Very rural location where I have never seen a four flute concrete drill offered for sale. Frankly did not know they are available. Kind of moot since that was completed weeks ago. But I still doubt that my arthritic shoulder will ever be happy with my doing that sort of work.
Good news on that front is that the second unit will be getting bolted down to RR ties as the base so an impact gun or air-ratchet should work well.
Hail yesterday, sunshine this morning, I'm headed back out to "make hay"!
In reply to RichardSIA :
4 flute SDS bits are sold at both Home Depot and Lowes.
They are not cheap, but well worth it.
I realize you are past that point. I'm also sharing for anyone else that may read this.
In reply to RichardSIA :
Oh, and I have arthritis in my neck and shoulders too.
A decent SDS hammer drill cuts it like butter. I don't lean on my drill AT ALL. The weight of the drill is sufficient to drill the hole.
Keep at it, Richard! I agree with SVreX: I've spent plenty of time behind a big Hilti and SDS bits. With the right tool this is easy work. Obviously doesn't help you now, but for next time.
How are you soliciting labor? It's always tough to find labor help for short terms...I see a lot of people using our local community facebook group for finding help and it seems to go well if only because people can vouch for folks. But I'm in a very small town and this might not be an option for you.
My town is so small we have no real traffic lights and only two flashing reds.
Sixty miles from anywhere else. Not a fakebook member, that seems to be an avenue to trouble as I am not PC. I was going to try Craigslist but they have made posting a job a hassle. So asking around for help. Also seems nearly everyone I meet is a felon! Offering $12.00 Hr. which is well above average for this area. If I get a full days work from them I have rounded up to an even $100.00 in cash. Most of these "Kids" that are flaking out on me are 30-40 years old!
Found one guy who does good work, but then he got a job in CA at $25.00 Hr. "Prevailing wage" so no longer available.
I hope to complete the highest points today and remove the scaffold. I will be able to do the rest with my forklift and ladders.
For the next build I will try a couple of suggestions, only pay once a week, and pay on Monday.
More progress. All of the purlins and cables are now in place.
Finally able to begin putting equipment where it goes, that almost feels like real progress.
Of course I've already found myself needing to re-arrange a few things. The sidewall curves have not been much of an issue, except maybe a little for the vertical mill. It's bulky no matter how I situate it and this time I am leaving space to be able to clean up around it easily.
Roll-Up door goes on the South end, that is the right side of these pics.
Have to interrupt myself to assemble the main hoops for the second building while I may still get at sufficient level floor space. Just the hoops and then set them out of the way.
Jesus, $12 an hour isn't even minimum wage in a lot of places. I won't even tell you what I pay and get here.
Workers are always hard to get, i literally have guys I've worked with for decades and I'm happy to keep it that way.
Farming town away from the city, so around here anything over $9.00 Hr. min wage is pretty good, few jobs pay over $10.00 unless you can bear driving 150 mile commute and 12 hour shifts. Gave some guys on probation a chance, they could have made more and got a nice referral letter if they had not flaked out. They left some tools behind and I have not heard a word from them, maybe they are back in jail?
I've learned some tricks doing the first build which I will apply to the second. Mostly ways to pre-drill and number parts on the ground instead of working overhead.
I will get this one done by myself if I must, budget wise that would be best. Saving some funds aside for the fabric install.
RichardSIA said:Farming town away from the city, so around here anything over $9.00 Hr. min wage is pretty good, few jobs pay over $10.00 unless you can bear driving 150 mile commute and 12 hour shifts. Gave some guys on probation a chance, they could have made more and got a nice referral letter if they had not flaked out. They left some tools behind and I have not heard a word from them, maybe they are back in jail?
I've learned some tricks doing the first build which I will apply to the second. Mostly ways to pre-drill and number parts on the ground instead of working overhead.
I will get this one done by myself if I must, budget wise that would be best. Saving some funds aside for the fabric install.
Local economies are funny at times. I live in a state with 7.25 minimum wage and no one pays 12 an hour for construction, or at no one that actually gets people to do it.
When I call temp agencies for labor, I always tell them I don't want the cheapest guys. Anyone who is willing to work construction for minimum wage isn't worth having.
I also tell them what my expectations are. Understands how to function of a commercial job, basic tools, safety equipment, etc. I usually tell them I want someone older.
One of the advantages of working with a temp agency is you can send them back if they are not working out.
It generally works pretty well. I get decent help when I'm willing to pay for it.
In reply to RichardSIA :
I'm gonna be honest for a moment...
I wouldn't work for you.
You are describing using inappropriate and unsafe scaffolding working over concrete above clutter and things in the way, working for moderate wages with no insurance, etc. I get to work alongside questionable convicts and Craigslist dropouts, and if I work my ass off I get a whopping $4 cash bonus at the end of the day.
No thanks.
I apologize for my bluntness. I know my words may not sound encouraging, but I needed to shoot straight for a minute.
Keep up the good work, and please be safe.
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to RichardSIA :
I'm gonna be honest for a moment...
I wouldn't work for you.
You are describing using inappropriate and unsafe scaffolding working over concrete above clutter and things in the way, working for moderate wages with no insurance, etc. I get to work alongside questionable convicts and Craigslist dropouts, and if I work my ass off I get a whopping $4 cash bonus at the end of the day.
No thanks.
FWIW....... I almost posted roughly the same thing.
Also, the paying-on-monday thing is kind of a cockpunch, it sets you up for resentment.
Basically if you can't trust them not to party away their money, you can't trust them around your stuff at your home either.
Your wages are roughly half what you get in a small logging town too FYI. I always tell people that the cheapest bid is often the most expensive.
Yah, I get it, being older and "Retired", on a fixed income, equals failure to have unlimited funds to accomplish my goals.
Clearly, I should just give up, scrap all the toys, buy an EV, and lobotomize myself with TV/Facebook/"Sim". </S>
Had to put the house and property into hock for the next twenty years in order to do this. $65K turns out to be insufficient to all that I need to get done. The shop builds are not the only goals here. Next up is some home remodel, then finally getting back to car builds.
What should have taken days has becomes week$. The guys claimed experience and insisted on using equipment I was unhappy with as "No big deal". I'm guessing the probation bros are back in jail, easy to do when on probation. Seems these days no money at all is more attractive than a wage above the local norm, everyone must be getting (Censored) virus bucks.
I've gotten a work platform that fits my Forklift so the scaffolds are gone. Only needed for the highest arch points and they are done so a simple ladder works fine for the rest of this. Hope to be ready to fit the fabric by this weekend. Have friends who will help with that.
Back at it today, saving $200.00 a day (2 guys), probably $400.00 if I involved a temp agency.
No one is saying you are destined to failure because of limited funds, remember.....this is a website where we build race cars for 2 grand.
My point is you seem like you want to have 2 guys paid 12 bucks an hour or just you. Consider paying one guy slightly more and you will get decent help. You are paying $24 an hour to get garbage, paying one guy $15-20 an hour and not only is it cheaper, you get a way better possibility of getting decent help. Hell, you are probably done by now too.
People always assume that you need bodies but what you really need is skill. I've built huge houses with 3-4 guys. I've poured hundreds of yards of concrete with 4 guys before. Offering McDonald's level wages gets you McDonald's level workers, and it should.
Any decent tradesman knows his time and experience is worth a lot and budgets his literal life accordingly.
I'm not trying to be a dick, I'm trying to give you the experience I have from over 2 decades of experience in construction.
Another way to put it: you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
I can tell you that our local construction industry is having trouble hiring right now, though. We're also having trouble finding shipping folks.
The peanut jar is now empty. Have to keep a little emergency fund in the bank.
It seems I have failed to convey just how very rural my location is. The entire county population is about 3,000 including the farm workers (No se habla espanol) and retirees, LOTS of retirees as the cost of living is much less than the urban area's.
All the skilled and sober guys are making the commute to Reno or Cali. for the big bucks. So I only have the leftover inexperienced or on probation dregs to work with. Fortunate that I am finally far enough along that I may complete this on my own. Only the fabric will require some additional help and should take less than a day to do.
For the second building I now have the work platform and have learned some short-cuts to make it go much faster.
I'm already having folk ask about using some of my equipment once the building is finished, all very visible sitting on the slab. Of course none of those folk are volunteering to help in any way. Grrr, I'm going outside and back to work on this.
In reply to RichardSIA :
According to your profile you live in Yerrington ?
In reply to RichardSIA :
You really don't need to explain how difficult it is to do business in rural areas. For the past 25 years I've lived in a place that was rated among the 10 worst places in the entire country. I get it.
We are on your side. You are expressing some of your frustrations, and we are offering solutions, not criticisms. There is a lot of experience in this thread. There are at least 2 professional contractors with combined experience of over 65 years (who both live in rural areas).
I'm sorry you are frustrated. I hope you can consider some of the people contributing to this thread as advocates, not critics.
We want to see you succeed.
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to RichardSIA :
You really don't need to explain how difficult it is to do business in rural areas. For the past 25 years I've lived in a place that was rated among the 10 worst places in the entire country. I get it.
We are on your side. You are expressing some of your frustrations, and we are offering solutions, not criticisms. There is a lot of experience in this thread. There are at least 2 professional contractors with combined experience of over 65 years (who both live in rural areas).
I'm sorry you are frustrated. I hope you can consider some of the people contributing to this thread as advocates, not critics.
We want to see you succeed.
This, I agree with all this.
My town has 1700 ish people
In reply to RichardSIA :
Finding it incredibly difficult to find sober and reliable help. I've hired a few guys, but once they have a few bucks in their pocket you may never see them again. Note to self, DO NOT fall for "I have to pay my bail supervision fee by the end of today" ever again! 
The "These can be assembled in two days" is a myth unless you have done a few and have at least three guys. I am sure the second will go faster but the labor/help issue is unlikely to change. So I am doing nearly all the work on my own, a bit sketchy at times up on ladders or platforms in the wind, and I am unsure if this is even possible for putting the fabric on.
PLEASE borrow or rent better equipment for the "erection" (ok, no joke needed!
) Even if there are disagreements, we all want to keep you around!
The concrete drilling can be super easy, as was mentioned. I used to use a fairly high end drill with the hammer feature, thinking that was pretty good. But then, on a particular set of holes that were giving me problems (way more rock in the slab!) and I borrowed a hilti. Let me tell you, a purpose built concrete drill is many times better than a drill with a hammer feature. Night and day. Also, if you have to do it again, RENT one, even if ya have to drive a ways to do it. WAY too expensive to buy.
I do get the "can't find good day labor". It can be a real challenge. But I disagree with the folks jumping on how tough it is to do business in the rural areas. My experiences in many towns, has been the exact opposite. Especially in trying to find good day help. Way harder in cities, from what I've seen.
Doing business as a stranger, in a small town, may seem hard at first, but most times, from what I've seen, if the outsider can try to get along with the locals, they can almost always win them over.
I don't recall if you are from the area you are in now; just my thoughts from some of the responses.
Again, I have to emphasize, from the description and pictures, a better, stable work platform is paramount. I did a red iron building 30 years ago with as questionable scaffold and juryrigged crane, but I was tougher then, and it was still stupid of me. Even at that, we were not having to work around a bunch of stuff!
I can relate to why the stuff is there, (mine looks worse!) but it does pose a safety problem. I'm just blessed with having friends with the correct equipment to rent or borrow.
The "Stuff" is no longer in the way. Nearly all of it was always on wheels or lightweight, and moved aside as needed. The borrowed scaffolding lacking wheels was a bigger issue.
Yes I am in Yerington, been here a little over two years. I get along fine with plenty of folk but they tend to be about my own age, 66th B-Day on Sunday.
Not going to make the goal of having at least one building finished by the B-Day. Contractor for the dirt work to do the second building broke his backhoe, says he is trying to get another running. So that's another delay, it's the delays and escalation of expenses that frustrate me most.
I had planned on having a few grand on hand to complete a resale car build quickly, that's dead now.
Spent today assembling hoops for the second building. Assembling them is pretty easy but moving them by myself wears me out too quickly. Have three more to finish in the morning. Then back to taping joints of the first building. With that done the forklift, platform, and I will begin doing the end wall framing.
I'm resigned to doing nearly everything by myself, not really anything new. Pretty much why I have an addiction to tools like having my own forklift, body rotisseries, Mill, Lathe, etc.
Since the budget went south there will be some LBC's and other projects going up for sale once I've had time to assess their conditions and values.
I feel somewhat sorry for the "Kids" here who seem to so commonly be convicts of some sort, but they made those mistakes not me. They've put themselves at a career disadvantage and seem to me to have wasted an opportunity to get a positive reference.
In reply to RichardSIA :
I feel somewhat sorry for the "Kids" here who seem to so commonly be convicts of some sort, but they made those mistakes not me. They've put themselves at a career disadvantage and seem to me to have wasted an opportunity to get a positive reference.
That too, has been a common issue in many places, and always has been. Side story. I grew up on Paul Harvy... I didn't care for is A.D.D. "sound bite" style of reporting, but loved his "rest of the story" show. He once read a letter from one neighbor to another complaining how the modern kids were carrying morals to hell-in-a-handbasket. They didn't want to work; just hang out on the corner all night singing and playing music the adults could not fathom, and drinking. Didn't know how the world would ever survive. Written in England... in the early 1800's, if I recall correctly.
Remember, the type you are seeing a lot of are the type that are most visible. All the "good" kids are already working at good paying jobs, or furthering their lives in a way that leaves no time for the kinda help you need.
As bad as the "world" has gotten, very little has changed since the beginning of time. Its on a down hill right now (at least from my point of view) but its a LONG way from record lows! Still a lot of good, solid folks around... they are just quietly living their lives, not in peoples faces on the news.
I can def. relate with haveing to do it on your own, but as ya say, nothing new. Perciverence will win for ya, and it seems like you got that!
Oh, BTW, whats a LBC?
I thought everyone here woulds be familiar with LBC.
LBC = Little British Car. In this case MGB's and Sprites, maybe a bunch of TR6 pieces.
Have to sort them before I can list them.
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