Stood up by contractor

Avon said:
Give the plumber some credit, he did turn up to fix the shower and I had the new replacement part. The problem was he never had the 45 mins time to fit it, but his call incurred a cost. We live like cave dwellers in this house, guess I will end up dragging myself up into the loft disabled and 84 years old as the youngsters cannot manage it.
Same with the grass outside, 27 years I have been cutting it, now in great pain. Why are people such lazy sods?
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if you lived nearer me I'd come and cut your grass...
 

hollydolly said:
if you lived nearer me I'd come and cut your grass...
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I could sure do with some help at the moment. That bit of grass in fact belongs to a neighbour, poor chap only has a standard new sit-on mower and a very large new sit-on mower and then a ruddy big grass cutter fitted to his tractor. Not forgetting his man who does his trimming and the one who does his trees and bushes.
 
My storm door has finally been installed. The contractor showed up today with his wife. Two people, 1 hr 38 minutes, $150. Once it was done, she took off and left him to take care of the business end. I'd take a photo, but it's raining right now and I'm close to going offline for the night.

He asked if there was anything else I needed help with and I made the mistake of mentioning the sump pump. He said he could probably get a new pump and with the installation, it would be around $500. He's coming back on Aug 4th to fix the toilet.
 

Sign of the times. It's very hard these days to get a reliable contractor. When you do they are not the craftsmen of old. They slap things on and move on. And yes, they bump you for the more lucrative job.
Vey difficult to find a good one. If you do they are too busy to ever get to you.
DH always fixes anything and everything around the house and does excellent work. Problem is he's getting older and can't get in certain spaces.

Hence, the notorious undone 5 yr bathroom grout project.
He has finally agreed to hire someone and we are running into the same problem. He has good reviews and is recommended. He's local. But he's so busy because of that. We'll see how long it will take. I've waited 5 yrs so a little more will be ok.
 
Reminds me of when I was trying to get a company to install its shopping cart software on a website I was building. I'd bought the software, but the cost to install was $100 — and they were backlogged so couldn't say when they'd be able to install it. So ... I offered them $200 if they'd install it that day. They did it that afternoon.

The idea is: where there's a lot of competition, make your offer such that it's more desirable than every other customer's in the area.

[fixed typo]
 
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Sippican said:
NextDoor is a good local site to use as well.
Typically its all local people and contractors in your area commenting so contractors are very aware of their local standing in their communities.

https://nextdoor.com/
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Dunno about where you are, but the same complaints are posted on nextdoor App as everywhere else, about contractors not showing up...

The other thing about the Nextdoor App is that you have to be very careful who you're allowing into your home.. many of those people are chancers and conmen..

This week there's 3 complaints on ours about one guy who is going by an Alias.. and so far has ripped 3 people off for large sums for cheap materials... another is working in conjunction with his wife ( only just been rumbled that they're husband and wife)... she's on there begging for free stuff... for her home ..then selling it on another part of the App under a different name.. while he is advertising his services as a landscaper.. again taking large deposits ostensibly for materials and never returning
 
debodun said:
My storm door has finally been installed. The contractor showed up today with his wife. Two people, 1 hr 38 minutes, $150. Once it was done, she took off and left him to take care of the business end. I'd take a photo, but it's raining right now and I'm close to going offline for the night.

He asked if there was anything else I needed help with and I made the mistake of mentioning the sump pump. He said he could probably get a new pump and with the installation, it would be around $500. He's coming back on Aug 4th to fix the toilet.
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Breaks down to a very reasonable $50/hour per person. I'm always reminding myself that all prices, especially labor, have increased dramatically over the past 20 years.

Our family has found a pretty good handyman. He charges a lot more than $50/hour, believe me, but he's reliable and does good work. In addition to income taxes, he has to pay both the employer and employee sides of SS taxes (15.3%) from his earnings.

For most, being a handyman isn't a hobby or side gig - it's how they earn their living and support their families.

My best contractors have been recommended by close neighbors who I know to be persnickety about quality, personal friends and my kids.
 
I vowed when I bought this house I wouldn't let maintenance slide like I did at the 1897 Victorian, and to keep up with repairs. However, it's getting that contractors are "booked" or charge a fee equivalent to my pension check to do things. And the arrogance of that plumber saying "If you want me to fix your sump pump it will be $1200 - $1800.", and in essence that he was "worth every penny." Even though he was the highest, I didn't get a quote less than $500. Of course if they buy the part, they have to make money on it and some won't do an installation unless they supply the parts.

Another thing is once they get their foot in the door they claim to see other things that need upkeep - "Oh, I can fix that for you for another $500."
 
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My feeling is that they didn't want to put the hinges where the former ones were. New holes would be stronger. With the luck I've been having lately with handypeople, maybe I should just consider myself lucky they didn't put the handle on the hinge side.
I am just disappointed that there's no lock on the storm door.
 
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hollydolly said:
Dunno about where you are, but the same complaints are posted on nextdoor App as everywhere else, about contractors not showing up...

The other thing about the Nextdoor App is that you have to be very careful who you're allowing into your home.. many of those people are chancers and conmen..

This week there's 3 complaints on ours about one guy who is going by an Alias.. and so far has ripped 3 people off for large sums for cheap materials... another is working in conjunction with his wife ( only just been rumbled that they're husband and wife)... she's on there begging for free stuff... for her home ..then selling it on another part of the App under a different name.. while he is advertising his services as a landscaper.. again taking large deposits ostensibly for materials and never returning
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Its tough trusting people these days.
At the food pantry I volunteer at, some of the people get free food, then sell it, or take the cans back to the store and get a cash refund, or get soft drinks, pour out the contents, and get the 5 cent deposit for the empty cans. There is bad everywhere.
It is hard to find a good reputable contractor. Few and far between.

Funny story, ( I know, I have a million of them)...
A woman friend of mine invited me over for Dinner. Surprised, I accepted and over some wine she told me why she invited me over (aside from the friendly banter), she wanted to have her floors sanded and was expecting a contractor to come by to give her a quote. She wanted a man in the house when he showed up. She said, contractors raise the prices if they think its only a woman as the home owner. I told her she was crazy.

The contractor showed up, looked at the work, and then only talked to me about the pricing/quote, disregarding her (the home owner completely).

She got four quotes, and the one when I was there was the best. I didn't say a word the whole time. Many times single women get taken advantage from contractors, sad but true.
 
Unfortunately, in New York State, contractors do not have to be licensed outside of NYC. Anyone can throw a ladder into the back of a pick-up truck and call themselves a contractor. No guarantee they know what they're doing.
 
debodun said:
Unfortunately, in New York State, contractors do not have to be licensed outside of NYC. Anyone can throw a ladder into the back of a pick-up truck and call themselves a contractor. No guarantee they know what they're doing.
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Same here..which is why you have to get references or evidence of their previous work
 
debodun said:
I vowed when I bought this house I wouldn't let maintenance slide like I did at the 1897 Victorian, and to keep up with repairs. However, it's getting that contractors are "booked" or charge a fee equivalent to my pension check to do things. And the arrogance of that plumber saying "If you want me to fix your sump pump it will be $1200 - $1800.", and in essence that he was "worth every penny." Even though he was the highest, I didn't get a quote less than $500. Of course if they buy the part, they have to make money on it and some won't do an installation unless they supply the parts.

Another thing is once they get their foot in the door they claim to see other things that need upkeep - "Oh, I can fix that for you for another $500."
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I had a shower door installed as part of a bathroom renovation.
It was an add-on from the original quote.
The door cost $800. He charged $800 to install it.
When I gave him the 'raised eyebrow', he said, 'because its an expensive all glass frameless door, if he breaks it installing it, he is on the hook to get a new one'. I thought that was fair.
 
Sippican said:
I had a shower door installed as part of a bathroom renovation.
It was an add-on from the original quote.
The door cost $800. He charged $800 to install it.
When I gave him the 'raised eyebrow', he said, 'because its an expensive all glass frameless door, if he breaks it installing it, he is on the hook to get a new one'. I thought that was fair.
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so essentially you paid for 2 doors and only got one.... :oops:
 
Sippican said:
Thats what many contractors do with big ticket risk items.
I know I couldn't do it and I would probably break it so the 800 was worth the risk to me.
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I know what you're saying..however that doesn't make sense to me that someone could charge you the price of your item in case THEY break it.. that's why they have public liability insurance...

Can you imagine, buying a £50,000 car and the seller charging you another £50k for him to drive it out of the showroom...in case he smashes into something ?
 
Sippican said:
I had a shower door installed as part of a bathroom renovation.
It was an add-on from the original quote.
The door cost $800. He charged $800 to install it.
When I gave him the 'raised eyebrow', he said, 'because its an expensive all glass frameless door, if he breaks it installing it, he is on the hook to get a new one'. I thought that was fair.
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Initially a thought $800 US was outrageous but for a frameless all glass door, maybe not. Glass is extra heavy and fragile so you are paying for the insurance of possibly having it replaced. It’s not something I really thought of before. He probably owns his own company in that case. Did he seal the deal and did the door look fabulous?
 

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