Episode 90: Hiring the Right Team

[@PLH_Exclusives]

Needed to hear this. Some to approve of, and some to correct or improve my thinking.

[@bobainsworth5057]

Maybe on another video you could explain how you hire subs.

[@junwang4272]

For someone new to building industry, my experience is the challenge of finding the labor instead of finding management role.

[@DrMJJr]

OMG I LOVE his story about his employee who was playing with the customer’s deaf child!! Now THAT’s definitely the kind of hire you KNOW you’re going to want to keep!!! I think his standard of “would I want to have dinner with them in my house” is absolutely PERFECT. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@cyonran]

Hey there! Off topic but I’ve been watching a bunch of your videos on insulation and conditioning and figured I’d ask. I live in a ‘76 slab and stick build home in Austin. Just re-engineered all the HVAC, and now the gear is in the attic, which is not conditioned. I was planning to install some new vents, but then I started considering foaming the rafters. However, the house is defininitely leaky and there is some existing ventilation in the attic spaces. Would we be better served going ahead with foam and just try to seal it up as best as we can? (Including closing off some gable vents) Or should we just vent and blow in some new floor insulation? Is there a middle ground? I’m worried about mixing modern conditioned tech with oldschool unconditioned tech. This house doesn’t have any sheathing; just frame -> tyvek -> hardie. Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

[@MarkR874]

Greetings from Central Valley California. My brother and I have been working to improve the function of our family owned construction company and we’re not too far out from bringing more people on board and this was helpful in preparation for that phase. Thank you for sharing your experience and trials. Funny how God brings us what we need when we need it, if we are attuned and willing to lay hold of it. Keep up the good work. I sure appreciate you guys.

[@robertduffy5805]

Pre-employment exams are not as great as people think for hiring. You have to be careful that you don't just start hiring people with the same personality because you will get groupthink and kill creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. It's better to save your money and test them after you higher them so you better understand each employee's personality and motivation so you can better manage them individually.

[@kadmow]

Are all carpenters in the USA "trade trained" or are they labourers/trades-assistants who pick up skills along the way - with limited/no formal training??

[@evgenyonishkevich8494]

You should definitely do a Collab with “ undecided with Matt Farrell” he is a big following and building his brand new homes with a lot of cool features. Some of them you discuss on the channel regularly.

[@bobainsworth5057]

Do you ever hire from trade schools?

[@andrewkisner15]

Great info! Employees, are a representation of you and your company they can make you look good or bad. Loved Jake’s analogy about. Could I have this employee over for dinner that weeds of about 90% of the guys I’ve ever worked with.

[@ericpetersen-mp1ve]

hi from Colorado. I wish you were around when I was building, I still look jobs. I had to stop working.

[@davidleahy4296]

Living in Austin where MRH is based out of is ridiculous. This guy won’t build a house under 500 dollars a sqft. Over engineered for an investment that you’ll never get back in a economy that is already forcing people out that have been living here before they showed up.

[@kadmow]

So are the houses unaffordable for a long term dwelling, or are you looking to build spec housing to flip for a profit after 10 years with tenants?? (just wondering)

[@davidleahy4296]

@@kadmow just some quick dirty math. Let’s say you want to build a home at 1600 sqft. That’s usually the min amount needed to build on restricted land. Even if the land isn’t restricted that’s still by todays measure a relatively small home. You buy into this over engineered T-studs to reduce thermal loss,vacuum seal the interior with atomizer mud, go with engineered studs etc. at 500 to 550 dollars a sqft that’s 800k to 880k for a smaller home that you haven’t even factored in the land for so add another 80k. Close to a million then add interest in todays market, over the life you’ll pay 2 million for a home that in 30 years won’t be worth the initial build price.

[@kadmow]

@@davidleahy4296 , thanks for your feedback. (In Australia we don't price things quite like in the USA and, though house sizes are up, land size is generally down, trends per square foot (we have traditionally used "the square" 100sqft (10ftx10ft, or approx 4mx4m ) as a standard multiple for sizing residential property)..) 35 years ago a Suburban price in my region (regional urban centre) was around $120k for an established surburban dwelling, or $150k for a house and land package plus options, nowadays we are paying over $600k for a knockdown ( not a lot of people realise they pay multiples in interest over the life of a mortgage, plus add on's, many think they are ahead when they are not really.....) to build a dream home. I would not like to be predicting the prices in another 30 years (not a lot of. If one wants options they can't afford, that is a problem for their "too big eyes". Seeing everything one can do to "follow the science" to the "enth-degree", compared to the bare minimum will have long term influence on the market as well as builders who want to be "next level" . Before social video sites, nobody outside the industry had much of an idea of the details we are seeing daily. We get along with what we can each cope with, some will never move out of their trailer, though they may dream. -getting a level 5 plaster deal is obviously more of a w@nk for the discerning to$$er than necessary, insulation and sealing is becoming code in more and more areas

[@charlesfitzgerald9461]

When are you going to start building home again? Because this is getting old .