I've been getting a LOT of calls from hopeful subcontractors lately. I had no idea I'd need to anticipate that aspect of building. I'm assuming it's not completely normal but more a result of the current economy because no one I know who has built has ever mentioned that to me before. When a building permit is pulled it is public record and anyone can see that. It has our name on it and anyone looking for work can call us. I have multiple calls daily of people asking if they can give us a bid on dry wall or electrical or flooring or roofing, etc. I even had some guys MOM call me to offer his services. We already have so many friends and family members in this line of work that we made the choice from the beginning not to hire anyone ourselves. We direct all interested people to our builder to let him sift through everyone and make those decisions. We trust his judgement, which is why we hired him.
A couple days ago, we were at the site with our builder. I had a meeting to be at soon and most of our time was taken up by a semi truck delivering trusses and getting stuck in the loose power dirt on the side of our house. Took a while to get him out of there, but Tim (our builder) towed him out with a Dodge pick up. Ten points for Dodge, I guess! (We own a GMC.) But while we were talking with Tim, a representative from Home Depot pulled up and came in to talk about how we were losing money using anyone other than Home Depot for building supplies. He was so forward and awkward that I was instantly put off. I didn't say anything, but Todd later said I was obviously annoyed by my body language and facial expressions. Made me feel a little bad because I was trying to conceal that by being quiet!
But our builder was SO polite and willing to listen respectfully to everything the guy had to say. He took a genuine interest in him. I was so shocked. And I feel guilty now that I was so shocked, but I honestly studied Tim's face WAITING for him to show some sign that he agreed the guy was annoying or intruding or SOMETHING! But not one hint of it. Todd and I both left seeing how someone survives in this industry- with a LOT of dignity and genuine respect for everyone else in the industry. He's built a great reputation for it. I guess it pays to not be a jerk when you want to be (don't most people learn that when they're 5? Why didn't I?) It really humbled me to see how kind he was to a man who drove me crazy just for coming without calling, without being invited, and stealing our time! (In my mind.)
Well, I wish I could let them all find work on our project. It's really actually eye opening and disturbing to me how many people are trying hard to find work in that industry. I went for a drive a couple days ago hunting for other homes being built in our area to see if we were the only ones because I hadn't heard of any other in a long time. I found 3 other homes being built on my drive. One, I found out, was just shy of 10,000 square feet! I bet they're getting every caller in the industry! But I'm glad that at least we're not the only prospective job for new construction in the area. You used to see 10 or so just leaving our genereal neighborhood. Another gentleman Todd and I were talking to this week announced that they will be building a house in 3 months too. Very cool.
We leave for California tomorrow at the crack of dawn and will be gone until Thursday. A LOT can change in that amount of time, so we're excited to see the house when we come back! This has been a great adventure so far. It is SO surreal to see walls up and walk through rooms and actually see physical structures where I just had lines on paper for so long. I stared at those plans and visualized it all for much longer than is probably healthy! I had to make sure I didn't overlook some mistake. But I'm probably half nuts for taking so much time on it! 3 years to be exact. It's kind of crazy to draw lines on paper and see them become a reality, though. I really don't know how else to explain it. Just a crazy cool feeling to see it all go up now.
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