The costs of not pulling permits

Maintaining your competitive edge can be difficult, especially when businesses that don't play by the rules start directly competing at a lower price. What's the best way to overcome this obstacle? Educate your potential customers!

One of the initial steps to any project is obtaining the proper permits and is often factored into the timeline for job completion. Since unlicensed contractors can't pull permits for home improvement projects, this greatly calls attention to the importance of hiring a licensed contractor. Here are the primary repercussions to the homeowner when permits aren't pulled on time or at all.

Hard to sell - the house likely won't pass inspection should they try to sell it.

Insurance issues - homeowner insurance policy modifications or changing companies often require a Certificate of Occupancy. If the certificate doesn't show structural changes that have been made, the insurance company can decline coverage because it's not code compliant.

Safety considerations - especially when work is completed that could represent potential fire hazards.

Double the costs - any permits pulled after work has already been completed include a fine that doubles what would have been the initial costs of pulling a permit before work was done. First, they need to contact their local building and planning commission as they are now responsible for pulling the permits.

Homeowner accountability – permits pulled after work is completed is the responsibility of the homeowner. It requires the inspection of visible modifications and changes not visible, which need to be detailed by the contractor or a hired structural engineer.

Many consumers are not aware of the full costs associated with contractors not pulling permits. Use this information to educate your potential customers how much short-term saving can cost in the long-run.

This information was used from www.angieslist.com Please visit Angie's list to learn more!

What's Angie's List? Angie's List is the nation's premier provider of trusted reviews on contractors and doctors in over 500 categories, like roofers, plumbers, house cleaners and dentists. More than 2 million members check Angie's List to find the best local service providers and save on projects with exclusive member discounts

Alaska

If you entered our trivia contest last week, you will recall the question was, "What U.S. state shares the longest border with Canada?' The correct answer would be Alaska. The boundary between Alaska and Canada is 1,538 miles long. Comparatively, the border of Michigan and Canada is 721 miles.
Here is a list of some others:
Maine - 611 miles
Minnesota - 547 miles
Montana - 545 miles
New York - 445 miles
Washington - 427 miles
North Dakota - 310 miles
Ohio - 146 miles
Vermont - 90 miles
New Hampshire - 58 miles
Idaho - 45 miles
Pennsylvania - 42 miles

The Purchase*

Secretary of State William H. Seward arranged for the United States to purchase Alaska from Russia in 1867 for 7.2 million dollars, or 2 cents per acre. Check out this link from the National Archives, it shows the actual cancelled check for the purchase!http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=41

State Name:

The name "Alaska" is derived from the Aleut word "Alyeska," meaning "great land."

State Nick Name:

"The Last Frontier"

State Motto:

"North to the Future" - Our motto was chosen in 1967 during the Alaska Purchase Centennial and was created by Juneau newsman Richard Peter. The motto is meant to represent Alaska as a land of promise.

*Information mentioned here is found at http://alaska.gov/

Lewice "Lew" Wallace

Our trivia question this month was, "Who is the author of Ben Hur?" The correct answer is - 'Lew' Wallace. Lew's history is very interesting. Below you will find a brief overview of Lew and the epic story known as Ben Hur.  

The Story Behind Ben Hur*

Lewis "Lew" Wallace (April 10, 1827 – February 15, 1905) was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, territorial governor and statesman, politician and author. Wallace served as Governor of the New Mexico Territory at the time of the Lincoln County War and worked to bring an end to the fighting.

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is a novel by Lew Wallace published on November 12, 1880 by Harper & Brothers. Considered "the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century", it was the best-selling American novel from the time of its publication, superseding Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852). It remained at the top until the publication of Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind (1936). Following release of the 1959 MGM film adaptation of Ben Hur, which was seen by tens of millions and won 11 Academy Awards, during the 1960s, book sales surpassed Gone with the Wind. Blessed by Pope Leo XIII, the novel was the first work of fiction to be so honored.

The story recounts the adventures of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince and merchant in Jerusalem at the beginning of the 1st century. Ben-Hur's childhood friend Messala returns home as an ambitious commanding officer of the Roman legions. They come to realize that they have changed and hold very different views and aspirations. During a military parade, a tile falls from the roof of Judah's house and barely misses the Roman governor. Although Messala knows that they are not guilty, he condemns the Ben-Hur family. Without trial, Judah is sent to work until death as a Roman galley slave; his mother and sister are imprisoned and all the family property is confiscated.

Through good fortune, Judah survives and returns to Jerusalem, where he seeks revenge against his one-time friend and redemption for his family. Running in parallel with Ben-Hur's narrative is the unfolding story of Jesus, who comes from the same region and is a similar age. The two reflect themes of betrayal, conviction and redemption. With the Crucifixion, Ben-Hur recognizes that the Christ stands for a different goal than revenge, and he becomes Christian, turning to supporting the new religion with money which he has inherited, inspired by love and the talk of keys to a greater kingdom than any on earth.

The name "Ben Hur" derives from the Hebrew for "Son of white linen".

*Information compiled from Wikipedia.com. Please follow this link for more details: http://bit.ly/tFxsBc

November Giveaway

We are giving away a free Mike Wood Builders t- shirt once a week this month! Starting November 1st, we will hide a picture of our free t-shirt on our website (Click Here to jump to the website)for you to locate. Once you find the picture, you will need to click on the picture and it will then take you to a link where you can register for the giveaway.The winner will then be selected at random but your registration form must be submitted by every Friday in November before midnight. We will announce the winners November 7th, 14th, 21st and the 28th, 2011. The hidden picture will be placed at a different place every week. Stay tuned and happy winning!

September Giveaway

Starting in September we are will be giving away a free Mike Wood Builders t shirt once a month! The contest will vary from month to month, but it will require your participation! For September we will hide a picture of our free t shirt on our website for you to locate. Once you find the picture, you will need to click on the picture and it will then take you to a link where you can register for the giveaway. We will announce the winner September 29^th 2011, and also the details for our October giveaway. Happy winning!

Stay informed by liking us on facebook and following us on twitter by using the buttons below. You can also click this link to sign up for our monthly newsletter full of helpful tips and information about our company and employees.

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"Under bided"

I recently came across this sign on my way to look at a job for a customer of ours. It reads:

 “_________ Roofing - guaranteed can’t be under bided”

There are so many things going wrong with this sign that I don’t really know where to begin, but I will try. 

Upon first glance, you can’t help but notice the misuse of the word “bided”. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, bided means; 1. to stay; 2.to dwell; 3. to wait, endure or to tolerate. Now it doesn’t make any sense to have an advertisement for a construction company claiming that they are guaranteed to be able to wait or tolerate longer than any other construction company. Therefore, I assume that this is supposed to mean that this company is guaranteeing me that they will have the lowest bid or estimate. I’ll admit that I am not always grammatically correct, I even misspell from time to time. Maybe what we have here is an honest mistake. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and say that it was just a mistake and they are actually English professors. After painting this sign, they stepped back and realized their mistake but did not have any more paint to correct the problem. “What the heck” they say, no one will notice. 

Some questions that come to mind are; what kind of quality will I be receiving with your low price guarantee? Will it match the quality of your sign? You may be able to shingle a roof cheaper than anyone else, but is it going to leak? And if it does leak, are you going to guarantee your work or do you just guarantee your price? 

Unfortunately, we are left with more questions than answers. Don’t sell yourself cheap and strive for excellence in the work that you do. Perform every task to the best of your ability and people will want you to work for them, even if you can be “under bided”.

Roofing

Homeowners today are faced with more options than ever before when it comes to home remodeling. You used to be able to call a plumber and tell him you needed a new lavatory faucet and he would bring you a chrome two-handled faucet-no big deal. These days if you were to call me and say, “Eric, I need a new lavatory faucet.” I would in turn say something to the effect, “Do you know what kind? What color? Is it a 4” spread or 8”? Single lever or two-handle?  Just go to your local home improvement store and venture down the plumbing aisle. The choices seem almost limitless, and if you can’t find what you’re looking for, they can order it! You can get a variety of finishes such as, Oil-rubbed bronze, Venetian bronze, nickel, satin nickel, stainless, aged pewter, brass-I think you get the point. The same goes for roofing. So you want a new roof? Do you want asphalt shingles-three tab or architectural? Metal? Standing seam or ribbed? Cedar shakes? Tile? Oh, and by the way, what color, finish and warranty?

Suddenly you realize that simply calling a roofer and telling him you need a new roof isn’t all that simple. I am going to try to focus on the mainstream choice for our area, which is asphalt shingles. Asphalt shingles are a great choice and offer an economical way to get the job done. Asphalt shingles come in basically two styles; 3- tab and architectural.

3-tab:

3-tab shingles are the old standby. They have been given the name 3-tab because each individual shingle has three “tabs” separated by rain grooves. They have been around for years and will continue to be a good choice for the checkbook conscience consumer. Offering a 20-30 year warranty (always check the details and coverage of the warranty from the shingle manufacturer) and many color selections, 3-tab shingles have been the standard issue for your basic roofing needs for many years. 

Architectural:

Architectural shingles are an upgrade from the standard 3-tab. If you compare a 3-tab against an architectural shingle here are a few things you will notice. First, the architectural shingles does not have any rain grooves. It is a solid shingle all the way across. Secondly, you will notice that the architectural shingles is laminated-meaning that there are typically two layers of asphalt shingle laminated together to give the roof a dimensional look, similar to a slate or cedar shake roof. To further add to the dimensional look, many manufacturers have a “shadow” line to make the shingle look like it’s thicker than it really is. These features, along with a 40 year to lifetime warranty, make the architectural shingle most desirable if going with an asphalt shingle. The price difference of course will vary on your selection, but a basic architectural shingle will run about 20-30% more than a 3-tab for materials only. The price gap can increase if you choose a designer type shingle. 

View this photo comparison of shingles. 

I am asked quite often what the differences are between these two shingles and hopefully you have found this to be helpful. Of course the staff and I at Mike Wood Builders will be happy to help if you have any further questions.   

Do Your Homework!

A few months ago I read a story of several upset homeowners who had just discovered a lien had been put against their house for work done by a roofing company. The puzzling thing to them was that they had paid the roofer so where was this lien coming from? The supplier of the roofing materials had not been paid by the contractor so they put a lien on the property. Some of the troubled homeowners were fortunate to have a receipt of payment from the Contractor which saved them from having to pay for the materials used on their job twice.

Remodeling or building your home can be stressful on you, your family and your way of life. Adding to that stress would be hiring a contractor that you didn’t spend time researching their background and reputation-to only end up finding out the hard way. It cost you very little to make a few phone calls and ask around the local lumber yards to find out who pays their bills and who doesn’t, but it can save you a lot of heartache and money. We always encourage people to ask for references (of not only past customers but suppliers too!) and please, check them out. You might want to go a step further and call the Better Business Bureau or the Chamber of Commerce. Even services such as angieslist.com can be helpful as well. They have reviews about service companies posted by actual customers that can also help you in the decision making process

Unfortunately the days of a handshake being good enough are gone. Protect yourself and get a signed contract, keep records and keep all receipts of payments.

So do yourself a favor and get your homework done, so you can ace this test and avoid the stress! 

Milestones

This year Mike Wood Builders will be celebrating our 35^th anniversary! I wanted to take a moment and tell you some of the reasons why I think we have been blessed to have had 35 years of business.

Integrity-

Integrity and honesty is the foundation that Mike has laid for every aspect of this company. When I first started working with Mike I was amazed at how he went out of his way to do the right thing no matter what it cost him. I tell people quite frequently that we aren’t perfect and we make mistakes, but more importantly, we make those mistakes right. Our main focus is to serve our customers just the way we would like to be served.

Customer Service-

Returning phone calls, emails and just being available to answer questions has a huge impact in our day of big box stores, fast food and overall lack of customer service in market place. Our goal as a company is to provide you with a great product and the best service we can. Can you find someone else to do the job cheaper? Quite possibly. We are rarely the cheapest, but you know how the saying goes, “you get what you pay for.” Having an office easy to locate and someone to talk to when you call is worth a little don’t you think? Sure we could all have our office in our pickup trucks and save some overhead, but how would you find us if there were a problem?

I suppose I may be a little biased in my opinion since this is my ten year anniversary for working with Mike Wood Builders, but on the other hand when I ask people why they choose our company, it’s almost always the same response- “your reputation.”

It’s been an absolute pleasure working these ten years for Mike Wood Builders. We thank you for your business and your support as a community. As we plan for the next 35 years, let us know how we can help you.

Design/Build

I wanted to take a minute and talk about Design/Build. This term is generally used to describe a company’s ability to work with their customer from the very beginning stages of design for their project and manage the construction through to the finish. This process is unique in the way that the designer is the builder and therefore intimately familiar with everything that is going into the project.

Most design/build companies have some type of computer software that enables them to create the custom design and plans that are specific to the needs of the homeowner and make changes easily. It also allows the homeowner the ability to see a 3D model of their particular project and feel comfortable with what they will be getting. To me this can be a very valuable tool. Would you feel comfortable investing thousands of dollars with someone and not know what you are getting? When you work with a design/build company you can see not just imagine what your new addition, home or kitchen remodel is going to look like before anyone shows up to start demo on your home.

I have seen customers eyes light up when they can see a 3D model of what their home is going to look like after the project is complete. It helps to establish trust between the company and homeowner when you know you are on the same page. Some times it can be difficult to explain what you want your project to look like or making sure the things you tell your builder are going to end up looking like what you have in mind. That is where design/build is so valuable. This process also allows helps you to avoid costly mistakes before you begin. For example, you can see how your new roof lines will tie in to the existing roof and make sure you will avoid that upstairs window or how the water will be directed. It is also much easier to rearrange a window in a software program than on the jobsite-and much cheaper!

So before you drop thousands on a home addition or remodel, talk to someone that can show you what you will be getting for your investment. I am happy to say that Mike Wood Builders offers a design/build process using Chief Architect. With this program and our years of experience we would be happy to help you work through you new project.