home remodeling culture lessons?

[Sheherezade]

I am lucky to have a DH that knows a lot about home repair. He's worked in construction and architecture before returning to med school - so we've never had many outside contractors work on our homes. I'm pretty handy as well. Now that our kids eat up a significant amount of time (dang social lives! ) and DH's work actually pays way more than we'd have to pay a contractor to do the labor around the house, we are starting to outsource. So......I'm lost.

Could anyone tell me what the norm is for dealing with outside tradespeople? Do you tip the installation guys when you've already paid for installation at a home center? Can you leave the house when the people are working on something? Or do you stick around all day and "keep an eye on things"? Do you offer them drinks if they are working outside? When you get an estimate that seems INSANE do you haggle or just go to someone else?

*sigh*

It is almost easier to do it yourself. It is certainly cheaper. DH and I are both in total shock at what these guys charge. We got a few estimates on a new driveway and some electrical work ..... total sticker shock. Suddenly, we can understand how all these guys afford nice cars and such. I need to post the saga of the hot tub. DH's little dream reward for passing boards and finally being DONE has turned in to such a nightmare. Beaucoup bucks to get it installed and lots of hassles. I need to make some calls on that today. Poor guy. He thought it would be easy.

Any tips would be appreciated. I hope to get a lot of contracting work done in the next year or so ....in case we want to move. I'm hoping prices fall with the housing bust and construction slump. I certainly can't pry my wallet open with the estimates I'm seeing. :>

Oh no, Angie! You still don't have the hot tub installed???


I only have a minute to respond to your questions....

DH is pretty handy around the house, too. He just built a new deck and we saved $16k by him doing the work himself. It's outrageous what the tradespeople I checked with wanted to charge...especially considering that building a deck is pretty basic.

Whenever we need to outsource, I try to get recommendations from people I trust. We hired a painter a while ago who was fantastic.....strong work ethic, honest, very talented. He is familiar with many of the local tradespeople and knows which ones are the best so he is always the first person I call to get recommendations. The workers we have been least pleased with are the ones we picked out of the phone book or an ad in the paper.

As far as quotes, it wouldn't hurt to get at least three to compare. We aren't good at haggling so we've never really tried it, but I don't think it would hurt. What projects do you need done?

We prefer to pay by the project rather than by the hour....that way we know that the work will get done in a timely manner. We also do not pay until the work is completed.

We also prefer to hire people who work by themselves. Our painter decided to work on his own after a couple of his employees showed up to a job high. Our landscaper and his brother do all the work themselves for the same reason. Some tradespeople are less than desirable and I just wouldn't feel comfortable with having so many people I didn't know in the house. It takes longer for projects to get done, but it's nice knowing the people who are in my home.

As far as keeping an eye on workers....it just depends on your comfort level. I felt comfortable leaving our painter in the house alone. I just gave him a temp code to the garage opener's keypad so he could let himself in and out as needed. Same thing with the landscaper....I left the house open so he could use the bathroom/get drinks if needed. BUT, these guys came highly recommended by our builder (they both did some work on the house during construction) so I felt comfortable with them. If it had been some guys from Home Depot or someone I picked from the phone book, then I would have stuck around. We do offer drinks and sometimes snacks/lunch although most people either bring a lunch or leave during their lunch break.

I'm running out the door, but I hope those suggestions help.