Some may remeber my original post on this topic. I have an aggravating siding and trim repair job that I was having difficulty finding a contractor for. Finally I clicked — while walking to work I spotted a crew doing some very substantial repair work on a house. After several days of snooping, my impression grew that this was a good outfit. Gave them a call, a managerial type came by, we agreed on the work to be done, their price ($5000) seemed fair, signed a contract, gave them a $1000 deposit.
The scene changes: the roofing and siding supervisors come by for a closer look. Both of these guys emit major bad vibes. Roofing supervisor says that the roof patch planned won’t work, that I need to re-roof at least one half of the roof. This would be a major tear-off job. (And PW prices are up, right?) So, I say, “Let’s think this over”, and ask them to get the managerial type back in touch with me. Time passes by, I leave for our summer house, I return, call the company, “What’s up?” They say they are going to pass on the job after all. They will come by to return my deposit, tear up the contract, etc. Several days pass, I call, no deposit.
Winter is coming, so I call a local roofer, well repected in the neighborhood for honest bids and good work. As I write, he is patching the roof for about $400. (BTW – I do understand that I will need a new roof down the line, but 95% of the roof, including valleys, eaves, dormer/roof intersections, etc. looks fine.) I call back the original company to see about that deposit — now they want the job after all!
We are meeting tomorrow to “discuss the situation.” I still need to get the carpentry done. Should I let them do it or should I start all over looking for someone less erratic?
Replies
Why on earth would you even consider dealing with the first company? They've proved to you already that they aren't reliable or consistent; you can't know for sure if they are interested in the work. Why put yourself through that? Are you like Elisabeth Taylor and her husbands, try out the same one a few times to see if it really will work? Save yourself the aggravation. Find someone reliable that you can work with.
Like some of the discussions here about contractors working with HOs that are impossible. Why bother? Life's TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SHORT.
They were busy, now they are slow, all of a sudden what ever PITA they saw in your job has been over-ridden by their need for work/cash flow so they now want the work.
or possibly they are having cash flow problems, and refunding your already spent grand will be a problem for them?
I'd ditch them, get you're money back.
Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, Professionals built the Titanic.
First answer ..yeah sure..send them lotsa money...seems like a good idea?
I'm hoping you don;t need the internet to anwers your question....But I have one....
Why didn't you get that roofer in the first place?
And....here's another tough one....
Ever think of asking the honest roofer who he'd suggest ya call for the carpentry repairs?
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
Ever think of asking the honest roofer who he'd suggest ya call for the carpentry repairs?
Now there's an idea. Seems everyone in the trades knows who's good and who's bad, and they know who is easy to deal with, as well as they usually have an idea of who is better for certain jobs. If you have a good rapport with a roofer, he'll probably know a guy who'll be right for your other work. Or, he'll give you names. Networking.
Good suggestions, and I have asked the roofer for recommendations. The thing is, it's not really a roofing job -- mostly trim and siding.
I've noticed this with contractors -- although some will give recommendations, many of them spend a lot of time criticising each other's work, so it's hard for the HO to make an informed judgement. Another thing -- the original outfit is a "company", meaning a couple of guys with clipboards and several guys with hammers. I'm afraid that the clipboard bearers are the actual "company" while the tradesmen are a fluid lot, coming and going. So I have no guarantee that the crew that impressed me a while back will be anything like the crew that shows up.
What makes this a difficult case is that the job is obviously not an attractive one, and I am at my wits end trying to find someone to do it.