# recently completed



## Dunbar Painting (Mar 19, 2010)

Smaller job, learned some lessons about working for a contractor here...


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## Dunbar Painting (Mar 19, 2010)

have to go here to see full size

http://www.dunbarpainting.com/image/tid/1


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

Looks good, what were the lessons?


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## Dunbar Painting (Mar 19, 2010)

1. Contractor says he has lots of work out there available, so I bid a little lower than I normally would have, like 3500 instead of 4500 for example.
2. Getting paid by a contractor involves a week of tracking him down, next time get paid half before I even start
3. I took on this job when I had limited employee resources because I wanted more work from him, so I hired a friend who is supposedly top notch and did a ****ty job that I had to spend 2 days fixing. Although I made a money on the job for sure, I think biting off more than I can chew in my first year operating is a bad idea
4. not getting pushed around due to timing. the contractor said that he didnt want this taking too long, so I rushed people through it, and then he asked why we didnt spend longer
5. in general I am a bit hesitant with contractors, so I will charge more to make sure my hassle is worth it


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## Dunbar Painting (Mar 19, 2010)

6. I should have sprayed the soffits, but due to where my sprayer was, I sprayed the walls and painted the soffits, and it took fricken 3 coats to cover it.
7. I used General Paint EnviroGuard white, and it didnt cover worth ****, so I will not use that product again, next time HP2000
8. I am not at a stage where I can just leave my employees on a job, I need to be there a few times a day to make sure stuff is done correctly, even from experienced workers
9. doing a job for a contractor means working around gutter people, landscapers, carpenters etc... and that sucks and eats up time


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

Thanks, yep, that sounds familiar! Wait until you find a good GC or two, it's like panning for gold, takes a while to find a nugget!


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## ewingpainting.net (Jun 2, 2008)

Job looks good


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

I have yet to find the gold????????


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## PatsPainting (Mar 4, 2010)

According to the great late John Wooden you are on the right path.

"You can make mistakes, but you are not a failure until you blame others for those mistakes. When you blame others, you are trying to excuse yourself. When you make excuses, you cannot properly evaluate yourself. Without proper evaluation, failure is inevitable!" - John Wooden


Pat


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