A Simple Tip to Save on Rehab Costs

​I was on a project the other day where someone was rehabbing a mobile home. As I went inside, I thought there is a lot to do here. Which I was surprised as the job was already taking longer than it should.

The problem? It was a mess! You couldn’t walk 5 feet without stepping over something. Lousy housekeeping is not only dangerous but expensive and depressing. How so?

​Dangerous – The chances of tripping or getting cut on stuff lying around is real. On a project a couple months ago, one of the sheetrock contractors tripped over junk left on the floor and lost a couple weeks of work. When working on a project you should be focused on what you are doing rather and not on where you can step.

Expensive – The extra time it takes to do things adds up and costs you money. You also lose time looking for things, moving things around and sometimes buying duplicate because you can’t find things. There is also the real chance of damaging materials if you are always walking over or moving them.

Depressing – On rehab jobs, you want to see progress each day. If you don’t it is like coming back to the same dump every day. You feel like the end is nowhere in sight.

The solution? There are a few things that can be done. These may seem obvious but I have seen this situation over and over again. Take 15 minutes or so at the end of every day at least to clean up. Sometimes you need to do it a couple times during the day. Throw away all scraps and garbage. Sweep or vacuum the area. This is not wasted time!

Another thing on a big project is to only buy what you need to for that stage of it. Granted sometimes you may want to spend $2000 at Home Depot to maximize the no interest financing but store the items outside your work area. Moving things around adds up time quickly.

By these simple things the job site looks nice and is safer. You will feel good when you come back to work as it looks like you have accomplished something the day before and you can see clearly what the next step is. We all want to enjoy the day.

May you have another successful day,

Mr. Ed

PS : if you employ others, share this with them as it will save you money.