Hole in one

Contractors, you can't live without 'em but have trouble living with them in your house!

When it comes to builders, contractors, and construction workers (though many of them are dreamy and hunky), I am a skeptic.

It's the nature of their business. They say they are going to build something but once they dig in and tear down and find out what is under or below or on the other side of that monstrosity, the job has just escalated a few notches (as well as the price!).

Not to mention the time frame. We've never had a contractor stick on their timetable. They say they will be over one day and never show. Then they say they will be over at such and such a time and .....and most certainly, the job is never complete when they say it will be done. Again, nature of the biz. When they find added bumps in the road, it's bound to take longer. That's why no contractor should EVER promise, guarantee, or even mention dates, times, or the length of a job.

For the most part (up until now), we've had bad luck with contractors. The guys who waterproofed our basement--well based on a recent blog entry, they did not waterproof our basement!!

Then you have the guy who renovated our upstairs bathroom. The cabinet was put in backwards...the light above the shower could have ZAPPED any one of us at any time....that same guy left a huge hole in the utility room....and the list goes on and on...

Now, we have guys who belong to our church, Joe & Tommy. Very nice people. They do a very solid job. Honestly, we could keep them in business year round if we had the money because we do have a bunch of jobs worth doing in our home.

They are great guys. They strive to do the best job and take great pride in their work. Contractors have to factor in if it's a 'need' or a 'want.' I'd LOVE the best, the top of the line. However, with 'blank' amount of money to work with, gotta go for the 'need' and not the 'want.'

I get that contractors are 'laboring,' hence the astronomical 'labor charges.' However, I guess I am not like that. If I like doing something, I'll do it for next to nothing. If these guys get their supplies at cost or for cheapo, and they absolutely love what they are doing, why charge an arm and a leg for the labor??? Same as a car mechanic. I can buy a part for my car for 59 cents, yet to fix the problem, it winds up being 599 dollars because of the labor charges. You have got to be kidding me!!!!!

What started out as replacing our garbage disposal, yep, that's right, our garbage disposal, has turned into --well just look at the above pictures! I'm sure it will be lovely and is very necessary. The guys wanted to do so much more but the landlord is on a budget. I'd love to have them re-do the entire kitchen. It needs it, and frankly when would I have the time?? I barely make it through the day with everything on my plate. Again, the landlord and the tenants are all on a budget.

One day, maybe..............................