If its fucked....call me
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Tim
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I have been doing HVAC for 37 years.
For the longest time in Florida only the rich could open and own a Florida licensed contracting company. The laws were you needed $50,000 in cash in the bank for at least 1 year.
The laws changed 15 years ago that if you had $25,000 in assets and a credit rating of 750 or higher you could become a contractor. My tools alone were valued at that. I opened my company 15 years ago. All the technicians that were working for the handful of big rich bosses did the same. Now every tech with a few years in the business is opening a company. Needless to say there are a shit load of fucked up companies that are coming and going like the tide and made a mess of a lot of peoples homes.
There is a lot of fucked up jobs, impossible jobs and jobs that people who have 6 years experience do not know how to fix or how to do.
This is where I come into play. It's not even April and I am already 3 months behind on work. Not just you typical replacement work but full bore completely rip out multi system fuck ups and put in new. I just picked up a 2 year old house and we need to put all new equipment and all new ductwork for the mere price of $33,000. It is scheduled for June 19-21st. The house is 2 fuckin years old.
Why am I venting??? I don't know. We are swamped my phone is melting and I can't find any reliable non-pill popping workers. It is not just Florida but the whole USA. I saw a documentary that within 10 years we are going to be down 3 million service/trade technicians. I'm scared.
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Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: I rang a silent bell
Can you open a side business,
Can you open a side business, offer HVAC technician training? That way they pay you to get trained and you could hire them afterwards. Bonus - you know the good ones before you hire them.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Bucky Badger
I have a question.
I have a question.
When you are in a hotel room and you have the AC on most have a vent accessible that sucks the air out of the room and some people I know blow marijuana smoke into that out take vent so they don’t stink up their own room.
Where does that smoke and smell go?
TY
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: _________
God Bless Learning A Trade !
God Bless Learning A Trade ! Skilled Hands !!
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: VivalaSchwa
That sounds like it's fucked.
That sounds like it's fucked. What's your number? Good luck.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Tim
That is how I am trying to
That is how I am trying to get employees. I am hiring them as soon as they sign up for the trade classes at our local college. So far I am 1 out of 5.
They sure like to pop pills and shoot smack.
I am working 60+ hours a week now, a second job/business will just send me closer to suicide.
In a hotel room or any other a/c system the air that is being sucked out of the room by the a.c is going through the evaporator coil and right back into the room with the heat and humidity removed.
Your best bet is to blow it into the bathroom exhaust vent (aka fart fan) where it is linked up with a lot of other rooms and exhausted outside.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Tim
One of the points I am making
One of the points I am making is a 2 year old 500,000 home and you have to invest another $33 grand just to stay comfortable and not have poor air quality issues.
The home owner points the finger to the general contractor who points a finger at the architect who points a finger at the building inspectors with no one to blame but themselves.
I would be pissed to have to shell out that kind of cash on a new home.
There is one street in particular in Hobe Sound where they have 22 homes built in the last 3 years and we have had to do major work to 18 of them.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: ________
i blame Florida
i blame Florida
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: _________
I would be pissed to have to
I would be pissed to have to shell out that kind of cash on a new home. <<<
Exactly !
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Ken D.
Old Florida homes were
Old Florida homes were designed with lots of windows and porches to be bearable just through natural ventilation. Still, I am glad my parents decided to get central air for their old Florida home.
I see messed up HVAC systems all the time and goofy stuff like bathroom vents that are not linked up to the outside and instead just blow hot, humid air into the attic. That's a recipe for disaster.
>>>>The home owner points the finger to the general contractor who points a finger at the architect who points a finger at the building inspectors with no one to blame but themselves.
Isn't that the case. I represent a lot of owners in construction defect cases and in the typical case, we sue the general contractor, who then turns around and brings in as third party defendants every sub and material supplier who ever laid eyes on the building. You end up with depositions with 13 lawyers in a big conference room with thousands of dollars in legal fees being incurred every hour, sometimes dealing with questions about individual punch list items that would cost only few hundred to fix.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: _
What questions should you ask
What questions should you ask an HVAC tech before they work on your system to vet them?
(I thought my guy was good, but I recently noticed the signal/control wires going to my outside unit had no conduit wrapped around them and the insulation on the wires was rotting off.)
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: ________
i fix my own
i fix my own
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: VivalaSchwa
^^^Brazil^^^
^^^Brazil^^^
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Oaksterdam Dan
>>>>That is how I am trying
>>>>That is how I am trying to get employees. I am hiring them as soon as they sign up for the trade classes at our local college. So far I am 1 out of 5.
>>>>They sure like to pop pills and shoot smack.
You live in Florida remember those northeast and midwest states aren't sending you there best people. Maybe your state shouldn't have turned themselves into a pill pharmacy for the rest of the USA the last 20 years. Let me guess rehab's a booming business in the state.
I'm in the industrial fan business on the west coast. Will pass along to HVAC peeps in your region.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Doc Ellis Martin
I try to take on only new
I try to take on only new work .I will fill in with repair work or renovations if I have to .But all in all a new clean non toxic work environment is my preference .Anyone looking to get trained as an electrician in southern Humboldt county ca .Pretty soon i expect a pool of workers as the green rush ends
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: New & Improved
....who then turns around and
....who then turns around and brings in as third party defendants every sub and material supplier who (has E&O/liability insurance)
Fixed that.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Oaksterdam Dan
The green rush ends maybe for
The green rush ends maybe for low wage workers that are part of the industry. High end green rush should last a few more years. See ranch homes pricing in the region.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Oaksterdam Dan
America we use sub contractor
America we use sub contractor's so we can skirt liability. Now it SOP everywhere in corporate america. Sad!.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Sycamore Slough
I've got a nephew in Tampa
I've got a nephew in Tampa area who's a hard worker; no idea if he would consider relocation to learn HVAC trade, but I'll ask next time we speak.
He's not a partaker of the pills etc. However, he's almost 200 miles away on the other coast of Fla.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Doc Ellis Martin
I'm a sub contractor
I'm a sub contractor /Electrical Contractor Licensed in ca . The state makes me liable just by me having my license .Some county's and cites won't let you even pull a permit with out your insurance on file and current . The green rush is over property is for sale with permits to grow and regular land also .That wasn't the case for the last four years . The stupid venture capitalists are throwing money around like it's going out of style still .But all they want to know is when they will cash in and sell out .We start a job next week 5000 thousand square foot processing center in the middle of nowhere . Just for taking in weed in Humboldt . We have the most growing permit applications in the state .So the small farm growers and indoor folks are taking a hit but the big stuff industrial scale is rocking .We are also wiring big huge industrial light dep climate controlled green houses .We will see how long that lasts .
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: ________
>America we use sub
>America we use sub contractor's so we can skirt liability. Now it SOP everywhere in corporate america. Sad!.
source?
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Howard
Your wife is hot.....
Your wife is hot.....
Better get your AC fixed.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Sound and Vision
>>There is one street in
>>There is one street in particular in Hobe Sound where they have 22 homes built in the last 3 years and we have had to do major work to 18 of them.
sheesh, that's messed up.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Tim
What questions should you ask
What questions should you ask an HVAC tech before they work on your system to vet them? >>>>>>>>>
Get references from real people with real names and real phone numbers. If they cannot produce that move on. Anyone can give you a "they were great" M. Smith Boston kind of review.
For example: I live in a small 1800 home area called Rocky Point. I have over 1000 customers I serviced in this 1.25 square mile radius. We have done 135 change-outs in this area. When I first step foot in their home for a replacement estimate, I hand them the list of all 135 homes with names addresses and phone numbers. This blows people away. By the time I am done measuring everything they have identified a dozen neighbors and friends and some have already been called. Job is usually sold before I have even given them a price.
We have thousands of them on file. We will offer the most recent, the closest to their home or neighborhood or even older 10-12 year old ones. DO NOT accept or read the Yelp/Google shit stuffed ones. #1 the company that has 30-40 reviews are paid for. read them they are all 1 or 2 reviewers, they use the same wording and drop the same names as the "perfect tech". Who the fuck would stop their day sign up and make 1 review for a service company.....no one legit. #2 competitors will go on line and write shit about other companies being shitty and bringing their score down.
My company only does existing residential homes. We only go 8 miles from our shop. The longest distance we will have to drive is 16 miles. We do 1 or 2 remodels a year. Otherwise we do service, maintenance and change out existing a/c units in Mrs. Smiths white carpet home. 60% of all the air handlers are in the attic. Even on a mild day like today with the hottest part of the day at 81 degrees it is not uncommon to have the metal roof or dark shingled roof attic to be hitting 110 degrees by noon.
In the summertime when it is a high of 93 degrees with 90% humidity the attics can reach 140+. You can not work in an attic when it exceeds 125 degrees and that may be as early as 10 am.
It is very hard to find people who will work in these conditions. We try not to do a change out like these in the summer but when the unit has completely shit the bed it has to be done. Our company has been know to drag a 8 hour job over a 3 day period. Other company will not. They pump it out in 6 and the work shows it. The unit usually works for 1 or 2 years and then it fucks up and all the flaws bears it's ugly head. They call back said company and either A. they are out of business, B. changed their name or C. tells them to fuck off and sue me.
Again this is where I come in. They want me to fix another companies fuck up, they want it ASAP, and since they paid the other guy 5 grand they want me to do it as cheep as possible.
Fuck you
Then I can get into the whole un-licensed friend of a friend job that was done on a Sunday.........
Still venting but feeling better today
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Sound and Vision
I think Gunner fixes AC units
I think Gunner fixes AC units.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: _
Thanks for the answer Tim.
Thanks for the answer Tim. Sorry your job is so fucking crazy.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Tim
It's my choice. I knew what I
It's my choice. I knew what I wanted to do when I was a senoir in high school. It has paid my bills.
I am just proud an old burn out Deadhead opened and run a very successful business and everyone knows my name and recognize all my trucks with all my hidden drug references. Nothing is better than standing in the grocery store line and a 70 year old customer is wearing a goonie bird Grateful A/C shirt on.
11 more years and I retire!
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Ken D.
>>>>America we use sub
>>>>America we use sub contractor's so we can skirt liability.
I pity the fool who thinks they can insulate themselves from liability by hiring subs. Ultimately, its the general contractor whose name is on the construction contract and will have to sign off on the subs work. I always throw in failure to supervise and inspect allegations when suing GCs in construction defect cases.
>>>>then I can get into the whole un-licensed friend of a friend job
Unlicensed contractors are a menace to society. Nothing sucks worse for a owner than to find out that the guy who just fucked up your house and took your money and ran doesn't have a license, bond, or insurance. I have a case right now involving two unlicensed contractors. First one fucked up the house, and amazingly, it turns out the repair contractor, who the owner's insurance company hired and only made things worse through a hack remediation, had let their license and insurance lapse two years before the job. We are now suing the insurance company for bringing on an unlicensed and unqualified contractor with no insurance.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: skyjunk
https://careersourceflorida
https://careersourceflorida.com/
they may be able to get you government money for having a training program along with maybe sending more pill heads to you to interview too. I think there is another agency that can link you up with vets just finishing their duty. Good Luck