Where will contractors find wages for public holidays?

HERE we are in the time of public holidays, four paid days off for the workforces of most contractors, not that they don’t deserve it, but please spare a thought for the contractors.

Four days of extra wages to find and four days with no turnover; overheads don’t stop, so a rough month for contractors.

If we are a little twitchy please give us breathing space, most medium-to-small outfits are still trying to make up cashflow after the Christmas break, plus another kick in the teeth now, followed by days of no work in winter.

Clients wonder why you can’t find a good, but cheap builder. As a small contractor it is virtually impossible to make a decent living; food on the table is just about the best to aim for. I had a question from a young man who wanted to become a building contractor, I was excited and was going to compile a series of articles on how to go about it.

Then I thought, was it fair to encourage anyone to enter a mug’s game, with little hope of a great future?

I have been going through lists of contractors trying to spot names of newish contractors who have survived – few have survived more than five years.

One needs to be special to be a newbie and survive.

My advice to clients is stick to the household names who have been around for the past 30 years or more, they are doing something right and usually registered and compliant and looking after their workforces.

Mrs Mac is away for the weekend, so I thought I would take a couple of hours off to venture into my garage/ workshop/man-cave to do a bit of tidying up and planning, we have been back in town over a year so I suppose I should make a positive start. I had acquired an old built-in cupboard from a client which I wanted to attach to a wall for tools’ storage.

Daniel, my trusted assistant, and I proceeded to the garage and decided on the best way forward. The cupboard is heavy, it needed to be mounted on to the wall as it is not a low-level cupboard and I have a notoriously bad back.

After much huffing and puffing we managed to get it in an upright position on top of my work bench, (a converted hospital bed) and then after a bit more effort on to a brick at either end to the height I wanted.

I had not considered the weight and once it was on the bricks at either end, it had a definite major sag in the middle. I certainly did not have enough strength left to lift the middle manually so I needed a plan.

It then dawned on me looking at one of the cars in the garage, flat tyre, lift car, jack. Luckily we have a small hydraulic jack in one of the cars so within two minutes I had jacked up the middle of the cupboard and was then able to screw it to the wall nice and level for inspection by Mrs Mac.

So don’t just think of your car jack as a tool to help replace flat tyres, it can be used for lifting, straightening and even for pushing things around if you set it up correctly.

Ensure you set it up correctly and not exceed the weight it is designed to support.

Angela has sent in the following:

I am an avid reader of your column and I need help with repairing three cracks on exterior walls, one being on the west weather side. This last crack is through to the exterior and was closed years ago, and has opened again. I need to get them repaired and there is also a fourth one, an interior crack, my home is in Rosebank and on clay, on the river bank stretching down to the Liesbeek River. We get cracks opening and closing seasonally. I have lived in this house for 35 years. Please help me find a builder to sort these cracks out as I am worried about the mess. The three exterior ones are: 1. either side of a round stained glass window in the lounge, east side; 2. on the west side in the bathroom; 3. east side in dining area and 4. in the hallway between it and the main bedroom. I replied and promised to pop in for a look after Easter, when hopefully I would have a little more time. She replied: I see that my problem may be subsidence due to the drought, as raised in your column.

This further worries me as damp resulting from cracks through exterior walls was mentioned.

I am very grateful that you will come to my house and advise me. I am happy to fit in with you. Homes and their problems are very real to me as I am an estate agent or, as we will be known, a property practitioner.

I have mentioned subsidence quite a bit over the past few weeks and would like to appeal to all again about rushing into repairs without having a properly qualified professional examine the damage and preparing a proper report and method statement.

It is not just a case of pour in some concrete. I will have a look at Angela’s problem, but if I believe it is subsidence then I will ask her to appoint an engineer.

I also believe drought conditions add to the problem and I would caution against spending too much until weather conditions are normal.

In the interim if you are worried about water entering through substantial cracks, seal them temporarily with a flexible sealant.

● Please keep your questions or comments coming to don@macalister.co.za or sms only to 082 446 3859.