The Dirtiest Word in Construction…

It is said that experience is the best teacher, and that very much applies to me, and very much to this post, but I might also tend to disagree. Admitting my bias, I think my Dad is the best teacher (he was a schoolteacher also), and as I’ve mentioned here in this blog at least once, he told me as a young man in a heated debate about trying/failing/learning “son, you don’t have to make all the mistakes to learn from them, you can learn from other people’s mistakes too!” The amount of times I’ve used this dirty word, I am not proud of, so hopefully a reader or two somewhere can follow my Dad’s advice to me and will learn from my mistakes.

Now, if my juicy title has sucked you in and you’re hoping for some profanity, I will let you down easy. The dirtiest word in construction isn’t profane. If you’ve spent any time on jobsites, or around construction workers, you’ve likely learned all kinds of foul descriptors for the portable toilets on site, a unit of measurement that is infinitely small, or heard all kinds of weekend exploits on Monday morning that could make your hair curl. This isn’t that.

In fact, I would argue that this word is worse than any other foul verbiage you could hear on site, because those words don’t cost money, and this one does.

The dirtiest word in construction is…should. Should? That’s it? That’s why I clicked on this damn blog title and read this far into it??? Hold on, hear me out, give me one paragraph to explain why, and then you can leave if you want.

(True) “Hey, did your coworker get a utilities locate so we don’t dig and hit any buried water/sewer/electrical lines?” “Uhhhh yeah he should have.”

(True) “Hey is that gas meter disconnected?” “Yeah should be.”

(True)“Hey, do the drywallers know they’re scheduled to be onsite on Monday?” “Ya, they should be there.”

So What To Do…

You get the idea? The amount of times I said that word early in my construction admin career was not great. All it takes is one time for the should to bite you and hopefully you learn. It took me a few more times than one. I am happy to report that now, if that word ever creeps up and into my mouth, I swallow it faster than a late night shwarma in my 20s. After eating that horrible word, I pick up the phone and I make a phone call to confirm that what I think should be happening, is indeed happening. As I tell my students, phones are for more than texting, and phone calls are free. In fact, in this context, phone calls can save you thousands.

So if you’ve made it this far, I’m hoping the next time that word enters your brain about almost anything, you get rid of it faster than sour milk and pick up the phone. Should has cost people money, time, and unfortunately life and limb. If, like me, you don’t learn this lesson right away, you may find yourself using some of those other construction site words, but they don’t fix the gas meter once the pipe’s been cut, or get the drywallers to your job site. Hopefully you can learn from others’ mistakes, or at least, you should.

Albatross Design & Draft

Albatross Design & Draft Youtube

For some strange reason, it seems to be the holy grail in the construction industry, like finding a unicorn in the forest, or that band that you found before any of your friends. If someone has found a good quality contractor that has exceeded their expectations, they may positively GUSH about it. They will feel so lucky and cared for, they will seemingly tell the world. But why is that the case? Shouldn’t that feeling be the rule and not the exception?

In an industry where entire TV shows have been built on fixing other contractor’s mistakes and “making it right,” it may seem like an uphill battle. So this post can be looked at from two different angles. Maybe you’re a client, trying to find a builder, or maybe you’re a builder, trying to get insight on what clients are actually looking for. Either way, these are

3 things to look for in a quality builder/contractor:

3. Worker Loyalty

Let me give you a little insight into the labour side of the construction industry. Workers, particularly in carpentry, are historically fickle when it comes to loyalty. Often workers will move companies for a $1/hour raise. If word gets out a certain company is paying more, let the exodus begin. So the flip side of that is that when clients are interviewing builders, one of the key hallmarks of a quality builder and business owner, is that they can maintain a workforce of loyal workers. In a labour market with a skilled worker deficit, workers can get a job almost whenever/wherever they want, so when workers stay with the same company for years, we can assume:

They pay their workers a competitive wage
They aren’t antagonistic or overbearing (workers nowadays don’t put up with that)
They have consistent work that is interesting/challenging enough
The workers feel invested in and feel some responsibility for the reputation of the company.

These are all signs of a builder/contractor that is established and has at the very least a good/average reputation (builders with a poor reputation usually don’t hang around for years in one place).

The tradeoff for the company, is that maintaining continuity of workers will:

maximize their efficiency (workers get used to one another and work well together)
allow workers to gain experience (more experience/expertise means higher level/more complex work can be acquired)
carry your company culture (high level of quality/professionalism is expected)

2. Organization/Professionalism

There was once a new roofing company in my city that was created by two formers members of a well established roofing company. They knew the general reputation of roofers in our town (less than clean, less than upstanding citizens), and when their workers showed up on job sites in clean collared, company logo’d shirts, that sure made a splash in our community. Did it mean that the workers were any better/more skilled than their competition? No, but it sure gave the impression that they were, and that they cared how they were perceived.

It’s no secret that in almost any industry, professionalism and organization are markers of well run businesses, and the construction industry is no exception. Professionalism in communication, organizational processes, detailed financial documentation, thorough scheduling documents, all of these are indications of a well run construction company.

Now it bears mentioning that many builders gain the vast majority of their experience on the tools, and are business owners by default, or they want the autonomy, they want the paycheques etc. Many despise the office work and administrative side of running a contracting business, and thus, their organization and professionalism are terrible. These builders can still somehow be great at what they do. The inverse can also be true, the most organized and professional, customer oriented contracting company can have poor workers that produce a poor product. But both of these are exceptions to the rule. The poorly organized builder will suffer because they will not reach the echelon and clientele they are hoping for, because that level of clientele understands the pitfalls of getting into business with someone disorganized and with poor professionalism. The professional seeming operation may last a little longer, but the proof is always in the pudding, and poor work results in a poor reputation. This scenario is really quite rare. Overall, a company with high levels of detail in all areas mentioned above will out perform the rest, simply because of the foresight and processes required to prepare detailed preconstruction documents will rescue their projects from common administrative pitfalls at the very least.

1. Good Past Client Relationships

If you’re evaluating builders, this is one I would pay very close attention to. Try to get the addresses of some their previous projects so you can go and look at their work. If they won’t take you to see any of their previous work, it’s time to get out of there. If they will, but seem hesitant to only show you some of the projects in their portfolio, there’s likely a reason. There is no shame in digging a little deeper and asking why you can’t see a certain project. It may be an innocuous reason, or it may be something more serious.

Building a house or doing a major renovation is a major investment, and getting the right builder is worth doing a LOT of due diligence on.

If the builder takes you to see some past clients, this is your chance to get a sense of what working with the builder is actually like. These are 5 questions I would not leave without asking, no matter what kind of awkward silence follows:

Were there any conflicts on the project that you can tell me about? How did they get resolved? (you can tell by their eyes if there’s something they don’t want to mention)
How did the builder’s estimate hold up to the final budget?
How did the builder’s schedule hold up to the as built schedule?
How would you describe the level of communication from the builder and their team?
Would you work with the builder again?

If the builder is present (which I don’t recommend), you’ll be able to see the dynamic between client and builder. Is it tense at all or is it pleasant? In the best circumstances, it will be a friendly exchange, but it doesn’t have to be, it is a business relationship after all. I advise clients to look for patterns. If you visit 3 projects and all 3 were 20% over budget, I’d be asking some pointed questions. If all 3 were 3 months late, I’d be asking more questions.

Doing a major renovation or new build is a highly complicated process, which requires a huge investment and a trustworthy contractor to execute the project properly. There are many many great builders/contractors in every city in the world, hopefully some of these ideas will help folks discover them. If you’re a client looking for a builder, best of luck, you can always send me an email if you get stuck or have questions. If you’re a builder, I hope this small post on this corner of the internet can help you be a better version of your best self.

Thanks,

Aaron