Chihuahua Biting an Elephant...

So today I was contacted by a guy in downtown Dallas wanting me to come by and take a look at the stuff he wanted to get rid of. Had a thick accent so it was hard to understand. I get there, and he shows me what everything there is to take out, and suddenly I feel like Patriot, except without the knowledge, experience, logistics, crew, tools, or anything else I need to get the job done.

The guy is in charge of renovating the highrise, and the owners don't want any money for the project, but also don't want to pay for it. The middleman is taking bids for who will get the job, saying the people are bidding in the ballpark of 10,000$. At 200$ a ton, I would have to move 50 tons before I start seeing a profit. And I have no idea what these components weigh.

Also, the logistics for getting the pieces out are a *****. 18th and 19th floors are to be cleared, everything chopped and stored on 18th, taken by elevator with 3000lb capacity to the basement where the pieces are taken up a set of stairs to the outside.

I'm a guy in a truck. I don't even have a trailer. I can't do this job myself, and I don't have the money for the bid. So I'm looking for suggestions as to what some of ya'll might do in this situation with this opportunity. I'd like to find some angle with this to make some money. Even if it's just getting hired onto the firm that does get the contract, or possibly hooking up with someone on this forum who would like a crack at the job.

Pictures below.

http://images.craigslist.org/00Z0Z_1...xF_600x450.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/00P0P_b...Li_600x450.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/00o0o_e...9X_600x450.jpg

http://images.craigslist.org/00101_g...As_600x450.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/00Z0Z_l...RI_600x450.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/00q0q_6...f9_600x450.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/00404_g...aA_600x450.jpg

http://images.craigslist.org/00I0I_8...Vv_600x450.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/00c0c_6...Zo_600x450.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/00101_g...yk_600x450.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/00303_4...wT_600x450.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/00h0h_2...4P_600x450.jpg

http://images.craigslist.org/00Z0Z_5...qp_600x450.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/00000_9...SI_600x450.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/00K0K_c...gE_600x450.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/00r0r_b...Mn_600x450.jpg

http://images.craigslist.org/00n0n_6...It_600x450.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/01616_9...Ph_600x450.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/00l0l_5...a9_600x450.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/00O0O_7...ki_600x450.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/00B0B_7...bT_600x450.jpg

Couple members down your way, perhaps they'll chime in with an offer to help!

Either way, congrats on knowing what you don't know, an when to ask for help. It's a lesson a lot of folks seem to manage to ignore untill to late or never. ;)

Good luck with the job, hope you can find someone willing to work with you on it!

Sirscrapalot - Doesn't have high rises or even basements to deal with. Just houses..on stilts.

Cannot find the pictures. PM me. Love challenges and many options are available. Hope to be able to provide you with an answer. Insight, you cannot make money using an elevator to transport scrap when gravity is your friend. Thinking outside the box is your only option to make money on this type of challenge. Negotiation, creativity, and commitment can make you a profit. Good luck and based on the initial post you are in a position to make some money. Keep us posted on your progress.

Not to mention extra insurance for a job of this magnitude!

After posting the previous reply, the pictures became available. If you want a quick profit, contacts with two different contractors could be provided. Good luck. More details would be needed to accept this challenge.

Gut instinct - You could do this.

You contacts would be greatly appreciated. As for the elevator, this is a highrise right in the middle of downtown Dallas. I'm not sure if lowering it from the roof would be allowed by the owner or the city, or if it would be smart, given the risks. One bad knot and you got dead pedestrians below. It's a historical building and only has that one elevator and a staircase. There's a hole from the 19th to the 18th floor that could be utilized, but that's it.

I would need to have someone else take the lead on the job. I don't have the tools, the crew, the experience, or the capital to make up for those short comings.

My cooler travels if you lack the beverages.

;)

Time to go cause some trouble, I need to counter act all this kindness an being helpful.

Sirscrapalot - Karma is a mean lady sometimes.

I suspect that the successful bidder might end up charging the prime contractor a fee plus whatever the scrap is worth. I really think your contact is pulling your wazoo that it can be done for just the scrap value.

Patriot has the right idea...Is there a parking lot for this building at ground level where a chute from the floors be set up? gravity will help, and you'll need the ground level area to load scrap bins out.

If you need to work with the elevator, you'll need to deal with processing the scrap on the upper floors and rigging some way to load the elevator with exactly weight limit each and every time. Does it open out to an underground parking lot or something? Got the head room down there to bring in a roll-off?

From your photos, it looks like the area has already been high-graded...or someone started the scrapping job and backed out.....?

Maybe Patriot is just about ready to move onto the next job!! Houston bound?

Jon.

I was thinking the same on a chute. Seems to work for the roofing an AC guys down here when their tossing stuff off. When the hotel the wife works got fixed up back in 2012, they used a chute to drop everything in to roll offs.

Seems easier then dismantling so high up, then moving to a elevator where you need to make sure you don't go over the weight, then re-handle it all a 3rd time to get it off, then a 4th time to move it up stairs..an then a 5th time to load it!

Seems to me you could get it down to at lest 3 times to handle it. From location to chute, chute to truck or staging area, to truck from staging.

What do I know I live on a sandbar, a high rise here is someone who didn't clean up their drive way after a big storm.

Sirscrapalot - Going back to his cooler, less danger and work.

After thinking about your project over night visiting with my contacts, a couple of thoughts:

Most demolition companies charge a set fee and keep the scrap. I cannot imagine anyone paying to do this type of job, much less $ 10,000.

If you have to manually move the scrap down, it will be cost prohibitive. Using the existing elevator shafts might be one option. Chances are the old elevators will not meet the new codes so they will have to be replaced anyway. Then the problem is plugging the shaft because of the limited size. Opening up an entire bank of elevators would be better, but not perfect.

The project I am working on is break even with the salvage of metal. This includes depreciation and selling all equipment when we are done. The developer is thrilled with break even because bids of one to two million were quoted before we started.

A recommendation for consideration, go back to the middle man and offer to be a consultant. Have the development company form a crew taking care of book keeping, pay roll, and liability insurance. You arrange for the sell of metal and how to move it down the building.

Neither of my contacts were interested after looking at the pictures. They called this type of metal straw, meaning the work to weight ratio is not worth considering.

The development company has to remove the material and does not have the resources to do it. They also want to do it as cheap as possible. Be honest with the middle man, it will cost them to remove the scrap and you can limit the damage.

This is the strategy used to start The Scrappers Dream project. Since the owner thought it would cost him money to do the project, breaking even is a bonus. As stated on the thread, the goal was a ROI, but that was before the lesson started. Good luck.