Pimps who don't know how to roof.....

F- THAT Jim. Most framers, like almost every builder, have spent all of my time in my roofing career looking for 1099 tax cheats, uninsured fly by nights and low ballers to do their roofing work to help destroy the roofing trade.

Did you say "Brother, Brother?"

You want to do roofing Mr. Framer? Go on down and pay for PROPER insurance and I'll see if I can start subbing you some work.

Odd thing is, my roofing business spends a HUGE chunk of our customers resources ($'s) fixing other people's CRAP. Framing is not rocket science either. But golly, people sure screw it up.....

(Oh wait is all the roofers fault Mr. Homeowner.....I'll have a cheaper one out here tommorrow..... that'll fix MY problem))

Odd thing is he won't pay Randy to do his roofs. But Randy should help him w/ QC and pricing?

Typical LEACH.

RandyB1986 Said: Jim..where do you live? Email hell.....I am going to send him over for you to train and split your profit with :laugh:

You could have saved some time by asking if he lived in my town, and yes he does....3 blocks away!

Any monkey can lay a shingle...but very few can properly flash. The shingles never leak, its always that flashing!

Jim....get your address sent so I can get you a new crew on the way.....did I mention you have to not only train him but his entire crew, provide them guns, compressors, knowledge.......

I can hear him now....Jim, which side goes up and where is my $$$..........but he will make you a good friend.

Send him over. I'll give him a primer on roofing and it'll take me all of half an hour. I'll suggest that he hire a sub for the flashing's until he finds someone that has the skill. That's what 90% of the builder's did on the houses I framed for decades.

I'll also suggest that he skips the nailguns and compressors and upsell his services as "hand nailed". That's what the old guys do around here to get an extra $100 per square (retail). That's also their angle to differentiate against the "nailgunners". I don't use the tactic but if I didn't own any guns and compressors, that would be my tactic.

I'll make no apologies for assuming that the guy sounded like he wasn't competition. Your sentence structure "Since his buddies live in a small town that recently got storm damage, he decided to become a roofing contractor." tricked me because I foolishly assumed that you'd write "Since a storm rolled through our town...."

In any event, if a storm rolled through my town, I'd be too busy to help him get up and running but I'd probably offer him a sales position.

Jim..where do you live? Email hell.....I am going to send him over for you to train and split your profit with :laugh:

You could have saved some time by asking if he lived in my town, and yes he does....3 blocks away!

Any monkey can lay a shingle...but very few can properly flash. The shingles never leak, it's always that flashing!

Jim....get your address sent so I can get you a new crew on the way.....did I mention you have to not only train him but his entire crew, provide them guns, compressors, knowledge.......

I can hear him now...."Jim, which side goes up and where is my $$$"..........but he will make you a good friend.

RandyB1986 Said: There is nothing that drives me crazier than a pimp who has no idea how to install a roof.

I have a friend who is a framer and the last few years his work has gotten slow. He has slowly ventured into doing other things that quite honestly, he is not qualified to do. Since his buddies live in a small town that recently got storm damage, he decided to become a roofing contractor. He has no idea how to roof. He calls me up and says he has some roofs to do and is wanting me to get with him and go over some of the insurance adjustments...my ponder begins there.

I dont want to hurt my friends feelings....but I am not real thrilled about being associated with a contractor that I know has no idea what he is doing. If he wants me to install his roofs that is fine, with my crews and time....but I dont think I want to be out on the roof training his $18 an hour guys on how to roof and him making more than I do.

I mean if they are a reputable contractor that has paid the dues, and know how to install a quality product...I have no problem putting my name on the install. But if the guy is a butcher and pawns junk to the customers and I am left to install it and look like the fool, I am not game. There are too many roofing contractors today that dont know which side of shingle goes up....

How do you guys handle the hack pimps that want you to sub?

With friends like you, who needs enemies?

Let me get this straight. Your friend, who is a carpenter, is slow in his specialty trade which is framing. So, a storm presents an opportunity and he attempts to do some of the work in order to feed his family and pay his mortgage. For seeking opportunity, you call him a pimp?!!!!

Maybe he read the book "Who Moved the Cheese?" and recognized that if he doesn't leave the framing business, he'll starve? Would you rather your "friend" call you and beg for money?

So, he calls you for help and you snidely look down your nose. Instead of guiding him, you ridicule him?

The guy is probably doing residential roofs, which happens to be a subset of the carpentry trade. I hate to break this to you guys, but roofing isn't brain surgery. If you read the wrapper, you probably will find everything you need to know about residential roofing. The few things missing will quickly be learned in the field, the hard way, just like all of us experienced.

I had to laugh about the "hurting his feelings" comment because it's obvious that you are the one with the hurt feelings. I also want to know how you would know that he "is not qualified" to do roofing. You've said that "he's slowly ventured into doing other things" which is exactly the same path that many general contractors have chosen to broaden their horizons. It sounds like the guy is trying to do the right thing and of course, he foolishly thought a "friend" in the roofing business would help him.

Of course, if he is in the same town and direct competition, I could understand some reluctance to help, but I don't sense that is the issue.

Anyways, I don't know much about the roofing or storm business but have the guy email me and I'll give him what I know. I'd rather have well informed "newbie" roofers out there rather than the kind that think they have to drive down prices to "get their foot in the door".

Spit that bitter pill out and start enjoying life.

I just do my own stuff and let the others wonder why~!

That is so true twill59, whats up with that...friggin joke.

"How do you guys handle the hack pimps that want you to sub?"

None offer.

Here in my part if Indiana we have this weird hierarchy in the trades. It basically goes like this: if you are a framer then you know more about roofing than a roofer. If you are an electrician or a plumber (edumacated I guess) then you know more about roofing than a roofer. And so on and so on. They only don't do roofing because they don't have to, not because they can't........

The hacks ( & not so hacks) that try their hand at roofing get the cold shoulder from me. We had a BIG controversy in here a few years back over my attitude, which has not changed. Not a bit.

So what about your friend???? I dunno. Try not to get sucked into it.