Huh, I did not know that. I’m still trying to find contractors the old-fashioned way - through other contractors I know.
Ah yes, the old boys network. Always the best way to assure quality and fairness.
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My experience with home contractors so far has been:
- I get a recommendation from someone I know and they follow through
- I wade through reviews of 2 dozen “Chuck in a truck” style contractors, call half of them, and none of them follow through
It’s honestly maddening, which is why I’m getting on Angie’s List like today to find a fucking electrician because the half a dozen I’ve tried getting a hold of so far haven’t followed through at all.
I am immensely curious as to what is going on with these people. If you have no other job, and someone calls you to pay you money, why wouldn’t you show up to take their money?
Because they have too many other jobs already.
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Then if someone calls why do you tell them you will come when you won’t?
Cause they’re also shitty.
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Chuck in a Truck is usually undercharging and trying to make up for it in volume so he takes whatever he can grab and then actually does the most lucrative job. Chuck is also usually a dumbass and thinks the $500 drywall job means $500 in his pocket but doesn’t account for time spent and materials. The $50 job putting up a ceiling fan in 30 minutes is more profitable but he can’t figure that out.
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Maybe gotta be a reverse jerk. Tell him you have a huge job when you don’t.
Never entangle your affairs and/or fuck with shitty people who know your phone number or address. They have less to lose and are powered by spite.
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Unfortunately this brings us back to our initial solution, the super fair way of word of mouth by contractors you already know, aka the old boys network.
Check your local high school or community education program. I took an intro welding class that was super fun at a local manufacturer that was run through the high schools “continuing education” program. The also offered cooking, pottery, and languages.
We wisely got gutter guards to protect our new run of gutters. We have enough trees drop shit every season that the old gutters were literally clogged every season. Gutter guards mean we get more life out of the gutters!
But.
We also slacked on clearing off the gutter guards.
Then it rained.
Water, man. It’s bullshit.
But overall it’s easy to deal with, so lesson learned!
Meanwhile, we just got a quote for replacing my entire driveway, all 2600 square feet of it - it’s too far gone for meaningful repair to be of any value, so it’s a full replacement. We’ll keep shopping around, but I’m pretty sure these quotes are all going to come in around the same. Not bad - just a bit under $10k, which is honestly what I was anticipating for a full replacement.
When you redo that driveway, can you widen it a little bit? Not much, just like, maybe a foot wider?
It’s already 13’ wide, so no. However, when it’s redone, it will be much much easier to uncover the full width during winter, so it will totally feel wider in the snow season. That’s one of many issues with this fucking thing.
Also I’m going to buy a real snowblower later this year, so I’ll have a way better time keeping the fucking thing clear.
It’ll be glorious, trust me.
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Currently waiting for the inspection team. Crossing my fingers, but I might be a homeowner in Rochester’s South Wedge.
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Good luck!
I remember being nervous waiting a week for the inspection report on the house I almost bought upstate.
Only took overnight for the inspection report to come in. Seems like the long and short of it is the house was built in 1890, here are a couple of things specifically wrong but it’s not a deathtrap in waiting.
It’s a small little bungalow, and it’s probably going to be mine.
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Inspection reports will often return a whole bunch of things, but almost nothing is a real dealbreaker. Money and professionals fix pretty much everything.
Pics?
I’ve been mostly relying on the ones from the realtor for showing people, so: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/70-Diem-St-Rochester-NY-14620/30889136_zpid/
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