I have mentioned, several times, that I never became a contractor. This came up again in a reply to a recent post.

A contractor is bound by rules that limit the amount the maker can ask on any given project. In most states, this is capped at around ten percent.

I have never done a custom job without getting at least half the total cost in advance. As a manufacturer, I am allowed to do this. As a contractor, I would need to finance the entire job out of my own pocket.

This has always been unacceptable to me. I am not a banker or a lending institution. If someone needs to borrow money to pay for a project, it should be the customer, not the maker.

With the costs of materials, labor and the overhead of running a commercial shop being what they are, I cannot possibly finance someone’s kitchen remodel, nor do I want to.

There are certainly some advantages to being a contractor but, for me, the drawbacks outweigh them easily.

D.D.