On Thu, 16 Dec 2004 20:23:18 -0600, "TURTLE"
wrote:


wrote in message
roups.com...
Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
wrote in message

Out of Home Depot and Lowe's, which is better for a job like this?
Which has lower prices? Good service? Quality items? Is there
another
store that I should be looking at as well (I'm in southern
California)?

Neither is very good IMO. Quality of the work depends on the
independent
contractor they sub out to. Varies from store to store and job to
job. If
you want top notch job, look for a local guy, not a chain. If you
want a
low price, go with the cheapest and don't get your expectations very
high.

Local meaning someone a friend can recommend, or meaning a smaller-type
store in my area? I thought another approach would be going to Home
Depot or Lowe's, picking out doors, and then having them send someone
to my house to install them. Not good?

Joy


This is Turtle.

Joy , i'm gonna told you something here. If your interested in a quality job at
all. i would not fool around with Home Cheap-0 or Low's stores. These stores
sign up the cheapest carpenters and craftman that they can find and pay them
peanuts and charge you for a quality job. You can even work for these stores and
not have contractor licences for they can work under the Store contractor
licences and insurance. If you want the cheapest contractor , Coming out of
bankruptsy , Has a second job at burger King to suppliment his income , can
never get the job done right the first time and is has the Cheapest workmanship
type company in town to come do your work and then pay top quality Dollars for
the job. Then these two stores are what your looking for.

Now you spoke of other STORES to get a contractor from. I think you have it ass
back-ards here. You don't go buy a bunch of lumber & building supplies and then
try to find a contractor to decide what you want to do with all these supplies
and lumber. The other stores or the two big store will send a contractor out
there but they will be told to use only their parts and supplies and nobody else
and don't suggest anything we don't sell. Then if the contractor knows a better
product sold at another store with better quality. He will be told to keep quiet
and use what that store sells and not say anything about something better or a
better price from them. Also if the job is on a bid basis , the store will tell
the contractor to cut the corners the best way he can and cut the material cost
down from what you were buying in the first place for you will not be counting 2
X 4 and wood material. You will be billed for plenty of lumber but any lumber
the contractor does not use will be brought back but you will still be billed
for it. You should never get a wood supplier telling the contractor how much
wood that is to be used on a job. You should have the contractor and you telling
the wood supplier what and how much you want and not have it Ass-Back-ards. Here
is a example of what i'm saying here.

Never get a gas station telling you what kind of car to drive.
Never get a Car saleman telling you when to buy a new car.
Never get a Wood producer telling a contractor where to buy their wood.
Never get a Electrical Warehouse telling a Electrician the electrical supplies
you want for a job.

You and the Contractor will sit down and decide what you want to do, Where to
buy the supplies, and the quality of the equipment or wood supplies you will be
buying. You just don't get this Ass Back-ards with a Wood supplier telling a
contractor & You what you want to buy and from who.

Now to find a good contractor, you can look in the phone book Yellow pages and
pick out a bunch of Remodeling contractor and the best contractor may not be in
the yellow pages so you will ask your friends and Co-Workers about any
contractor that they have used in the past and got good results from. Just call
all them up and ask them and you will see a bunch of names you never seen in the
phone book or seen in the phone book but get more than just one person telling
you that that contractor was good. If you could get 2 or 3 friends and
co-workers telling you about a contractor. You may have found a quality
contractor to use. Now if you can find a Electrican or a Plumber in your area to
talk to and just about every one of these fellow will know all the trashy
remodelers for they get to see them in action all the time. I'm in the HVAC
business but I can tell you ever trashy remoding contractor in town and the good
ones too. All the craftmen in the trades that has been in business for years can
tell you right off who to not use and who to use. Here in town they have only 5
remodeling contractor and I will tell you right off the 3 you don't mess with
and to use one of the other 2 of them in town.

TURTLE

When I was doing contracting, before I became an inspector, I never
had an ad in the Yellow Pages. Didn't want or need one. I had more
than I could do taking care of jobs I got by word of mouth. I can't
help but believe that a good workman doesn't need more than that.
There aren't that many people around anymore that can do anything
useful.

Dan