c/alberta-contractors

TIL from a electrician at the Nisku coffee shop that most tractor trailers have fake log book entries

I was grabbing a coffee near Leduc last week and overheard two electricians talking about a job at a warehouse. One said he saw log books with entries written 3 weeks in advance sitting on a dash. Made me wonder how many contractors are fudging hours on site reports too. Anyone else ever notice stuff like that at their own job sites?

2 comments

murray.cole•1d ago

Finally figured out why my drywall joints kept cracking after 3 jobs

Been mudding and taping for 2 years and could not figure out why every joint I did in Calgary would crack within 6 months. An old timer at Tim Hortons told me I was using too much water in my mud and not letting each coat dry 24 hours before sanding. He was right, I was rushing it like crazy. Anyone else learn a basic trick way later than they should have?

2 comments

lindahunt•2d ago

I finally learned my lesson about renting excavators without checking attachments first

Back in 2018 I rented a mini excavator from a place in Leduc for a weekend foundation dig. Cost me $450 for the rental but I didn't check if they included a trenching bucket (they didn't). Spent the whole Saturday trying to dig with a standard bucket and ended up having to call a buddy to bring his own attachment from Calgary. Has anyone else gotten burned by rental places hiding what's actually included in the base price?

2 comments

dakotab13•3d ago

Had a week where every drywall patch I did cracked overnight

Last spring I had 7 straight days where I'd tape and mud a patch job, come back the next morning, and there'd be a hairline crack right down the middle. Turned out the humidity in that basement was way off and I wasn't letting the compound dry slow enough. Anybody else run into weird curing issues with certain weather?

2 comments

green.emma•7d ago

Tried spraying fence boards with a cheap HVLP gun from Amazon, what a mess

Picked up a $50 HVLP sprayer off Amazon to stain a 200-foot fence in Airdrie, figured it'd save me a weekend of brushing. First pass looked fine but by the next morning the stain was peeling off in strips where I laid it on too thick. Anyone else had luck with budget sprayers for outdoor stain, or is it worth renting a pro unit from the Co-op?

2 comments

black.wesley•8d ago

Chose a steel roof over shingles for a job in Leduc and now I'm dealing with expansion noise

Last month I had to pick between doing a standard asphalt shingle re-roof or switching to a standing seam metal roof for a house in Leduc. The homeowner really wanted the metal for longevity so I went with it, even though I warned them about the potential for noise. Now the sun heats it up during the day and when it cools down at night, the panels make these loud pinging and popping sounds as they expand and contract. It's so bad the customer called me back three times already thinking something is loose. I checked all the fasteners and everything is fine, it's just the nature of the material. Anyone else run into this with metal roofs in Alberta's temperature swings and have a fix that actually works?

2 comments

wendy_garcia16•9d ago

The moment I realized I was doing foundation grading all backwards

I was working on a house in Calgary last summer and the drainage inspector just watched me for 20 minutes before telling me I was sloping the dirt towards the foundation instead of away. Turns out I had been compacting dirt the wrong way for like 5 years, any other contractors out there ever get a rude awakening from an inspector?

2 comments

river_rivera45•9d ago

Back when I started contracting in Edmonton 20 years ago I used a spirit level for every single tile job

Now I just run a laser line and a 6 foot level across the floor and it cuts my layout time in half, has anyone else switched over to lasers for setting tile or am I just getting lazy?

2 comments

sama80•9d ago

Hot take: should you fix a cracked foundation yourself or call a pro?

I was working on a house in Lethbridge last month and found a crack in the basement wall that was about 8 feet long. I figured I could just patch it with some hydraulic cement for under $50, so I gave it a shot. After 3 tries, the crack kept seeping water again right through the patch. I ended up calling a contractor who injected epoxy and it cost me $1,200. Has anyone else tried to DIY a foundation fix and had it backfire?

3 comments

kelly_miller80•10d ago

Had a GC ghost me after promising to fix a water issue 3 months ago

Last November I finished a basement rough-in in Airdrie and the general contractor I subbed for still hasn't paid me or returned my calls has anyone else dealt with a disappearance like this?

3 comments

benwilliams•10d ago

Rant: Found a sneaky way GCs hide late payment clauses in contracts

Was bidding on a commercial build in Calgary last month. Read the contract three times. Looked standard. My buddy who does legal reviews flagged one paragraph buried on page 14. It said if the owner's bank delays funding, we still owe penalties. No prorating for weather or supply issues either. I almost signed it. That clause basically pushed all the risk onto subs with zero upside. Now I check every contract for bank delay language. Anyone else find nasty surprises hidden in their bid agreements?

2 comments

black.laura•10d ago

Had a basement floor flood in Medicine Hat last Tuesday

I was halfway through laying LVP when the sump pump gave out and water came up through a crack in the slab. Had to rip up 400 sq ft of material and wait 3 days for it to dry before I could even start over. Anyone else deal with sudden water issues mid-job?

2 comments

lindareed•10d ago

Took me 3 hours to find the right sized hex bit for a stripped screw on a deck job in Lethbridge

Had to drive to three different hardware stores before I found a set with a reverse thread extractor, has anyone else had luck with those or is there a faster way to pull a stripped screw out of treated lumber?

2 comments

laura_white99•13d ago

Had a talk with a framer in Lethbridge that made me reconsider how I bid jobs

I was out on a site near Lethbridge last month, swapping stories with an older framer during lunch. He told me he never gives a flat price for any job over 10 grand because he lost $4,000 on a house back in 2018 when lumber prices shot up. He said he learned the hard way that locking in a number without a material escalation clause is just gambling. That conversation stuck with me because I have been doing small residential work and always give a firm quote upfront. Now I am wondering if I should start adding a clause for material price changes. Has anyone else run into trouble with fixed bids on bigger projects?

2 comments

lindareed•15d ago

Why does every contractor in Calgary think 20% deposit is okay?

I just got three quotes for a basement renovation and all of them wanted 20-25% down before they even start. Has anyone actually had a contractor skip town with their deposit money here?

2 comments

taraj11•16d ago

Switched from hand-digging footings to using a mini excavator for my deck builds this spring

After digging 15 holes by hand for a client's deck in Lethbridge last July and wrecking my back for a week, I finally rented a Bobcat E35 for the next job and cut the time from 10 hours down to under 2 - has anyone else found a decent used mini excavator under $15,000 for residential work?

2 comments

leobrown•17d ago

Showerthought: I never realized how much markup some contractors put on materials until I got a supplier login

I was looking over a quote from a Calgary electrician and the breaker was listed at $85. Looked it up at my buddy's wholesale account and the same one was $32. Has anyone else noticed a huge gap like this or am I just late to the party?

2 comments

river_rivera45•17d ago

Wasted $600 on spray foam insulation in my Red Deer garage

Had a crew come out last summer to spray foam my 24x24 garage. They charged me $600 for a thin layer that didn't even seal the rim joists. Now I'm finding frost on the walls in winter. Has anyone else had bad luck with foam insulation crews in central Alberta?

2 comments

lee_butler•18d ago

TIL my laser level was off by 3/16 over 20 feet

Went to check a job site in Airdrie last Tuesday. My apprentice was fighting with his level, struggling with a long closet rod run. Turns out his fancy new Bosch was way out of calibration. Dropped it on concrete the week before, never noticed. I think half the guys in Alberta are working with tools that aren't true anymore. Anyone else ever check their lasers against a known straight edge?

2 comments

skyler_fox72•18d ago

Shoutout to that old electrician who told me to stop using wagos on 12-gauge

Had a master electrician named Hank tell me last fall that wagos on 12-gauge wire in residential panels were asking for trouble. I ignored him because they're so much faster than twist-ons. Two months later I got called back to a house in Lethbridge where three connections had loosened up. Has anyone else had these fail on heavier wire or was it just my bad luck?

2 comments

sandra693•20d ago

Tried a new concrete sealer on a small job in Lethbridge and it dried way faster than the can said

I used ProSeal's 'Quick Cure' on a 200 sq ft patio last week when the forecast said it would be sunny all day. It was fully dry and ready for light foot traffic in about 2 hours, not the 6 they promised, which saved my schedule. Has anyone else had a product work better than advertised, or did I just get lucky with the weather?

2 comments

murray.gray•20d ago

Appreciation post: Hit 100k on my truck's odometer last week

It happened on the way back from a site in Leduc, and it hit me that I've put every single one of those miles on it myself for work. The truck is basically a rolling office and tool shed at this point. Anyone else have a vehicle that's become a key part of their business like that?

2 comments

leoward•20d ago

Had a job in St. Albert where everything just clicked for once

Last week, my crew and I were doing a full backyard reno on a place off Sturgeon Road. The client was clear, the weather held, and all three of our subs showed up exactly on time. We got the deck footings, irrigation lines, and sod all done in four days flat, which almost never happens. Anyone else hit a perfect week like that, or is it always a scramble?

2 comments

miles825•22d ago

I thought those new quick-set concrete additives were just a gimmick, but trying one on a small patio job in Lethbridge last fall proved me wrong.

The stuff actually let us finish the pour and stamp in under 4 hours before a surprise cold snap hit, so has anyone else found a specific brand or situation where these additives actually saved a project?

3 comments

robert64•22d ago

I finally saw the light on quoting jobs after a bad week in Red Deer

For years I'd just eyeball a job and throw out a round number, thinking I was saving time. Then last fall I had three jobs in Red Deer go sideways in one week because I missed stuff like old asbestos tape on the ducts and a furnace that needed a full new flue. The one that really got me was a $1200 call back because I didn't factor in the extra time for a tight attic crawl. Now I do a full walk through with a checklist and itemize everything. How do you guys make sure your quotes cover the hidden problems?

3 comments