DUTIES: Taking care of all the fix-it things that need to be done. Knowledge required in plumbing, building construction, electrical work and pest control. Painting skills a plus!
ADVANCEMENT AVAILABLE: Upgrades to part-time husband or even full-time position available. This would require hiking skills, a love of everything old like ghost towns and me, with the ability to get along with two dogs and a parrot!
Send your resume to HELP!! I KEEP GETTING TAKEN BY CONTRACTORS!
Lost Horse Ranch, Arizona
SO ..... yesterday it was the plumber's turn to take me on a ride down we-will-screw-you lane. The first guy came out, took pictures and measurements of the hot water heater for the pan I was requesting be put underneath it. This was a legitimate company with good ratings.
The guy that was actually going to do the work showed up early (YAY), took one look at the hot water heater and said OH HECK NO. We can't do THAT! All those pipes are in the way and we would have to re-route them all. Are you freaking kidding me????
So instead, we went inside where he took over an hour to install this beautiful faucet. MY faucet I purchased at Ace Hardware, so no expense to him there.
Once done, I asked for the price. I should have asked FIRST. He called his boss who told him $289. Heck the original price of the pan AND the faucet was $389!!! I yelled at him I wasn't paying that!! It wasn't MY fault the first guy didn't know what the HELL he was doing. It's not MY fault you can't fix the hot water heater!
My blood pressure went through the roof. I ended up paying $150 just to change out one lousy faucet and get him out of my house. So that's it!! I'M DONE WITH CONTRACTORS!!! I'm done making any improvements of any kind.
By the way, the guy who said THAT'S WHAT WE DO in regards to the porch repair, has not called me back, even though I've left two messages. Many thanks to Allison who sent me a couple of names and numbers for handymen ... I'll be calling them today after I calm down.
In the meantime, I'm feeling SO much better, I even went outside and sprayed weeds. Of course it rained an hour later, so I'm not sure how much good I did.
In order to take my mind off CONTRACTORS, I cooked some chicken in my instant pot, then made up a quick sauce of half and half, dijon mustard and thyme. Yummy!! I even served myself on my $25 plates. By the way, the last time I was in looking for a pot to replace the one I massacred on the stove, these plates were down to $12.99 for a set of eight.
Even though I got up at 3:15 this morning ... I know, crazy right? ... due to four of the noisiest trains I've ever heard one right after another .... I'm going to drive over to Green Valley for their Wednesday Market. It will take my mind off those horrible men I've been dealing with.
It's going to get better .... it's going to get better .... it's going to get better!!
If we were closer, I'd defintely loan you a husband for a day or two. He's good at that stuff and plumbing he did for part of his career..darn! Wow..good for you for putting your foot down and not paying the crazy $$$ they wanted. You are too funny!!
ReplyDeleteHahaha Shirley, you're a lucky woman to have a handy husband!! I just need to find a good handyman!
DeleteHow about a picture of the H2O Heater and said pipes? Eventually this heater will need to be replaced, do you know how old it is?? Four years ago we replaced our Heater and it was $350 for the heater, $700 for the labor to remove, install, change out some of the input and output lines, and put a drain pan in. Our old one was 14 years old.
ReplyDeleteYou are right Dave, I think it's close to fifteen years old. The owners kept every piece of paper, so I'll see if I can find any info. I'll post a picture too.
DeleteYou left the part out about a gourmet cook as well
ReplyDeleteTwo teenagers and a monkey can put that drip pan under the water heater
A photo of the piping ( waterheater )would be nice
Dave does have a point on the age of the water heater there should be a tag that has the installation date if it is more than 15 years old get rid of it and get a tankless unit
Will you go to Lowe's or Home Depot they usually have the price of the water faucet usually right next to that would be. we could install it and there's usually a price for that to. check with the sales person at Home Depot or Lowe's
If you were going to buy a $300 water heater next to that would be we could install it for X amount if you have an issue with the contractor you can take it up with Home Depot or Lowe's they don't want a bad review
the next time you go to Ace Hardware ask some of the people that work there sometimes there's a bulletin board for contractors that advertise always get a price first
That would be my choice if the water heater goes out. Hit up Lowes and get someone from there to install it.
DeleteHere in Florida we have a company called Mobile Home Depot it's similar to Lowe's and Home Depot except everything that they carry is for mobile homes if there's a place like that near you also check to see if they have any contractor Usually they leave their Business card there
ReplyDeleteMobile Home Depot is here too. That's the second guy I called who has not called me back. LOL
DeleteMobile Home Depot of Tucson Arizona
ReplyDeleteTUCSON
523 W. Grant Rd., Tucson, AZ 85705
520-884-4996
Store Hours: M-F 8am-5pm / Sat. 9am-3pm
The guys seem to have it covered this morning.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
I've checked out most of those places with little results. It's a contractor thing I think .... they just are not good at returning phone calls.
DeleteToo bad Mister Ed, Dave B., Ken or Bill didn't live closer. :(
ReplyDeleteDid you at least cough a little bit on that contractor??
Oops, sorry that was my outside voice speaking.
I'm glad you're feeling better, supper looks very healthy and good!
No coughing, but I shook his hand before I thought about it! LOL I imagine that's just as good!
DeleteWe would probably go but none of us have a post hole digger
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you all would!! :)
DeleteHaha.....you are too funny. Good for you with regards to not over paying. You can do some of the home improvements on your own with a little courage, a good diagram, instructions and a few tools. At worst you will have to call someone to fix it anyway. At best you'll fix it yourself, save some money, gain some confidence and be able to thumb your nose at the guy that wouldn't come to help in the first place. Or of course, you can just find a really good handyman. Haha
ReplyDeleteI usually try to fix things myself, and I have put in faucets before. Sometimes that gets me into trouble! LOL
DeleteYep, agree with OnAL&LHwy. You are sooooo much handier around the house than I, but even I changed out my kitchen faucet myself & it was so ridiculously quick & easy I berated myself for weeks that I ever paid plumbers good money & wasted time making an appt & waiting for them to come to do it.
ReplyDeleteYour bath faucet looks like a Moen and may have come with a matching pop-up drain? That’s a little more effort & you might have to run & get a tub of plumber’s putty for the drain but it would still be much faster & way cheaper than scheduling and waiting – and waiting - for a pro to get there.
There are hundreds of step-by-step illustrated How-To primers online & a million vids on YouTube to show you how to switch out a bathroom faucet. Here’s a good one just for the pop up drain the next you do another bathroom:
https://youtu.be/5ajvSQPvT1k
And of course even if you DIY a different faucet yourself next time, there's nothing at all stopping you from calling that cute Horse Whisperer with the hat to stand lookout for scorpions you as you wiggle your butt under the sink to do it yourself, Nancy! ;-0
Oh that's right ... I forgot out him!!! LOL I've done some of these repairs in the past ... it's just so much easier to have someone do it for me. NEXT time I will definitely do it myself!! I have this light fixture on the garage .........
DeleteOkay, I do not think there is anything I could add to what has already been said. Well maybe just this...Hope you had fun at the Green Valley Market.
ReplyDeleteYes I did Deb ... yes I did!!
Delete