I wish I was only afraid of plumbers.

They all scare me.

frank megaweege wrote:
JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
"Banty" wrote in message
...
In article . com,
RicodJour
says...

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

I'm don't know about what others here think, but I'm not saying that
many
contractors are crooks. However, it *is* a field which can attract
people
who imagine themselves to be top-notch craftsmen. There are no
regulations
for skill level.

Then, you have to consider what some people think is a ripoff. I got 3
roofing estimates. One was almost ten grand. The other two were $4700
and
$5300. The expensive guy came highly recommended by several people I
know,
but these were people with money to burn. One of them watched the
roofer's
work very closely, and explained why he thought he was worth so much
more
money - insane attention to details that you'd never see after the
shingles
were in place.

That is one of the more dangerous comments I've seen on this newsgroup.
It's kind of hard to believe that _you_ believe it. The things you
don't see are what kill you in construction every time. There are no
exceptions.

I'm not Joe, but I do mean he meant "insane" figuratively. He meant it as
a
compliment to that roofer.

Exactly.

For example, he noted that I had a cricket above my chimney. I'd never heard
of a cricket. At first, he said it looked like a bit of a swelling in that
spot, because it wasn't distinctly triangular. He thought it could use just
a little more slope, though, and after peeking at it from the underside in
the attic, he said he'd like to build it up a bit.


I'd probably hire that guy. I've had 3 roofing contractors come out
and none of them seemed to know what a cricket was when I asked if they
thought I needed one. Maybe it's an arbitrary criteria in light of the
job in it's entirety, but I've decided I won't hire anyone who doesn't
give me a competent description of why I do or don't need a cricket.
I set my standards even lower for a flagstone patio and hired the only
guy who didn't show up for an estimate reeking of alcohol. He did a
really nice job.
And I'm a long way from being convinced that all plumbers aren't
vicious lying thieves and possibly even murderous psychopaths. I'm
truly afraid of plumbers.