Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Speaker A: Well, good day, everyone, and welcome to the Cutting Edge Install Podcast brought to you by Omni Cubed, where innovation meets installation and everything in between. It's been a couple of weeks since we've had one of these, but it's great to be back. Who am I, in case you've never seen this? Well, I'm Merv Campbell, I'm your host. And it's an absolute pleasure that you join us today. What's this podcast all about? Well, it's about celebrating. We are in the year of celebrations, and this podcast is no different than we're celebrating pros, installers, experts and game changers. And we've got not one, but two game changers on the show today. So it's going to be real good. We're going to dive into stories, we're going to share insights, and we're going to have fun. And if you've seen anything off the World cup, you'll know that the Europeans like to have fun, specifically the Scots. But the problem is no one has seen the Irish have fun. But that'll come possibly in four years if we actually qualify. But who knows? So whether you're on the job, whether you're on the road, or you're just looking to stay sharp, you have come to the right place. So let's get cracking. I'm going to have you guys introduce yourselves, tell us your name, tell us your company, what you're about, and then we're going to get into some pretty good questions here today on this podcast. So take it away.
[00:01:23] Speaker B: My name's Sebastian with Murillo's Time Marble. I am Jesse's son, co owner of the business.
And, yeah, this is Jesse, right?
[00:01:31] Speaker C: Hey, thank you for inviting us.
My name is Jesse. Jesse, and I'm the owner, Murillo Star Marple.
[00:01:40] Speaker A: Okay, so then I gotta start where it started with Jesse.
Sorry, you gotta wait a turn. But can you take us back to the beginning? Take us back to the start. How did you get involved in the tile and stone industry?
[00:01:56] Speaker C: Wow. This is a long story, but I'm gonna try to do it short. I started Mexico. My dad. My dad, he worked in construction all his life and he taught me how to float. I know how to float. We used to float, put cement, plaster in our house.
So that's how that opened the door for me. I came to San Diego when I was 16 years old and I was looking for work and I saw a guy, he was doing tile in a house and.
And I told him, hey, I know how to float. He didn't trust me because I was too young. I was.
[00:02:33] Speaker A: Oh man.
[00:02:34] Speaker C: But he gave me the chance and so I start floating and he liked it, so. And then everything started right there. He liked it the way I was plastering, putting cement in the shower. And he hired me as a helper. So I started as a helper. It wasn't a year, but I think it was an 80 something, 86, something like that. But I was kind of young, like 16 years old.
And that's how I started. I started as a helper on the title.
[00:03:01] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:03:02] Speaker C: And then I started learning and then start setting time myself and later and around 2000, that's when. When I start on my own.
[00:03:14] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:03:15] Speaker C: So I was a tile setter and then I was installing one day in a house and it was a company that was doing the countertops and that's when, when they cut my attention. It was something different than tile. So I liked it and I started selling at the time, not fabricating, I was just selling it. And.
[00:03:37] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:03:37] Speaker C: And then I had to learn the trade.
[00:03:40] Speaker A: Awesome, awesome. So you're Learning, you're a 16 year old young whippersnapper learning the trade.
Is there anything, is there anything from even in, around then when you were first learning that has kind of stuck with you even till today?
[00:03:57] Speaker C: Well, to learn something that stuck to me is just to do quality.
The, the, the guy that taught me how to do tile, he was neat with his tools and he taught me how to be a helper first. And then I work with pretty good installers and they tell me to do the best, always do your best. Always do quality and give customer what, what they what. Whatever you promise to your customer does what you do.
So that's something that stuck to me and that's one of the values that I hold on to. Give the customer what I promise.
[00:04:41] Speaker A: Yeah. No. That's awesome.
Hey, if there's one thing that sticks, it might as well be the best thing that sticks. So that's pretty legit. That's so cool. So you're saying around 2000 you thought about you were starting the new company, but what made you want to do that? Was there a specific reason? Is it just the fact of you wanted to be your own boss?
Was there any specifics you want to tell us on that?
[00:05:07] Speaker C: I think, I think it was always on me.
Like I said, my dad, he worked in construction and was working for by himself and I was working for, like I said, I was working for different companies and, and I think I was pretty good on my Trick.
[00:05:27] Speaker A: Yeah, there you go.
[00:05:29] Speaker B: So.
[00:05:29] Speaker C: So every time they left me by myself, they just got in the morning, they told me, okay, you're going to do this, you're going to do that, and. And they left. And I. I tattoo myself. I mean, I'm doing the job myself. I'm everything myself, and I think I can do it on my own. So that's. That's how it start. And I always had the. The.
I think it's a calling. I think. Yeah, I think it's a calling when you want to be you on business, entrepreneur.
It's something that is in you. And I always wanted to do it, and I give it a try in 2000.
[00:06:07] Speaker A: Awesome.
We all know starting a business can be difficult.
What were some of the challenges that you faced, even in those early years of building that business up?
[00:06:20] Speaker C: Well, it was a lot of challenges.
First of all, it was the language barrier.
I only speak Spanish.
[00:06:29] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:06:29] Speaker C: And I still. I mean, I don't speak perfect English, but that was first. That was one of the barriers. The other challenge, it was. I was kind of young at the time, and.
And the challenge, it was to.
I say. Credibility.
[00:06:49] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:06:49] Speaker C: Because I was trying to walk as a contractor, and I used to go to the job sites and all the contractors that have the big trucks. Nice, nice trucks with all the tools. And I show up with my little Camry with all my labels, all my tools.
[00:07:06] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, man.
[00:07:09] Speaker C: So. And I was claiming that I was the best.
[00:07:13] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:13] Speaker C: And that was.
And I show up in my Camry. So it was. It was. It was a big challenge to people that contractors, to Boliva and myself. But. But little by little, we open doors. And now that we are here.
[00:07:29] Speaker A: That's awesome. That's so cool. Yeah.
I always try to tell my kids, like, you don't always judge a book by its cover.
And so, like, those early years, that obviously was for you, where, yeah, these guys are coming in with their big fancy trucks and everything else. But sometimes it's like, I like to play golf.
And sometimes it's hilarious when you get to the golf course and you're with another. You may be playing by yourself, and there's two or three other people, and they show up with, like, the best clubs, the best clothing, the best shoes that money will buy, you know, and they stand in the first tee box and they completely shank it. And you're like, you kind of laugh on the inside going, really? I'm standing here with clubs from ebay and hand me downs and, like, shoes that if it's wet. My feet get wet. So I know to wear, like, multiple pairs of socks. And it's like, seriously, guys? Really? So, yeah, a little tip for people. Don't always judge a book by its cover. Talk to the person and give them a chance.
But no, it's funny.
Obviously, every business has to evolve.
It can't stay where it was. It's got to grow and change and whatever else. But what are some of the biggest turning points that shaped you guys into what it is today?
[00:08:52] Speaker C: I think you have to evolve.
And we start at the beginning. It was a learning season. Like I say, I was good on my trade, but to get better, I think you have to grow yourself because you're gonna hit the ceiling. You're gonna. You're gonna hit the ceiling. And. And I think I hit the ceiling too many times. And.
But I came to the realization that you have to get better yourself in order to. To grow the business.
And I think that's. That's what we did. I started educating myself not just to be.
Not just to be a good tire setter, not just to good, Good. Be a good fabricator, but to be a good business man. Because I remember I started as a type setter. I didn't start as a business. I didn't. Yeah, I didn't finish my high school any. My education. So I started as a setting time. I was on my knees. But.
But I have to learn the business. So I think that's one of the biggest thing. To educate yourself.
[00:10:04] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's good. That's awesome. Yeah. And every day should be a school day, so to speak, like, learn and grow. And you kind of. You have to evolve with it. With everything that's changing. If you get stuck in the rut, then you're not. If you're not growing, you're dying. So that's. Yeah, that's.
[00:10:23] Speaker B: That's.
[00:10:23] Speaker A: That's so important.
[00:10:24] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:10:25] Speaker A: We've had. We've had difficult periods.
There's been, you know, 2008, the housing crash.
Even recently, things have been pretty difficult in regards to stone and tile fabrication and installation. But when. When you've gone through those difficult times, what helped you to keep moving forward and not just go, you know what? I'm done. I don't want to do this anymore.
[00:10:51] Speaker C: I think it has to do with your mentality.
You have to prepare yourself.
You mentor. And like I said at the beginning, this is a calling that.
It's not when you open a business, it's not just because of the money. Obviously, we all Want to make money, but something that is in you, and when you have it, you have to prepare yourself mentally. Because. Yeah, not every year is. Is good, not every month you make the money. So you have to be ready. And mentally, you have to be.
To endure. It's like a marathon. When you're running, you. Your mind is telling you to stop, but you got to keep running. Yeah, the same thing. Sometimes you go home without a check, new wife, and.
And.
And you mine. It says you need to do something different, but live in yourself and you believe in the business, and you know that you can do it. It's.
It's. I think it's. Everything has to do with your mind.
[00:12:05] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:05] Speaker C: Really? Yeah.
[00:12:06] Speaker A: Yeah. And it's. The mind is a battlefield for many different reasons. And like you said, that marathon runner, you know, it's. It's the battle of the mind. Like, the legs will move if you tell them to move, but that's.
It's got to be in your head. That's telling those legs to move forward, which is really difficult.
[00:12:24] Speaker B: Oh, dear.
[00:12:26] Speaker A: Well, Sebastian, you've sat there very quiet.
Now it's your turn. He's like, oh, man. Do I have to? No, I'm just kidding. It's all good.
So you have your father.
He's getting the business. You're growing up around it.
What was that like? What's that like to watch your dad come home without a paycheck or the struggles and the strains or the difficulties? Like what? From your perspective, what was that like to grow up around?
[00:12:57] Speaker B: I think when he was talking about mentality and always pushing forward and staying positive, that reflected in my childhood by not knowing anything that may have been going wrong and actually having a good childhood. Growing up.
[00:13:12] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:13:13] Speaker B: Yeah. I think growing up, all I remember is, you know, always having the cool toys, you know, the motorcycles, and going out doing fun things on the weekend because he had the time to give us. Yep. Then.
But then slowly as you. You start to grow up. I. I did start to see the struggles of the business, the good sides of the business.
You know, see how, say, in the 2008 financial crisis, there were some troubles with the business. Business that we went through.
[00:13:45] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:46] Speaker B: And in that time, I was a child, but I would have never knew it. They. They spun it as a fun story that. That we're gonna move to a different house. You know, we're just gonna change a couple things. Even though that they were going through a very difficult time. To me, the childhood was always very good, and I would go help them at job sites, I never saw a difficult struggle. I always saw a good time at the house, a good father, a good upbringing. I never saw the difficult times at all, actually.
[00:14:18] Speaker A: That's awesome.
That's a great example to all of us, even as parents with our kids, not that we shelter them to the fact that they're basically wrapped in cotton wool. And then when trials come, they don't know what to do with them. But I think when it comes to financial things, um, it's really important to protect them at a young age.
[00:14:41] Speaker B: And, you know, around the age that that was going on, like around 12, 13, is when I would start going with him to more jobs on the weekend, day after school. And what helped a lot in our upbringing and kind of understanding the business and kind of instilling entrepreneur mindset in us was talking very truthfully about the situations he was in, where the business was at, what his.
[00:15:11] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:15:12] Speaker B: Were what were for the family. And involving me as. As the older son at the time. You know, the. Our younger sisters. We have two sisters.
[00:15:22] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:15:23] Speaker B: Weren't involved, obviously, but we matured quickly, learning everything about the business and then.
[00:15:30] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:15:31] Speaker B: It was just kind of like learning lessons that you didn't take in at the time as a young child. But I remember to list. I remember listening about everything that was going on. And that really makes you appreciate it. Once you're older, at this stage, looking back to then.
[00:15:46] Speaker A: Yeah, totally.
[00:15:47] Speaker B: No, that's really good pushing.
[00:15:50] Speaker A: Yeah, that's helpful.
So growing up, obviously you're in it. You're doing it after school, you're kind of there in the weekends.
Was there ever like a click point or a light bulb moment that went, I'm actually going to do this. I'm going to continue doing this, or did it just sort of naturally happen
[00:16:08] Speaker B: for a long time? I didn't want to do it at all. Okay.
This is not something I wanted to do.
[00:16:14] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:15] Speaker B: Yeah. I thought it was a very difficult business. Very hard, very physically demanding. Yeah.
Like he said, he learned from the beginning, from the start, from the bottom up, right from the tile, working with his hands on his knees, setting tile. And so you believe that was the only way to learn the business as well? I needed to start from the bottom, fabricating in the shop with all the other guys and with dust and dirt all over you. That's. That's how it was. And so I, I didn't like that, obviously, at first.
[00:16:50] Speaker A: Yeah, totally.
[00:16:52] Speaker B: That's not fun. If you, if you've ever been inside of a fabrication shop all Day. It's. It's not fun for the most part. At least not how they were working back in the day. Back.
[00:17:00] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:17:01] Speaker B: Right. It was. It's not the best work environment out there, I would say.
Now, obviously there's a lot of changes. Shops are very clean.
[00:17:10] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:17:11] Speaker B: Water systems all throughout. But back in the day, it wasn't like that.
So it was a clicking point. Probably once I was in past high school and it was time, you know, to get serious about your career. I tried several things on my own. Whether it was a business, Etsy business. Trying to do things on my own.
[00:17:34] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:17:36] Speaker B: Slowly, just as time went on, working in the shop, going out into the field more, meeting with clients, just.
I don't know. Yeah. It was just something that grew on me without me even realizing it. It was just one day to the next.
I was in love with the business.
I really. I don't even know at what point it happened.
Maybe just slowly taking on more responsibility. Moving out of the. Out of the fabrication side.
Start to see the opportunity that there was here.
And yeah, I just went all in. I decided to go all in and help grow the business to where we're at right now.
[00:18:18] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:18:19] Speaker B: That's so cool.
[00:18:20] Speaker A: Yeah, that's. That's legit.
Obviously. Your dad's there. He's working his teal off. He's doing things.
[00:18:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:18:29] Speaker A: Is there stuff that. That he taught you sort of back at the beginning that kind of like the question I asked him that ship how you do your work today.
[00:18:39] Speaker B: Quality over everything.
Make sure everything's perfect.
Customer first. Even if that means you give in to something that you may believe is wrong, but the customer believes is right.
You have to go to those lanes.
Losing money on a project, making sure the customer is happy. You have to go to those links.
Staying extra time in the shop because you promised a specific date to a client already.
[00:19:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:10] Speaker B: All of those qualities is. Is, is what has stuck with me is kind of being a perfectionist as much as you can in everything that you do.
[00:19:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:21] Speaker B: That's definitely the thing that has stuck with me. And Great.
Never.
[00:19:25] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:19:26] Speaker B: Because even together in the business over the last four years now we face some difficult times together. And working alongside your father isn't easy as well?
[00:19:36] Speaker A: No, I wouldn't think so.
[00:19:38] Speaker B: We face difficult times with each other, but we've made. Yeah. I've always stuck happy around each other.
[00:19:45] Speaker A: Good.
[00:19:46] Speaker B: It's not easy for. For a father and son to be in business together, but we'll now. So.
[00:19:53] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. I'm not Sure, I could. I'm not sure I could work with my dad, to be honest.
But, you know, it takes a special. Well, I probably could. I say that, but I probably could. But there would be moments where there would be a little, A little bit of clashing at times, a little bit
[00:20:08] Speaker B: of sparks, but a lot of clashing. But you get through it.
[00:20:12] Speaker A: You do, you get through it as well, which is kind of awesome because the next question I'm going to ask is Jesse.
[00:20:17] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:20:18] Speaker A: What is it like, what's it been like watching your son and that next generation kind of step into the business and help carry that along?
[00:20:32] Speaker C: I think it's a blessing.
I think that's the word came to me. It's a blessing. See them develop themselves.
And now it's not only Sebastian. I have a daughter, she helps me here in the office.
[00:20:52] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:20:53] Speaker C: And something that I start from the beginning, like, like he said, I was in my knees and entire. And when I see them now they're running the business. My daughter and Sebastian, they took over. Basically I'm just here. I just came for my paycheck.
[00:21:11] Speaker A: Right.
Yes. The tides have turned. Oh, that's awesome.
[00:21:18] Speaker C: I still work, I still. But when I see them, when they planning, when they going over the finances, the, the scheduling and when I see them, it's a blessing. It's a blessing. They.
I know we still struggle. It's not easy. We have, we still have hard time, but it's not the same as the way I started. So to me see them developing is a blessing. So I can see a bright future for them because I mean, if I, if I got here to this point, I know they can go farther than me because they're smarter.
They're smarter and, and they have a.
They're pretty smart. And so it's a blessing to see them.
[00:22:05] Speaker A: No, that's cool. That's awesome. Then kind of following on from that because obviously it's a new generation, things are done differently.
Jesse, kind of thinking back when you first started to where things are now and kind of like the stone and tile industry, what's changed, like in your perspective, what's different now than it was sort of back in Those, sort of 2000s or even back in the 80s, whenever you first got going as a 16 year old.
[00:22:34] Speaker C: I think it's a lot of technology right now. It's a lot of new.
This. I mean, you can make your life easier.
[00:22:45] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:22:46] Speaker C: Tools. But yeah, every. Back then, everything was by. By hand. Everything you fabricate by hand. When I started on the stone Business. I was cutting with the skill saw. I was cutting in the backyard with the skill saw.
And, and so everything has changed from nowadays now there's a lot of tools, a lot of technology, so it makes your life easier. So that's what it has changed.
[00:23:17] Speaker A: Awesome. Sebastian, then thinking upon where you are now, then what? Like from your perspective because you've grown up, you've obviously been that younger guy and now you're, you know, your dad's collecting a paycheck so he's leaving you to run it.
What, what changes?
Kind of like what he's talking about. But what changes have made the biggest impact in how you guys operate today?
[00:23:41] Speaker B: Definitely the tooling and the technology. How he said. I mean he started in the backyard with the skill saw, cutting with the slab blade on two by fours. Okay, that's crazy. Compared to.
Now we have our 5 axis GMM machine that cuts everything off of digital templates. You know, we still use physical templates, but everything gets transferred into the program and the machine does all the cutting and we're hands off. Everything comes off ready just to glue a little bit of touch ups and the top.
[00:24:15] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:15] Speaker B: Back, back then everything was done by hand and I, I witnessed a lot of fabrication by hand.
A lot of dust being produced in shops. Now the, the amount of, of work that we're able to put out with less like waste of material. Less.
[00:24:32] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:24:33] Speaker B: Pollution, sort of saying with dust exiting the shop.
It's, it's, it's crazy. The, the amount of progress we've made with the tool. Yeah, yeah, totally. And like installations. I remember gathering 10, 15 guys and I would be in the back helping when they were taking big islands or complicated pieces, you know, and everybody yelling in the way, causing a disturbance in houses and in the, in the whole neighborhood. Really.
[00:25:05] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:25:05] Speaker B: Warm.
Three other cars showing up, you know, to a house to install. And now when you have like there's a reason we're on the podcast with you and you guys are such a big company is because the 20 we can unload an island with two guys onto that cart. That at two. Cart right at two.
[00:25:26] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:25:27] Speaker B: And you just wheel it in. You use the, the suction cups that go. The sink savers.
[00:25:33] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:25:33] Speaker B: You have a lot of confidence that you can install it with. With your team of three guys or your team of four guys with no issues. Whereas where you would be scrambling to find a lot of help and you would be nervous all the way until that piece was finally set.
[00:25:49] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:25:49] Speaker B: Now, you know, we have no, no nerves at all. At any installation. I think that's something a lot of other fabricators have struggled with, is having a lot of nerves and an installation day that something may break, something may crack, there may be an issue.
And I think that has been solved like a lot.
[00:26:10] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, that's true. And it's speaking from our perspective. That's why we do what we do is to help fabricators and installers.
Obviously, you know, we're a business, we're here to make money. But my passion is like getting guys home at night the way they left in the morning.
And you talk about like fear and worry as a business owner, as kind of like the contractor having these guys install. All it takes is for one guy to make us slip the wrong way and, you know, either the stones on top of him or, you know, he's busted his back or his biceps now down by his wrist.
And so having business.
[00:26:54] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:26:55] Speaker A: So like kind of going back to the old way of like, everything was done by hand.
It doesn't have to be that way anymore. In fact, it's better if it's not done by hand because that's where mistakes happen.
And so even then, even an installation, getting the right tools for the job is like, like you said, it takes away all that fear, all that worry. So you know, that's, that's, that's a very important piece. And even the fact of, like you talk about all the dust and everything that's going around, like that's a big thing at the minute in our industry that everyone's like freaking out about, worried about. And so, you know, the more, the more we embrace technology and some of these things, the better it is. Yeah, but that's hard because some people love doing it the old school ways and there's this like tension that comes between the two. But yeah, yeah, overall, definitely getting dialed into the, to the new technologies is going to be a blessing for sure.
[00:27:56] Speaker B: So that's a hard thing, the tooling actually to get involved in the industry and with our guys that we've had over the years, it was actually a very difficult process. Like you said, they're very stuck in their old ways on things should be done.
And those old ways are very dangerous. Puts them at risk. Puts, you know, everybody at risk.
[00:28:19] Speaker A: Yeah, well, if you, if, if some of your people are still that way, send them my way. I've got, I have, I have pictures and I have like case studies and stuff that we've done for people where they can't work anymore. Yeah, they've, they've Literally.
[00:28:36] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:28:37] Speaker A: Like, one guy I can think of in particular, he had a retire at 32. His back was gone. His arms, his shoulders were completely shot. His knees were. He could hardly stand up. And you're going at 32.
[00:28:51] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:28:51] Speaker A: And you're like, man, you've. You've got your whole life ahead of you.
[00:28:55] Speaker B: Yeah. We know a couple of. A lot of people that have gotten messed up, too, unfortunately.
I actually had a big accident carrying a slab where I had a miter that cut my hand almost. Oh, boy, My thumb off, actually.
[00:29:08] Speaker A: Oh, man. Yeah, there you go.
Get the right tools, be protected. It takes like. I get it. Guys want to, like, just, oh, let's get the job done, you know, quick as we can. Well, that's when things happen from there. Yep. It's when you drive your car at 120 miles an hour is when accidents happen. If you stick to the speed limit, nine times out of ten, you're okay.
[00:29:33] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:29:34] Speaker A: So fast is. My boss tells me fast is slow and slow is fast, and that that works across multiple different things and especially an installation of all this heavy stuff.
[00:29:49] Speaker B: So.
[00:29:49] Speaker A: Okay, walk me through a day, obviously. Well, you're going to find out this is Monday. It's Monday morning.
Walk us through a day for your crew from kind of loading up in the shop and then setting that final piece. What does it look like?
[00:30:07] Speaker B: So let's just take today, for example. The guys have a kitchen that they're working on that must be completed for install tomorrow.
[00:30:16] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:30:17] Speaker B: A couple of those pieces are still on the table. That needs some finishing up with polishing and cleaning up on the underside so that everything's nice and clean when we install it. Okay. Jesse will be out at a estimate and a template later today.
[00:30:34] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:30:34] Speaker B: And we have some slabs that need to get loaded on the table. So myself will go out there with another guy while. While everybody else is still working on the countertops and start loading the next project as I'm in here, you know, programming all the new measurements into there.
[00:30:51] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:30:52] Speaker B: Then, yeah, the day will go pretty much up until 4 with fabrication. It should be complete today.
[00:31:00] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:31:01] Speaker B: Have at least two to three more slabs cut ready to begin getting worked on tomorrow as an installation is going on.
Yeah.
[00:31:11] Speaker A: Okay, that's cool.
[00:31:13] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:31:14] Speaker A: See, that's. That's the day in the life of a. Of an installer. So, you know, it's all good.
When you arrive, when you arrive at the job site, what are this kind of the first things that you check before bringing material inside?
[00:31:29] Speaker B: I always go Inside, Check the, the sub top itself, the plywood. Make sure everything's good, that it's set properly. Sometimes they're not nailed in all the way.
Check the sink, bring the sink out. Open the opening for the sink opening that's needed for the stove if it hasn't been cut out yet. If it's an inset type of stove, make sure we cut that out.
Talk with the homeowner about their faucets, where they're going to want them, how many, and then just make sure that there's nothing in the way when carrying the pieces in. Nothing in the way outside of the house as well. Yeah, just take a good look at your area. Depend if there's a big island, how are you going to park the truck? Is very important to unload it once and then. Yeah, just, just making sure everything's nice and clear out of the way. Double checking measurements if you have to on some pieces and then just start bringing them in one by one, gluing them down with silicone countertops first.
Any piece that needs a seam, that gets the done together first. Yeah. And then the remaining pieces. If there's a full backsplash, we go ahead and check our templates for the backsplash or make templates for the backsplash.
Most of the time we will cut full backsplashes or 6 inch backsplashes on site.
Other times we bring back our templates, cut everything so that we make no dust at all at the person's house, and then we go back and install backsplashes, do all the finishing touches with caulking, cleaning, sealing, if it needs, needs it, that's about it.
[00:33:06] Speaker A: That's good, that's cool, that's awesome.
Obviously that's kind of like, I hate to say it, kind of a fantasy world because even though, like I've worked in, in different job sites and you know, we've cleared the way, we're ready to come in and the next thing you know, electricians have got flipping leads hanging everywhere. The plumber comes in and just sets his box right where you need to go. Yeah, someone's got junk all over the cabinets. And you're like, I just checked that like five minutes ago.
[00:33:39] Speaker B: Obviously, like communication is very important. The client beforehand. When arriving, we make sure. Will there be any other trades in the house? If there is, okay. We know that when we get there, we'll approach them and talk to them. Hey, we gotta. We're here to install the countertops. They're very heavy. We ask that you're not in our way.
[00:33:58] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:33:58] Speaker B: Where are you going to be working if they're going to be working in the kitchen? Okay. We're going to work around each other and I let them know when we come in with pieces there might. They're heavy. There might be some yelling if. I need you to get out of our way. We need you to get out of our way, please. Yeah, totally. But usually, like you said, not every install goes perfect.
[00:34:20] Speaker A: No, it doesn't.
[00:34:21] Speaker B: Pieces that, that are big, that need to get shaped down, we always take a table with us. That way we're able to set our. Our material properly cut it to size when we're on site.
Sometimes paneling on the cabinets is loose. You go and you push up a stone against it and panel folds in. It's like. Yeah, you don't. And you gotta figure out whether, you know, we place it back. Do we call the. Do we need to call. Yeah. To come back to fix it. What's going on here?
[00:34:51] Speaker A: Totally.
[00:34:52] Speaker B: Other times you did your template, you spoke with the client that everything's ready to go and you get there and they put mud all over the back wall where you did your template and they grew it out by a quarter inch and now everything is off. And yeah.
Start from scratch, cut everything that size again and it's a nightmare. But those, those are things that you have to deal with.
[00:35:17] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, totally. And it's the.
I always remember the guy that I was with a couple of times, he would always ask the electrician, do you mind fitting the light fixture that's going above the island before I put the stone on?
Because I don't want you to use it as a dance floor. When I finished, when I actually put the stone up there, please.
Oh, man. It doesn't matter how much rhino board or paper or whatever, they always seem to end up going through that. And it's like, are you kidding me right now?
[00:35:50] Speaker B: Like, seriously, it's not, it's not fun.
[00:35:53] Speaker A: Oh, it's not fun at all. It's not fun at all.
Kind of for both of you, obviously, you know, Jesse Sebastian, kind of thinking yourselves here. What's one install that really, really challenged your team and what did you learn from it?
[00:36:16] Speaker B: I think the porcelain job.
So that was us.
I think that we did a recent job where we wrapped up almost full front balcony, a terrace and the back patio with porcelain all over the house.
All of it was on the about 10 foot high on the low side, all the way up to about three stories where the highest point was that we installed some porcelain slabs and everything needed to be book matched perfectly to the dog. Single last piece had veins that flowed through it without missing a spot. Perfectly. That. That was probably one of our most challenging installs.
Having to set up the scaffolding, go up. The scaffolding was such large pieces and it being porcelain, such a delicate material that could break at any time. It being a black material and we were outside making it extremely hot was also a big challenge.
And we actually did the install with a team of newer guys that we have that we're training that we want them to be able to handle a project like that. So we did a lot of.
[00:37:36] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:37:37] Speaker B: Hands off behind them, guiding them as they were installing.
[00:37:41] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:37:41] Speaker B: Teaching them. That was a very difficult project for us, but. But it went pretty smooth. It went good, but it was a difficult project. Our most difficult project year, for sure.
[00:37:53] Speaker A: Yeah.
Yeah. That's where again, having the right tools RS3 line for porcelain is, you know, the way to go for thin material, making that rigid frame where again, takes the stress away.
[00:38:06] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:38:07] Speaker A: When you start getting into heights, that's where it's like, oh, boy. But there are, you know, there's workarounds, there's things to do, and then throw in a newer crew. Wow. You guys are definitely brave, I can tell you.
[00:38:18] Speaker B: Sure. Yes.
[00:38:20] Speaker A: Sink or swim, guys. Sink or swim, definitely. Oh, dear.
So the newer crew, they're working.
Are there things that you see with newer installs that are like mistakes that you're.
You're seeing with kind of these newer guys that are, you know, you're going really like, why did you do that?
[00:38:42] Speaker B: The attention to detail and it just is. Is still lacking every now and then and.
But everything is still coming out to our standard. And then when we are there, when they install, always one of us will be there when we install or we'll be there shortly after they finish installing to. To quality control, make sure everything's good and say they did leave a mistake. We fixed it to make sure that it's perfect. And then we make sure to let them know what they did and how to fix it moving forward. Because we do expect for them to leave the work exactly as. As it should be to be. As it should be as our clients, you know, as what they deserve to be getting for the price that they're paying.
[00:39:29] Speaker A: Mm. Yeah, for sure. Absolutely.
[00:39:32] Speaker B: Yeah. But they're quick learners. Quick learners.
[00:39:36] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:39:36] Speaker A: That's good. That's awesome. Yeah. They have the child, two really good teachers.
[00:39:42] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:39:43] Speaker A: There you go. Yeah, no, that's awesome. Jesse.
[00:39:47] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:39:49] Speaker A: Obviously, there's problems.
And speaking from all of your experience, where do they. Where do these problems start on a project? Is it with a customer's expectations? Is it the templating? Is it fabrication? Is it material choice? Is it installation? Where do most common problems begin?
[00:40:10] Speaker C: Customers and expectations.
[00:40:13] Speaker A: Okay. Wow. That was very fast. Straight out of the block. Didn't even have to think. Yep.
[00:40:18] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:40:19] Speaker C: I mean, material. We know when I pick up the material. I mean, I know whether I bring it to the shop or not. I can tell if it's. If it's good, if the piece is good or bad.
Yeah. Most of the problems is sometimes the customers and the expectations. Sometimes I go to do a template, get measurements that the customer. They expecting us the next day. So the process Or. Or customers, they change their minds, like in a second.
Yeah. An issue with the customer. She select the material.
[00:40:56] Speaker B: She.
[00:40:57] Speaker C: She loved the material. Once we got it, we fabricated and we install it. And when she saw it, she started crying. Like, she just started crying and she. She didn't like it.
[00:41:09] Speaker B: Oh, dear.
[00:41:10] Speaker C: So, yeah, basically most of the problems is with the customers. They.
[00:41:15] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:41:15] Speaker C: Vulnerable.
They changed their mind. Very easy.
[00:41:19] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:41:22] Speaker A: I've seen. I've seen a couple of Facebook posts recently where the customers come in with a flash lamp and. Or a flashlight or a torch and a roll and a roll of painter's tape.
[00:41:33] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:41:34] Speaker A: And there's more blue spots all over the stone than there is actual stone. And you're like, oh, my word. That poor guy. I feel so sorry.
[00:41:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:41:41] Speaker C: We did a job a couple of years, like three years ago, we did the installation and we were supposed to go the next day. When we show up to the house, the. The countertop has blue tape all over everywhere.
[00:41:56] Speaker B: There was no countertop. It was all.
[00:41:58] Speaker A: Yeah. Freddie Maximum is all blue.
[00:42:01] Speaker B: Oh, man.
And we had to go through one by one, showing them that is part of the stone. That. That's diamond. That's also part of the stone. That's a little diamond.
That's also part of the stone. That. That's. That's the stone. That's not a scratch. No, that's part of the stone. That's a fissure. That's part of the stuff. Yeah, that's.
Customers are tricky to deal with.
[00:42:27] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:42:28] Speaker C: Nowadays, a lot of the customers, they know. They know what to do, are educated. They. They educate those. But there's a lot of them that they don't know what they're expecting.
[00:42:38] Speaker B: So those.
[00:42:39] Speaker C: Those are the ones.
[00:42:41] Speaker A: Yeah. More difficult.
[00:42:42] Speaker C: Yeah. When you show Up. They. They expecting something different? I don't know.
[00:42:47] Speaker B: They don't know what they're doing. They're surprised. Yeah. Really? Yeah.
Yeah.
[00:42:52] Speaker A: And it's. It's stone. It's like, what do you expect?
[00:42:54] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:42:55] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:42:56] Speaker A: It's not a tile that's being pressed and printed. It's actually stone. So. Hello.
[00:43:02] Speaker B: But put together, polished. Yeah, totally.
[00:43:07] Speaker A: Okay, Kendall, this is the last question, and it's for both of you, so you can go one at a time.
If a younger person or a family member, you know, is listening to this and they want to give this. This trade a shot, what's one bit of advice that you would give to that younger person today?
[00:43:30] Speaker C: I think to educate themselves.
Learn.
Learn the trade, but learn the business.
I think it's very important to learn how to handle money.
How to handle money, how to run a business, like a business management and all that. Because, I mean, you can. You can be a good worker, but if you don't know how to handle money, you're gonna. You're gonna hit the wall. You're gonna.
[00:44:00] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:44:02] Speaker C: You have to. You need to be able to manage the business, to work with people.
So I think it's very. I think it's. It's a key to learn all those things because, like. Like I said in the beginning, I learned from the bottom a lot of mistakes, and. And I'm pretty sure they're gonna make mistakes, but if they know they're gonna. I think they're gonna grow faster. They're gonna have. They're gonna experience success faster than we are, because, I mean, it took me. Took me a long time to learn.
[00:44:36] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:44:36] Speaker C: So. So I think that's my advice. Educate.
[00:44:42] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:44:42] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:44:43] Speaker B: Advice to anybody wanting to come into the trade would be to. To definitely take a. Like a big overview look at what the business is, where they want to join and be a part of. To really think about it, because it's a. It's a hard business. It's a difficult business. I don't. I don't think easy in any.
In any spot that you enter.
So I think any. A piece of advice would be ready. Be ready to. To work hard in any part of the business.
Getting clients isn't easy. Advertising isn't easy. Fabrication isn't easy.
Picking up material isn't easy. Doing templates isn't easy. Nothing at all in this business, I feel, is easy.
Just be ready to work hard.
[00:45:33] Speaker A: Yeah. Hard work and determination.
[00:45:36] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:45:37] Speaker A: Awesome.
Well, Jesse Sebastian, thank you so much. This has been awesome. I can't believe it's. Wow, 49 minutes have rolled. By My word, time flies when you're having fun, eh?
[00:45:51] Speaker B: Yes, definitely.
[00:45:52] Speaker A: Absolutely. Well, it's time for us to get to work. So this is a wrap for the Cutting Edge Install podcast today. If you've enjoyed this episode, please by all means subscribe. Follow. Leave us a quick review if you would like to be on the podcast like these two fine gentlemen here, just pop us an email or you know, write us on social media, whatever. Keep an eye out these drop every other Thursday at 8am Pacific State Time for more about Omni Cubed. The tools that we design that we are trying to help fabricators and installers with and their work safer every day. Check out omnicube.com and until the next time I see you all, stay safe and cheerio. Goodbye.
