If you’ve got a job that’ll take a week, contractors will basically fight for it - but if it’s just something that takes a few hours, it’s apparently a real struggle to get anyone to show up.
I just installed a new kitchen sink and hooked up the faucet and dishwasher for a client. He said they had called eight plumbing companies, and all of them either refused outright or said they’d get back to it but never did. One company agreed to come install it but wouldn’t do the hole in the countertop for the sink, so they would’ve needed to hire a carpenter separately - and you can imagine how thrilled a carpenter would be about a job that takes less than an hour.
This is an incredibly common story among my customers. I’m a plumber by training, but when I went self-employed, I expanded my services to cover all kinds of handyman work. Clearly, I’m filling a niche, considering the amount of gratitude I’m getting from customers. I literally received a gift basket from one just last week. I should’ve made the jump a decade ago.
My current problem is that I have a big job that I still can’t even get done.
I need a roof, as in I have an extremely old house with a very old worn roof that has actually developed a whole rotted into part of it. If I can get a roofing company to come out to do an estimate, they won’t even talk numbers with me unless I tell them I’ll file an insurance claim as storm damage and they’ll work with the insurance company. This isn’t storm damage. This is me not having money for too many years to get the job done when it should have been done, and now my roof is fucked, and I’m getting a run around by the people to replace it.
yeah, that’s well beyond what a roofer will do. You need a general contractor and a HELOC, that’s going to be a VERY expensive job.
Following those lines, I recently received some money from an aunt who passed away in January. It’s possible that I could straight up pay for the repairs, but I sure as hell don’t want to tell someone that before they give me a number!
Most of the companies I’ve had contact with start talking about claim numbers before they even come out. Of the ones that actually came out and looked at the roof, they wanted claim numbers “to talk it out with the insurance company” and then they’ll get back to me with what it would cost once they get it sorted out. It’s just so frustrating.