Seeking Opinions of Knowledgeable FVer's

**pollypurebred39** · 06-30-2010, 03:39 AM

We are coming to a crossroads and are unsure of the direction we should take. Basically we need to decide if we believe that the commercial construction trade is going to make a comeback, or if it's dead in the water for many years to come. After lots of searching I finally found a none fluff article that did not offer glib advice, and contained lots of different sources instead a single advisor blowing smoke. The article is sobering, but maybe that's exactly the attitude we need to take right now. I am seeking knowledgeable FVer's of their opinion of commercial construction and it's rise from this recession.

How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America - Magazine - The Atlantic

**Lora88** · 06-30-2010, 06:51 AM

As someone whos lively hood depends on construction either commercial or residential I would be interested in what everyone has to say. ( hubby is a hvac man). We are in Nj and the commercial building trade is very slow this started about 3-4 years ago the residential trade is mostly government sponsered housing at any rate when your in a/c and it so slow in the summer you know its trouble. My son who went to school for this has left the field for another direction Dh has been doing this work for years so his options are less. In his opinion which is is pretty knowledgeable he sees no comeback for years if you have another direction go for it. We wish you prosperity in these hard times

**ladytoysdream** · 06-30-2010, 07:11 AM

I just caught on the news this morning, the bloomberg report. It listed the states, and I can't remember all of them, but PA, Ohio, and CA were on the list. The topic was best places to buy foreclosed property. Which tells me, that new housing starts would be real low in those areas, due to deals on foreclosed houses .

We need to get factories back in the states, so people can have good jobs, and have some money to spend. If people don't feel comfortable with their incomes or job stability, they are not going to spend. I think this recession is going to be around for awhile, and it is going to take some time to come out of it. And things will be different for a lot of people. I also think more people are concentrating on how to get out of debt and stay out of debt, versus taking on any new loans, expecilly big ones like a house. It's time to think outside of the box. Get very creative in how to make money, and spend money. It's a constant process for some just to survive. I would think more people are adding to a existing house, versus moving and buying new. It is just the new reality of our economy. We are in uncharted waters now. Make sure you have your life vest on.

PS....excellent article. Thank you for posting it.

**Russ** · 06-30-2010, 07:25 AM

Originally Posted by ladytoysdream

We need to get factories back in the states, so people can have good jobs, and have some money to spend. .

As long as U.S. companies can make the same product at less than half the cost in other countries, it won't happen anytime soon.
It's all about the profits.

**mek42** · 06-30-2010, 09:26 AM

A friend of mine works for a company that does waste water treatment plant constuction. No matter what happens to the economy, more and more people will keep flushing their toilets, so this might be an area of commercial construction to look into.

**Josephhgoins** · 06-30-2010, 10:01 AM

I work in Costing and Collections for a D o D contractor. Depending on who is president and what war we are currently fighting our business is up or down for years at a time. We fill the voids by stretching into other markets.

Is it possible that your Husband can stretch out like this? Maybe fill the gaps with other things in the same sort of line?

**frugalwarrior2** · 06-30-2010, 10:03 AM

In an economy like this people are not buying new but fixing what they have. This makes sense for homes too. Our dear friend who does construction is too too busy w/ kitchen and bathroom remodels. He used to build w/ a friend but now has repositioned.
Think for this economy-
resale,repair,reorganize,classes for people to save money like coupons. Those are jobs. If you can or have old fashioned skills those are in. Polly could you teach canning or sewwing or cooking/baking at the comminuty center to adults.?
Does DH have the ability to teach a skill,repair anything like generators,sewing machines,lawn mowers?
Do you qualify for reschooling? Cause no worker left behind in this state you would.

**pollypurebred39** · 06-30-2010, 11:01 AM

Thanks Josephhgoins, DH has been trying to branch out from his field for the last 3 years. He is a construction supervisor, but to get there he started at the bottom as a intern and worked his way through the ranks, despite his being well educated in the field. He continued this way for years, adding to his degree and becoming certified in many of the off shoots of his field. Over the last decade span of his career he became the top man the job sites. He was the guy who oversees the construction of hospitals, churches, etc. from the ground up. He is also has education to (and has) be within the office as project manager. He prefers being on site, as he really likes to get right in there with the rest of the construction workers and get his hands a bit dirty when necessary.

Why I posed the question was more in hopes of a direction as to "IF" his company (from which he's been laid off from for almost 3 years) will be able to fulfill their contractual obligation as far as retirement packages. He STILL MUST put in several years to collect. IF the company goes under OR can not get their feet stable under themselves for many years to come, DH ability to fulfill his end of the contract by working X amount of years will be most certainly effected.

It would be helpful to have a clue as to IF commercial construction will have a rise from the ashes in the next few years, or if we need to cut our losses and cash retirement in BEFORE it completely disappears. This would be a mute point if DH was 25, but he's not and we've got bills to pay and no REAL job prospects on the near or even seemingly distant horizon.

Any insight, gut feelings on the subject is most appreciated.

mek42- True people will always be flushing toilets, and that has not been a direction he has looked in. Hmmmm...

"I just caught on the news this morning, the bloomberg report. It listed the states, and I can't remember all of them, but PA, Ohio, and CA were on the list. The topic was best places to buy foreclosed property. Which tells me, that new housing starts would be real low in those areas, due to deals on foreclosed houses ."

Lady, Yes, things have been rather dismal here in PA. Very hard hit, not many options available. Pizza has been DH's gig, not a money maker despite all the articles written about the rosey outlooks for pizza jobs. GAH! I know one thing for sure, whoever wrote those articles NEVER drove pizza for a living! Pizza driver, yes it's kept us afloat, but not by itself, we've had to cash in everything, sell everything, and do odd jobs in addition to the pizza gig to keep from going under. Lots of people out here with no jobs. Lots, and lots of foreclosed property here.

Russ, You're right. I've watched our area which was a booming with factories turn from a vibrant, bustling with production, stable employment town, to a town filled with people desperate for work. Manufacturing is dead in the States, we can't do it for less then the countries which now house our outsourced factories unless we employee slave labor and unsafe working conditions. The sad part of that is that there are those out here in my home town who would accept those conditions just to have a steady paycheck.

Lora88, Thank You. I, in return, wish the same for you also.

**Contrary Housewife** · 06-30-2010, 11:11 AM

I agree with the article when it states that the housing/construction bubble is over. It was a good run for a lot of people, but like the dot.com days, it's over.

DH should looking into lateral fields, like home repair, remodeling or demo and cleanup work. Many of his skills will transfer.

**pollypurebred39** · 06-30-2010, 11:21 AM

Contrary Housewife, That's exactly what he does with odd jobs. Not a money maker, has done very little to help us keep up with our bills. Lots of out of work construction workers and undocumented workers out here to compete with.

FW- Ha! those are the classes I need to take. LOL! Now if someone wants to hire me to learn how to throw the perfect party (threw parties for a living at one time), how to mix the perfect bar drink (I was a bartender) how to clean their house (been doing that my whole life), how to balance their checkbook, fill out a job application or count back change when the cash register for whatever reason does not tell them. (the last three I have taught to several people. For some reason this was NOT a part of basic skills in our local school system) Then I'm their girl!

**mek42** · 06-30-2010, 02:17 PM

Does he have the experience to go for his PE (engineer, probably civil)?

**pollypurebred39** · 06-30-2010, 04:16 PM

mek42, Correct me if I'm wrong, but as close as professional engineering license to his field would be industrial management, right? Industrial management involves production of a product/products, It's what my BIL does. I could be wrong but, I'm not sure he would transition to that field without starting from square one.

His original degree makes him a Master carpenter, with lots of schooling & training after that degree, he has spent the last decade of his career as a construction supervisor. Mirco managing every aspect of a building, no matter if a mall or a church from the breaking of the ground up. That involves coordinating all sub contractors in sequential order, pulling permits, reading blueprints, checking specs for errors, checking subcontractors for errors (in measurement mostly) during all phases of building, keeping meticulous records of every phone call, conversation, job site progress on a daily basis, scheduling inspections throughout process, working one on one with the architect, the client who contracted the construction, and of course the project manager of the job. This is in short, it involves far more then I ever could begin to know or explain.

**mek42** · 06-30-2010, 04:36 PM

I didn't know exactly what he did or what his education was in. Just tossing out an idea to look into.

How about all this money for Green / energy saving remodeling I keep hearing about on the radio?

**ml2620** · 06-30-2010, 05:24 PM

Polly, what if your husband did some consulting work evaluating other construction proposals, preparing requests for proposal and advising corporations, cities, towns and non profit organizations on large scale projects?

Two years ago I headed up a historic preservation group that was negotiating with the state in the development of a hundreds of million dollar courthouse. We needed someone who could make sense of the budget, costs, process of construction and making judgement calls on some rfps we were evaluatingM we hired a consultant with what sounds like your dhs skill set (who also could market himself and come off as a polished professional). If memory serves, I think his fee was 275 an hour.

Everyone, even the big guns are trying to save money. Seems like your husband has a huge knowledge base that could save cities and towns building schools and hospitals a very pretty penny!

**Lora88** · 06-30-2010, 06:03 PM

What about design coordinator at the Home Depot or Lowes many of the guys in Kitchen were contractors they are not getting rich but 20.00 an hour isnt bad with benefits . My son was going to be a merchanidiser for them the starting pay was 15.00 a hour they pay better than people think and are always looking for guys with skills in the trades especially for contractor services its worth going on their website and applying My friends husband is an asst manager and makes out pretty will he didnt want to work there but now he loves it My daughter is in Pa what part are you in Polly?