The Irreverent Guide to a House Flip: Punch List 2

The old adage “Cleanliness is next to godliness” should be reworded to read “Cleanliness is next to dollarliness” when it comes to a construction job. Clean up after yourself and make sure your help does the same thing. If you don’t, you’ll pay, oh how you’ll pay.

Clutter and debris makes it hard to keep track of tools. It also makes it hard to work if you’re busy breaking your neck falling over boards or supporting your doctor by having to get a tetanus shot from running a nail into your foot. These things cost time and time is money. Make this your mantra: CLEAR OUT CRAP NOW

Also, have one place for tools to go at the end of the day then make sure they go there. Otherwise, you may end up spending the next morning on a tool quest. Tape measures, pencils, tri-squares, levels etc. have a habit of hiding in the most obscure places when you need them. A cardboard box in the corner of one room or a garage is a great place to stash smaller tools at the end of the day, larger tools can be leaned against a wall in the same corner. This may seem obvious to a lot of you readers out there in the electronic continuum, but you have no idea how many people have problems with keeping their tools organized.

Tools should also be clean. There’s nothing more aggravating than picking up a screwdriver only to find your hand covered with goop. A goop, I might add, that then manages to find its way onto a wall, new carpet, or cabinet. Shovels covered in dry concrete take way too much time to clean, so wash them off immediately while the concrete is wet. A one minute rinse is far better then ten or fifteen minutes of scraping. The same goes for trowels and forms (the boards used to form the concrete into your chosen shape.)

Tools should also be in good working order. Smoking skill saws, bent shovels, and tape measures that are worn should be retired. You will pay more in time than the tool is worth. If it’s almost dead, bury it. Kiss it if you must. Have a moment of silence. Thank it for its long service. Whatever, but replace it and move on.

In addition to cleanliness, you need to make sure your job is secure at the end of the day. Theft can be a costly problem in some areas. If your flip is in a highly populated area, thieves are looking for items they can hock or sell such as an expensive chop saw or drill. If your site is rural, they can make off with your building materials. If theft occurs, you have those pesky police reports to fill out while the cops tell you the odds of finding the lost materials are close to none. In addition to that, you get to file a report with your insurance company and then you get to buy all new tools and or materials. All this takes time away from your flip.

I spoke with a security expert and asked what he would recommend. He said lots of light. Thieves don’t like it bright. If building materials are at risk, try and have them delivered as you need them. If the house is equipped with an alarm system, make sure you set it at night. If it isn’t, you can set up a temporary system that you can remove and take with you. (Note: If your flip doesn’t have an alarm system, you should consider having one installed.)

The next time we’ll discuss efficient ways to organize the job.

See also the following hubs on flipping a house:

http://hubpages.com/hub/The_Irreverent_Guide_to_a_House_Flip

http://hubpages.com/hub/The_Irreverent_Guide_to_a_House_Flip_2

http://hubpages.com/hub/The_Irreverent_Guide_to_House_Flip__Labor_and_Stupidity

http://hubpages.com/hub/The_Irreverent_Guide_to_a_House_Flip_Avoiding_Labor_Problems

http://hubpages.com/hub/The_Irreverent_Guide_to_a_House_Flip_Inspecting_the_House

http://hubpages.com/hub/The_Irreverent_Guide_to_a_House_Flip_Organizing_the_Job