[Guest]

I like slate personally. When I finished my basement I installed 24" slate tiles and used a high gloss sealer.

 

[Guest]

I like slate personally. When I finished my basement I installed 24" slate tiles and used a high gloss sealer.

I too like slate! I prefer it on back splashes and walls in baths. Installed it on my own kitchen last year and couldn't be happier with it.

BDP - How does it hold up to foot traffic? Any of the edges delaminate from traffic? That was my one big concern about laying it in my own kitchen floor. Went with the bamboo throughout instead.

I have yet to do my master bath...and seeing your slate laid out like that (especially the 2x2) makes me think that may be a good choice, it will really bring some natural color in.

Much smaller version of what you have on your floors! I too went with a high gloss sealer.

 

[Guest]

BDP...one other question. Did you seal the slate a couple coats before you laid the grout? If not...was it a PITA to get the haze up? I always seal any of the natural stones before grouting and then again after grout clean up.

 

[Guest]

It's been down there for about 4 years now and looks like the day it was installed. We have had all kinds of parties with tons of foot traffic, pool balls bouncing off the tiles, kids smashing their toys against the floor, etc. I resealed it once about 2 years ago. As for the edges, I never had any chips or peeling at all. When I installed I made sure to check each one and peel off any loose or flaking layers, if you ever installed slate you will know what I am talking about.

 

[Guest]

BDP...one other question. Did you seal the slate a couple coats before you laid the grout? If not...was it a PITA to get the haze up? I always seal any of the natural stones before grouting and then again after grout clean up.

YES! You MUST seal before grouting or the grout will stain and you will never get the stains out. I only sealed it 1 time before grouting, then 2 coats after grout, then 2 years later sealed again. It's been 2 years since last seal but still looks good, maybe in the spring ill seal again.

 

[Guest]

I love cleaning tile/slate. Good pay.

Bamboo? The flooring shops here are not selling much of it anymore due to the expansion problems...cracking. Good friend removed all bamboo flooring out of his store sales entirely. Seems to hold up good for a few years than boom. Warranty issues from the suppliers cuz they are inundated with claim

 

[Guest]

Brent
Those issues around here (Iowa) were mostly due to improper installation. 3 years ago when it took off around here and got popular, most of the installers weren't using the correct nailer/stapler. Just like anything else if not installed properly from the start it will fail sooner rather than later.
My first introduction to it was 2007 on a LEED cert. house we were building. The product has come leaps and bounds since then. The real problem is the people that don't pay attention to the product but rather the price tag. You get what you pay for in the flooring world...and that holds true from carpet, tile, hardwoods, laminate and the like.

 

[Guest]

I'm sure some of the problems were from improper installation but not all.

Bamboo is being shipped from the factories way to wet. Just tested 2 weeks ago a batch that was reading 38%. That batch would have took a month to acclimate but if a homeowner purchased they would have installed and then.......6 months later would have been screaming about their floor.

Bamboo is not wood (a grass product) and people don't realize that it is different when installing.

To use bamboo correctly moisture is the biggest concern. Most problems are when homeowners install their own. Bamboo will still be a "pushed product" since it is a quick renewal resource.

Looks good though....

 

[mtmtnman]

I'm sure some of the problems were from improper installation but not all.

Bamboo is being shipped from the factories way to wet. Just tested 2 weeks ago a batch that was reading 38%. That batch would have took a month to acclimate but if a homeowner purchased they would have installed and then.......6 months later would have been screaming about their floor.

Bamboo is not wood (a grass product) and people don't realize that it is different when installing.

To use bamboo correctly moisture is the biggest concern. Most problems are when homeowners install their own. Bamboo will still be a "pushed product" since it is a quick renewal resource.

Looks good though....

I would think Bamboo would not be so good in humid climates either.................

 

[Guest]

To the OP. Do yourself a favor and keep your property. Don't borrow 30 grand to buy some big truck so you can change a lock every now and then and pick up trash and cut overgrown lawns. Why work for someone who is out to pay you as little as possible? What skills do you have?

 

[Guest]

To the OP. Do yourself a favor and keep your property. Don't borrow 30 grand to buy some big truck so you can change a lock every now and then and pick up trash and cut overgrown lawns. Why work for someone who is out to pay you as little as possible? What skills do you have?

Well after having a few nights to do more research and think about my situation Iam starting to lean towards sticking with carpentry (15 yrs exp.) and starting my own remodeling biz. I dont think I could afford to drive around all day swaping out locks. I do have some more ?? tho. I found online a Mass. hud cost schedule. So I would assume that nationals pay less. How much less, 50%, 25%, depends on the national? Just looking for a general idea? The same goes with realitors are they inline with hud's numbers or higher? Just to be clear Iam not asking for exact #s, only trying to get a better idea how this industry works. Like I said Iam leaning towards sticking with remodeling but wondering if it is feasible to try to also work for some realitors.

 

[Guest]

Well after having a few nights to do more research and think about my situation Iam starting to lean towards sticking with carpentry (15 yrs exp.) and starting my own remodeling biz. I dont think I could afford to drive around all day swaping out locks. I do have some more ?? tho. I found online a Mass. hud cost schedule. So I would assume that nationals pay less. How much less, 50%, 25%, depends on the national? Just looking for a general idea? The same goes with realitors are they inline with hud's numbers or higher? Just to be clear Iam not asking for exact #s, only trying to get a better idea how this industry works. Like I said Iam leaning towards sticking with remodeling but wondering if it is feasible to try to also work for some realitors.

Nationals and regionals are all less , except for bid work. How much lower? Check Craigslist and see

 

[Guest]

Nationals and regionals are all less , except for bid work. How much lower? Check Craigslist and see

Its that bad??

 

[mtmtnman]

Its that bad??

Unless your established it's worse than that bad. Even if you are established, there is no love in this business and a National will shut you down in a heartbead if someone underbids you. They don't give a crap about quality FOR NOW but when this low quality work hits their pocketbook things will change. I have been seeing more REO's conveying back to the bank lately due to hacks screwups and it's only going to get worse. Eventually when it hits there pocketbooks enough, prices will come back up and quality contractors will get back in but as it stands we are loosing good contractors by the boatload and they are being replace by broke hacks that can't afford to do the job properly.......

 

[thanohano44]

Unless your established it's worse than that bad. Even if you are established, there is no love in this business and a National will shut you down in a heartbead if someone underbids you. They don't give a crap about quality FOR NOW but when this low quality work hits their pocketbook things will change. I have been seeing more REO's conveying back to the bank lately due to hacks screwups and it's only going to get worse. Eventually when it hits there pocketbooks enough, prices will come back up and quality contractors will get back in but as it stands we are loosing good contractors by the boatload and they are being replace by broke hacks that can't afford to do the job properly.......

I've seen about 8 reo properties get reconveyed back to the bank. For both hack work and probably incorrect filing. I hope it happens more. Get the hacks out.

 

[mtmtnman]

I've seen about 8 reo properties get reconveyed back to the bank. For both hack work and probably incorrect filing. I hope it happens more. Get the hacks out.

Funny thing is the ones you think would convey back never do. We had a Fannie Mae that conveyed this summer. I pumped the crawl and thawed the house. Told the bank over and over that mold would grow if the house was not properly dried immediately. (BOA) This was in January. When it conveyed in July it was full of mold. The broker asked for all of my original photos and notes. The servicing co. i did the work for gave me written permission to do so. Fannie NEVER did a thing about it. The thing is, the bank could have filed a claim on the homeowners insurance for the damages in the 1st place but they didn't!!! (insurance was escrowed and in force when loss occurred)

Until Fannie, Freddy, HUD Ect. start conveying back to the bank for screwups this will NEVER change. We are seeing more than usual re-convey but not nearly enough. I would guess that nearly 75% or more could potentially re-convey back to the bank for one reason or another........

 

[Guest]

Well after having a few nights to do more research and think about my situation Iam starting to lean towards sticking with carpentry (15 yrs exp.) and starting my own remodeling biz. I dont think I could afford to drive around all day swaping out locks. I do have some more ?? tho. I found online a Mass. hud cost schedule. So I would assume that nationals pay less. How much less, 50%, 25%, depends on the national? Just looking for a general idea? The same goes with realitors are they inline with hud's numbers or higher? Just to be clear Iam not asking for exact #s, only trying to get a better idea how this industry works. Like I said Iam leaning towards sticking with remodeling but wondering if it is feasible to try to also work for some realitors.

What kind of carpentry do you like? I really hated doing trim when I started remodeling, but have started to accept it:laughing: I say you got to do what you got to do to pay your bills. Man I think anytime you are setting your own prices to do work is always better than letting someone tell you what they will give you. Of course, there are times when you are offered a price to do a job that is acceptable. There are soo many people that invest their whole life savings into a business an loose it all. If you got enough to get started on your own try that first and go for a loan as last resort. Carring a mountain of debt is not very fun. I am not out to own a business. I am out to make money.

 

[Guest]

The $ is with the real eatate agents/brokers that handle reo's. You might only get a couple of jobs per month from each but the profits are much better than nationals.

 

[Guest]

We all hope! I hope that the nationals that want the waivers will run out of contractors. and more contractors will say no to nationals E&O contracts. maybe then we can take back some pride, get pricing back up to old levels, and do quality work again.its hard to keep standards high when your going broke. we all know that they are bank owned dumps. but we like to treat them like any other property. its hard to when a national gets twice what you do for (out of the kindness of there hearts) give you the work.

We are the guys/girls doing the labor, paying for gas, trucks, dump fees, insurances. then hoping we didnt forget a DATE STAMPED photo. or get charge backs from months ago, or E&O insurance (open check book)