Contractors

The overwhelming majority of contractors and trades people are honest, hard working people. This is not about them. This is just an accounting of some of my experiences with some who are not so honest.

Do you know that there is a thing called "zip code pricing"? I didn't until recently. So you might think that this could be an advantage if you don't live in 90210. That is probably true but another thing you might want to be careful about is how you present yourself when you are soliciting someone to do some work for you. It might be a good idea to wear old clothes and hide anything pricey. This is not a time to be showing off. 

I had someone come to my house to give me an estimate on a remodel of a closet and once she got in the door she swept past me to the other side of the house. This seemed strange to me at the time but now I realize that she was checking to see "what zip code I lived in". I went to a business for information about the same remodel and they would not answer basic questions at the shop. I thought that was strange but now I realize they wanted to know the "zip code".  

I personally try to avoid contractors who don't have a regular crew that works for them. I once had a garage torn down and a new one built. One companies owner came out and he had a guy with him that was going to tear down the old garage and I assumed, be involved in the construction of the new one. This guy was right off the cover of a magazine. He just exuded confidence and ability. I felt good about it and hired them. When it came time for the demolition, that guy "wasn't available" and 3 guys showed up in an old Torino with a few hand tools. (No, Clint wasn't there.) I believe it was the old switcheroo. Next this guy drives up with all the lumber for the garage and drops the load hard on the driveway. Just lucky that I had a new, very thick driveway or I am sure it would have been shattered. Then some guys showed up and put up the garage. There were some nuts missing but that wasn't their  problem and they left. The owner comes over and has the nuts but he doesn't have a wrench. He borrows a wrench from me to put on the nuts that hold the garage to the foundation. Yeah! That is something you would think is important. Turns out this business was in the basement of the owner and consisted of the owner and a secretary. Lesson learned. Not that anyone working out of their basement is a problem but it does raise a flag for me. In this case this guys whole business was putting out a call for a job and probably hiring the cheapest offer? 

It is a good idea to know as much as you can about what you want done. Look at DIY videos so that you know if someone knows what they are talking about. Who knows, you might find out you can do it yourself. Just don't try to do it yourself and screw it up and have to call in someone to fix your screw up. That could result in another form of "zip code pricing". Looking at a video can also let you know when you shouldn't even think about DIY. 

I had a bad bearing in a clothes washer. Not only did looking at a DIY video convince me not to do it myself but it also convinced me that it would be better to just buy a new washer when I saw what was involved in replacing that bearing. 

Here is the #1 thing that you need to know. No matter what is said. No matter what you think is going to happen. If it is not in writing, it never happened. Make sure you dot every i and cross every t from who, to when, to how, to how much.