[Matlock]

Originally Posted by MindBomber

I would NEVER go that route and would NEVER advise someone to consider it, please take no offence to that because none is intended.

I've never seen your work (unless I'm unknowingly one of your subs haha), but I have worked for many contractors who chose to enter the business by starting out doing small jobs like decks and tiling and done alright, but then advanced to more involved work and had major issues. One project in North Vancouver stands out in my mind, it started out as a basic kitchen and bath renovation with all the proper permits, the contractor managing the job did the demo and when the inspector came back in major issues were uncovered that needed to be fixed. So, $500,000 over budget and a second mortgage later they were able to satisfy the inspector, but the home owner had to sell when the project was complete to recover some of the losses. Now, would that have happened if the contractor had a traditional education and wasn't just learning on the fly pushing themselves a little further each time, I can't say for sure, but I doubt it. I was on site during some of the initial demo and I would have stopped almost immediately once I began to see the problems that existed uncovered, but the contractor just didn't understand. That's a worse case scenario, yes, but I've seen many others without the necessary experience also get themselves into trouble and that's why it's best to learn from someone else, so they can stop you before you make a serious mistake and give you the opportunity to learn.

+1
Seriously. Don't be a mickey mouse.
If you do things backwards it can bite you in the ass.