Anyone get hit hard during the storm yesterday?

So yesterday I was sitting in my car under the canopy at the pumps at a gas station out near Plymouth after the storm rolled through. The damage was incredible. Trees smashed and buildings ripped up pretty good. Debris was everywhere.

One thing that struck me… from my vantage point under the canopy I got to watch some pretty shady looking guys putting up signs advertising tree removal and construction “services” along the road before the storm clouds were even out of view.

Basically this was the construction business version of “ambulance chasing” and I couldn’t help but think about how many people were going to get taken by these fly-by-night guys out chasing the aftermath of the storm.

So I got to thinking… I know guys here on the site were hit and they’ll be looking for some help. The last thing they need is someone over charging them or doing crappy work and disappearing after they get paid.

So I think to myself… I know a trustworthy guy! I trust him so much, he’s in the process of building my first house! I should let people know about this guy… he lives in Plymouth right in the epicenter of the damage. He’s a regular on this site. He’s even an advertiser.

Joe Schuur – Schuur Handy Construction

612-685-3566

http://www.schuurhandy.com

If anyone has trees down or has damage to their property, give Joe a call. He’ll take good care of you. The only downside is you’ll likely have to talk a little fishing.

James, I live north of there but I have seen these signs elsewhere. These so called companies go to the home improvement stores and buy all of the cheap blue tarps and offer to cover your roof damage, etc to keep from near future damage from rain and charge homeowners an arm and a leg to do it. Some will turn and walk away if they do not get a signed contract on the spot to repair the damage. These company employees get a certain $ amount/signed contract. Pretty snakey. For the older folks and the not so handy who’ve never been on a ladder before this can be a bad deal!

It had “smarmy” written all over it.

The construction storm chasers must have been slow, the day before the storm I got a call asking if they could come out and look for storm damage

There’s always two sides right.. We get the forecast of storms right, and a few use that to get a jump on screwin people. Good luck with all the repairs, and we’ll keep issuing the warnings. Cheers. (FYI.. I don’t forecast up there, but farther south in IA/IL/MO.)

Car looks like hell, but that’s it (I hope). Drove past the house we’re buying and it didn’t look to have any problems!!!

One thing about it too, the established companies will come out and tarp the roof and give bids right away too. Insurance covers the costs so why not check out the legitimate companies, they have to cover any exterior and interior damage done by the storm,,,,,and too your satisfaction and not thiers!! Don’t let them repair the roof when it needs a whole new shingle job because the old shingles don’t match the new because of fading, even though they are the same color. You can accept any bid you want even though they want you to take the cheapest one. Calling the building dept. dosen’t hurt too.

I own a tree service in Madison WI so I have to chime in on this becasue there are A LOT of shady guys in this line of work for one reason or another. Follow these guidelines when hiring a contractor and you should be OK.

1. Ask your Insurance adjuster if they can recommend a service to you.
2. Get 2 or 3 bids and look for a service that has an ISA (International Society of Arboriculture)Certified Arborist on staff. Ask for their credentials or ISA #. Go on their website and do a search to make sure they aren’t lying to you. If they ask you what the ISA is, move on! Most of these guys are decent people who took the time to learn about doing tree care the right way.
3. Make certain you get a certificate of ins from them
for both workmens comp AND liability.
4. Make sure everything they intend on doing is in writing. If they say they’ll haul the stump grindings from the uprooted tree, it should be in writing.
5. Under no circumstances should a tree service need a down payment. This is where people get screwed.
6. Ask them about damage to the lawn from both trees coming down as well as wheel ruts from equipment. Are they going to fix it?
7. Obviously don’t write the check until the work is complete and to your satisfaction.
8. If a tree is on your home, ask if any additional damage will occur. An experienced Arborist should always be able to figure out a way to get a tree off a house without causing further damage.

use these few simple guidelines when hiring contractors and you shouldn’t have to wonder if you are getting screwed or not

Post deleted by Briank

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I had a couple of guys pull up in a truck the other week at my house in Shoreview. I was sitting in the garage listening to the Twins game and having a . These guys walked up to me and told me that insurance companies had identified my neighborhood as one that was hard hit by a storm last fall. They then told me that all major insurance companies will cover any of their work in full. They showed me some “B” as in “B”, “S” as in “S” certificate that they had in their leather folder. Since I was home alone and in a great mood, I cracked another beer and told the guys to take a look. What I hadn’t told them is last summer I had 26 triple payne windows, 6 doors, foam backed vinyl siding, and a stainless steel roof with a 50 year warranty installed. Oh well these guys pulled all the ladders off the truck and started their inspection. I moved my comfy chair to the middle of the front yard cracked yet another and started watching the show. These guys started walking around the house looking at everything, all they were doing was scratching their heads and not knowing what to say. It was much like watching a Laurel and Hardy movie. Finally the moment I have been waiting for. They leaned the ladders on the house and headed for the roof. Once they got up there they had no clue what they were walking on. They walked the roof for about 10 minutes , again scratching their heads. They finally came down and asked me what my roof was made out of. I told them “oh, its stainless steel, it’s warrantied against any damage, including hail for 50 years”, at this point I couldn’t hold it in and started laughing. Needless to say these guys got a bit irritated (too bad), Oh well long story short these guys wasted at least an hour of their time at my house. After loading their ladders and giving me the finger they drove out of the neighborhood. Just thought I would share that one. Look out for these crooks.

John

yep, everybody with a truck will slap a sign on and say they can do it all! We had a huge tree come down on our house 6 years ago, I’m not kidd’n when I say there was a line of those chaser guys comming by every 5 minutes, and each guy was getting cheaper. I had a buddy of mine come by to see if he would do it, because of the size of the tree, he wasn’t willing to touch it. He said when a large tree falls, there is still the possibility that the tree can twist and roll, one wrong cut with a chain saw can release that energy and finish off your house. Well, that got me real nervous, the city said our house was unsafe to live in till the tree was taken off, even most of the inside doors wouldn’t shut because of all the weight on the house. Long story short, there was only one or two tree removal places with equipment large enough to handle the job correctly, so three days later we saw the trunk section get hauled away in the back of a flatbed semi truck. That was the $1,000 which insurance covered for removal! The rest was done through friends and family. So be careful when someone in a rusted out Chevy comes by with a brand new chain saw, and tells you he can take care of everything. You may not know it but in that area Red Cross might send out a emergency unit. A few things about these guys, they might stop by while you are working and ask if you need something to drink and ask you a few questions. They have a insurance deductible assistance program if you are strapped and need some help, and I was surprised to know that if you are having problems with you insurance company, either through claims or service, they have a program to go to bat for you to fight the insurance company. This was a total surprise to me, although I didn’t need any help, it sure was nice to know someone cared. Sorry about the long type, pm if you have any questions.

I guess I have a different take. I don’t think it is all a big scam. My neighborhood got hit hard in the storm from last August. Several different hail damage signs started to show up in the yards. One even attached theirs to my front door. I saw others getting new roofs, so I called. Well I ended up getting my entire house re-sided (and should have gotten a new roof, but that is a different issue with Allstate). I didn’t need to get bids because their policy was to do the work for whatever the insurance company paid out.

Now the key is reputable contractor. My contractor is a Minnesota company and had references from the better business bureau. They are GAF certified, which I didn’t know what that meant but Allstate seem to think it was important. So in this case, they are not just some guys who stuck signs on the side of their trucks. I have a warranty on the house and they will come out in a year to see if there is any new damage and will replace it for free. Now you will find many of these other companies send a nice Minnesotan to the door. But when they come to do the work, all the trucks are from Texas. I guess I wouldn’t expect much follow-up or warranties from those companies

I was at work when the storm hit in August so I didn’t know there was damage. I’m sure many of you can spot damage from a mile away, but I wouldn’t have known about the damage if the contractor wouldn’t have come by. I don’t think it hurts to have a reputable company/contractor give you a free inspection for storm damage.

If anybody feels they want to get a free inspection from the contractor that helped me,just shoot me a pm.

There is always a silver lining in that storm cloud I guess. That’s the great thing about America, you are always free to make a go at a business. As long as it’s above the law.

I work for a local HVAC contractor and was sent up to plymouth yesterday to look at one of my accounts. The building’s Roof top HVAC units took on a lot of damage. We will be replacing approx. $50k in condenser coils from the hail. The Building next door had 3 rooftops blown completely off the roof!! A couple semi trailers tipped over and the city of Plymouth had their salt shed torn down!

It must have been pretty windy in that area for all that damage.

18fisher,
You were 1/2 of a block from my house. We have quite a bit of damage up here.

Here is my .02 worth on this
Not all small contractors are shady. I do not have my name slapped on the side of my “rusted Chevy” or backed by the BBB, but I can do the work that I do just as well as anybody in the business. I have satisfied customers who can verify what a small contractor can do. Being small I can outbid most if not all the big companies and that saves you money. A person does not need to have all the big equipment and a fancy vehicle to do good work. Sorry, but it just chaps my hide when construction guys get stereotyped by the way they look. We are not “momma’s boys” and usually do not dress like some preppy dude straight out from behind a desk in an office with the A/C on all day. We work outside in all types of weather under conditions most people run and tuck tail from.
Smaller companies do not have the funds to spend freely on expensive advertising. Our advertising comes from word of mouth when we do a quality job.

This is just my thoughts on this,……. I’m a general contractor in Rochester, we bid all kinds of work for all kinds of people, I dont try to get everything we bid my goal is 40-50 % of our bids.That keeps me competitive with all that I’m bidding against. But……theres always the cheap guys trying to get work or there just getting started or they dont care work comp or gen. liab insurance etc…. these are the guys that need to get out of town!! Theres a reason they are cheap and its not that they want to save a customer money, they either forgot something on there bid, uninsured, or there work sucks.All the guys out there that are throwing cheap bids around are really hurting the market for those of us that been around awhile and are truely in it for the long run. If your not a lic. contractor, not insured go away or get licensed and carry ins. and you might understand why we bid jobs the way we do.

Fri we had 6 different companies kknock wanting to check things out. Glad I have someone from the site to go to if I need help.

Well, I ain’t leaving town, in fact I may even head over to Rochester where the big money is
Seriously though, I do concrete full time and have done so for the past 6 years. I take a few jobs on the side every year to supplement my meager wages at my full time job as a concrete set-up through finisher. Typically, the jobs I bid and take are the ones that the big companies turn up there noses at because they are too small. Or if they do bid them, it is usually unrealistically high. I actually do it to help people save a few bucks, whether anybody beleives me or not, doesn’t matter. I see daily what people are being charged and more often than not, it is ridiculous. Why should someone pay more than they need to, so they can pay for the big contractors vacation to Florida all winter long I can make more money doing concrete myself instead of work for the man, and charge a fraction of the cost and live pretty comfortably.
I feel no remorse for under bidding or doing work for myself instead of letting my boss get his hands on it. If I am hurting bigger contractors, so be it, it is my right to enjoy the American dream as well

Wats,…. if you can make more money doing it for yourself then why aren’t you? People see the contractor in flordia or where ever and think “he’s making to much money” remember something, if your name is on the sign, your [censored] is on the line. Most people dont see the 60-70 hr weeks, late nights with clients etc….. if you think its easy …..go try it and let me know how it goes. Wats, this is not a shot at you.

I dont think there is any thing wrong with a guy doing work on the side. I dont think James meant it that way. I would guess what he is trying to say is be careful who you choose. Just cause he/she is standing in your door doesnt mean you need to sign a contract NOW. These chasers as I call them may be local or not, may be big or small, who knows just be careful. I hear and have seen many horor stories, I could write a book on it. Please be careful. Look for a lic. # , ins. and workmans comp. all good things to be aware of. I had a contractor in my driveway 20 min. after the storm trying to convince me he could help. I explained I was a contractor, he still insisted he could get it done cheaper. He basically forced business cards into my hands. My work trailer with the co. name on it was 10 ft. away . These are the people that give us contractors a bad name. Please be careful.
Watts,
I dont really worry about the jobs I didnt get cause somone underbid me, cause they dont have the over head I do so their bid is considerably cheaper. I was never going to get it any way. Most home owners looking at their project that way are taking a risk. no ins. no work comp. no lic. they are plain out taking a risk. If things go sour the home owner has nothing to fall back on such as the dept. of commerce. Then the media ropes these guys in as contractors. Up goes my insurance. I am not in any way saying you would do this I am just pointing out what could happen to a home owner.
I encourage every one to check for a lic. # and insurance. Check with the dept of commerce for complaints. Just remember cheaper can cost you more in the end.

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I work for a local HVAC contractor and was sent up to plymouth yesterday to look at one of my accounts. The building’s Roof top HVAC units took on a lot of damage. We will be replacing approx. $50k in condenser coils from the hail. The Building next door had 3 rooftops blown completely off the roof!! A couple semi trailers tipped over and the city of Plymouth had their salt shed torn down!

It must have been pretty windy in that area for all that damage.

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You and work in the same story

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I dont think there is any thing wrong with a guy doing work on the side. I dont think James meant it that way. I would guess what he is trying to say is be careful who you choose.

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Some of those that read my post completely misunderstood my message. I was not singling out “small” contractors. I never mentioned the size of the company placing the signs.

The truth is that the guys placing the signs were driving around in new chromed out Ford 250 diesal trucks. This company was a big one. Well known and established.

My point was that people were going to be hit from all sides with the hard sell and given the impression that they had little to no time to make a big descision.

Watch it moreyes

Some of us put in an honest days worth of work. sun, rain, squall I work in ’em all is my moto

I have to go with Wats on this one. It a person wants a piece of the american dream, more power to them. Every person had to start out on their own at one point in their career, so getting mad at them for trying to get started is a tough one for me to swallow. If they can bid a lower price and provide quality work…so be it. Everyone has a different overhead amount they have to work with. People will shop around for an oil change that cost 20-50% lower than their normal repair shop. People buy food at different places when there is a good sale going on. People buy their bait and lures in bulk from competing stores when they have a sale. On that note, people make jigs and lures out of their house and sell it for a very affordable price. If it is a good product, is that also wrong? Should Gander Mountain be upset with them for doing that? Why is it any different when a person puts a different price tag on a bid? Overhead is tougher as you grow. I understand that. There are many small timers that provide unbelievable work. If they choose to not make it a full time job, is that wrong? One person’s goals and game plan can be different than anothers. One more question…have reputable contractors ever taken cash for a job at a discounted rate? I know a lot that do. Is that fair? THere are many thoughts that become points of interest when you truly start to look at the whole picture. I have seen wats’s work and it is A1 work!! I know there are many many people out there just like him. These aren’t the type of people that James started this post about. JMO. Ted