FAQs
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Of course. I constantly read articles pertaining to the work that I do to see if there are any new methods or materials that i can implement. I spend almost every night doing just that. I also ask when I pick up materials if there is anything new that might be coming out to make a job cheaper, or go a little bit smoother. If I meet someone who does the same work I will ask them their opinions on products and methods just to see if they have information that I don't. I have always been that way. I always like to approach things with an open mind and I love to learn. I believe the worst thing that you can do, is think you know everything. That limits your ability to learn, and advance.
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
I basically fell into it while I was pretty young. When I was in middle school I started taking woodworking classes, and that is when I realized that I loved to work with my hands and create beautiful things. From there I decided to go to a vocational high school. While I was finishing high school I started to work for a local apartment complex doing maintenance. I got a good amount of on the job experience there doing all kinds of repairs. From there I took a job with a construction company in north NJ. We did all kinds of residential renovations as well as some commercial. The owner also owned multiple apartment complexes, and houses that he purchased for the purpose of "flipping". While we were doing some masonry work on the P.C.Richards off of exit 12 on the NJ Turnpike I met a couple of guys that were able to get me into one of the local unions. I worked with them for a while on some major commercial projects.(such as constructing 3 new 7 story dorm buildings for Rutgers University New Brunswick) During some of the winter months, work slowed down, and sadly most of us were laid off. At that time a friend of mine introduced me to a guy who had inherited a substantial amount of money and wanted to get into real estate investment. He hired me as his project manager and and I worked with him on many houses that he bought as flips and rentals. All of which were in pretty bad shape, needing complete kitchens and bathrooms, finished basements, flooring, walls,etc... You name it and these houses needed it done! At some of the open houses, the real estate agents explained how impressed they were with the work that I was doing and they had clients of theirs that needed to sell their homes. They told me they could really benefit from my services...if only I was licensed and insured... That finally inspired me to start my own business! I got my NJ HIC registration(usually, incorrectly called a contractors license) and I hold a $1,000,000 insurance policy. Now I am able to offer quality work to everybody, including you!
- What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
I would suggest a couple of things. Take a look at the potential contractor's previous work, and make sure it is the quality that you would like to see in your home. Beware of very low priced quotes. If you receive one quote that is much lower than others that you may have received, you have to ask yourself why that is. Is the quality the same as the quality the higher priced contractors would offer? And is all the work you expect to be done included in the price quote? And does the price quote cover the materials and methods to properly complete the job? An example: I was asked for a quote on a concrete slab. A few days later the client told me that they had received a cheaper quote and asked if I could lower my price as they liked working with me, but wanted the best price. I explained that the price that was quoted would barely cover the materials needed, so she emailed me the quote. It was from an unlicensed contractor who did not include any steel reinforcement, a stone base for proper drainage, was going to be using a low strength concrete mix, and only pour a slab at half the recommended thickness. That explained the low price, but would surely cause the slab to fail. And last, never pay for a job upfront. I will usually ask for a deposit that will cover the cost of materials, and collect the balance upon completion. Some contractors do not enjoy the work that they do. They work strictly as a source of income. The payment for the job is their incentive to show up, show up on time, and produce a quality result in the time frame they provided. I have heard many times of clients paying in full, and than a contractor going to do another job, while leaving a current project incomplete for a period of time that was way past the completion date the client expected. Or, arguably even worse, rushing through the job and producing a sloppy result because they have already been paid.