Ask Dr. Frankenbrew

9/17/23

The first snow is now showing up in the San Juan Mountains outside Ridgway. That’s a little early this year, however we typically get a decent October snow, which is good for the photographers (see above) so they have a contrast between the pure white of the snow and the golden leaves of the aspen trees. For me, a great time to have a strong hot mug of coffee and type this out.

There were lots of good comments from our floor discussion last week. I liked this one in particular.

Seal hard looks nice. We acid/ clear coated old concrete 6 years ago. Reapplied it a couple of years ago and pressure wash weekly. If I were going to stay in this spot longer I'd definitely throw some labor and money into something like seal hard.

On another note, I have been asked my opinion on hiring contractors. I’m almost reluctant to do so because I approach it differently than most.

While I am all about saving money and figuring out how to do things for less money, I don’t approach building in quite the same way. While an architect - though of course not all -will want to design something that is really cool, I do think sometimes it’s more about their ego than designing something that is functional first, and aesthetically pleasing second. It’s the contractor that has to make those plans a reality.

Remember, I always try to start with an existing restaurant, so I usually don’t need an architect and may simply do a re-model.

So when it comes to hiring a contractor my number one thing is whether or not I like the person. Next, is to look at what else they have done before. I like to know that they do quality work.

If I have a good relationship with the contractor, he or she will work with me on ways to save money on the project. In other words our working relationship is not adversarial, as it is in many building situations.

If you go by the least bid amount, there are ways the contractor can make up for the low bid as you go along. It’s usually done with change orders, and there are ALWAYS change orders. For example, you don’t really know what you have to work with until you start getting into the floors, walls and ceiling. That’s where the change orders come in, and they aren’t part of the bid process. They are just something that you have to deal with to get the brewery built.

The other kind of change order comes when you start to see your vision being built and you realize there isn’t enough space in the hallway to the restrooms for the traffic you anticipate, so you want to widen it one foot, which changes everything! That’s just one example of the many ways you could change your mind about what you had planned and the reality of the build-out.

To help with this I don’t rely just on the printed plans, but also like to use masking tape down on the floor that shows the bar, walls, restroom area and the like. Then I put a large step ladder up in the middle of the room and just sit on top looking down at where the walls are going to go and work through my head the traffic flow, looking for pinch-points and the like. It really works.

What makes everything more difficult is if you don’t get along with your contractor or the building crew. To them, you are just a job.

For me, I have always become life-long friends with most of the contractors I’ve dealt with. I may have known them before the project began and they were already friends. Their bid isn’t as important to me. Having a personal relationship with them is.

If I like them but don’t know them very well, I do everything I can to get to know them. I’ll bring coffee and donuts in the morning sometimes, or beer in the afternoon on a Friday. I will also sweep up the area at the end of the day.

The more they get to know me, the less I believe they will take advantage of me. They will get it that I’m not made of money and this little brewery is a dream of mine, and they will buy into that dream as they are helping to create it. That’s been my hope anyway, and luckily for me it has always turned out that way.

So yes, get your three competing bids, but also get to know who these people are if you can and pick the one you get along with best over the one with the cheapest price. That’s my advice.