Contractor hiring

[Dave Sherman]

Is it just me, or is it common to have some contractors not respond or are they just so busy that they don't get back to you? Trying to get estimates for a new roof, and called a guy who was recommended by friends. Talked to him on the phone, said he'd come by during the week, and had me text my address to him. Didn't hear anything for a week. Texted him to see if he'd had a chance to look at it, said he'd come by that day. Still nothing. Wife had a friend recommend someone, she offered to call. She talked to his secretary, still waiting to hear back from him to actually come take a look a week later. So far, only 1 quote from the company who patched it two years ago.

Long time ago I had called paving companies when I had to get my rather large asphalt driveway repaved, but looked into getting concrete to replace it. Would have been a nice chunk of change for them, but out of 3 contractors, only 1 ever bothered to get me an actual quote.

I guess it's one way to weed out the unreliable ones.

 

[skyactiv]

Most all have illegals do the work anyways. Regardless, some are better than others.

 

[Leo99]

I had the same problem for my roof. Until I tried home advisor.com. Had roofers calling and tripping over themselves. Even had a roofer fight. Since no one was coming out, I told a couple guys to come out hoping one would. First guy showed up in 10 minutes and was on my roof patching up a leak. Second guy came driving past and seeing the first roofer's truck kept on driving. Called me up all nasty like I was wasting his time and told me the first roofer used to work for him and wasn't a great roofer like he was. I assumed, like skyactiv, that none of the guys that give the estimates are the actual guys that do the work. And I have no idea how those crews get paid or shared among the contractors.

 

[demarpaint]

Some contractors might be busy, others get turned off by buzz words like "getting estimates," "getting bids," or "shopping" and would rather not waste their time. So they don't show up, instead of being honest and saying they aren't interested, or spending the time to qualify a potential client. All contractors know customers are shopping, some rather not be reminded.

I only work referrals or repeat customers. I can tell within seconds if I am going to get a job or not. Over forty years in business is an amazing teacher! I value each referral I get, and if the customer passes muster I see them. I recently got a call from a guy who claims he got my name from "the internet, or the paint store," but wasn't sure. That tells me he's shopping, but I have have other ways to find out with one or two simple questions or comments, if needed. Then he asked me why it mattered, I replied with I always like to know who referred me and if they saw my work. He then went on to say he was shopping for prices to paint a rental apartment. I politely told him that wasn't the type of work I do and didn't want to waste his time or mine. I saved one to two hours of my life and gas, and I didn't waste any of his time, with a bid he wouldn't be willing pay. Win win.

 

[Greasymechtech]

20 contractors here use the same 'gang' of subcontractors

Contact the roofing shingle or 'material' companies. They will have territory for an approved roofer for their products.

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For example, my roof was completed 4 months ago and another about a 1 year ago. Of all the above, only 2 contractors called back with estimates and a dozen or so 'short cut' contractors with nothing in writing.
One contractor was annoying and bragging about 'brand warranty' and how they always pay out claims.... blah blah blah.... Just happened to be the shingle on the roof under warranty now and failing at year 17. Said, its your job if you can exercise that great warranty that you're bragging about and get a little credit for the new roof..... never heard back. Other brand went on.

I've gotten 17-20 years out of multiple 30 year/lifetime roof shingles. Battled roofing companies for money and received none. Easier to get money off the insurance companies after a storm or issue.

Know the type of roof material, metal/tin/shingles/tiles/slates/plasticlegos/whatever, and pick what you want before any 'generic' general contractor shows up. Don't assume you have a warranty if the job is not done correctly or done by a non-approved contractor.

And, make sure they stick with 1 brand for everything.... underlayment, starter shingles, ridge vent, ice and water, valley peel/stick, whatever, flashing, and with the proper fasteners, roof decking repairs/renailing/..., and proper count of nails per shingle. Learn a thing or two watching repairs/replacements after various storms and can say most contractors take EVERY imaginable shortcut. Neighbors new roof.... no ridge vent cut but they rolled out the vent. Another only had 3 nails per shingle, and now a solar panel install in the 'shade' most of the time. Favorite roof reused the underlayment..... unbelievable.

 

[Lyman]

I have had the same problem. I have 5 windows I want to replace. I called 4 contractors and only 1 would come out and give me a quote. The quote he gave was a go away and don't bother me type of quote. I have new windows ordered through HD and will do the job myself for about a quarter of the cost.

 

[JC1]

Yes most contractors don't want the small jobs. They don't realize the small jobs may lead to larger contracts later on.

Many haven't been educated on how to run a business. They start working for someone else and then some leave to be the boss of their own businesses thinking they can make more money.

Many of them get work based on the price only and they cut corners to make a profit.

For shingles make sure you know what brand of shingles you want and any other things like underlayment and ridge vents as opposed to roof vents.

As greasymechtech says, if you want the warranty then all things need to adhere to the warranty specs. That's the loophole to avoid paying claims.

Roofing is a hard job and if a guy is tired at the end of the day and misses a few nails in some shingles, does that mean the warranty doesn't apply?

 

[Tyson]

It's a busy and expensive time for all things home-related.

I'm just finishing up a spec house that will hit the market in a week or two.

Had all my contractors lined up at the beginning and the framer backed out, then the plumber.

Found a framer who does great work, but it's his side job. It took longer.

I called many plumbers, only one returned my call to say he was too busy.

I parked my butt outside the plumbing supply place and talked to every plumber going in and out and had one lined up within a couple hours. This one is also a side job for him.

Good contractors are out there, start talking to the supply places and talking to the contractors face to face is much more productive than phone calls and emails, IMO.

Pic of the spec home....1404 ft2. 3 bed, 2 bath, nicely finished.

 

[GON]

I do everything myself. No longer trust anyone in the trades. Rather pay more doing it myself than have it done wrong, cut corners, etc. That is the way it is today.

If I lived in Ohio and needed to hire a contractor for a roof, I would go to ABC Supply (USA largest roofing wholesaler) with a huge carton of hot Dunkin Donuts coffee and a couple dozen donuts at 8am on a Wednesday morning. Talk to the counter people and manager. They will know who is legitimate, who pays their bill every month, etc. And you have a shot at getting quality materials.... roof is more than just shingles, vents, underlayment, etc.

Here are the five ABC Supply locations in

5 results
Mount Vernon, OH
Distance: 21.6 mi
300 Pittsburgh Ave
Mount Vernon, OH 43050-3928
(740) 397-5206
Hours »
Directions »
Plain City, OH
Distance: 25.3 mi
7600 Industrial Pkwy
Plain City, OH 43064-9468
(614) 733-0100
Hours »
Directions »
Mansfield, OH
Distance: 31.6 mi
734 Springmill St
Mansfield, OH 44903-1137
(419) 524-6601
Hours »
Directions »
Columbus, OH
Distance: 33.6 mi
3920 Groves Rd
Columbus, OH 43232-4137
(614) 575-0730
Hours »
Directions »
Columbus, OH
Distance: 34.5 mi
2690 Winchester Pike
Columbus, OH 43232
(614) 927-6370

 

[Wolf359]

I have had the same problem. I have 5 windows I want to replace. I called 4 contractors and only 1 would come out and give me a quote. The quote he gave was a go away and don't bother me type of quote. I have new windows ordered through HD and will do the job myself for about a quarter of the cost.

A friend of mine got a referral from the local window store. They were reluctant to give it out but she got someone who did a lot of business there and got a great price. I suppose you could try the same at one of those roofing supply houses. Strangely the local window store and siding store is cheaper than HD, but HD is better on roofing material. I was thinking it might be due to volume discounts, but even with 20% off, HD was still cheaper.

 

[Bud]

I don't care who you get with here where I live, you will end up with a crew of Mexicans doing the job. I make sure I have an English speaking foreman on the job at all times. Most of the work I have had done goes very well and the job is done right. Majority of the crews I have used are great.

 

[Dave Sherman]

Just seems odd to me; told the first guy that the roof is old (unknown how old), has been patched a few times, it's shedding grit into the gutters, growing moss, and some of the patches are needing to be re-patched after we've had a couple leaks, so we'd like to just replace the whole thing and be done with it for a while. The company who patched it previously could have told me it was in dire need of replacement back then, but they were able to save me some money that wasn't in the budget then and patched it. Since they're the ones who actually came out promptly and quoted, wife and I are thinking they're hired, though it would be nice to know how the price compares with the other guys. Yes, we can afford it, they have good reviews, and based on our last experience I'd say they're good to go. I've seen their sign at several houses with new roofs nearby, so I guess they must be doing something right.

 

[JohnnyG]

I think most of their workers are making more collecting unemployment right now.
There was a story in the local paper last week that restaurants around here are not able to hire any help at all, and that's the reason they gave.
Most restaurateurs have extra tables that they won't set up because the current staffing can't keep up.
This may self resolve someday, but it's gonna take a while, and only after unemployment runs out.

 

[skyactiv]

Since you are in Ohio, consider getting shingles that deal with algae. Such shingles have copper granules and they will cost more.
I had such GAF shingles installed on my previous house which is now my younger sisters and the roof doesn't have algae streaks.
Look at the algae streaks on roofs next time you drive around.

My custom home has Certainteed Landmark premium shingles with a diamondback and wintergaurd underlayment.
Consider your age and how long you plan on owning your home if better materials will benefit you.

 

[Rand]

I've found home advisor gets people who are hungry for work to call you.
sometimes in minutes.

OTOH I havent hired out roofing, I'd at least want to see references and example of work.

 

[FordMan59]

This is one of the reasons I do anything I can myself. I learned years ago that most contractors will tell you they'll be there such and such date then never show up. In 2016 I had a water heater leak that did significant damage to my house and it took weeks to get an estimate together because contractors wouldn't show up or they were giving lowball estimates for the insurance company. My insurance company recommended Servpro so I asked them to come give me an estimate. When I got the estimate it was for something like $5K and didn't mention drying anything out or any demo of the damage just coming in and replacing drywall and flooring. I finally found someone who gave me a detailed estimate with the full scope of work on it. His estimate was about $25K. I had one contractor ask if I was going to do the repair or if I was hiring it done. I ask him what difference does it make it's the same amount of damage whether I fix it or you fix it. My initial intention was to hire someone to do the work but ended up doing lots of it myself because the contractor was saying it would take about 8-12 weeks to get everyone lined up and actually get the work done after I'd already waited weeks for an estimate. I tore the damage out, dried it out with a dehumidifier, sprayed everything with Mold Control, painted the floor joist/studs that had been wet with Kilz, and hired a friend to come in and replace the flooring and sheetrock. Including drying out time of about a week everything was back together within about 3 weeks. Back in 1990 the house we were living in needed roofing so one Friday evening after work I came home tore off 1/2 of the roof, got up on Saturday morning put that half back on, tore the other half off and put it back on Sunday. I did in about two 12 hour days what a contractor would have charged me about $5K to do. I guess it helped that I had a construction background and had done roofing before.

 

[JTK]

Like said above, it's a busy time for anyone in the trades. People are home more and want things done. Couple that with stimulus money, etc.

In regards to roofing, if you have access to Amish, I'd highly recommend a metal roof from them. Any construction really.

 

[Andrew1972]

Some only stay in a specific income or even demographic. Others are simply skilled tradesman who are morons in business, accounting and dealing with people.Be wary about paying anyone too much upfront because they are funding their current job off your deposit. Money runs out eventually with these buffoons.