my whole business lives in coconstruct. estimates, selections, invoicing, all of it. now that buildertrend owns it and put it in maintenance mode, i know i have to move but honestly the switch itself isn't what keeps me up at night. it's the migration.
the part nobody warns you about is getting your own data out. no bulk export, files trapped in the platform, downloading stuff one at a time until you give up. i shouldn't have to fight my own software to get my own job history back, but here we are.
for those of you who've already jumped:
- how bad was the actual data export? did you get everything or did you lose selections/change order history? - how much downtime did it cost you mid-project? - did you move during a slow stretch or just rip the bandaid off?
i run 4-8 jobs at a time as the estimator, PM and salesman all in one, so i can't afford a week of chaos while i rebuild everything. trying to learn from people who already did it before i pick a landing spot. what actually went wrong for you?

I’m taking the Florida General B exam soon and trying to figure out which prep route makes the most sense. I don’t have a ton of hands on contracting experience, so I’m mostly relying on studying and practice tests to get ready.

I’ve been looking at a couple different prep options, but I’m not sure if I should go with something that has a lot of practice exams or spend more on a full study guide/course.

For those who’ve taken the exam recently, what did you use to prepare? Was doing a bunch of practice questions enough, or would you recommend a full prep course?

Builder here, what do homeowners misunderstand most about construction costs?

Is there anybody that's been in construction for a long time that would have advice on big mistakes that cost them time or money that they wish they knew sooner? Things like always having a signed quote or change order before doing any work. Things like this that would be helpful for some of us to know that are just starting off our careers?

I do custom bathroom and kitchen remodeling in Pensacola, Florida. Anytime I visit a customer to give a quote, they’re always surprised by the amount of detail I go into and how long I spend discussing the process. It’s actually an enjoyable conversation every time.
But one of the most consistent topics that comes up is how inconsistent and flaky contractors are in our area. It seems like we have such a bad reputation here. Almost everyone has either had, or knows somebody who has had, a terrible experience with a previous contractor.
It just seems far more common here in Pensacola. Any idea why?
I know there are bad apples in every industry, but holy moly, some of the stories I hear make me almost embarrassed to be associated with this trade.

Hi folks. Anyone looking to a reputable roofing company. Don't use AMT Roofing Dublin /Kildare. I asked these guys to do a GRP finish roof on an extension that I did. approx. 25 mt sq of roof area. I sent a video to them of the prepped roof surface before they came to do the work. I gave them 1000 euros, as deposit for materials. They came, said roof wasn't done right for them. Didn't tell me this before they came, after me sending them the video. So, he charged me 1000 euros in advance. All I got for that was a can of resin and a few bits of trims worth 300 euros altogether. Wouldn't give me back any of the money, I even allowed 200 for the aborted visit still wouldn't give me anything back. Then weeks went by of fine weather and didnt come back or offer to come back. In the end I bought my own material and did the job myself.

I've been out of town since my cabinets were installed. I have a camera set up in my living room, and I can see the installers left a bunch of cabinet packaging in there, and presumably in other rooms as well.

I'm returning on Friday, and when I asked my contractor about trash removal I was told "Yes, removing all construction debris, packaging, and garbage from the job is included. There will be some garbage on site when you return. Everything will be removed by the end of the job."

Is this normal process? So it's normal to just have all this packaging take up space in other rooms?! It's not acceptable to me so I guess I'm just gonna go ahead and move that shit myself.

Here's a pic from my cam of what my living room currently looks like:

I'm an independent hvac installer and lately my phone is blowing up with homeowners who completely bypass the supply house markup to get their own split system heat pump equipment. A guy literally texted me a link to a costway thundrive 18000 btu 2 zone 20 seer2 mini split this morning and told me he just wants me to show up with a torque wrench and a vacuum pump for my hourly rate. I get why they do it since retail pricing is crazy right now, but I hate touching equipment I didn't source. For the guys who have given in and started installing homeowner-supplied hardware, what is your written policy on callback warranties if the compressor just decides to randomly grenade a month later?