Maaaaan…still getting leak reports at a furious pace; frustrating that I can’t help Jim chase around and look at stuff. Sure hope we’ll get some more large projects to bid once the rainy season’s over.
The downside of most leak repairs for JimCo is that they’re a low-margin grind; keeps the crew busy and creates some cash-flow, but they’re not very profitable.
Our costs of doing business keep rising at asinine rates -- mostly due to scumbag “construction defect” attorneys and CA’s broken Worker’s Comp system -- and there’s only so much people are willing to pay for proper roof repairs. (Since it’s so easy to find a handyman who will just slap some mastic on a leak, which will often fix it temporarily…and then there’s no rain for 7-10 months so the leak drops off their radar.)
But the repairs keep existing clients -- mostly professional property managers in my case -- happy, so we get opportunities to bid larger projects where we can make some real money.
Leak repairs also get us intra-company referrals to other property managers, which is good. But it’s still a frustrating grind during a rainy winter like this one.
Sure Happy It’s Thursday, Gerbil Nation!
Good morning, Leaky Fatwa, and Sven!
Hang in there, Fatwa. I’m sure with the volume of rain we’ve had this season that you can convince at least a portion of your clients to stop putting off needed maintenance.
Hai, Paddy; cheers for the positive thoughts re feelthy lucre.
The past two days we’ve been working at a new-to-us HOA in Simi Valley addressing about a dozen tile roof leaks on an “emergency” basis.
All of the ones which leaked were improperly installed and the basesheet is burned out. With about 56 townhomes, there’s certainly some lucrative work potential there. (Given that tile roof work is very labor-intensive.)
The tile pans -- which are, wide, shallow “U”-shaped metal channels which tie-in the Z-bar to the adjacent sloped roof -- had been flattened along their inside edges and flush-nailed to the roof.
Also nails through the tile pans, which is farked.
Also not trimming the tiles adjacent to the wall properly to prevent debris from accumulating.
As a result, a lot of the underlayment has been getting pretty wet for decades.
Lastly, the poorly-installed basesheet is 30+ years-old; it’s the original stuff. And with too many condo developments, by the time they’re ready to be roofed, the developer’s worried about his bottom line, so they often cut corners on the roofs. (Since in terms of their liability, the roofs only have to last ten years before the statute of limitations is up.)
When Jim asked our foreman -- who is a roofing wonder -- if there was any reason for installing the tile that way, he responded, “Yes, Jeeem…because they are stupid.” 🙂
I’m going to ask their property manager -- whom we’ve worked with for more than 20 years -- to suggest the HOA start thinking about doing 10-12 units a year. She’s sharp and would probably also like to see them do that.
And a gig like that would be pretty low stress for me. 🙂
Scenes from teh bestest place ever. Was talking to one of the guys I work with this morning. He’d been awake and onsite 24 hours straight doing some work and then fixing some unexpected problems--he did not look all that fresh. While we were talking, one of the department’s senior directors walks on by.
Dir: Hey! You are in early!
Guy: I’ve been here since yesterday working that XXXX problem.
Dir: Oh. OK. Well, don’t stay too long today.
Teh yay…almost the end of the work week!
Maaaaan…still getting leak reports at a furious pace; frustrating that I can’t help Jim chase around and look at stuff. Sure hope we’ll get some more large projects to bid once the rainy season’s over.
Good morning and happy Thursday! Hang in there, Fatwa.
You know what is really cool? Coffee makers. With timers.
Hai, Sven!
The downside of most leak repairs for JimCo is that they’re a low-margin grind; keeps the crew busy and creates some cash-flow, but they’re not very profitable.
Our costs of doing business keep rising at asinine rates -- mostly due to scumbag “construction defect” attorneys and CA’s broken Worker’s Comp system -- and there’s only so much people are willing to pay for proper roof repairs. (Since it’s so easy to find a handyman who will just slap some mastic on a leak, which will often fix it temporarily…and then there’s no rain for 7-10 months so the leak drops off their radar.)
But the repairs keep existing clients -- mostly professional property managers in my case -- happy, so we get opportunities to bid larger projects where we can make some real money.
Leak repairs also get us intra-company referrals to other property managers, which is good. But it’s still a frustrating grind during a rainy winter like this one.
C’est la vie…
Sure Happy It’s Thursday, Gerbil Nation!
Good morning, Leaky Fatwa, and Sven!
Hang in there, Fatwa. I’m sure with the volume of rain we’ve had this season that you can convince at least a portion of your clients to stop putting off needed maintenance.
Hai, Paddy; cheers for the positive thoughts re feelthy lucre.
The past two days we’ve been working at a new-to-us HOA in Simi Valley addressing about a dozen tile roof leaks on an “emergency” basis.
All of the ones which leaked were improperly installed and the basesheet is burned out. With about 56 townhomes, there’s certainly some lucrative work potential there. (Given that tile roof work is very labor-intensive.)
The basesheet is burned out? What the heck did they do when they installed those tiles?
A craptastic job.
http://instantrimshot.com/
The tile pans -- which are, wide, shallow “U”-shaped metal channels which tie-in the Z-bar to the adjacent sloped roof -- had been flattened along their inside edges and flush-nailed to the roof.
Also nails through the tile pans, which is farked.
Also not trimming the tiles adjacent to the wall properly to prevent debris from accumulating.
As a result, a lot of the underlayment has been getting pretty wet for decades.
Lastly, the poorly-installed basesheet is 30+ years-old; it’s the original stuff. And with too many condo developments, by the time they’re ready to be roofed, the developer’s worried about his bottom line, so they often cut corners on the roofs. (Since in terms of their liability, the roofs only have to last ten years before the statute of limitations is up.)
When Jim asked our foreman -- who is a roofing wonder -- if there was any reason for installing the tile that way, he responded, “Yes, Jeeem…because they are stupid.” 🙂
Cool. Make some money. In fact, you need to come out here and oversee that one, Fatwa.
I would love to, Sven.
I’m going to ask their property manager -- whom we’ve worked with for more than 20 years -- to suggest the HOA start thinking about doing 10-12 units a year. She’s sharp and would probably also like to see them do that.
And a gig like that would be pretty low stress for me. 🙂
Scenes from teh bestest place ever. Was talking to one of the guys I work with this morning. He’d been awake and onsite 24 hours straight doing some work and then fixing some unexpected problems--he did not look all that fresh. While we were talking, one of the department’s senior directors walks on by.
Dir: Hey! You are in early!
Guy: I’ve been here since yesterday working that XXXX problem.
Dir: Oh. OK. Well, don’t stay too long today.