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Low Bidder

JEV

JEV

Mr. Congeniality
I was talking over the fence last night to my neighbor (Al) who is having a bunch of work done to his home by two young guys with an Amish father/son team in tow. Al is retired from UPS and is your typical cocky Italian who thinks he's still back in the hood. He was bragging how cheap these guys were working for, and how much money he was saving by finding them. He proudly had me come through the gate and showed me the 10'x12' shed that they framed, and asked me what I thought. Being the cocky bastard that I am, I just said "Yup, Al, it's a shed." and left it at that. The walls were 24" on centers with single plate top and bottom (the OSB holds the corners together). The rafters are 2x6's 16" o.c. with a 2x4 ridge board, and they sit on the front and rear walls WITHOUT a bird's mouth cut, and WITHOUT collar ties. Just one nail shot in on each side of the rafter into the single top plate... lots of strength there, right?:yum: There are no internal wall braces in place, so it's going to be exciting when they start sheeting the roof. Wish I could be here to watch, but I have work to do. Oh, almost forgot, Al told me that they don't cleanup at the end of the day. They just put away their tools in the trailer and leave. He was out there stacking up drop-off and picking up soda cups and McDonalds bags to put in the garbage. They put up new railings on the deck on Monday, and their scrap and crap is still there on the deck...but he's saving a ton of money.:whistling: I never did ask him if he got a permit for the shed. Hmmm...that would mean no inspection other than mine, and I'm not going to tell him his contractor doesn't know what he's doing. I still have to live next door to the guy.
 
The Amish work cheaper but you better be on top of things if you want it done right. There are some around who are pretty sharp but they know only what their daddy taught them. The young ones are full of muscle but don't know jack about codes or strength of materials. I have made them tear out and redo some things because they did some dumb stuff. The sad part is most folks have no idea and think they are all craftsmen. I have learned some things from them and I know they became better builders from working with me. Once you take the time to explain why something needs done a certain way they catch on pretty quick. I am amazed some of the stuff they build stays standing at times.
 
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