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Thread: Now know why I do it myself.

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Cincinnati Ohio
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    4,731

    Now know why I do it myself.

    Always a DIY type guy but per my other post https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....ete-Patio-work I decided to hire work done.
    Guess it is standard practice for contractors to agree to meet at your home only to never show or hear from them ever again.
    Get sick of running home after work, choking down dinner and not show up on the agreed time. My experience so far on this patio project.
    Hired a guy to cut down trees. Paid him the full amount as he was loading up his equipment, did not try and get his price down. Took him over a year to come back and grind the stumps out.

    Is it that hard, if a contractor is busy ,to just say so and not wast a customer time? I just don't get it.
    Last edited by Dave Lehnert; 02-20-2019 at 10:39 PM.
    "Remember back in the day, when things were made by hand, and people took pride in their work?"
    - Rick Dale

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Upland, CA
    Posts
    1,344
    I manage the technology for several local heavy construction contractors, companies that have acres full of million dollar pieces of equipment. I constantly hear about how the owners can't get any competent work done on their own houses. I have decided that I will never consider hiring another idiot to work on my house ever again. Problem is that I'm too old to do the roof myself when (or if) I get to that point.
    Also, nobody under 50 is worth hiring, period!

  3. #3
    I feel your pain Dave. It's amazing to to me.
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
    Posts
    8,957
    In 1973, I decided to build a spec house to see if it was possible to make any money. That year I hired subcontractors. I spent more time waiting for them to show up than the time they spent working. I still made money.

    The next year, I decided I'd try doing everything myself. Of course, I was not the most efficient, but I was able to sell just the shell of the house. It was Much less stress doing the work myself. I ended up doing that for a living for the next 33 years, and my efficiency improved every year. Except for hiring someone to install the HVAC main units (knew there would be callbacks at some point on those, and I didn't want to do work for other people), I did everything myself with two laborers. I would start a house in the Fall, sell it in the Spring, and do what I wanted to in the Summers.

    So, I still do everything myself, and now have the tools to do it.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
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    SoCal
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    I cannot get someone to come build a gazebo in the back yard. Like Dave, I get them on the phone, they talk a good story and then just vanish. Ain't it a shame there's "no work" available for some of these dead beats. Anyone who says they can't find work means they can't find something that pays for nothing and requires no skill. It may have been here or elsewhere that I told the story of my wildly successful gardener; he shows up when he's supposed to, does what he agrees to and does it consistently. He's got a waiting list.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    65,638
    I engaged three general contractors to price our home addition back in the 2007/2008 time frame. Mind you...this was a $300K+ project. Two provided detailed quotes with one going the extra mile and even engaging sub-contractors to be sure we were all on the same page. (he got the job and remains a good friend) The third GC showed up once, spent about 15 minutes poking around and gave a simple low-ball quote on one sheet of (wrinkled) paper. He was never to be heard from again when I asked for clarification about his understanding of what was involved. He was also surly and surprisingly unkempt.

    Similar experience with the architects. Queried three. Two quoted. The one that got the work was interested and creative in taking my renderings and creating what would actually work. The other one had a nice quote presentation, but without any meat. He got angry when I told him I hired someone else... Go figure.

    So yea...I do most of my own work because I know the contractor is reliable. Albeit weird sometimes... heh...heh...
    Last edited by Jim Becker; 02-21-2019 at 9:09 AM.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  7. #7
    Yeah I think one of the issues is there is so much work out there, if its a small job there is so much work out there they don't want to be bothered.

    I've been burned many times over the years because by nature, I'm a trusting person. Kind of a naive attitude, but I try to see the good in people.

    I do have 2 die hard rules:

    1. Do not advance money.

    Caveats: If they ask you to pay in advance for materials, I'm automatically suspicious because I feel they should have a charge account with a lumberyard. If they ask for cash to buy materials, either go with them or buy the materials yourself.

    2. Do not pay until the job is done.

    I'm up front right from the beginning on this. This one can be the hardest to stick with especially if you've developed a trusting relationship with a person, this can come across as you thinking they are not honest.

    That said, I would never ask for a client for payment until the job is done.

    3. Make them show you documents to prove they have a contractors license and are insured. IMO any good contractor would have these docs available in the glove box of his truck.

  8. #8
    I wonder if there is a mirror thread to this one on a contractor forum somewhere where the complaints are about customers and homeowners who flake out, don't pay timely (or at all), disappear after asking for a job to be re-bid with changes three times, etc, etc.
    I suppose each side has its horror stories.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    West Lafayette, IN
    Posts
    6,527
    I learned from being in commercial construction that you pay subcontractors on a percent complete basis. So if 10% of the tree work was stump grinding, you should have withheld that so if he flakes and didn’t come back you could have hired someone else. Not to say your guy wasn’t a jerk, but it’s a learning experience.

    I as well do as much work around the house as i can. But sometimes you do find a contractor that goes above and beyond. We moved into our house a few months ago and had 95% of the interior painted. Had 3 quotes, two at $6000+ and one at $3000. The guy who quoted at $3k was very nice, had 30 years of experience, and one very nice woman work with him, and drove an old beat up truck. We hired him and he didn’t an excellent job. And I was able to trust him to be at my home alone while I picked up the kids from school and such. The other two guys drive much nicer trucks and nit picked everything like not painting the small overlap areas where the walls met the ceiling.

    We found a painter that we’ll be sure to use again when we redo our kitchen and paint the cabinets.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Edwin Santos View Post
    I wonder if there is a mirror thread to this one on a contractor forum somewhere where the complaints are about customers and homeowners who flake out, don't pay timely (or at all), disappear after asking for a job to be re-bid with changes three times, etc, etc.
    Yes, there are many. I run across them every now and then, without even looking.

    Check first to find out what the customer does for a living. ;^)

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Itapevi, SP - Brazil
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    672

    You do not have idea how blessed are you

    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Lehnert View Post
    Always a DIY type guy but per my other post https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....ete-Patio-work I decided to hire work done.
    Guess it is standard practice for contractors to agree to meet at your home only to never show or hear from them ever again.
    Get sick of running home after work, choking down dinner and not show up on the agreed time. My experience so far on this patio project.
    Hired a guy to cut down trees. Paid him the full amount as he was loading up his equipment, did not try and get his price down. Took him over a year to come back and grind the stumps out.

    Is it that hard, if a contractor is busy ,to just say so and not wast a customer time? I just don't get it.
    If you live in Brazil you would understand how luck you are! Thinks are very similar here... only five times worse.

    My experience in Germany and Denmark are completely different. All my interactions there with construction workers were very professional. Oh, how different the were!

  12. #12
    MY deal with construction contractors is 1/3 when the materials show up, one third when under roof and one third when finished. Never had any one complain about that. Built houses, barns, and out buildings that way. As for a guy taking full payment and not returning, that would be a felony in some states. Some areas have good contractor licensing agencies that go after dead beat contractors. Others seem to be in favor of the contractors. I hired a contractor to tile the kitchen walls. He would show up on a Sunday morning, work 5 or 6 hours and disappear for a few weeks. Then one day he comes by while I am at work and demands to be paid in full and the job wasn't finished. My wife felt very threatened by the jerk and wrote a check but used a pen that leaves ink that peels off. By the time he got to the bank, her signature was half gone and they refused the check. He called and threatened me, threatened to come back out and destroy the kitchen walls etc. He never finished, did not use bull nose tile edging as the contract called for and used some kind of grout that turned to sand and kept falling out of the cracks. I posted pictures of the crappy work on a couple contractor find sites. I also sent pictures to some of the builders that used him. Cost me $1,200 to have someone come in and remove what he did and redo it correctly.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Conway, Arkansas
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    13,181
    Oh.....a critical topic that really strikes many nerves of mine!!! These are ALL reasons why I do as much of "everything" myself. I've never had good success with a contractor or a sub-contractor. It's like the lack integrity and I'm always a "bother" to them when I call and wonder where they are since they "said" that they would show up 2 days ago and never showed up and never called.

    I better hush now before I get myself in trouble.
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
    Get the Benefits of Being an SMC Contributor..!
    ....DEBT is nothing more than yesterday's spending taken from tomorrow's income.

  14. #14
    I just had 2 bathrooms gutted and redone. The contractor I hired was highly recommended. Unfortunately I had to wait 2 months for him to start the work but it was worth every bit of the wait. His work was excellent, he left everything spotless, and he went above and beyond on everything he did. The only area I can fault him in is the delay in answering phone calls though he returns texts promptly. One telling comment he made clinched for himself future work for SWMBO and I. He laid off person he had hired because of "trust issues". I am lucky in having a young man around the corner from me, a landscaper, who has a network of technical high school friends I various trades who share referrals. Not one person he has recommended as been other than fair,competitive, and has done great work.
    Dave Anderson

    Chester, NH

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
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    In my area, it is illegal for a contractor to request more than 1/3 the cost of the project and cannot receive additional money except for special order materials until the project is complete. I don't know it this is the law for all of Pennsylvania.

    When we wanted to get new siding, new windows and a new roof on our house, I contacted 5-6 local contractors. Three called me to see the job, two came to see the job and one gave me the quote. During that time frame there was a home show going on and the local newspaper had interviewed many of the contractors at the show and they were all whining about the lack of work in the area. My project was about $28,000. When the lone contractor who gave me a bid showed up for me to sign the contract, I asked how long the work would take. I added a month to that and then added a penalty clause to the contract that after that month beyond the estimated completion, the contract would be reduced by $100 per day. At first the contractor refused saying he never worked with a penalty clause, when I explained that he was going to have my house torn apart and what was my guarantee that he would complete my job and that I had given him and entire month more than his estimate, he agreed to the revised contract. My job was completed in a timely fashion despite some really crummy weather just two days after the extra month I had allowed. Due to the circumstances of the weather I waived the penalty.
    Last edited by Lee Schierer; 02-21-2019 at 1:42 PM.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

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