Tim Hamilton and Justin Mosteller from Dixie Exteriors

Installer Perspective: The State of the Construction Industry

With Tim Hamilton and Justin Mosteller, https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-hamilton-44396165/

This week, we interview Tim Hamilton and Justin Mosteller from Dixie Exteriors all about their work, the future and more.

More About the Show

The Build Perspectives podcast shares insider knowledge to build connections and community in the building materials industry. Tim and Carolina are friends, colleagues, and former coworkers who love the construction industry and their clients, and want to share their passion and insights to attract future talent to the industry.

In this episode, Tim and Carolina talk to Tim Hamilton, owner of Dixie Exteriors and Distribution, and Justin Mosteller, project manager, about their history, work, the future, and more.

The History of Dixie

Dixie does a lot of National Brands projects with Nichiha across the country

Dixie has always been a family business, one that’s been in business for over 75 years. It was started by Tim Hamilton’s great-grandfather as a mechanical industrial insulation company in Louisville, KY. Eventually, they moved into the insulated concrete forms industry. And from there, they moved into exterior cladding, once Hamilton met Tiger (former Nichiha USA president), who was bringing Nichiha into the United States from Japan. Hamilton says they have installed over a million square feet of Nichiha panels.

Justin started working with Dixie when they were still working with insulation. Justin graduated with a degree in accounting and, degree in hand, came back to Dixie and does their estimating and managing jobs.

Trends They See in the Field

Tim says the biggest thing they’ve seen in the field that affects them is outboard installation and ASHRAE standards. It’s complicated the installation process because most contractors haven’t been educated on outboard systems and how they need to be installed.

He also says they are starting to see more panelized systems because they speed up construction: “It just seems like the scale of construction has gone up and the timelines have gone down.” He says these new panelized systems over brick and mortar which are both expensive and time-consuming.

COVID Effects

Reduced amount of workers allowed on site sure to the pandemic crisis — Reduced amount of workers allowed on site due to the pandemic crisis

Hamilton says that while product lead times haven’t been a problem for them — Nichiha is still delivering on their normal timeline — they have had issues with projects being slowed down due to the current limits on the number of workers allowed on a jobsite. Because the amount of people is reduced due to social distancing, the work is being done slower, which is extending finish dates.

However, clients don’t understand the delays. They want the work to still be finished at the original stop date, which can’t happen because of social distancing requirements.

They haven’t, however, seen any cancellations or slowdowns in the number of jobs coming in. They are still building — just at a slightly slower pace.

Another issue is with hotels. Finding hotels for workers to stay at for out-of-state jobs is difficult. Plus, there’s an issue with traveling across state lines. In some cases, they’ve had to get letters of approval from general contractors to be able to cross into the state.

What Practices Are Here to Stay?

Hamilton doesn’t think much is going to change because the old guard is still around, and construction doesn’t change often or much. They’ll take precautions while they need to, but the focus is going to be on getting projects done.

Hamilton says that there is a big need for more installers and workers, as there is a large void in the skilled worker trade. Finding good, hard workers is difficult, especially as work and demand in construction are still increasing.

Education

Justin says he sees a need for people who don’t necessarily go to college, but instead get firsthand experience.

Hamilton agrees. He got a degree from U of L for business and he says it couldn’t be further from what he’s doing. He sees kids coming out of college unable to find a job while electricians and plumbers and others are desperate for workers.

There’s a stigma to working in construction that people outside the industry hold on to. But it’s untrue. You need to try it firsthand to really understand construction. You can make not just a good living, but a great living, working in construction.

You don’t need to go to college and graduate with debt. Instead, start working in construction right out of high school and you can make good money, take care of your family and go on great vacations.

Advice for People New in the Field

First hand industry education is more important than a degree

Get firsthand experience. Get a job somewhere, learn the ropes, work your way up. Firsthand experience makes a big difference.

Find someone you know in the industry (you’re bound to know someone), and learn from them. Get the knowledge you need before working your way up. Most people in the industry have great integrity. They’ll help you when you need it and help you get started.

You’ll know a good worker if you don’t have to tell them to do every single thing. If they look for something to do all day long, if you don’t have to poke and prod them to do the next thing, then they are a great worker. They show up on time, stay late, and are always moving.

For people who have soft skills and are looking to break into the industry, the advice is to go out and get practical knowledge. It’s more important than book knowledge. Get your hands dirty, get some practice. Try getting some DIY practice around your home.

What Needs to Be Talked About?

Hamilton says quality. He says in the last 15 years, quality seems to be going downhill and the knowledge in the industry doesn’t seem to be passed on. There’s a feeling that you are supposed to cover up the bad work of the person before you.

Hamilton says it’s across the board, not just one type of material or job. Justin points out that a lot of it comes from compressed schedules. People want things built quickly, which means cut corners and no fixing of issues that are found.

Plus, there’s a lack of skilled workers. With not enough skilled workers, it’s hard to do jobs right. And companies need to invest more in their workers to make them skilled workers. Pay for their training and increase their salary when they do learn new skills and get better.

Tools They Use

When asked what tools they use to stay up organized and up to date in the industry, Tim replies: ‘it’s Justin’. Joking aside though, they have to move quickly at all times, so they really just move. They do use Stack Construction Takeoff for estimating but otherwise like to keep things lean and simple, so not a lot in their tech stack. They prefer to just “get things done”.

To that end, the best resource Tim has is his people. His workers are good, hard workers who are willing to do what they need to do, travel to where they need to go, and make it work when they need to. The three big skills they use are flexibility, resilience, and resourcefulness.

If you want to talk to Justin Mosteller and Tim Hamilton for a job or to install a cladding project, email them at dixie@dixieexteriors.com.

Join the Conversation

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this week’s episode! Shoot us an email at buildperspectives@gmail.com.