You would think in these times that getting bids from contractors would be easy. Not so. Many don't even bother to call you back after leaving a message. I have an area at the rear of the house that's 15' x 20' that I want pavers installed.
That whole area was covered with pavers when we bought this house 12 years ago. When we had to hook up to the sewer system, I had to remove about half the pavers in order to get to the septic tank. The pavers were never installed correctly by a previous owner, just installed on dirt. So, I have all the pavers to go back down, and all I need is the installation, the sand, and border brick provided.
The first call I made, the contractor didn't show for the appointment and didn't call to make other arrangements. Then a day later I called him and he came over and gave a bid. I wanted more estimates, so I went online to a site where you fill out a form and it's submitted to participating contractors.
After I hit the submit button, the list of participating contractors is listed, and that first guy was one of them. He called me and was irate as all get out. He really blew his top that I would be still looking for bids, and that he feels I wasted his time. I did all I could to calm him down and explain that I didn't know he was on the list.
Well, in a rage he yelled "Take me off your list". So, I did. I've gotten two bids since and each one had a different process, but their prices were similar. So, I don't know which is better.
Yesterday, one of the bidders was very knowledgeable, and I was ready to sign an agreement. He wanted half down in cash or a check written to his name and not his company. He is located about 40 miles from me. He stated he needed the money to buy materials. He was the only bidder that needed money up front.
This meeting took place about 5:30 P.M. yesterday, and he said he could show up at 10:00 A.M today ready to start. His whole spiel seemed just like a scam, so that set off bells to us and we said thanks for coming out.
We are considering one other bidder as he was very matter of fact and had his act together. You would think that giving out work would be easier than all this.
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That whole area was covered with pavers when we bought this house 12 years ago. When we had to hook up to the sewer system, I had to remove about half the pavers in order to get to the septic tank. The pavers were never installed correctly by a previous owner, just installed on dirt. So, I have all the pavers to go back down, and all I need is the installation, the sand, and border brick provided.
The first call I made, the contractor didn't show for the appointment and didn't call to make other arrangements. Then a day later I called him and he came over and gave a bid. I wanted more estimates, so I went online to a site where you fill out a form and it's submitted to participating contractors.
After I hit the submit button, the list of participating contractors is listed, and that first guy was one of them. He called me and was irate as all get out. He really blew his top that I would be still looking for bids, and that he feels I wasted his time. I did all I could to calm him down and explain that I didn't know he was on the list.
Well, in a rage he yelled "Take me off your list". So, I did. I've gotten two bids since and each one had a different process, but their prices were similar. So, I don't know which is better.
Yesterday, one of the bidders was very knowledgeable, and I was ready to sign an agreement. He wanted half down in cash or a check written to his name and not his company. He is located about 40 miles from me. He stated he needed the money to buy materials. He was the only bidder that needed money up front.
This meeting took place about 5:30 P.M. yesterday, and he said he could show up at 10:00 A.M today ready to start. His whole spiel seemed just like a scam, so that set off bells to us and we said thanks for coming out.
We are considering one other bidder as he was very matter of fact and had his act together. You would think that giving out work would be easier than all this.
.
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