So whose asphalt is it???

I just got in from doing some running around today and have one thing on my mind that just keeps pressing. I was over at Best Distrubuting picking up a bundle of shingles and almost got knocked over when they told me the price. Twenty five dollars and some cents, before tax! These were architectural by the way. This was on special and the price is going up on February 8th by 8%. Eight percent!!! Here’s the rub. CertainTeed currently isn’t manufacturing asphalt shingles because the government has “temporarily shut them down”. What? I thought we are trying to create jobs. The story is that they have to lay back on their manufacturing because a) they are using too much natural gas and it’s a cold winter and b) they were given a quota on the amount of asphalt they could receive due to all of the highway projects that are about to be let. I’m finding this hard to believe. However, you can get metal roofing at just a little cheaper price per square (10’ x 10’). The government wants us to use metal roofs instead of asphalt shingles and get tax credits (I’m not knocking that, we’re doing it on our own home and it looks AWESOME). I think the implication is that maybe the rules are being skewed and that the market isn’t being driven with competitive market principals but instead dictated as a command economy. I hope not. Again, this is the story that was passed on to me. Pretty deep if it’s all fabricated and just plain bad if it’s true.

Now, let me speak to this new roof we are doing. Forest green metal roof with our light yellow hardi-plank siding. Hot! Or as mi amigos say, caliente!!! Actually, it’s supposed to keep the house cool in the summer, so we’ll see; and we are getting a tax credit with it so it’s all good.

Speaking of amigos, we are trying out a new Mexican restaurant in Greensboro tonight, Kiosko. I’ll “review” that baby next time. We’re meeting some of our friends tonight. Last time we all got together was for Kevin’s birthday (at a Mexican restaurant) and Darren surprised Kevin with announcing that he had arranged it with the manager to make sure that Kevin got a bottomless bowl of nachos and salsa while we waited on our food. Ah friends…..

A Reflection on Forty

Well here we are. As I sit here and pontificate I’m reminded that James Taylor said, “The secret to life is enjoying the passage of time.” I’m also reminded of Mr. Buffett (Jim not Warren) and his famous quote, “I’m growing older but not up.” Yep, I turned forty back in ’09. I have to admit that I never imagined where I would be at this point in my life back in ’89. I was going to be the king of media, or perhaps the greatest college football coach to be spawned by the south since Bear Bryant. That one could still happen, but anyway… By the way, I’ll always think the pirate is cool. He looked at forty back when I was twenty, so he’ll always be my senior. Like I just said, anyway.

I didn’t have any inclination that I would be drawn into the world of General Contracting, remodeling, and construction. I know how it happened though. Power tools. That’s how it happened. Big Ed (and Donna) gave Brooke and me a cordless drill (12 volt Porter Cable) as a wedding gift. A wedding gift! Any question as to why I love this man?!! At any rate, I realized over time, and now will publicly admit for the first time, that I have an addiction. Not drugs or alcohol, not dirty magazines, not food (although, dang, my mom’s persimmon pudding is pushing it). No, my addiction is….. wait for it….. power tools. I’m a tool junkie. Sick. I love it when Ed White (bigger tool junkie), Pete (biggest tool junkie), Big Ed, or Pop Pop wants to do some “tool talk”. I admit it, right here, I surf the internet looking at tools. I’ve bought them on Amazon, E-bay, and Craigslist. But I’m also a man who has gotten his habit under control. I went to Home Depot last night and did NOT walk through the tool corral. That’s right. It’s a sign of the times. I’ve learned, as Wade Hampton Shuford once taught me, “It’s okay to still look at the menu while you’re dieting.” Of course, I think he was referencing a beautiful young woman as he took a video of her….

I’ve done more over the past years than build structures though. I’ve helped build people, and I’ve loved it. I saw one of those people tonight. Chris Smith. Little boy Chris is all grown up, and I’m proud of the young man. He didn’t go to college, but he has put his time in at the school of hard knocks. This young man worked on the church’s bus tonight because he has grown up to be a diesel mechanic and a fine one at that. I was impressed. Brooke and I helped build that. I worked with the young man as a church youth leader and a mentor. I took him to Louisiana for mission work, taught him to hang hardi-plank (he never was good at it, sorry), and helped him in walking closer with the Lord. He got the bus running, the heat working, checked the filters, pumped up the tires, blah blah blah. You get the picture. He did all this and I was just proud of him. More importantly, as I remind my girls, is that I hope he’s proud of himself. Days like this make this ride so pleasing.

J.J.’s MiaCulpa

O.K., I’ll admit it, I haven’t written anything in quite some time. Why? Well, frankly, I found the first go rounds on this to be, at best, boring. Why keep putting the same junk up? So I’ve thought about it and I think I’ll go at this thing another way.

First Class Builders is still alive. We have adapted (i.e. I’m doing more things than I ever have in the way of “hands on”). Somehow over the last year the phone has rung and we have trudged through. The Good Lord provides. We have a couple of jobs coming up so we (Brooke and I) will continue to remain optimistic. (I’m truly a realist though and I watch the news and the biz channels and I see where our economy is for the immediate future.) That sounds pessimistic, right? Reality, that’s all.

A quick side bar here. I’m talking to Pedro today (roofer) and he has his son with him (MLK vacation). We are talking about the tragedy that is Haiti and how his church is committed (with two others in Greensboro) to donating $50K. Way to go Pedro and the Latino community!!! Anyway, his son is in fourth grade and is just a really neat kid. As we are talking Pedro references himself being a Catholic. His son announces that while his dad is a catholic, that he himself is not. I say, “Oh, you’re a protestant?” To which he replies, “No. I’m a Christian…” Now that’s too cute……

HIRE Act 2009

We’re still getting this blog up and running so this is the first post in some time.  The economy continues to putter along and we like most everyone else wait anxiously for the “good old days” to return.  The news seems to be constantly reminding us that these are indeed tough times.  However, there was some good news released the other day.  A bi-partisan bill is in the works that may help to continue spurring the economic recovery.

Much like the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, this new bill, the Home Improvements Revitalize the Economy (HIRE) Act, if passed will offer tax deductions and credits.  The bill, sponsored by congressmen Henry Johnson (D-GA) and Nathan Deal (R-GA), is designed to stimulate the purchase of kitchen cabinets and other remodeling and home furnishing improvements. The products would have to be installed in the taxpayer’s primary residence, and the credits would apply to existing homes, not new construction.  How ’bout them ‘Dawgs?

According Remodeling Magazine, ” Under the proposed HIRE Act, individual consumers and joint filers would receive $1,000 or $2,000, respectively, for purchasing products in the categories outlined by the legislation. If those products meet recognized environmental standards, such as from LEED, NAHB, Green Globes, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative/Forest Stewardship Council, or the ESP, the incentives double to $2,000 and $4,000. Further incentives are proposed for retailers, contractors, and other building product resellers, who could receive up to $10,000 for covered purchases, or $20,000 for purchases certified by recognized “green” programs.”

Cross your fingers that this bill goes through.  It probably will be changed somewhere along the way and unfortuately will probably be piggy-backed onto another bill.  We’ll keep you updated.

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