this is a great comment, many thanks

There are a lot of builders that do this. Most people just don’t want to pay for it. And because the consumer is not in the business, they don’t understand the difference as to why there is so much discrepancy in the pricing they receive. So they take the best price and then they get what they pay for. All the details take a bunch of extra time and not many builders have a personality or care about / are capable of a high level of detail. I’m a builder in the New England area on the seacoast, and believe it or not, we are even more meticulous. RR does great work, though.

​@@Ryan-ft2pe but....how do you find them?

It’s tough to know or discern what you are getting / or going to get if you are not in the business. I would ask for customer referrals and then go look at their work. But you need to know what you are looking for, so that can make it hard if you don’t have any experience. Keep in mind that one of the contractor’s customer referrals might think they were great when their only expectation was that ‘the guy showed up.’ And other customer referrals might say the contractor was excellent, but not recognize or care about the same level of detail that you would. I would definitely throw away any estimates that are the lowest price, but keep in mind that the highest price does not necessarily mean quality work. And prices are subjective because every company has different levels of overhead. For example, I am a one-man show general contractor who has no employees and hires all of my subcontractors. I get less hassle and better quality out of owner operator subcontractors vs having direct employees. And in the end the cost is about the same. My new truck is paid for and I don’t have any overhead. So I can give a ton of time, high quality and attention to my customers at a very competitive price compared to other contractors who have an office, administrative staff, employees with all the benefits and building lease. So I can take on two or three really great projects a year and be very present and get extremely high-quality. I’d try to find somebody with this model versus a company with a lot of overhead. The other option is to hire a general contractor who physically does the work, but they are usually busy juggling multiple jobs and large projects are usually poorly run. It’s very very important that you find somebody that you enjoy working with and that listens to you. You’ll find a good person if you are willing to take the time and really dive in a little and be willing to learn. if you are building a new house, it is a massive undertaking and a lot of money, so you just need to make sure that you get it right the first time.

​@@Ryan-ft2pe thank you for the thoughtful reply. What you described is very useful to weed out a contractor that you're currently considering. But it's still hard to find contractors without going through that process for each and every one.

It’s not easy that is for sure. There are cues in the things that they say. For example, when I search for subcontractors, such as a plumber, is his truck completely disorganizedand and a mess? Does he do more talking than listening? Does he have the right tools that save him a lot of time and offer better quality installs? I have a process that I vet customers with. I start with a phone conversation to discuss their project and their budgets. Based on my experience, I then give them a budgetary range based on their project scope. If their budgets are way out of line, I’ve only wasted 10 minutes. If their budgets are inline, then I go do a site visit to confirm. If all that checks out, then I bring my subcontractors in or I send them a set of plans and they give me some budgetary pricing. I’ve only spent another few hours at this point, but at least I’ve confirmed that they are a decent prospect because they have a budget in the range. I then take all of my subcontractors numbers and roll them into all the pieces that I will handle directly and just do a quick calculation. If I am still in the range of their budget, I ask them that if they’d like to commit to moving forward with me because I will spend 60 to 80 hours developing an extremely detailed estimate, which is usually about 20 pages. This is their detailed scope of work and it’s in the order of every single phase of construction. So they know exactly what they are getting and if there are any unknowns. Any unknowns are all listed out so at least they know where extra cost could potentially lie and it’s not a surprise if it comes up. You want to find someone that is a planner. More planning on the upfront will head off issues that are expensive in the field. There will be some, but they will be greatly reduced. The other thing to know is that just because someone has a budget, that might not realistically pay for what they are looking for. Often times it does not. So there is a difference between “someone is just too expensive“ and “I just don’t have the money it takes to do the amount of work I want.“ I always give this example, if I told you that I will give you a brand new Ferrari that is worth $1 million for only $20,000, that is a great deal. You could turn around and sell it the next day and make $980,000. But if you don’t have $20,000, then it’s too expensive and not a great deal for you. So if your budget is $400,000 and to do the house right at $500,000 (these are just examples and not real numbers), I would either wait or at the very least get the box right (which means a good quality frame with good quality windows and doors along with good quality insulation) and skimp out a little on the finishes, such as the high-end appliances, cabinets, countertops, flooring, etc. Those finishes can be swapped out in the future, but it would be significantly more difficult to change your insulation and windows. With whoever you find, if they don’t, I would discuss your budgets right on the upfront. If they don’t discuss this right upfront, that is usually a bad sign unfortunately. If everyone that you meet is consistently telling you that your budget don’t work for what you are asking for then that’s a good confirmation for you and that helps you a little. Don’t worry about telling someone that you have $1 million budget, when the job could only cost $600,000. I used to be concerned that if I told somebody my budget, then they would they would charge me my budget for something that I could potentially get much cheaper. But as you talk with more people that will all get flushed out and you’ll have more experience to know if you are paying more than you should. But just talk to as many contractors as you can, and that will help you learn more about the process.

Wow, thank you!

the industry moves on, the installers have to move with it. Regardless of the "this is how ma daddy used to do it" attitude.

@@andrewcarr2431 You are 100% correct I just wish that all realize that similar fails may occur for these adhesives in the distant future.

yeah I'm sure his wife gets a kick out of it. certainly not 'classy' & definitely unnecessary.

Not arguing but this stuff is a mfd. product, not actual stone.

It’s not masonry. It’s a piece of concrete hanging on the wall with screws to look better than weatherlogic.

@@jamesa8851 I know what it is I work with similar manufactured products and real stone, same rules still apply to this, just cause it is fake stone doesn’t mean the process is all that different just the way you fasten it is.

@@trentnijenhuis7798 why? Sure the instruction manual says to do so, but why? All I can find is that non-mitered edges/runs are easier but that you can miter.

​@trentnijenhuis7798 why does that matter? I don't like the fact that your cutting the groove off in the middle of the field then

The doors he has are perfect

I’m sure they will look great when completed. Not trying to offend, I just like my full view doors on jobs like this. My customers are overjoyed with them.

(and you wouldn't believe the price. Ordered 4 cases for my build and it's shocking to say the least heh)

Easier to run level generally speaking with the cap.. it’s hard because you don’t know where to check with a laser but the overall level on the top of the capstone is good

looks like their brad nailer?

(they have a website or Big Rock Supply carries them I believe)

Don rollers are not nearly as effective

I agree with RR on this one. Roller just doesn't do the seal as well... maybe if you use a split roller. But the squeegee really gets it down and thus a tight air seal