My Garage is Falling Down
When we purchased our lovely estate, we knew the slanty garage was in need of repair. It is leaning towards the alley and will eventually fall over.After fielding some quotes last year and ultimately deciding to put off the repairs for a year, we've noticed the lean is now more pronounced. So, our hand is forced.
Contractor #1 came over on Thursday. I found him in the phone book and decided to give him a call because he claims to be a Better Business Bureau and NARI member. Strangely, neither website lists him as a member.
Perhaps the membership listing is out of date, or maybe he once was a member and let his membership lapse. I'd check on that later, all I wanted was a quote.
He said he'd show up at 12:30. Called at 12:19 and left a message saying he was at an appointment way out west and would come to see me at 2. Odd, if he knew he would be far away from me at that late an hour, why not call me sooner? Why wait? Seems a bit irresponsible to me.
I called back and from the sounds in the background, he was clearly in a bar or restaurant. Maybe he was getting lunch.
He showed up a little after 3, told me a needed a new garage, and explained that the costs for fixing my garage would be just under 10k. He said a new garage would be 13k.
He said he'd done jobs like mine before, but that my garage was the worst he'd seen.
Later, I called NARI and asked if he was a member. Nope. Was he ever a member? Nope. I pointed out that he is using their logo in his Yellow Pages ad, and they vowed to look into it.
I won't be calling him back.
Contractor #2 I found in the NARI membership directory. Over the phone the guy was not rude, but his word choice and tone were completely stripped of any pleasantry.
He offered to come out on Saturday. I told him I would be gone in the late morning and early afternoon. He asked if 8am was ok. He gets one point for being an early riser.
He's a solid build, 55+, graying, hard-ass kinda guy. Stetson hat, black steel-tipped boots, denim pants and shirt. Name is Jim. I'm sure he swears a lot, jokes in frequently, and has punched out at least 4 men in his life.
He pointed out that the lean in my garage is not the real problem. He said my garage is actually twisting, and the roof is collapsing the walls outward. Looking at my roof, ...he's right.
He could fix it in two days, but they have to be "warm" days. May would be a good time, he said. Cost? 4k.
He said he's done this type of job dozens of times, and that mine isn't that bad.
I'm going to get more quotes. 4k is better than 10k, but is still more than I planned on spending.
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