Article and Photos by Jessica McCafferty
There are two ways to approach any construction project.
The first, and most overwhelming — especially for someone with no experience — is to be your own General Contractor. That means you will oversee each aspect of the job. You will work with an engineer, the people who will pour the foundation, who will do the framing and sheet rocking, the plumbing and electrical work, and the ones who will paint. It’s a lengthy list and more than the average person can handle. That is why most people choose the second option — hiring an outside General Contractor.
Since we are busy here at SB, we decided to go with a general contractor. Enter Ingram Contracting, owned and operated by Frances and Matt Ingram. Frances is from Morrisonville, New York. She attended Peru Central School and received business related degrees from both Clinton Community College and SUNY Plattsburgh. In 2012 she relocated to Hawaii where she spent four years working for EAN Holdings, a rental company, on two of the Islands, and gained valuable real-world experience in business management.
Matt was a California native who moved to Hawaii in 2007. He got into carpentry at the age of 18, working with local contractors and became an apprentice through the Hawaii Carpenters Union. The couple met in 2013, married in 2016, and have been together ever since.
In 2017 the Ingrams and their one-year-old daughter, Mia, left Hawaii to put down roots in Frances’ hometown. Matt transferred to the local Carpenters Union in Plattsburgh and started working for Murnane Building Contractors, while Frances worked in the property management field.
In 2021 the Ingrams took the plunge into business ownership and founded Ingram Contracting. In the beginning, they handled small renovations while building relationships with local subcontractors. They were getting their name out by word of mouth. The most common residential renovations the Ingrams did were bathrooms, kitchens, decks, and porches, but that didn’t mean they didn’t play with the big boys. The couple did commercial renovations for Behavioral Health Services North (BHSN) at both the not-for-profit’s Court and Wells Street location in Plattsburgh as well as its Center for Well Being in Morrisonville.
A recent passion for the Ingrams has become flipping houses. Frances noted, “It gives us the autonomy to work within our own space, implement our own designs and bring life back to abandoned houses in our area.”
I met recently with the Ingrams at the home on Wall Street in Plattsburgh they are working on and asked them to walk me through the steps of a remodel. They broke the process into five phases.
In the initial phase they meet with the client to do an on-site visit and provide an estimate. If everyone is in agreement, it’s on to phase two — Pre-Construction. During this phase the Ingrams set the budget and a timeline with the client and secure the contract. Obviously budgets and timelines vary based on the scope of the project and the finishes chosen, for example marble and hardwood versus epoxy coated cement and pine. They have worked with a budget as small as $3,000 and as large as $15,000 for a residential bathroom remodel. The Ingrams try to ensure clients are prepared for possible unexpected costs and delays, such as water damage or rot.
Phase three focuses on procurement during which the Ingrams, mostly Frances, obtain the building permits, line up the material purchases and deliveries and secure equipment/rentals all to coincide with the subcontractors’ arrivals. Frances has built great relationships with many local contractors so clients can choose their own subs or she can suggest some of the regulars they work with — such as Moser Engineering, AES Northeast, T&L Septic Service, Team Daby Tile Installations, Rouses Point Sanitation, and Jacob Jabaut Property Maintenance.
On to phase four: Construction! Matt can be on-site with as many as four sub-contractors while he’s doing the carpentry, provided the space allows. A shared workspace is imperative with short timelines, but the Ingrams will generally have up to three projects running simultaneously. This allows them to go to other sites if a subcontractor cannot share the space on a given day. The same holds true for weather delays. If you can’t do an outside project, you move to an inside one so tandem job sites make sense.
After the construction phase, there is still one last phase to complete — the dreaded post construction clean up, followed by the satisfying walk through with the client. The Ingrams provide their clients a full one-year warranty on their work from the day of completion.
When I asked the most common thing people don’t think about when going into a project, the couple agreed, “It costs more and/or takes longer than expected.”
As we wrapped up our conversation, I asked the Ingrams where they saw the industry going in the coming years and Matt left me with this, “This industry will always be in high demand. However, there will be fewer and fewer of us doing the work if more young people do not join apprenticeship programs.”
For years, Mike Rowe, of the Discovery channel’s show ‘Dirty Jobs’ has emphasized the importance of students choosing trade schools and apprenticeships over college so that young people can step into the critically important jobs in the building trades. The Ingrams agree!
Ingram Contracting LLC
14 Robinson Terrace
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
518 569-9574
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