Day in the Life – General Contractor
When I started the planning process for the current spec house we’re building, I tried to think about anything unexpected that might pop up or issues that I would have to address. Some of the potential culprits that came to mind were:
- Would there be delays in finalizing the financing
- Would skilled, reliable sub contractors be available when I need them
- Would material prices increase significantly between estimate and purchase
- Would the home sell in a reasonable time
I was trying to prepare in advance for contingencies and think about what my headaches would be. Never, did I once think that ” Mother Nature” would be numero uno on my list. While I was thinking ” SPRING” mother nature could not let go of “OLD MAN WINTER.” It has rained, snowed, sleeted, iced and every other form of precipitation known to man since I put up the permit board. I hadn’t expected the delays to be that the lot was so wet the concrete truck would get stuck and have to wait for the next truck load to pull it out or that my dumpster would be filled with limbs and debris rather than construction materials or that the rain would have to stop and the plastic dry before we could pass inspection.
This is where the idea of “Don’t sweat the small stuff” comes into play. I need to frequently refer to the chart below since I doubt I will ever be able to control Mother Nature……Although the bad weather is inconvenient it will change soon and we’ll be wishing it was not so hot, humid and dry.
