Logic dictates that what one man can do in a day, two can double and three can triple. One even argues that two together can accomplish the work of three.
Some tasks might prove this to be true, but more often than not, the extra hands can actually slow jobs down and cost more money. On a fixed price contract, this means the boss will lose. On a Cost Plus contract, the owner will begin to count the minutes of every coffee break and keep track of when members of the crew come and go.
Consider siding. Most times I have wanted to assign two to the job: one cuts and holds the end, the other measures and nails it off. But the guys always say it takes three: two in the air and one to cut on the ground. The theory is that there is enough time to feed the guy at one end of the scaffold while the other measures for his next piece.
My experience, however, is making calls from the truck and watching one or both guys stand idly. They watch the cutman measure, cut, retrieve dropped tools, recut, and adjust the radio. Up on the scaffold, there is plenty of time to catch a smoke, contemplate the blue sky, or consider the boss who gets to just sit in his truck and watch everyone else working hard.
New construction may tolerate a larger crew where everything is laid out and the plan starts at the foundation and rises to the roof. In remodeling, however, exploration and improvisation make for some hours of little production, lots of spurts and pauses; very expensive if there are too many heads scratching.
One complicated renovation a few years back, had an owner imposed deadline. When things failed to progress satisfactorily to the untrained eye, the client insisted more bodies would solve the problem (that really wasn’t a problem). The site got over-loaded, but the job did not go any faster. In fact, the job leader, the most productive guy, was neutralized having to explain and instruct, then later check and correct all the others.
Independent and dollar desperate, I have learned to do so much by myself. I’m convinced it is the most profitable scenario. A little fore-thought and experience creates the solutions to many problems. Heavy beams can be raised by one, using step ladders and braces to lift one end at a time. A few nails pre-set in place and some lines marking the spot can make hanging a ledger easy if you work from the middle out. A nail tacked above the chalk line will hold the end of a 16’ clapboard just as well as another pair of hands, and cost much less.
With no distractions, I can work a steady pace, barely stopping for lunch. Methodical tasks are accomplished in perfect (for me) order. I can evaluate a problem without losing time in discussion, or worrying about the help standing around. At the end of the day, I contemplate the production with pride and satisfaction.
But no companionship and no collegial stimulation eventually makes for an ol’ Dawg with old tricks. Overall, therefore, I stick by my recommendation of a crew size of two for just about any project. It is a rare one who prefers solitude. For most, the company keeps it fun. Often it really does help to have 4 hands on a big stick of wood. And just in case it does happen to be the day for an injury, we would be grateful to have someone there.
Day in and day out, it is great to have someone to work with. Teamwork is a wonderful thing, and when it clicks for two guys to efficiently fetch and cut, dance around each other, creating homes out of piles of lumber, they share a bond, brothers building shelters.
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