Got a New Generator?
You felt pretty lucky when you scored a generator prior to the storm this year. And it worked pretty well, didn’t it? You plugged in a couple of extension cords, kept the refrigerator humming and got to watch TV.
Unless you are knowledgeable about using machines like this, and the electrical load you can safely conduct through various sizes and lengths of extension cords, you may be a lot luckier than you imagine.
If you connected your generator directly into your home, and didn’t have a licensed electrician make the connections with proper equipment, according to the National Electrical code, now is the time to call a licensed electrical company. Your operating generator could injure or kill a nearby power company worker, if proper electrical equipment is not in place, when they are working night and day to restore your electricity. You can also have a fried generator when the power comes back on, in the absence of that equipment. Electrical work is serious and not a job for amateurs.
Now take a look at the extension cords you used, are they grounded? That means they have three prongs on each end; two are blade-like while the third one is round. If they don’t have all three of these, you don’t want to use them again; ungrounded extension cords are dangerous. The second thing to ascertain is the gauge of wire inside your cord. The heavier the gauge or thickness of wire in an extension cord, the farther they can safely and effectively carry an electrical load. If you use a small gauge extension cord, you can have voltage drop. This means your refrigerator is running, but not well, because it’s not getting the power it needs, which can put significant wear on it; the same with other devices.
Where did you run the generator? It must be outside and not in your garage, even with the door open. The manufacturer paid experts to provide information on safe operation of the generator. Now that your power is restored, take a few minutes to re-read those instructions. If you put it in a carport or screened porch, you will see that’s a no-no. Carbon dioxide (CO2), the gas produced by running your generator, is colorless, odorless, heavier than air and responsible for many deaths every year. It also displaces oxygen in a confined area, so you absolutely must operate the generator outside. If yours is not supposed to be out in the rain, just wait until the rain stops, instead of compromising your family’s safety
I’ve had a small generator more than twenty years, so here are a few suggestions.
Buy non-ethanol gasoline and use a preservative additive. Small engines like your generator, outboard motors, and chain saws, don’t operate well in the long run, with normal gas that has ethanol. A preservative, like the brand Stabil, will allow you to have useable gas much longer than if you don’t add it.
Finally, make a note in your calendar to crank up your generator once a month for 10 minutes or so. If you don’t do that, when something like Tropical Storm Faye comes along, you’ll be in the dog house when your neighbor’s generators are humming and yours won’t. I speak from experience; that was me in the dog house during and after Tropical Storm Faye.
Risky Business – Hiring anyone to work on your place.
I originally titled this Risky Business-Hiring After the Storm, and wrote it for the Tallahassee Democrat after Hurricane Hermine, in September 2016. Actually, it applies to any person you ever hire to work on your property.
***
It’s happening again; it always does when a big weather event strikes somewhere. Someone, perhaps your neighbor, your friends or maybe your parents are agreeing to do business with someone who isn’t licensed and insured for the work needed. What are the clues?
They want to get paid in advance and are asking for at least 50% of the money up front. Don’t pay it. Legitimate companies don’t ask for that much up front.
They say, “You can save a lot of money, if you pull the permit yourself.”
That is a huge red flag; because no real contractor licensed by the State of Florida, would ever ask a client to obtain a permit. It means they don’t have a license and/or the insurance required to be a contractor, in this state. They may not have either one.
But, we all want to save money, right? So, what’s the risk?
You may have to pay someone legitimate to fix poor work, but that’s not the biggest risk. Do these people actually know how to do the work? If they flood your home when they cut a water line or cause a fire with faulty wiring, who will pay for to clean up the mess and repair your home?
Before we discuss more about contractors, please understand this: no one who does work on your home, can do so without a license, whether it’s a roofer, plumber, or general contractor.
Myflorida.com is the website to go to and check out anyone’s license. Anyone can print a business card, but no one shows up at myflorida.com unless they really have a valid license.
Trees a problem? Let’s put this in all caps; ANYONE who is going to work on your property, not just your house, must have the proper insurance. Anyone doing anything for money, needs to have Liability and Workers Compensation Insurance, valid in Florida, to protect you. PERIOD. That Mississippi guy may have great insurance, it just doesn’t extend across state lines.
And this, insurance or lack of valid, enforceable insurance, is where your biggest risk is when you hire those unlicensed and uninsured frauds.
State law says a valid workers compensation policy provides protection from being sued for all medical costs and loss of wages, by workers injured while working on your home. If they’re not covered by workers compensation, the injured worker can sue you to pay for all the injury related costs. Don’t think they are smart enough to sue you? Maybe not, but the hospital’s insurance is going to send a very sharp investigator to find someone who can pay all those medical costs associated with the concussion, broken bones, surgery, rehabilitation and wage replacement which that worker’s injuries racked up. Someone has to pay beside them, and that someone will be YOU, the homeowner.
Liability insurance covers your home, car and other property from damages caused by a company and their workers. So if the tree company you hired successfully avoids your home with that tree, but wipes out your carport with your 3 motorcycles, a generator and your tractor in it, when the tree doesn’t cooperate, you won’t pay to replace all of it out of your pocket, if they have the liability insurance to protect you.
So your biggest risk is hiring someone who doesn’t have up to date Workers Compensation and Liability insurance, valid in the state of Florida.
The biggest red flag, which should alert you, is the low price.
Got several quotations and one is really low? Didn’t your parents tell you if something seems too good to be true, it probably is?
One of the reasons why the price was too low is because someone isn’t paying workers compensation and liability insurance premiums, which those legitimate companies are paying.
When someone gives you an insurance certificate, say thank you. Then go somewhere private and call the insurance company and see if their insurance is currently in force. Many policies have monthly premiums; they may have been insured a few months ago, but if they haven’t keep up with the premiums, they aren’t. Which means right now, they have nothing, no insurance, just forms and you’re taking all the risk.
No one in the construction business, or any other business, can buy materials and pay workers and trades for 20-30-40% less than everybody else. If they could, why would they give you All of the savings? Why not just offer you a 10% discount, to get the job, while they make more money?
If you really like gambling, buy a Lotto ticket or go to a casino, but gamblling your home and family isn’t worth the risk.
Sincerely,
Kip Carpenter, 2016 Chairman TBA Remodelers Council
Carpenters Construction Co., Inc., 29th Year
Aurora Award Winner 2013 and
2 Remodeler Showcase Awards 2013, 2014 & 2015
Since 2004 Leon’s 1st Certified-Aging-in-Place-Specialist
850-878-0010
Q: Is there a really good reason to pick one over the other when considering Painted or Stained Cabinets?
A: Having built and remodeled a 100 kitchens or more, and visited hundreds of other existing kitchens, we’ve seen differences in colors, finishes and styles.
We’ve seen white kitchens or very dark stained cabinets be the “In Thing” then seen their popularity fade from fashion, in favor of other options, in cycles.
Here is what we’ve learned and our cabinet trade contractors agree is true. Painted cabinets, like their stained brethren, all look great when they’re new, but suffer over time to a much greater degree than stained wood. Paint gets scuffed, scraped and discolored easily and it shows up to a much greater degree on painted ones than those which are stained. A number of times we’ve had a painter touch up a stained kitchen, which is in good condition, and put a new coat of clear finish on it, with very good results. You can Never do this with painted cabinets. They have to be completely repainted. The paint finish on factory cabinets is far superior to what can be done in the field, because of more controlled factory conditions and the ability to use longer lasting, but toxic materials. These finishes produce fumes which can’t be released in the atmosphere but in a factory, where fumes are scrubbed, captured and controlled they can be used. If you ever want to repaint your kitchen later, you certainly can, just don’t expect the new paint finish to last as long as the original.
A medium brown stained cabinet, of which there are hundreds of colors and hues to choose, never goes out of style. Their finishes look better and hold up longer than their darker stained cousins and any shade of painted cabinets.
We want you to be happy the day your cabinets are installed and for years to come, which is why we offer these observations. We shared this with clients over the years, many of which then installed painted cabinets and that’s fine with us, at least they had the benefit of our experience. Sincerely,
Kip Carpenter, 2016 Chairman TBA Remodelers Council
Carpenters Construction Co., Inc., 29th Year
Aurora Award Winner 2013 and
2 Remodeler Showcase Awards 2013, 2014, 2015 & 2016
Since 2004 Leon’s 1st Certified-Aging-in-Place-Specialist
850-878-0010
Q: I would like to have a 20’x60′ workshop-storage building built. I just want someone to build a concrete slab with walls and a roof and let me finish the rest myself. How do I select a builder? Do I need a set of plans before I contact a builder? Whose responsibility is it to make sure the building is in compliance with local building codes?
A: There are so many things involved in this question that can’t be addressed within this space so we’ll just try to speak to a few of the larger issues.
When a builder obtains a permit for any structure, whether a home, office building or a storage building the builder is responsible for ALL of the work, the workers themselves and the workmanship of that project, until the governmental authority issues a certificate of completion or certificate of occupancy. Therefore, the answer to one of your questions is that the contractor is responsible for adherence to the building codes. However, one’s license, as a builder, is on the line every time a permit is issued with one’s license number on it. We count on making a living for our family and the list of others that are depending on us includes our employees and their families and to some extent our subcontractors and suppliers. When we, as contractor’s, obtain a permit we are required to hire licensed subcontractors for most work. This includes, but may not be limited to: electrical, plumbing, heat and air conditioning, roofing, septic system, and gas. To allow an unlicensed person, whether the Owner or any other worker, to work unsupervised, doing what they happen to want to do, while the entire time one’s contractor’s license may hang in the balance, would be foolhardy, not to mention a violation of the license holder’s responsibilities. Pulling a permit and allowing others to work under that permit without participating in the supervision and construction of that project is called “selling ones license” and is a gross violation of license law. Recently a prospective client told me he had almost hired another person but the guy told the owner that he should obtain the permits. If anyone that is supposed to be licensed asks you to “pull the permit” it means they do NOT have a valid license, they do NOT have current insurance to meet the minimum insurance requirements or both. In short they are not a contractor, they are a fraud.
We always inform prospective clients that without a completed set of plans any discussion of their project is mostly conjecture. To give just one example, it’s very difficult for me to ask a roof truss designer to commit to a cost for the roof until he can ascertain what he being asked to build. A completed set of plans includes, at a minimum, a floor plan, elevations, roof plan, foundation plan, electrical plan, site plan and a wall section all drawn to a common scale. One quarter inch equals one foot is the most commonly used residential scale. (1/4″=1′) No one knows what you want to build until a set of plans are finished.
At this point you know that you must have a set of plans and that it should be very difficult for you to find a licensed builder that would obtain a permit and let you do a lot of illegal work. So, what can you do? State law allows the homeowner to obtain their own permit and act as their own contractor on their own home. There are a monumental number of pitfalls to being you own contractor that you may wish to consider prior to taking this leap into the unknown, but it is do-able and not as complicated rocket science. Mostly it involves those guidelines you would use when you hire a professional or make major purchases, meaning for you to be a good consumer. That means you should be a cautious and well informed consumer that thoroughly checks out anyone before they perform any work. As contractors we hear that someone is licensed and insured only to find that instead of state licensed, for the trade we are discussing, it turns out they have a driver’s license and car insurance. Go on line to www.myflorida.com and check out licenses. And when someone hands you a copy of their insurance certificate, thank them and then immediately, and before that do any work, call that insurance company and ask for an official copy of that insurance. An invalid, forged, cancelled or out of date policy is difficult to detect just by looking at a copy, so be judicious and protect yourself. And remember, just because someone is properly license and reasonably insured doesn’t mean they do even minimally acceptable work. You wouldn’t buy a $5,000.00 used car without seeing it, driving it and having a mechanic check it out so don’t hire a building contractor, concrete man, painter, carpenter, electrician, etc. without checking out their work. Check their work, check their references, check their licenses, check their credit and check anything else if you can before you sign a contract. Always get a written contract so everyone knows exactly what will be done for exactly what price. No one wants to hear any more stories of someone giving out 50% of the cost of a job to a stranger and getting almost nothing in return before the stranger vanishes, so think long and hard about handing out your money. At this point it has happened so many times everyone should be aware.
Sincerely,
Kip Carpenter, 2016 Chairman TBA Remodelers Council
Carpenters Construction Co., Inc., 29th Year
Aurora Award Winner 2013 and
2 Remodeler Showcase Awards 2013, 2014, 2015 & 2016
Since 2004 Leon’s 1st Certified-Aging-in-Place-Specialist
850-878-0010
Open letter to homeowners:
Kip Carpenter changed our lives. He helped me and my wife create a safe, functional and beautiful home where we can age gracefully. We will never forget this transformation as we enjoy his handiwork daily.
Thirty years can go by quickly and even a well maintained residence can become unsafe and uncomfortable. Things wear out. Codes change. Our bodies deteriorate even faster than our house. Things that once worked suddenly stop functioning. The alternatives are simple—live with it, move, or change it. We wanted to change it but were overwhelmed by the scope. Where do we start? What about our pets? Where do we live? How long will it take?
He did the kitchen first. It was a total rip and replace which took just two weeks. There was a dust wall. The refrigerator was in the living room and we ate out for awhile. The kitties napped in the bedroom. We got a beautiful kitchen that works for us and our lifestyle. The previous kitchen just did not work. We ate and ran. The new kitchen is the most relaxing room in the house and we rarely leave. Everything in the room is outstanding and the new GFCI outlets add a new level of safety.
Next we worked on the bathrooms. Mold is a serious problem and it loves a moist place. Our bathroom fans were original to the house. They just moved everything to the attic. Kip replaced the old rattletraps with new units. The new fans exhaust through the roof and use timers so they continue to pull the moisture out even after you leave the room. I call them Whispersuck 2000s because they are so quiet and powerful.
According to the CDC, people over 65 slip and fall at least once a year. Some of these falls are fatal. Our bathrooms were small and had tubs. We knew that a fall in a steel bathtub would be serious. We just did not know what to do. Kip managed to squeeze in a walk in shower for us. We not only got a shower that is easy to access, it even opened up the room. For us, the project was painless. There was a dust wall. It took three weeks. We slept on the sofabed. The kitties napped in the extra bedroom. I recall hearing loud banging one day. The rest of the time things were quietly moving along.
Kip managed the impossible. He understood us and had a vision of what we needed. He gave us detailed estimates. One project came in quite a few dollars below estimate. One came in a few dollars above. The dollar variance on both projects was less than 2%. That is pretty remarkable for construction projects. I wish I was the same low variance on my information technology projects. These projects were affordable and made our house a place we can live for a very long time. Kip took on all the worries of how to do it and how to correct mistakes. Construction requires that the right people install the right stuff according to schedule. Reality intervenes with rainstorms, delays and incorrect products. We led our lives and our kitties napped while Kip solved all the problems.
By every measure, Kip greatly exceeded our expectations. We expected the projects would be more expensive but they were less expensive. We expected the projects would take a long time, but they were finished quickly. We expected to make a few compromises on finished products but we made none.
Our desire was to stay in our home for a long time. These updates allow us to do just that. We are delighted with the results of Kip’s efforts which have updated our house and made it safe.
May 10, 2016
Kip Carpenter
Carpenters Construction Company, Inc
Dear Kip,
I am delighted to offer the following narrative about our two-year long adventure together.
Despite having spent an entire adulthood trying to avoid remodeling a house, when I moved to Tallahassee at the end of 2013, I faced the prospect of not one, but two houses in need of repair, restoration and renovation. Two years later, both are finished, both done by Kip and his team. It is worth detailing this journey, since doing so points out just how strong and resilient Carpenters Construction has been.
House 1 is in the Myers Park historical district, built around 1940 into the side of a hill, with the front (historical section) supported on piers, and the 1960’s addition—an enclosed Florida room with a flat roof —sitting on an uneven concrete slab. My original intent was just to do a kitchen renovation; however, the floor was too uneven to permit installation of ceramic tile. It turned out that the supporting piers were both too few and too short to support the floor throughout the original part of the house. Worse, ineffective attempts had been made in the past to correct progressive sagging, and the plaster and lathe walls—and even the doors—had all required paring and patching on more than one occasion. The kitchen renovation turned into a staged project: jacking the floor, making concrete pads for new masonry supports, and adding sufficient support beams to prevent any future sagging across the width of the house, and then repairing all the masonry cracks resulting from the lifting. Thereafter, the kitchen remodeling could be done, with a new tile floor, custom floor-to-ceiling cabinetry, and new appliances. Kip and crew took each problem in hand and worked out the most efficient means to stage a restoration that simply could not be avoided. The result was a beautifully restored—and level—period house with a spectacular new kitchen.
Having such success in half the house, we turned to the 1960’s rear addition, a screened porch later converted to a fully enclosed space. The vertical wood beams supporting the roof were rotting away, the louvre windows leaked, and the bare slab floor had severe pitch, roll, and yaw across its large expanse. It also abutted the newly renovated kitchen. In the end, we removed the entire structure and its slab, poured a new, reinforced foundation, raised the height of the ceiling (adjacent to the older structure), added a new pitched roof and made a library, master bedroom and ensuite bath with cabinetry matching that of the kitchen. And added a concrete driveway just to be complete.
The result is a house that is completely functional throughout, with a lovely period front that segues into a completely modern kitchen-library-master suite. Despite the very different feel from front to back, great care was taken to make doors, door frames, walls, ceilings and windows, and fittings match. Since the house is intended for me to age in, the design permits every activity to be done on a single level, without stairs or mobility barriers, including a roll-in shower. It is really spectacular.
House 2 is a 1960’s ranch farmhouse above Lake Jackson. It badly needed a new kitchen with some structural alterations, but alterations that had to match the very characteristic materials and finish of the
original house. This required moving one wall and adding ceiling support between dining room and kitchen, while using all original paneling and matching the few additions that were required. As an even greater challenge, we wanted the original cabinetry kept and refinished, even to the point of using the old drawer fronts for new drawers. We also elected to surface the kitchen and its vast new island with monolithic soapstone, which entailed subcontractors coming from a distance to cut and install it. Despite the constraints we placed on both design and execution, the ride was essentially “bumpless” and the result outstanding.
Obviously, there are many other details, altered plans, add-ons (“while you’re at it…”) and compromises. House 1 was so successful, despite Kip’s having to contend with a sub-optimal construction sequence, that we never considered anyone else for House 2. Not only that, but Kip stands behind everything he and his crew do, irrespective of when an issue is discovered. This is the sort of peace of mind cannot be bought. More than being pleased with results, I trust Kip’s abilities, integrity, and counsel. I would not consider anyone else.
Sincerely yours,
Stephen A. Jennings, MD, FACS
A Carpenters Construction Company
P.O. Box 14194
Tallahassee, Florida 32317
Dear Kip:
Diane and I wanted to thank you, and offer a letter of recommendation for anyone considering your services in the future. Being “local”, we are often asked for suggestions of various trades and services, and we are extremely careful with our recommendations.
Our recent experience with you and your company was simply outstanding. Undertaking a complete remodeling/renovation of both bathrooms in a 1938 home is a scary and daunting task, but this didn’t faze you in the least. From our initial meeting, you took our very basic ideas and formulated a comprehensive plan to accomplish what we really wanted. The end results far surpassed our expectations, and the entire process was virtually “painless”!
All of the vendors that you steered us to were helpful, professional, and provided top-quality products (and installation when applicable). I would use all of them again. Similarly, all of your sub-contractors were of the highest quality, and great to work with. One common thread that ran through our dealings with both vendors and trades folks was an unwavering respect and understanding of your high standards. Cut corners? No way, “Kip would never go along with that!” As the homeowner, it was comforting to hear that type of comment consistently.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention your Aging in Place certification, knowledge and experience. Your foresight in blending these concepts into our design, delicately reminding us that we wouldn’t be young (we’re 60) forever, really made a huge difference in the final product. And yet visitors do not even recognize that the remodeling will accommodate the changes we can anticipate in our abilities in the remaining 30+ years we plan to live here!
I could go on and on (as you know, I tend to be long-winded), but will just end with a big “Thank You” for all that you did for us. A great improvement to our home, and a great investment.
Sincerely,
David B. Chapman
I was the Chairman of the Remodelers Council of the Tallahassee Builders Association in 2016. I was actually a recycled Chairman having been chairman of the group 20 years earlier. The monthly meeting is to educate, inform, inspire and train Remodeling Contractors in our profession.
One of the things I did at most meetings that year was add something about life, because too many of us, in every profession, can become so focused on work we can lose sight of what’s important in life.
I called it,
View from the Chair
September 2016
Somehow you got into this business to make a living and take care of your family. Whether that meant just you and the Mrs., or if you found yourself holding a full house, a pair of you and 3 kids; that’s what drove you forward.
Now years later, grinding through your second or third decade have you taken the time lately to remember who was important? It’s not some stranger who is whining because they don’t have an estimate in 4 days.
Now I don’t recommend taking up a new hobby when you still can’t afford to retire, but 10 days ago I was rewarded for this folly.
My daughter Tiffany, a 21 year old senior at FSU, spent the day out on the water with me, as a birthday present I requested. It was her first time out since I got the boat last year.
And although the day was beautiful, the boat ran great and the food and drinks were fine, we hadn’t caught at thing and it was getting late.
I tried my last spot and, she caught small trout we threw back, then a couple of catfish. I didn’t know she was just warming up until she squealed “daddy, daddy”. Watching the rod almost double over, I knew it was big and hoped it wasn’t another cat.
With just a few tips from dad, ‘keep your rod tip up and move away from that anchor line’, she brought it in a gorgeous, keeper size redfish.
I don’t have words to adequately explain the gratification I got from watching her and the joy we shared. We both laughed later when she said, “daddy I was squealing like a 10 year old girl.” It was true.
I know you’ll jump back into plowing through you day, but I hope you might think later about what and who is important in life. Then plan and take some time to show them, it’s still true.
Kip Carpenter
September 2016
I didn’t write this, but its message is so important I had to share it:
92 year old lady, fully dressed every morning by 8 am, make up perfectly applied even though she’s legally blind, has been moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years had recently died making the move necessary.
After many hours of patiently waiting, she smiled sweetly when she was told her room was now ready.
As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator I provided a visual description of the tiny room, including the sheets hung on the window.
“I love it” she said, with the enthusiasm of an 8 year old who had just received a prize.
“But Mrs.___ you haven’t even seen it yet, just wait” I said
“That doesn’t have anything to do with it” she said,
“Happiness is something you decide on, ahead of time
Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged
It’s how I arrange my mind”.
When you change the way you look at things, even if you’re legally blind, the things you look at, change
Linda and I are pleased to recommend Kip Carpenter and his staff at Carpenters Construction Company for any home renovation project or new home construction. Linda and I are both detail oriented (picky) attorneys who appreciate having a building contractor whose standards are even higher than ours. We also appreciate a person whose word is his bond. When Kip makes commitment, you can be assured that your work will be completed on time, for the price you agreed on.
Carpenters Construction made a complete renovation of two of our bathrooms. Renovation work requires extra care not required in new construction, after all, we were living in the project. All our possessions were exposed to possible damage. Kip and his crew took extraordinary care not to bump furniture, to control dust, to protect carpet and not to scare the cat! We are delighted with the workmanship of the whole project and now that we have been using our baths for two years, we are satisfied that we have a long lasting upgrade to our home.
Remodeling the baths was followed with a new backyard deck and some necessary siding repairs, but we had no idea our next project for Carpenters Construction would be so unexpected. In February a city utilities contractor hit our house sewer line with an earth boring tool and forced sewage water back up into the whole ground floor of our house. I called Kip at 10:30 that morning and by noon he was on site and by that night our furniture was stored and waterlogged flooring was on the way to the dump. Kip himself helped us box books, and other belongings to move upstairs.
Money cannot buy that kind of service and extraordinary dedication to our emergency needs. Kip’s long experience and established relations with his subcontractors was the key to providing us such quick response. His crew put in many overtime hours to get ups back to normal living as soon as possible. The post flood restoration is beautiful. His staff deserves mention. Their pride in working in a first class firm is obvious in the care with which they responded to our needs or concerns. You will be delighted to him them working for you.
