9 replies to this topic

[bloodyrocker]

is there anyone that you've used in the past that you'd like to pass along?  anyone I should stay away from?
I'm looking to have work done this season and need all the help I can get finding a good contractor.  I've talked to a few but every time I tell them I need references they seem to fade away and this of course raises red flags with me..

My house is in Pawtucket,  historic and shingled.  the shingles need to be replaced on 3 sides, including dormers, stained and the trim scraped and painted.
I'm hoping you knowledgeable UP people can point me in the right direction.. Help!

[Liamlunchtray]

bloodyrocker, on Mar 12 2008, 02:25 PM, said:

is there anyone that you've used in the past that you'd like to pass along?  anyone I should stay away from?
I'm looking to have work done this season and need all the help I can get finding a good contractor.  I've talked to a few but every time I tell them I need references they seem to fade away and this of course raises red flags with me..

My house is in Pawtucket,  historic and shingled.  the shingles need to be replaced on 3 sides, including dormers, stained and the trim scraped and painted.
I'm hoping you knowledgeable UP people can point me in the right direction.. Help!

I got nuthin, but if you find someone good let me know. Ye Olde Gray Estate needs a paint job and some clapboards replaced. And a roof. And new windows. And some foundation work. Ugh.

[jencoleslaw]

What about our friend Joe at Providence Restoration? If he can't do it I am sure he has some recommendations. JasonRocker, you should call him and see.

[Cotuit]

Liamlunchtray, on Mar 12 2008, 03:31 PM, said:

I got nuthin, but if you find someone good let me know. Ye Olde Gray Estate needs a paint job and some clapboards replaced. And a roof. And new windows. And some foundation work. Ugh.

I told you you are ThePoor.

[quente]

jencoleslaw, on Mar 12 2008, 03:00 PM, said:

What about our friend Joe at Providence Restoration? If he can't do it I am sure he has some recommendations. JasonRocker, you should call him and see.

Joe Wagner is a talented craftsman and a great guy. He's worked extensively on our house both inside and out - I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him. Here's his website: http://www.providencerestoration.com/

Two other sources would the Providence Preservation Society (831-7440) which has a Contractor Referral Service and the PPS Revolving Fund (272-2760).

You're doing the right thing in asking for referrals - I only contact contractors who've been referred to me by people who can vouch for their work.

I'd suggest is that you not be afraid to wait for the right person to do the work. I've actually had to wait for 6 to 9 months for people like Joe to do the work because they're usually real busy. Obviously, if you've got a leaking roof, that would be a different story. But for a shingling job, you should be able to hold off for a bit.

The last thing is it's real important that you get along well with your contractor, since you're entering into a professional relationship and it's important to feel at ease in your communications. I've had a lot of work done on the house and my favorite contractors are the ones that take the time to listen and discuss things with you in advance so everyone is on the same page. If you don't feel at ease when you first meet a contractor, I'd seriously contemplate someone else.

Good luck.

[gregw]

I've actually had bad luck with PPS referrals.  

As far as carpentry goes, I can highly recommend a guy named Dave Russell. If you're interested PM me and I'll give you contact info. With painting, get lots of estimates. A friend of mine got estimates that were as much as 10K apart.  

Lovely house, btw.

[Liamlunchtray]

Cotuit, on Mar 12 2008, 03:27 PM, said:

I told you you are ThePoor.

Sh1t, I forgot again. Uhm, do you have any duct tape?

[quente]

gregw, on Mar 12 2008, 09:14 PM, said:

I've actually had bad luck with PPS referrals.  

I hear you.

The PPS referrals are a good starting point, perhaps a step or two beyond looking in the Yellow Pages, but certainly aren't the be-all and end-all. Like everything, it's a case of buyer beware. I hope you contacted PPS about your bad experience.

gregw, on Mar 12 2008, 09:14 PM, said:

A friend of mine got estimates that were as much as 10K apart.

When we did the exterior work on our house in 2000 (which included roofing, carpentry and painting), we had a set of construction specs drawn-up by the Revolving Fund. We got three estimates: the highest estimate was 2x the amount of the lowest estimate! Made me wonder if they were all bidding on the same specs!

We ended up going with the middle bidder because he'd been highly recommended and we were doubtful that the low bidder could really accomplish the project - during the interview, they said they'd looked at some projects on the Eastside to get an idea of how to do the scaffolding for our house. That comment made me think, hell, if the scaffolding is a challenge, what else is?

As for the high bidder, I don't think they were really interested in the project so they just threw out a number to see if we'd bite.

[lisa]

I don't feel comfortable badmouthing contractors here, but I had a real loser last year who I hired to clean out my gutters and in turn also powerwashed my whole freakin house. I had just purchased the house which needed to be painted, but having it powerwashed just made it look all the more like it was it abandoned. Yikes. If he was prepping to paint the house great but he wasn't hired to do that. He was awful to deal with afterwards.
Jason you know where to contact me and I will give you the name of the guy. We got a bunch of bids to paint our house for this summer. They ranged from $6000 to just over $18000!  That high bid was just crazy over the top, but I hear contractors will do that if they are really busy and don't really want to do it. They will throw out a crazy high bid and if anyone bites they will take it. Easy money.
I am hoping for the best with this painter. We have checked out his references and things look good. I'm not looking for a masterpiece just a good paint job that will last a few years.
I'm new to this board but if there is private mail I will give you the name of the guy to steer clear of and the one I have picked to paint my house.

[gregw]

Yeah, I think a good rule of thumb is to go with a midrange bid. If it's too cheap you'll probably get what you pay for and have to do it all over again and if it's too high, well, you get hosed. I've learned this the hard way on both counts.

With the PPS-recommended floor guy he did 2 coats of water-based poly on my fir kitchen floor and it looked good for 3 days or so. We've since had someone else do 4 coats oil-based and it looks great.

quente, on Mar 13 2008, 08:14 AM, said:

As for the high bidder, I don't think they were really interested in the project so they just threw out a number to see if we'd bite.