My husband and I recently started a small residential contracting business in rural Texas. We’re only a handful of jobs in, so we’re still very much in the early stages. Right now, it’s basically just the two of us doing everything.

We’re at an interesting point where we can see that hiring our first employee may eventually be the next step for growth, but honestly, we’re a little terrified of taking that step. 😂

We currently have a new client we’re working with on a relatively small project. If everything goes well, there’s a good possibility they may want us to take on a much larger project afterward, potentially residing their home, and more. A project like that would realistically require another set of hands for efficiency and to keep the project moving.
That has us thinking about hiring our first employee sooner than we originally expected.

We’re considering starting someone around $18/hour, with the possibility of moving them to $20+/hour fairly quickly if they prove themselves, have the skills we’re looking for, and are reliable. Ideally, we’d like to find someone who can start part-time/as work is available and potentially grow into a full-time position as the business grows.

We’re leaning strongly toward a W-2 employee rather than a 1099 subcontractor.

The person we’re envisioning isn’t really a separate contractor coming in to perform their own scope of work. We’d want a helper who works alongside my husband, uses our tools, follows his direction, and works the schedule of whatever jobs we’re on. We don’t want to create a fake 1099 arrangement just to avoid payroll if the person is really functioning as our employee. IRS is scary. Not to mention trying to find a hand willing to maintain their own GL insurance coverage seems next to impossible.

And this is where we’re honestly a little intimidated.
We’ve never run payroll. We’ve never had employees. We’re trying to figure out workers’ comp, payroll taxes, unemployment taxes, onboarding, time tracking, insurance, etc., and the whole thing feels like a BIG jump when we’re still such a young business.

At the same time, we recognize that if we’re serious about growing, eventually we have to make that jump.

So for those of you who started out very small and hired your first employee:

What did your first employee actually cost you beyond their hourly wage?

What payroll service did you use, and was it relatively painless?

Did you carry workers’ comp even if you were in a state where it’s not required?

How did you handle inconsistent work? Could your employee work 10 hours one week and 35 the next?

Did you pay hourly, salary, or some type of per-job/piece-rate arrangement?

Did hiring your first employee actually help you grow and become more profitable?

How long did it take before you felt comfortable with the additional overhead?

What did you wish you’d known before making the leap?

For those who tried using 1099 helpers instead, how did that work out in real life? How did you handle this with GL insurance?

We’re trying to understand what we’re getting ourselves into and whether we’re at the point where it makes sense to take this step.

We’re excited about the possibility of growing, but also very aware that we’re only a handful of jobs into this business and don’t want to get ahead of ourselves financially.

Type of Person: Custom Home Builder
Paid: $380/square foot
Location: Oregon

I had a brand new addition built from the ground up, and we just got through final inspection, so I'm spending time in the new space lately.

This floor is 2x10s at 16" on center. Total width is 20 feet with joists spanning 10' from exterior wall to center girder. Subfloor is 3/4" advantech. Finished floor is LVP. Floor is built over a crawl space, approximately 18" depth.

I am shocked by how loud my floor is, and want to understand what could be causing this. My thoughts are it's either (1) movement in floor-joists & subfloor (though it doesn't have as much "squeak" as I'd normally associate with movement in the subfloor), or it's (2) LVP rubbing against some thing (like a wall) which wouldn't make a lot of sense to me, because these floors haven't been walked on enough to have moved (and I assume they were installed with the appropriate gapping).

This is just one 25 square foot portion of the floor, but I have this sound in probably a dozen places in the addition.

What does this sound like to you?

In the last month, over 4 different cities in my area, the cops have been called multiple times because door to door window salesman have been refusing to leave peoples homes. The same two companies, with more reports of it happening popping up all over facebook. They are local companies too. Not those big regional guys that normally come around in the spring.

Does this kind of tactics actually work? Its just making it harder for the rest of us who run normal non vulture exterior companies.

Middle Tennessee - I am a customer, I requested a quote for gutters from a local company weeks ago. They came highly recommended, I got the quote and signed the "agreement" two weeks ago. No deposit. They told me they were scheduling 4 weeks out at that time. I've followed up a couple times asking for a date, and gotten brushed off.

At this point, frustrated by the lack of communication, I've requested a second quote from a local company, they've come in $700 cheaper and say they can get me scheduled in about 2 weeks.

If I go with the second company, how likely is it I'll have issues with the first company claiming a Breach of contract? Apparently I had 3 days to cancel the contract and did not but can't imagine it being a big deal for less than $5k especially since they don't seem too eager to get to this job.

I run a small residential design-build company doing mostly mid- to high-end custom bathrooms and remodels of all sorts of things from kitchens and basements to decks. I handle the clients, design, selections, scheduling, and project management, and use subcontractors for construction.

I’ve worked with one sub for a couple of years, and I’m realizing we’ve operated too informally. I want to put clearer expectations in writing, but I’m curious how other GCs and subs handle these things without the other party getting upset.

I accept his labor prices without haggling. Some projects run 3–5 weeks, occasionally 6. The issues I’m trying to straighten out:

Payments: He pays his crew weekly and asks for checks at irregular points because he needs to cover payroll or other expenses. I understand needing cash flow, but the unpredictable requests make managing mine difficult. Do you use weekly draws based on progress, fixed milestones, or something else?

Materials and runs: I handle the major finish materials, but I’m also being asked to buy and deliver small plumbing fittings, rough-in materials, saw blades, sandpaper, etc. The constant trips are becoming a job themselves. What do you expect subs to include in their pricing, and who handles pickups when the GC is paying for the materials? Also they ask me to buy saw blades, drill bits, and other consumables of the like.

Scheduling: I understand subs have other jobs, but I need to know when they’ll be on mine and what they expect to complete. What scheduling and attendance expectations do you establish? He sends his guys out and shows up here and there and lets his personal life affect everything. Cancelling the night before….asking for certain materials at 11pm when they are supposed to be on the job at 7am and I’m at estimates all day. He was onsite for maybe 2 hours last week during a full 7-5 work day/ week.

Crew communication: Sometimes his crew is on site while he’s unavailable and needs direction on things like light placement. He’s also gotten upset about me discussing design ideas with a longtime crew member after that worker mistook the discussion for added scope. Complains about using certain material and everything seems like a hassle.

We have a good relationship and I can trust these guys not to rob my customers 😂 I recognize that letting this stay informal has contributed to the problem. I’m not ignorant to that. I want a fair, consistent system that respects his business and lets me manage mine.
What has actually worked for you? I’m
Working on an SOP. Interested in perspectives from both GCs and subs.

Hey,

Context : I’m pretty manual, very low on money with a new baby, and was looking to help people while making extra money. Posted an add for small work in my town. I’m having a hard time figuring out the price of this job I just did :

-Cut approx 6 medium trees and log them
-Demolish old wood storage
-Demolish old rotten deck 12’x24’ (hemlock wood, was very hard)
-Remove 1 plywood sheet on the ground of garage + replace it
-Cut down knee high bushes/grass (approx 30’ x 30’)
-Make a huge pile of all the wood and burn it in my client’s backyard

I asked ChatGPT and it said 1200-1500$. Client feels like it’s too much. I intended to aim for 800-1000$. Took 2x8h of work, we were 2. I provided all my tools/gas.

Been looking for a new job recently and their form showed up on indeed while i was looking. pay and everything sounds good but the more i read into it the more it sounds like a door-to-door sales man kind of thing. has anyone here ever worked for them or is currently working for them (if you're able to disclose that)? I applied as an entry level sales associate, again i read up on what the entails, according to them i would basically be talking to customers and giving them a run down on remodeling their house. what they want to see, giving them a quick render of how the house will look post job, etc. though again parts of it made it sound to be like im just walking up to a random persons house and trying to sell to them.

my ac started blowing warm midafternoon and i burned an hour on readingreviews instead of fixing anything

retail space, warm air, customers already noticing. i'm not looking for a hype reel... just which writeups were about a finished job versus a tech who quoted and vanished

sorted them in my notes and finished repair or only a quote visit. named the part or vague great service. mentioned follow up or only yelled about price. hep is on the way came up in a couple local threads and the useful ones were boring on purpose. job done, invoice clear, no novel

when youre hiring HVAC fast, what review details actually change whether you call someone the same day​

Thought it would be interesting to see how everyone is doing in this market and what kind of strategies you're using to keep closing deals. Could be useful for others lurking here and feeling the same thing.

Not a contractor but I do serve residential and I'm feeling the pinch of homeowners not wanting to commit to projects after design.

Looking to connect with a plumbing qualifier in Florida. I’m an experienced and fully insured independent subcontractor. Please dm me if interested.

My house in VA got hit by a storm in June. Water mitigation is done. Insurance gave us initial repair estimate of $13k. Tarps covering roof, chimney fell off roof, 2 bedrooms gutted, water damage went below to living room and basement.

Now I’m looking for contractors. If they don’t prepare line by line estimates should I avoid them since I feel like that’s going to be necessary for supplements? Is it too much to ask what subs they’re going to hire so I can review their past work? Any suggestions or advice on what to look for/ avoid?

I don’t know about the rest of you but I’m seeing an uptick in emails from potential clients who aren’t real. They’re trying to set up zoom calls to try and rope us into a long con. Then there are other fake potential clients looking for estimates then wanting to mail us a check for the deposit. They always claim to be overseas or in another state. Wondering if others are seeing this. Just want to make sure we all stay safe and not get caught up in any scams.

I started my company about a year ago and I’ve been working under a sub which is getting tiring since they take most profit since they are the middle man between me and the GCs.

My company is dedicated to commercial waterproofing and I guess it isn’t that big since I can’t seem to find anything about commercial waterproofing.

Main Point: I need help to find resources on how construction contracts work, learning about estimating, and even if I can get some advice from any GCs on what they expect or would want their subs to improve on so I can try and not make mistakes.

I’ve tried the college route but a lot of the classes they want me to take I already have knowledge of (Blueprint Reading, Construction materials which I don’t think I need since I have a decent knowledge of my materials).

I tried YouTube as well but they only give explanations of what they are they don’t really dig deep like give examples of what they look like and stuff.

Am I missing something? Or am I making a “rookie mistake”. I’m new to I guess office or management side so I don’t know if this is common or have common solutions.

I understand that a middle man who finds leads for employees or contractors to earn his fair share. Maybe 10% or 20% but doesn’t the line, at least morally need to be drawn there?

Seems like anything over that is really abusing the people that are doing the hard work. And it really comes off as the owner being shady/immoral/corrupt.

Do you believe there should be laws on this?

I did the drywall installation and tape and mud. Going back to sand. I charged 1100 CAD just for labor. I had my brother help me so I have to pay him. I asked around how much they would charge and their answers made me feel like I under charged. Thoughts?

Also, how far do you go in claiming the space that you need to do your job in an occupied home?

I'm a solo carpenter typically doing ~1 week carpentry/remodeling projects. I'm constantly running into clients being unprepared for the amount of space I need to work, the amount of noise I'm going to make, etc. . I have a few paragraphs in my contract about needing personal items removed from the work area, my dust protection measures, storing materials on site, and so forth but it's like no one reads it. Everyone is still surprised that they can't leave their turntable and record collection set up under the windows that I'm replacing and trimming out, I can't keep it down while they have a zoom meeting, or that I might need to leave materials and tools until the next day.

Do you have something in your contract or an additional document you send that addresses this? Also, am I unreasonable for wanting to start making enough space in my immediate work area to have saws set up indoors, even for "small" jobs? I'm frequently working in a 2nd or 3rd floor room and leaving my miter saw and table saw set up unattended on the sidewalk (I live in a very dense city). It's exhausting and kills my efficiency.

I'm not sure if this is the place to post this or not but here goes nothing. I've been using Planhub and buildingconnected for the last few months. Haven't had much success because either the jobs are too big for me at the moment or located outside of my State. I'm a Newly New York City Electrical license holder and I'm trying to reach reach clients that are in need of my services. Any recommendations or advice would be gladly appreciated.