Because the others we asked quotes from were worse. They didn’t just ignore my wife’s specs, they deliberately went against them, offering a build we didn’t actually want.
Then again, this is my experience with 99% of contractors where I live, so I’ve also sort of given up.
IMO, if you’re a homeowner, DIY skills are non-negotiable. At least one person per household should know how to get things done so there’s no need to involve contractors in any but the most extreme cases.
Absolutely! But you should also know your limits - I don’t fuck with gas and mains electricity for safety reasons. Flooding the house is fine in my book, so I only call the plumber if someone has a gun to my head lol
I did the dumbest thing I’ve ever done last fall, on a house I own but don’t occupy yet. It didn’t really turn cold enough for the furnace until November, when I went over the get the 40-year-old thing running again so my pipes didn’t freeze. The heating system uses hot water and radiators and periodically needs to have the water flushed out to work properly. I opened the stopcocks but nothing came out right away, so I closed and re-opened them a few times and then forgot which positions were open or closed. I then went home and it turns out I had left the cocks open.
Came back the next morning to ten inches of water in the basement. I have a sump pump but I had forgotten to plug it in. Had to walk barefoot through freezing cold water to plug it back in and at least it emptied out the basement in about 45 minutes. My front yard was hilariously soaked.
Why the hell did you let that jackass keep working
Because the others we asked quotes from were worse. They didn’t just ignore my wife’s specs, they deliberately went against them, offering a build we didn’t actually want.
Then again, this is my experience with 99% of contractors where I live, so I’ve also sort of given up.
IMO, if you’re a homeowner, DIY skills are non-negotiable. At least one person per household should know how to get things done so there’s no need to involve contractors in any but the most extreme cases.
Absolutely! But you should also know your limits - I don’t fuck with gas and mains electricity for safety reasons. Flooding the house is fine in my book, so I only call the plumber if someone has a gun to my head lol
I did the dumbest thing I’ve ever done last fall, on a house I own but don’t occupy yet. It didn’t really turn cold enough for the furnace until November, when I went over the get the 40-year-old thing running again so my pipes didn’t freeze. The heating system uses hot water and radiators and periodically needs to have the water flushed out to work properly. I opened the stopcocks but nothing came out right away, so I closed and re-opened them a few times and then forgot which positions were open or closed. I then went home and it turns out I had left the cocks open.
Came back the next morning to ten inches of water in the basement. I have a sump pump but I had forgotten to plug it in. Had to walk barefoot through freezing cold water to plug it back in and at least it emptied out the basement in about 45 minutes. My front yard was hilariously soaked.
Yeah. Most contractors are so bad at communicating that I went to trade school so I could work on my own stuff.
It sucks working with people who don’t value so-called “soft skills” and also spend so much time arguing about stupid shit.