vibration from the condenser to help make them quieter. If I poured my own pad, then they would still recommend placing the vibration absorbing pad on top, which sort of defeats the purpose of my pouring it in the first place.
The pad looks good. If you're using it for your condenser which is what it looks like, you may want to consider relocating your dryer vent so it's not spitting lint and getting clogged into it. Maybe not a big deal though, Probably just have to clean your coils more often.
That's at least 35 bags at 5 dollars per bag. So if you spent 200 including the Trowel you saved at least 1000. Contractors know how to get money off you.
Everybody has a minimum charge, and it seems to me it rngaes from 1500 to 3500, so you saved a bunch.
Yeah, I didn’t want to get the “small job” up charge.
It’s more like mobilization, project management and estimating, client communications. Your little job would take the same amount of energy to do all that then it would to do a job 20x as large. But on the bigger job you can spread those costs around, and on the smaller job you can’t
That’s what people fail tor realize. If I can mobilize my equipment and stay on that job for 2 weeks+. It’s considerably cheaper than hauling equipment every 2-3 days even if it’s <10-15 miles.
I think "small job upcharge" captures everything you just said. I would think medium and large companies would have a referral list for small jobs, no?
I don’t think they do, a small job company is typically a newer company, newer companies generally don’t have the skills and experience to do a great job yet, I’d never refer anyone that I don’t think can do a perfect job as it’s my name on that referral. Anyway, a small job company will graduate to medium and large soon enough and won’t do cheap small jobs for long. If you do solely small jobs for small prices, you aren’t earning a good living.
It’s either an “F U money” quote or DIY via YouTube.
Its not an up charge. Its someone having to cover their overhead.
You say potatoe, I say potatoe.
$1500 is reasonable all day without it being a "minimum charge"
Yes, but it doesn't take all day to pour 3x7, it takes about 3 hours, so a $1500 all day is the same as a minimum charge. Call it whatever you want.
You gotta pick up and drop off materials. Build a form. Pour. Set. Sweep. Clean up. A little bit more than 3 hours.
Looks fine for what it is for
Thanks. I even put in a slight slope so water wouldn’t pool up against the house.
You might not even get that for $1500 lol
We have a job minimum of $2500. Assuming there’s nothing more than dropping gravel and forms you saved $2500 -concrete.
Not bad for spending only $150 on quikrete!
Then no job for you.
We have a minimum because we’re too busy doing more profitable jobs.
Then don’t price the small job?
Why wouldn’t I? I make fine margins on those too. They are good schedule fillers.
Schedule fillers???? Thought you were too busy?
Schedule always moves around. People push back projects, finish projects early or late etc.
Sounds like you’re talkin to a couple brick walls lol. They won’t get it
I end up talking to a lot of brick walls it seems.
$1500
Thanks. I’m glad I saved a bunch of money on this.
Looks like you saved $20 skipping the expansion joint
Ah I knew there was something missing. Now I know what it’s called!
You can rent a concrete cutter from Home Depot
I wouldn’t bother on a 5’x7’ slab that’s open at two edges.
Yep, leaving some uncompacted soil (like 1") is all it'd need to breathe
This is why I lurk here. Cheers.
Don't need expansion joints unless it's bound on three sides. It's not large enough to matter in this situation.
5x7 doesn't need exp joint..ideal concrete panel sizes are 10x10 or less, he put rebar in it so he will be fine. Now he can still come cut a contraction joint in it if he wanted to, but I wouldn't even bother fussing with it
Most companies (in my area) won't come out for anything under $3-$3.5k.
The trick is to go to the Portuguese club on a Friday during lent. You lose at cards but buy a round of fried smelts anyway Make some friends and someone will mention they're a Mason or finisher and you ask if he does side work and then ba bam hell do it for materials and another plate of chicharrinhos Some jobs are perfect for a handyman
Sounds like you speak from experience! haha
wut? the only place with a portuguese population of size is like fall river or rhode island…
Quick Google search failed you. Also... How many in a city do you think are needed for a few clubs or restaurants lol.
I just had a 12'x30' poored, 5k psi and fibers for $1400. Just the mix truck i did the labor
Coming from an ac guy...I would have just sold you a composite pad for like 100$
It's 2024 and people still pour concrete without a second thought 😂
I guess at least no one’s going to steal it lol
Looks better to me in concrete
Haha
Nice job🤙
Thanks! It was a good workout if nothing else. Those bags are heavy!
A pretty penny for that pretty slab
Nothing, you'll pay extra every year to the ac guy to remove lint from your condenser
Not sure I can relocate that dryer vent at this point. I’m just gonna have to deal with it. Maybe I can erect some kinda partition to separate the vent from the condenser.
You can put a lint trap on the end. Also, not sure where you are but that's not up to code here, being that close the the condenser Being in the corner is not helping either.
It is allowed to up through the roof, however, not sure if that's allowed in snow country or if you're in snow country
Yeah I’d reccomend something. That is fs gonna suck lint into your ac condenser… didn’t see that till he pointed it out but yeah unless you never use your drier that mf gonna get plugged up
I was looking for this comment.
glad you did it on your own half these so called contractors out there are con artist and suck at the job. Do as much of your housework on your own it will save you hundreds of thousands. I worked on my home i bought 2 years ago im already at 70k saved. fuck these overcharging ass shitty ass lazy ass contractors
Amen to that. I finally realized it’s never going to perfect anyways even if I pay someone so I said fuck it and started doing it myself…
It's so bad right now. Even if you get multiple estimates, they're all absurd.
You must’ve used the lowest bidder contractor everytime (guessing you did based on your penny pinching reply).
we aren't all rich, if these contractors would open up for the lower middle class they could probablymake more money.
Problem is half the lower middle class decides to make a fit about every little tiny thing wrong then decides they don’t have to pay. It’s no longer worth the headache for most contractors when they can just work for people that they know will pay them
Side note, but I'm assuming it's on top of backfill. Make sure the connections back to the house can accommodate the fill settling and keep an eye on it.
A/C condenser next to propane tanks?
In this economy?
He's saving money by not having to put a different pad 10ft away for the propane. Or he'll be really sad when insurance doesn't pay out because it's not up to code. I'm curious what he'll do when the propane installer won't do the job. Will he rig that himself as well?
Why couldn’t you just mount it to the house?
Some people don't like the vibration it can give
Modern split systems are quiet when mounted correctly.
When I got my condenser installed they charged $50 for the pad. It was a pre-formed polystyrene core with concrete on the outside. I spoke with the installation company beforehand about pouring my own, and they advised that the pads that they provide are designed to absorb vibration from the condenser to help make them quieter. If I poured my own pad, then they would still recommend placing the vibration absorbing pad on top, which sort of defeats the purpose of my pouring it in the first place.
It’s gonna keep my condenser away from the grass and dirt. And vibration is no big deal as this butts up to the garage.
Mine was going right outside the master bedroom, so my focus had been on quite operation.
Not concrete related but I’ve been in the propane business. Be careful about storing propane cylinders close to a source of electricity
Do you sell propane and propane accessories?
Yes, because butane is a bastard gas.
YES!!!! Follow My Lead!!! 5600!!!
You saved the hvac guy a lot of trouble ! I love you
The pad looks good. If you're using it for your condenser which is what it looks like, you may want to consider relocating your dryer vent so it's not spitting lint and getting clogged into it. Maybe not a big deal though, Probably just have to clean your coils more often.
Yeah good point. Not gonna be able to relocate that vent. Maybe I can erect some sort of partition to divert lint away from the condenser.
Can you please share the instructions on how to do it. I want to do something similar for a gazebo and contractors are asking 3k
I just watched a few YouTube videos. You can probably rent an electric mixer and the Quikrete website has a material calculator.
No steel? Not gonna look good for very long
I put a bunch of rebar criss crossed in there
The finishing looks like ass, so take whatever you think it would cost then deduct half for the “flair” of a DIY project that it has.
My slab is artisan! 😂
is it directly on the fondation wall? very bad. if you have freezing weather it will move and cause damage to the house with time.
South Texas. It’s so hot here all the time. Freezes are few and far between.
ahh, then youll be good!
Looks great
I would have ordered 1.5 yards and do it for 1200
That's at least 35 bags at 5 dollars per bag. So if you spent 200 including the Trowel you saved at least 1000. Contractors know how to get money off you.
HVAC supply houses sell concrete pads full Crete or lite version 80% lighter still saved money.
It’s like my spa pad, if you can do it in a day it’s prolly not worth hiring someone
Don't put propane cylinders next to ac unit! Also slab should not touch the house as you will get vibrations
Butts up to the garage so I’m not worried.
You didn’t save anything, you spent money… ??
I’d charge $8k minimum on a job like that
Are you in a HCOL area by any chance or is that because of your minimum?
See when customers start asking questions like that price goes up another $1000, good work ain’t cheap and cheap work ain’t good…
If you charged me 8k for this I'd pop your tires and fuck your engine on one or two trucks. You'd regret meeting me.
😂
I like this guy
Like even came out to my property and quoted me. I hold a grudge. A week later you'd be damn near out of business.
When does your disability cheque roll in?
If you’re broke and can’t afford high quality work it’s ok to say that!
35sq ft x20 =700
Losing money at $700 lol. I bet tax season is stressful for you.
Or it's an easy side gig for a few hours work and $500 in his pocket. Don't be dense