Masonry Magazine January 2007 Page. 24
Contractor
to Contractor
project bounced back and forth so much that it was a coordination nightmare-it also was not conducive to a productive work environment. To be honest, we tried several different approaches-short-term interval scheduling, expedited material deliveries, utilizing several different crews - but never really got over the hump on that project.
The building itself turned out very nice, and it was a quality project, but it was not what I would consider a winner by any means. But we did learn several things from that project that has allowed us to be a better mason contractor.
Masonry: What advice would you give to a budding mason contractor?
Lockwood: It's kind of ironic. This company started as a mason contractor in 1908, as I mentioned before. For a long time, they did their own masonry work.
Back in the '70s and '80s, we pretty much got out of the masonry field for several different reasons. The big reason was that there were so many masonry subcontractors out there that it was hard to compete. In the last four to five years, the number of qualified mason contractors has declined. I am not sure what the main reason is for that decline, but I am sure part of it is attributed to lack of financing, bonding capacity and equipment, and manpower resources.
What we've found in our area is that a lot of the larger general contractors now self-perform their own masonry work. They have the resources that are necessary to perform this type of work, and it allows them an advantage when it comes to controlling scheduling and quality.
When I hired on with L-D 10 years ago, we got back into masonry work. Our philosophy was to start small; you crawl before you walk, and you walk before you run. We've kind of taken the philosophy that you don't want to take on anything too big. We use a ladder approach, one rung at a time; we're just working our way up the ladder as far as masonry work is concerned.
What I would offer to a budding mason contractor would be that they need to have a niche in this industry, and they need to work on perfecting that niche. They're not going to be able to service everyone, and they are not going to be able to handle every job. They need to focus on their strengths and work to perfect them.
Masonry: What do you feel is the biggest misconception about the masonry industry?
Lockwood: I think the biggest misconception is that masonry is so expensive. I think people really need to look at it as masonry is the most permanent.
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CIRCLE 177 ON READER SERVICE CARD
18
Masonry
January 2007
SLIP
Our philosophy was to
start small; you crawl before
you walk, and
you walk before you run.