Rules for hiring a contractor:

General Information
1. Does the contractor have a state license to do the type of work needing to be done?
2. Does the contractor have liability insurance? If something goes wrong who will cover your loss.
3.  Does the contractor have worker compensation insurance?
If a person falls or get hurt in any way while on your property (grass, sidewalk, inside your house, etc.) you’re at fault. Unless the contractor has workers comp. insurance.

4. Make Sure All Subcontractors and/or Any Person Coming Onto Your Property Has Legal Workers Compensation and Liability Insurance.
5. Does this person have the brains to pull off this type of job?  Watch out there a lot of cons out there calling them contractors only wanting to separate you from your money.
6. Can he/she prove what is being said in writing; a contract that protects you the Homeowner?
7. A lot of people have go good intentions but no knowledge or life experience to draw from.
8. There are 3 classifications of quality of work
A.  Poor and well below sub standard workmanship
B.  Just Average on workmanship
C.   Excellent work- any worker just above average ends up excelling to excellent static because of the person himself, I’ve seen this time and time again.

9. 2nd Classifications of motives.
A. Money is a good motivator
B. The lack of money is a poor motivation
C. Lack of time for said job or out of on contracts personal bills
D. The only job available this one, actually scores just above average
E. Actually caring for his work and the client.

Now is the contractor your hiring going to hire subcontractor with substandard work or money problems? Remember this your project is to be a work of art not a novel of science fiction.

The picture you are looking at is not mold but instead it’s dirt. In this photo this house has hot water heat. There is no air filtration system in this house, as small dirt particles migrate into the wall mounted radiator (baseboard heat) heats the air as it passes by but the dirt is charged with static electricity than the particles are carried up the wall with the warm air. This is where the charged particle bond cooler parts of the wall. The framing of the house keeps the sheetrock cooler directly in front of the studs in the winter and warmer in the summer. This also happens with electric baseboard heat. Using an air purifier such as a Honeywell 17000 HEPA Quietcare Air Cleaner works great removing all the particulate in the air.

What’s the difference?
The Department of Labor and Industry requires licenses for residential building contractors, remodelers, roofers and manufactured home installers. The department requires certain standards of education and professional conduct be maintained to obtain and retain a license.

Licenses are required for all residential building contractors and residential remodelers who contract with a homeowner to construct or improve dwellings by offering more than one special skill. Owners working on their own property must also be licensed if they build or remodel for the sole purpose of speculation or resale.

Liability insurance with limits of at least $300,000 per occurrence, which must include at least $10,000 property damage coverage.
Minnesota workers’ compensation insurance certificate or a written explanation of why the applicant is exempt from workers’ compensation requirements. Applicants who have no employees and have no intention of hiring employees (other than spouse, parent or child) during the next year should attach a written statement with the license application explaining the specific reason they are exempt. If applicant is uncertain whether workers’ compensation insurance is required for your business, contact the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry at (651) 284-5005.

A handy man needs none of the above unless he and/or she does more than one of these items concrete, frame, side, sheetrock, trim, tile, hardwood flooring, carpeting, painting

If a handy man gets injured at your house he or his insurance company can sue the home owner. Always Protect Yourself.

In the first hours of interviewing home building contractors, this is the time to ferret out if the contractor, is out for his wallet or to gain a friend. Remember once you sign a contract with him/her, the working relationship will late up to 10 or even 12 years. The house may be done in 3-6 months, but the warranties and call back could be a nightmare.

The modern truss is built with less lumber and poorer quality of wood than 40 years ago.

In early to mid 80’s something new was happening to the houses.

In the dead of winter the building contractors were getting complaints of cracks on the top floor of the house where the walls meet the ceiling, and only on interior walls.

If the trusses went front to back the cracks would be the worst in the center following the center wall left to right, and the crack at times were more like gaps 1”– 1 1/2” the industry was troubled by the problem saying that the contractors was putting to much insulation in the attic causing a large fluctuation in temperature in the truss members it’s self making the truss to pull the bottom cord of the truss up by it’s self.

The truss manufactures remedy was to go in and lag bolt the truss down to the top plates of the interior walls.

The next year the cracks and gaps were gone Great- hold that thought, then the calls were coming in that the walls were not nailed down to the floors and you could see under the wall into the next room.

Trusses are very powerful pieces of engineered wood. They have lifted walls and pulled the nails with the walls.

The truss manufactures remedy was this time not to nail the sheetrock to the truss within 16” of the wall but instead put block on top of the wall between the trusses and nail to them instead.

The result is every year your trusses flex up and down making the sheetrock and insulation to do the same. Down the road you will find nail pops on the ceiling from 12-30” out from the center wall and your sheetrock will be sagging.

For my business I solved the problem by having the trusses designing then having the truss manufacture up size the top cord of the truss by 1 size larger board.

Example if the trusses called for a 2×4 top cord I required a 2×6 top cord for my needs, the cost was about $250.00 per house but no more call back.

So in retrospect what has happened to the truss industry they are trying to keep the price of trusses down and using cheaper quality wood.

Don’t worry the truss won’t fail it’ll just cause headaches and problems for the contractor and you the home owner watching the contractor scratch his head not knowing what to do or how to fix it.

Trimming it’s self is fun and challenging there a good trimmers, incredable ones and there are hacks which most of us won’t even let them people frame their so bad.
Trim must be installed super tight fits in all joints corners and seams, remember there is still moisture in the wood still leaving it and as it does so the material will still shrink.

This is why a new house has more millwork cracks at the joints, corners and seams is because the wood in the wall framing is still wet and has not dried out.

When it does the wall thickness will shrink leaving gaps behind the trim and sheetrock surface.

It’s not a bad trim job but instead the contractor was in to much of a hurry to get the house done and did not take the time required to dry the wood framing out before insulating walls.

This is another reason you have sheet rock nails popping in your house. Remember this the dryer the wood the stronger it is.

It holds nails better if it is dry and more weight.

Use a knife of a pick to remove the lose debris from the hole carve out a tapered edge on finished side of the hole this allows the taping compound to lock in place.

Then Buy some 20 Minute taping compound it will come in a bag, mix it until it is smooth in texture a handle wisp works good for this.
Use a small putty knife and force the compound into the hole, and cover it with a piece of tape (clear or duct tape) in 20 minutes re move the tape and sand with 150 Grit sand paper until smooth with the ceiling.

Next we have to match the swirls on the ceiling. They use many different type of implements to put on swirls. A sponge, walls paper brush (4″ x 1″), a rage, and a plastic trawl with custom cuts.

Try these types on some cardboard for the right look. Now you have mastered the look mix up some regular taping compound (Not fast dry) and swirl the ceiling.

After drying if needed touch sand and primer paint the patch and finish paint the hole ceiling.

Install tape over the edges let dry, float compound over the tape about 1/16″ thick and 12″ wide let dry.

The next day feather more compound out to the 16″on ether side of the joints let dry, and sand. If it’s not perfect add more compound to the patch and re-sand.

Always sand with 150 Grit sand paper or finer until smooth with the ceiling. Next we have to match the swirls on the ceiling. They use many different type of implements to put on swirls.

A sponge, walls paper brush (4″ x 1″), a rage, and a plastic trawl with custom cuts. Try these types on some cardboard for the right look.

Now you have mastered the look mix up some regular taping compound (Not fast dry) and swirl the ceiling. After drying if needed touch sand and primer paint the patch and finish paint the hole ceiling.

The head of the nail and the shank is hardened (heat tempered) so the head does not separate form the shank even in a fire up to 1400°.

Sheetrock screws are hardened also for the same porous. When installing the nails always use a sheetrock hammer the head of the hammer is rounded so when the nail is hammered in the rock is dimpled not broken.

The dimpled area is designed for the taping compound to fill in. The top of nail head is to smooth and tape will not sick hence the dimple system.

Using a framing hammer rips the sheetrock paper.

Which in turns cases the sheetrock around the nail to let lose of the taping compound when the house shifts, shrink, settles, or shacks.

Painting, wallpapering, hanging drapes.

Some of its features are a large 48″ x 14″ work area.

Adjustment locking system adjusts from 18″ to 30″ in 2″ increments and the bench capacity 500lbs.

The bench is made of aluminum and lightweight easy for transport and sets up fast and easy.

They love to use sanding sticks (sanding pad on the end of a 5′ long stick) they cannot touch or see their work and all their work has been sanded with 100 grit sandpaper leaving sanding groves in their departure.

But they are the one doing the finish job before the painter comes in. They leave groves and miss some areas.

The best way to sand is to hand sand both with a sanding pad made by 3M (fine) and 2 hand sanders.
When sanding use a 150 grid sandpaper over the entire surface and use a 300-400 grid sandpaper to remove the sanding marks left by the 150 grid sand paper.

Base layer bluerock(sheetrock), wire lath, or plywood, or even durarock (concrete board).

Next layer is a thin layer of concrete (brown coat).

Final layer is a trawled on smooth (concrete).

Using wire lath, or durarock eliminates the growth of mold. Concrete by it’s self it naturally porous.

Water does not get sucked up by the plaster while sheetrock is a sponge.

Using exterior metal paper corners are better than nail on metal corners or crimp on metal corners. Remember this if the lumber behind the sheetrock moves or twists the corner bead nailed to that lumber must also move and twist creating cracks and gaps.

When using taping compound pick a type of compound that does not shrink over time. Most compounds they do shrank go back with that the houses six months to year or longer and you’ll find out most corner beads that were filled in with taping compound have shrunk severely.

I recommend using Sudden bond 4T easy to apply and to sand and does not shrink. The phone number as to where to buy 4T is 800-344 8861

What size trawl is used on out side corner beads? If they say 8-10″ look for a better taper 14″ Minimum
When skimming a flat ceiling what size trawl is used? If 12″ is there answer your going to have a rolling ceiling. 36″ trawl is the Minimum size needed for this tpye of job.

The paper being used in sheetrock is a form of easy to consume sugar.

The gypsum material is considered a complex sugar. When moisture is present the paper is the first to create mold if the sheetrock stays wet more than 48 hours the gypsum itself will start to mold.

There to basic types sheetrock the Standard she rock, which surface have come gypsum only.

The other type has small pieces of fiberglass woven in the gypsum board this type of sheetrock is used for fire stops between garage walls and houses, between apartment buildings, around Chimney chases and alike.

There is another type of wall system which can be used using is Blue Rock, and then plastered over it to give a plastered finish.

Blue Rock weigh based sheetrock system but designed for plastering which will allow more weight to be hung off of it because plaster ways a lot more.

Well when he was done sheetrocking!

When gentlemen came into the house that did the taping called the house from Hades.

The gaps in the corners were bigger than the narrow part of my framing hammer 1 1/4″ (the maximum gap of ¼”) the rock job was so bad they textured sprayed the walls and ceiling to cover problems.

The basement looked like the Greek parathion.

15-20 steel posts making it hard to finish the basement. The trim work was poorly done.I was approached by a couple that wanted to build a large new 2 story house. They already had bought a house kit all they wanted me to do is frame roof and side the house. What was missing in this house package; A permit, City sewer and water, the driveway, basement foundation walls, Excavation, the wrong size sheet rock for the ceilings that have to hold up insulation.
The house package came with a large 3ring book tell you how to frame shingle and side. The illustrations were horrible there was no background information explaining why the house must be framed in a certain way. The house packages this company sells was really designed to sold to a carpenter who know how to frame, side roof and trim. All this person had to do is supply the labor but with no understanding of any of the trades. He was over his head, than came the time to sheetrock the house. Well when he was done sheetrocking, the gentlemen which came into the house that did the taping called the place “ house from Hades”.

The gaps in the corners were bigger than the narrow part of my framing hammer 1 1/4″ (the maximum gap of allowed 1⁄4″) the rock job was so bad, they textured spray the walls and ceiling to cover problems.

The basement looked like the Greek parathion.

15-20 steel posts making it hard to finish the basement. The trim work was also poorly done.