\"Never work for an engineer or an attorney.\"

Richard Miller

That is what an old plumber once told me.

What do you think?

Maine Doug_66

Well

my son is an attorney whose law firm represents kids with bad parents. Now if you are a bad parent and he represents your kids you might not want to do work for him. But I am sure that all the guys and gals here are good parents so it should not be a problem if he calls you for work in his house. Or mine for that matter.
Don't know about the rest of the country though....;)

bob young

lawyers & engineers --a world apart

i have worked for a few attorneys that were hard payers . engineers would only be a problem if you don't know what you are doing and try to give them an inferior job. they sure as hell appreciate what a job is worth and i have never encountered one who would not pay you for a finished product. most are perfectionists and being one myself i am fine with that. now general contractors......that is another story. most will suck you in & then screw you any possible way they can. most could care less what it looks like as long as it works . they give unscrupulous a whole new meaning.

Joe Billow_6

I agree. I have worked with and for a few engineers with nothing but good experiences. I have also had the same results with attorneys. I know one GC that is really good and a few that do try to get one over on you. I really like when they try to barter after the bid is accepted and the work is done.

Unknown

Well,,,

I did a job for a retired engineer a couple years ago and when I pulled the very first part out of the box he sees it and says, "Why are you using THAT?" it only went downhill from there. So, I don't know about working FOR them but NEVER agree to let them help to cut costs. It was a friggin' nightmare! Besides, he was useless...

hot_rod

I've learned a ton

from engineers I have worked for over my 30 years in the trade. A few know it alls along the way, but easy to work around with the right attitude.

And if and when I need a legal opinion, I won't call any of the plumbers I know

Life is like a box of chocolates....

hot rod

Glen

ditto -

I view engineers as a bit of a challenge and an opportunity to broaden their horizons - no I don't let them help. And lawyers - well - just don't ask for an opinion - it's a down hill slide after that!
:-)

Rich Kontny_5

May be Tough!

Yet they are not to be avoided as they tend to dot their I's and cross their T's. I have worked for both and in bid and spec work you are in fact working for an owner through the project's engineers.

I have worked for great attornys who respect good work and expertise. When all is said and done it is best to learn how to work for (and sometimes with) people from all walks of life.

Provide what you were hired for and all should be fine!

Rich K.

Unknown

Yea well,,,

Maybe I got a bad one.

Once the job was started he thought he was going to go out and start buying materials for the job himself and then whittle away at my proposal to save himself a few bucks. When the exact same type boiler, oil tank and indirect as the first project showed up on the second project purchased through others from my supplier I was done. Then he tried to hire my sheetmetal guy on the side to complete the second project. He did the same thing with the cabinets. Ordered them himself and then tried to get the GC to deduct the cost from the project cost. When I say friggin' nightmare I ain't kidding. The only justice I got was when he went into the local Totaline store to buy the exact same kind of A/C equipment they chased his **** outta there. LOL... Oh, and I got a lovely discount from my supplier for the next project, a certain house in Glastonbury, CT that used about 10,000 ft of tube itself. You're all right though I shouldn't generalize. I do have a pretty good mechanical engineer that I work with.

jackchips_2

I like

Brad.

Jack

Brad White

Sometimes the simplest statements

mean so much.

Thanks, Jack.

Jim Davis_3

Depends

If the attorney has the right intentions I have no problem. Just saved a ladies life because an attorney was truly concerned.

Maine Doug_66

By any chance

was this the engineer from the outfit that did the original optics for the Hubble telescope?

amhplumb_2

Years ago there was a list of professions that were hard to work for! I wish that I could find it! Anyway, I don't remember engineers on it. Years ago we did work for a couple that were attorneys. One tried to find things wrong and the other would argue in our favor! It was fun!

bob young

Brad

Everyone likes Brad. he is not only a very astute engineer, he is more important , a gentleman. thats a damn good combo.

ALH_4

List

Architects must have been on it. ;-)

Lee_8

2 way street

We replaced our 40 year old CI boiler last year. Thanks to this site I am an educated consumer ( and an engineer). One problem I had was licensed plubers that were doing heating the way it was done when our house was built. When I asked about things like mod con, constant circulation, out door, reset heat loss calulation etc they acted like I was speaking a foreign language. Those that were up on newer technologhy were a pleaure to work and talk with, a cutomer that has a clue.

dblagent007

I must be awful to work with

I am both an engineer (chemical engineering) and an attorney (patent attorney). I actually work as an attorney so I am a little weak on the engineering side. Either way, I pity the people that are working with me to build my house.

My GC is probably ready to pull his hair out. Some of my more "egregioius" acts have been to (a) force him to put insulation under the basement floor (it will be heated with radiant), (b) tell the original Air Conditioning subcontractor to hit the road (he used rules of thumb to size equipment when my house is spray-foam insulated) and went out and found my own AC contractor (someone I trust immensely), (c) telling him that his interior designer wasn't working out and going and getting my own, and (d) I am close to telling the radiant guys to hit the road in favor of using the AC guy that is also extremely knowledgable about radiant.

I value getting the job done right, even if it takes a little longer and costs a little more. That is why I will tip our framers a few thousand dollars. They have done a fantastic job and I feel like they really added value to my house. I really can't say enough good things about the framers. Of course on the other hand, if they are some hack, then I have no problem telling them where the exit is.

Unknown

I have to laugh...

The last radiant basement I did the concrete guys were telling me they had poured plenty of concrete on radiant before and mine was the first time ever they had seen insulation under the slab. They said it wasn't necessary. All I could do was look at them funny and say, "Oh?"

I don't mind input but when you start giving me doo doo over a 50 cent part because you found different ones for 40 cents, I start to get a tad annoyed.

Richard Miller

I am surprised that you, being attorney as well as an educated consumer, did not have some of this stuff specified in the contracts.

dblagent007

That is exactly the same thing they told me. "We have done hundreds of radiant basements and none of the others have insulation. The ground insulates it." Uh, no. No insulation means heating a lot of ground underneath the slab.

As for the parts thing, you are right. When I was in college I used to try to buy parts for my car and then get a mechanic to put them in (I didn't have a pit or the tools to put them in myself). Well, needless to say, the mechanic looked at me like I was nuts. I haven't tried to do that since.

Every now and then I have to deal with someone that wants to write their own patent and have me come in and do some quick "cleanup." Unless that person knows a LOT about patents, it usually just means that I have to spend even more time than it would have required if they wouldn't have given me their own draft. Unfortunately, I don't think most patent attorneys do a good job of drafting and getting a patent. To think some guy off the street is going to have any idea what he is doing is crazy.

dblagent007

Well, first off, when I started this project I didn't know much about building a house. As each new issue comes up, I research it a LOT so I can get it done right. Like right now, I know next to nothing about water softeners and reverse osmosis filtration systems. However, I have to pick those items in the next 48 hours so ask me 48 hours from now and I will be able to tell you a lot about them including their pros and cons (I still won't be anywhere near experienced enough to install one). I couldn't specify all this stuff in the contract because back in the beginning I didn't have the foggiest idea what choices I even had.

The second thing is that I trust my GC. I am certainly streching him out of his comfort zone with some of things I am doing, but I really feel like my GC is trustworthy and is working to make sure that I get a very good home. The electrician (whom I also really like) confided to me that many subs consider my GC to be "high maintenance" because if the subs try to cut corners he gets after them. That definitely makes me feel better.

I suppose I am taking a risk by not putting everything in writing 100% and getting it signed and notarized, but I don't like to do things like way. I would rather find someone that I can trust and then work together to accomplish the goal or solve the problem. Don't get me wrong. I have a contract with my GC, but it allows for us to make a lot of changes.

Unknown

there are times I'd rather work for

There are times that I'd rather work for lawyers or engineers than doing jobs for GC, as its the GC want me to cut or cheapen the workmanship so they can max their profits.