Now know why I do it myself.

[Mike Cutler]

I think this topic could go both ways. I have heard the horror stories from friends and co workers, and I have many friends in the building trades, so I get to hear both sides,
I also think that there are many, many contractors in the trades that are quietly doing the job right, and are not lacking for work. They're "over booked" because they're reliable and good. You will have to wait for these folks.
I do my own work, except for roofing, because I enjoy it,and it makes me feel good.

[Charlie Hinton]

Having grown up on a farm where I learned a little something about building or fixing almost everything there and then working in engineering for 30+ years I am one of the customers that some contractors tell their horror stories about.
If a contractor actually listens to what I want, works with me just a little bit to resolve any differences between the way I want it and the way they want it, then they show up and execute the job as agreed with appropriate fit and finish then the story is simply...he expects it to be done right and he pays on time.

[John C Cox]

Remember guys.... There was a recession that lasted almost 10 years.

Every single skilled trade is dealing with this exact same issue - not just construction.... Welding, industrial maintenance, hydraulics, industrial electricians... It's the same everywhere.

Because of that recession- no new blood entered the trades from around 2007 to 2017 or so... There's a huge gap now - you see guys in their 40's and you see kids fresh out of school.... Hardly nothing in between - they all got laid off and had to find work wherever they could.... Now they have been doing those other things for 10+ years....

So yes - it's absolutely true.... Good contractors are EXTREMELY hard to find and they have LONG waiting lists. That's probably why some don't even bother returning calls - they already have 6+ months of work lined up and are having to turn business away because they simply can't service the business... The honest ones will at least tell you this up front....

[Steve Demuth]

Yikes, I must know the only respectable contractor in the country. He has reasonable rates, comes when he says, finds good prices on materials (charges me only what it costs him), works efficiently and does top notch work, personally comes and supervises when he hires subcontractors, and completes by the time he says (often under budget). He is happy to have me work along side of him and lowers the cost accordingly if it saves him time. He is in fact extremely busy and I sometimes have to wait to get on the schedule but if he says he will be there on a certain date I can count on it.

JKJ

I know more than one in our area. They are all swamped right now, though, so if you're not on their list and have no relationship with them they can be very hard to get.

We're building a guest house right now. Set out to do this 2 years ago. Negotiated with one guy, who is a family friend, for 8 months, with continuous representation on his part that we were on his list to start in summer / fall 2017 and complete by Spring of last year. Finally in September he just started refusing to even take my calls. I have been told by mutual friends his company has over an 18 month backlog. So a year ago I went to another friend who is a partner in a timber framing group, but also does general contracting on the side when that business is slow. He said, yep, he could do it, and get it done by Christmas of last year. He finally got a concrete contractor here the last week of October. He managed to get two young carpenters to work with him on the actual construction, but it's a slow slog due to other work, winter weather, and inability to get trades in to do their part. They MAY get it finished this Spring.

But unlike the first, he's never left me hanging, or said I was his highest priority when I wasn't. And he does beautiful work, so I'm a mostly satisfied customer.

[marlin adams]

Having been a electrician starting out as a helper then journyman I seen and heard stuff like this alot. I actually worked on the side and actually had a electrical supply give me credit because I work with them thru a couple of electrical companies that got supplies from. I always did work out in the county since I didnt have to worry about pulling permits but I always did work to code. I did have the opposite problem of people not paying me a few times and since my dad when he was alive was a judge and he was my lawyer so when I filed thru small claims court on them I got my money plus his fees

[Tom Bender]

Before retiring I managed industrial construction projects. We only hired union contractors. Expensive? yes, and there were some issues around schedule, cost, safety and personalities. But there were almost never issues around quality. That is because the workers were well paid for their work and were provided with proper tools and materials. They expected to stay in the trades long term and were proud of their work. They felt with some justification better than the non-union types.

[Brian Elfert]

I called a guy I had worked with before to get a seamless gutter put on the front of my garage. I left a message for him one day and he called back within the hour with a price. I didn't decide to move forward for a few weeks and he never answered his phone and never returned a half dozen messages. He never did call me so no work for him.

I went with another company I have used before who thought they could get the project done even with winter weather. They haven't done the project yet, but don't blame them as it has been cold with lots of snow. I need to call them to make sure I'm first on the list as soon as the snow melts. Everybody and their brother will want work done as soon as the snow melts so I hope they don't start on bigger jobs first.

In 2016 I got a quote to replace the line to my septic system for $850. I called the guy in 2017 and said I wanted the work done. He came out a few weeks later and marked the area so he could get the utilities marked. I called a week or two after that to find out when he was going to do the work and then he mentions the price went up to $1,200. I expected the price might have gone up a bit, but not almost 50%. I essentially told him to take a hike at point as wasn't going to pay him $1,200. He wasted a lot of his time by not telling me the price upfront. The project isn't urgent and still not done as I have no idea who to trust. There is one company I know to avoid as they are crooks.

[Brian Elfert]

So yes - it's absolutely true.... Good contractors are EXTREMELY hard to find and they have LONG waiting lists. That's probably why some don't even bother returning calls - they already have 6+ months of work lined up and are having to turn business away because they simply can't service the business... The honest ones will at least tell you this up front....

So, how do these contractors stay busy if they don't take on any new business? Eventually they will run out of work. It would be nice if these guys mentioned on their voicemail that they aren't taking new customers rather than just never returning calls.

[Mike Wilkins]

When I was working as an insurance adjuster I heard the same lament often from homeowners. in a housing boom there seems to be a shortage of skilled trades persons, most of whom were working at guaranteed jobs for builders. And the smaller handy men were the worst at showing up when called.
My solution was to learn to do most jobs myself, with the exception of HVAC work and roofing. My knees and back had a conversation with my brain and they decided that roof work was off limits.

[Jim Becker]

I'm with you on the "don't go up high" thing, Mike...i hire out my gutter cleaning even as I just don't feel comfortable anymore up on the roof.

[Dave Lehnert]

UPDATE- I'm making progress. Had a contractor show up and take measurements. Have not heard from him in 3 weeks.

[Jim Koepke]

UPDATE- I'm making progress. Had a contractor show up and take measurements. Have not heard from him in 3 weeks.

Reminds me of trying to get someone to take down a large black walnut tree in my California home's backyard.

People would come look, talk a good game, but never come back. We sold the house last year with the tree still standing. Someone else's problem now.

It was somewhat the same with our new location. Funny though the people not showing up got me to change my mind about which trees to cut. One of our neighbor's father (Vern) used to be a timber cutter. Now he is kind of a broker and interested in finding, cutting and selling trees to the mills. He came, he looked, he had a young tree cutter come and cut trees. The young guy was able to borrow a dozer. Vern also new an independent trucker to pick up and haul the logs to the various mills. A great way to get rid of a few problem trees.

jtk