Don’t Know, Don’t Care

Even the most experienced builders don’t seem to get it right.

They say they build “quality”, but do they? When push comes to shove, is it more important to save a dollar than to go ahead and do it right?

Where is that elusive end product that satisfies the customer and at the same time makes the builder a nice profit? Why do we keep making the same mistakes?

Why do some homes builders figure out how to satisfy customers and make money, and others don’t? We firmly believe that it comes down to two basic problems: we don’t know, we don’t care -- or both. Here at Quality Focus, mission number one is to share ideas about what you need to know, that you may not know yet. We don’t know it all, but after 30 years we’ve seen it all.

In the process, we hope to change attitudes -- the “I don’t care” part. Maybe when you see how much money you can put in your pocket, the attitude thing will change, too.

We are all building products that have thousands of opportunities to do it right. But that means thousands of opportunities to do it wrong if you aren’t knowledgeable enough to pull it off. After working with hundreds of construction workers, inspectors, superintendents, and subcontractors, we know that the mistakes they make are typically the result of not knowing the right way to do the job. The work “looks” OK when it is done, but it is not installed correctly -- which means potential rework when it fails to function the way it was supposed to. We try to emphasize ideas that will pay you now, so you don’t have to pay later.

For example, a common construction error on housing projects with shingle roofing is that the starter strip is not installed properly. I have talked to roofing contractors from Georgia to Washington State that are perplexed when I tell them they need to install a starter strip “this way.”

ACME Roofing: “But I’ve been installing it my way for 30 years!”

Quality Focus: “So, you admit you have been installing it wrong for 30 years?”

In this case, using the right material (a starter strip manufactured for that purpose) is actually less expensive than using the wrong material (an asphalt/fiberglass shingle turned with the top down). And, unless you are using a brand of shingle that has the seal down strip on the back of the bottom shingle edge, when you install it wrong it will likely blow off in the next windstorm.

QCFocus.com’s mission is to help builders improve their business and save money at the same time. Construction is a dollar-oriented business. If you want to beat the competition, it’s time to give your business a quality focus.

If you don’t know it’s broke, you can’t fix it.