What's the deal finding help these days ?

Nothing against hiring to get something done around the place. But in my case it better be a really good reason either because I don't know how to do it or I just don't have the manpower. If I don't know how to do it most times I'll figure it out. If I don't have the manpower I'll get my boys down here on a long weekend.
Seems like alot of these "homesteaders" here nowadays want to hire to mow the grass or pull weeds. If that's you, sorry, you ain't homesteading. JMO

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We have now officially entered the twilight zone.

Yeah.....having my chest split open, and a triple bypass on the heart made a real, albeit temporary, sissy out of me.

And others like me are wore out been hit by a few trees .

Also we just want to spread the wealth around while getting things done

My wife and I have found a house in foreclosure that we would like to buy.

As usual, this foreclosure needs a ton of work. We estimate that it hasn't had a dime spent on it since 1983, and no one has cleaned it since the fall of 1986.

I would love to find a serious worker who would show up and complete some of the work needed. I would pay very well, buy their lunches, and personally, I wouldn't care if they took 3 short cell phone calls an hour if they would actually work. I'd gladly pay $15 an hour for labor, especially if they were effective stripping wall paper. Heck, I might even pay $20 an hour if they could get it done...and done right...within a week.

A friend thought she had found the perfect laborer for her recent purchase of a foreclosure. It all started well, but that person seemed to like to walk around the house, and then hide somewhere in the yard, and thought it was okay to bill her for those hours. The worker's justification was "you couldn't have hired that job by a contractor for less than $1400, and you are only paying me $13 an hour, so having me here is worth it."

If I knew someone right now, we'd jump on that foreclosure, but not having someone has made us think twice.

I found out about hiring labor years ago, when I thought about starting a painting and plaster business:

*Most guys that are available for hire, plain and simple, just don't want to work...and that is exactly why they don't have employment. All the rest of the people who can and will work already have decent paying jobs.

A short story that just came to mind:

Several years ago, I was repainting the inside of a house, about 2500 square feet, prime and paint.

It was an near-overwhelming job at the time. Just me, brush and roller, and I had other jobs stacked chin deep that I was working also.

A guy came to me, and begged for work, giving me the whole sob story. I offered $10 an hour to paint corners, run errands, and keep my helper and I in paint.

This guy worked for literally 1 hour, and then quit, but he didn't leave the job site. He sat on a bucket for 6 hours, jaw jacking with the other contractors. At the end of the day, he told me I needed to pay him $70 for his time!!!!!!

Go figure!

I have a friend that lives a couple miles off exit 260 in salem that had terrible luck finding farm help. The last guy left for lunch, tools lying around and everything, and didn't show back up for TWO MONTHS.

If your guy is willing to drive a bit, pm his info, and I will pass it along.

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I don't need it to be easy, I just need to know it's possible!

Pimp your homestead! Grow bamboo!
www.boocrazy.com

ahahahaaa......there ya go Jim !

We've turned into Democrats in our old age......

If he’s running to town to get stuff for you, ya gots to pay the man, fuel, too.
The tarp is yours, he shouldn’t have kept it, but hey, it’s a cheap tarp and they don’t shed water after a couple uses, anyway.

So, you have a handyman that is able to do plumbing, electrical and has carpentry skills, plus has enough on the ball to create a materials list for each project? Maybe you need to be the go-fer and leave the worker on the job. Getting stuff for each project is part of the job. He was thoughtful enough to get a tarp to protect your investment. Even good workers will run out of stuff and a run to the store is common. Just like clean up is part of the job, so is getting the materials. It takes his time and the man needs to be paid. If I were cutting firewood for you, you’d have to pay me while I sharpened my chain and put fuel in the tank, right?

I don’t think two breaks a day is too much, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. I think OSHA might even insist on it.

Sometimes it seems that I’ve got more time in getting the tools ready, material laid out and a clear understanding from the owner what needs to be done than what it takes to actually do the job.

If you want the man to run after misc materials on his own time, his own vehicle and his own gas, then work 4 hours straight, eat lunch (off the clock) then work 4 more hours straight, you’ll soon be asking, “ Why can’t I find anyone to work anymore?”

It's only age-related to a certain degree. At my last job, we hired seasonal help from WWOOF and similar sites. A few were worthless and we sent them packing, but most were really hard workers, and very motivated. Most of them were in their early 20s. All of them were hippies, but the tree-hugging sandal wearers, not the pot-smoking dreadlocked kind. They all showed up with calluses on their hands and dirt under their nails.

We had a couple of teenagers from town, and they were great, too (although they were Hispanic and had been working hard from the cradle, might not be a comparison).

And now, I'm building fence with my 63 year-old father, and I can't get him to go a half hour without touching his cell phone! Voice, e-mail, text, you name it, he's addicted, while he's working, driving, in church....

My son is 21 and he's very honest and a very hard worker. He's a certified pipe welder and the boilermakers contacted him and said they're interested in hiring him in November. He will have to work 72 hours per week for five years straight, as an apprentice, before he can settle down in to a 40-hr work week.

I think I did some things right, in raising him. While I was doing those things, though, people were looking at me like I was neglectful or abusive. I remembered to do some of the most important things, though - things other people DID neglect to do.

I REMEMBERED to hug him and love him, lay in his bed with him and read to him, pull him into my lap at every available opportunity. I remembered to listen to him and treat him like a full-fledged human being, treat his feelings as if they were every bit as important as my own. I smacked his butt when he lied or back-talked or treated me with disrespect but made sure that he never had any doubt whatsoever that I loved him with all my heart.

I "neglected" to give him an allowance. Why the heck should I just automatically shell out money to him every week? That's just plain stupid. Nobody automatically shelled out any money for me! I had to work for it!

I "neglected" to do his homework for him even when he was getting bad grades. His homework was his responsibility, not mine.

I "neglected" to insist his teachers give him the same treatment as they gave the kids who were making better grades. He made his own bed and he could lay in it.

I "neglected" to insist that he join, and sign him up for, every sport and after-school activity, drive him there, pick him up, and pack his lunch and do all the work associated with all that BS. If he wanted to participate in an activity, he would let me know. He only had one that he liked (karate) and that was enough.

I "neglected" to fix him something different than what everybody else was having if he didn't like his dinner. If he didn't like what we were having he could either take it or leave it or fix himself something different and clean up his mess. I also "neglected" to monitor every bite that entered into his mouth. If the kid was hungry, he'd eat. If he wasn't hungry, he wouldn't eat. Even a two-year-old has a body that will tell him what it needs and he didn't need me micromanaging his stomach and his mouth.

I also "neglected" to give him ritalin when his school insisted he had ADHD. I told them that, if he had ADHD, he'd have it for the rest of his life and he'd better learn to deal with it, without drugs. I wasn't going to let him take the easy way out. They actually contacted CPS and accused me of abusing him by not giving him drugs he needed. I counter-accused them of practicing medicine without a license and stuck to my guns.

I "neglected" to pay for his education after high school. Why the heck should I go into debt so he could go to school, when he never did his homework in high school?! If he wanted further education, he was going to have to take out his loans in his own name and enroll and sign up himself - which he did!

One thing I didnt' neglect to do was talk to his high school principal, tell her he was failing and that it was just a waste of our time to keep pushing him through. He was highly intelligent and could do advanced math in his head yet he wasn't interested enough to do his homework. I suggested I take him out and let him home school and she suggested we just try the intermediate school district and see if maybe some hands-on activity would get him on track. She signed him up for welding and he loved it. He had to keep his grades up if he wanted to continue to participate in welding, and that gave him the motivation he needed.


I think the problem with kids today is that they're taught to take the easy way in everything and people feel sorry for them if they have to work for anything or suffer the consequences of their own actions. They're taught to be lazy from the day they're born and then, when they're ready to enter the workforce, people expect them to suddenly have a work ethic and responsibility. That's just plain stupid on the part of the adults.

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"What if I fall?" "Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?"

In town we have a 'world outreach' church. Among their other functions they take in recovering alchohlics and drug abusers. They advertise for odd jobs. Typically what you get is one local craftsman (e.g., a drywall finisher) and 1-2 of their projects. Objective is to at least expose those in their program to different type work.

Same here on sauare baled hay. Back in the 50/60s a high school kid with access to a vehicle would round up a workcrew. So much per bail put into the storage barn. Afterwards they would go to a swimming hole, be met by girlfriends and probably share a six pack or two. Now it is simply too much work for the money offered.

There is a blackhole on the road from town to my farm. Sucks up workers. I could hire a guy on Tuesday to start on Wednesday morning and they never showed up. Lessons learned. Don't pay by the day. They have no incentive to finish out the week. If paid off on Friday, don't expect the back on Monday regardless of who enthusiastically they promise they will be there.

My last two workers have been older and/or retirees. One retired from the RR, but wanted to keep active. Current one grew up farming. Both were/are paid $10 hour in cash, which is about like a $14 hour regular job which takes out the various benefits.

Some of us older guys can't handle lots of hours on concrete, but can still turn a good day on dirt. $10 an hour is what I charge WHEN I can get the work... must be too many folks looking for this type labor hereabouts or something. IF anyone is looking for help in the area north of Ft. Worth & west of Denton, shoot me a PM and talk it over...

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Home is the hunter, home from the hill, and the sailor home from the sea...

No argument with that. The problem is how many kids there are who haven't done any work. well, two problems- the other is those kids hiring themselves out for it.

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The garden's getting bigger this year. Again.

Check with your local high school guidance counselor or a vocational high school with a farming program if you have one close by. A friend of mine finds young guys this way and gets some really good workers who are interested in that kind of work by hooking up with them through their schools..

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"For if you start dancing on tables, fanning yourself, feeling sleepy when you pick up a book... making love whenever you feel like it, then you know. The south has got you.”

I have had a crew of amish here for a week doing construction and they bring their young sons with them each day to help. A few days the kids came alone, and man can they work - 8 am till 6 pm with a 1/2 hour break for lunch. 1 hour buggy ride round trip to get here and back. Fabulous work ethic!

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"For if you start dancing on tables, fanning yourself, feeling sleepy when you pick up a book... making love whenever you feel like it, then you know. The south has got you.”

We have a lot of work going on at the new retirement house, so far by asking around and getting referrals we've done ok with getting good workers. Keeping our fingers crossed it keeps up.

Glad you're doing ok after your bypass!

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I'm not easy to live with, I know that it's true. You're no picnic either baby...

Don Henley

I agree. I've seen guys in their 50s that weren't worth a dollar an hour and I've worked along an 80 year old man that out worked a few teens. Having worked lots of various "day worker" type jobs my experience is that most employers will hire more people than they need and see which ones will quit the first or second day. Pay has a lot to do with it too, pay a couple bucks over minimum and you'll get characters, 10 dollars an hour seems to be the minimum for someone that isn't worthless (desperate illegal aliens not included).

I've never went wrong with hiring farm kids or Amish, they were always good workers. Sometimes looks don't mean everything, I don't hire any one that looks ghetto but I did work with one fella that really surprised me. I was working at a cranberry marsh for the harvest season. This early 20s something guy shows up, dumb baggy pants, stupid sideways hat, piercings. His truck had a booming stereo with big dumb rims on it. And he actually turned out to be a really hard worker. Meanwhile this other guy who claimed he had all kinds of skills who was in his forties turned out to be worthless. I'm sure people on this forum would pick the guy who showed up in work boots, blue jeans, and a flannel shirt as the good worker and poo poo the ghetto dude. Don't make generalizations, people have been complaining about "kids these days" since the beginning of time.

I've worked a few jobs where the people paid nearly nothing. One that stuck out in my mind was when I was working for a farmer putting up hay. I got 1.50 an hour and my friend got .75 cents an hour. Our combined efforts netted us less than 10 bucks. This was in 2004. Needless to say that was the last time I worked for him (incidentally he started hiring illegal immigrants). My friend and I worked for another farmer putting up hay the next summer, we unloaded all 5 of his wagons in less than an hour and half. The farmer was amazed since he figured it was going to be an all day chore. So he paid us 35 bucks each I've helped my farmer friend for nothing put up hay (well I was paid in pizza) but he's helped me out a bit too so we're even.

I've sweated it out with sap in my eyes at Christmas tree farms, planted thousands little tiny seedlings by hand, put up fences, ect and I'm in my 20s. I've had lots of compliments and I have a few regular contacts that will hire me from time to time to do small odd jobs. It irks me to hear older people complain about how the only people who know how to work are 50 year old men and illegal aliens since I know that is absolutely not true. Nine times out of ten it's the attitude of the person who is hiring that sets the pace.

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http://www.xanga.com/shackman A blog about whatever

I wish I could find part time farm help.

I once answered an add for farm help, just feeding animals, cleaning stalls and a few odd jobs. Nothing hard.

The woman needed help because her weekday help had just up and quite. After almost a year of working for her, the girl who left her high and dry was back and wanting another chance. So, she let me go.

A month later I got a call to come back because the girl was not reliable. I said no at first. Probably a year later (and after seeing several adds posted for help) she asked me again to work for her. She had been through several less than satisfactory helpers. I was stupid and went back to work for her. After just a few months she let a family take over. They had been helping with housework and other odd jobs inside.

This woman had been through cancer treatment and was not in very good health so had help for inside her house and for the animals. She had complained to me that this family was taking advantage. They asked for an advance on salary to get cigarettes. She didn't have cash so let them use her debit card to run to the store. They filled up their car and attempted to get several cartons of cigarettes. For some reason she felt sorry for them and felt they needed the money so once again gave my job to someone else.

She did call me once more to come back. I said "no thanks" and never answered her calls again.

If anybody in my area wants to hire this older gut I'm always open to a few extra bucks, or a six pack to maintain this gut.

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"Only the rocks [and really embarassing moments] live forever"

"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands..." tick-tick-tick

I will tell you that from the other side of the fence, as well as having hired help. It is far worse on the handy mans side dealing with the home owner than it ever has been dealing with hired labor. Owners think that everything they didn't think of before they called you should be free. I mean you are right here after all right? I charge double for ad on projects. They do not really know what they want most of the time, they think part of your job is to decide if that mound of crap should be hauled away or made into a flower bed.

Anyone that wants to supply me with the materials is welcome to, But I do not guarantee them. Anyone that wants to tell me how to build something they hired me to build, can build it themselves. I definitely do not guarantee your construction design. IF it is a good one you have nothing to worry about. But for the most part a customer trying to tell me how to do the work will result in me asking them to find someone they do have confidence in. It is better for both them and me that way.