Greetings,
We paid for some builders to build a pergola out in the backyard about four months ago. They told us to wait until it rained and to let them know if there were any leaks or problems with it. It took a while for it to rain and then it did leak... oh boy. Now after three months of hassling the guy we were dealing with, finally the builder is now back around with his young son (I think this is called "on the job training") and they're actually fixing it.
Woohoo!
Metta,
Retro.
Hooray
- retrofuturist
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Hooray
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
- Placid-pool
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Re: Hooray
cheers!
Glad to know that "Cowboy Builders" are not limited to the UK - it is a real problem there. Bright blessings on your leak-proof pergola
Glad to know that "Cowboy Builders" are not limited to the UK - it is a real problem there. Bright blessings on your leak-proof pergola
Re: Hooray
Hi Retro,
Good thing you had a better experience than when a retired couple in my city had to demolish their whole house because it was leaking so badly. And insurance didn't cover it... Lots of cowboys out here in the colonies...
Metta
Mike
Good thing you had a better experience than when a retired couple in my city had to demolish their whole house because it was leaking so badly. And insurance didn't cover it... Lots of cowboys out here in the colonies...
Metta
Mike
Re: Hooray
Congrats Retro.
Did you get any of that rain overnight? I had forgotten the sound of rain on our corrugated iron roof. Waking up to it about 5AM. Nice. I reckon we got about 1mm!!
Cheers
Ben
Did you get any of that rain overnight? I had forgotten the sound of rain on our corrugated iron roof. Waking up to it about 5AM. Nice. I reckon we got about 1mm!!
Cheers
Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road
Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725
Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global Relief • UNHCR
e: [email protected]..
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road
Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725
Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global Relief • UNHCR
e: [email protected]..
Re: Hooray
Once upon a time, I wanted to put a woodstove into the house. I called perhaps 10 contractors to give me a price on the chimney. A couple of them gave me estimates that would have required me to sell my children into slavery. But then there were a couple who gave me estimates that were more reasonable. Unfortunately, although the estimates were reasonable, the ability to keep their promises and show up on Tuesday, were not.
I called and called and finally ... I got angry: If they couldn't show up, I'd do the damned thing myself! Which I did. I might not have been the most skilled stone-layer, but at least I could keep my word... and if something needed to be fixed later, well, I knew who to call.
Luckily, nothing has needed to be fixed in the 10 years since the chimney went up and there was a small bonus: I wrote an article for the Washington Post about contractors who didn't keep their promises.
I hope the drips and drops are a thing of the past, retro.
I called and called and finally ... I got angry: If they couldn't show up, I'd do the damned thing myself! Which I did. I might not have been the most skilled stone-layer, but at least I could keep my word... and if something needed to be fixed later, well, I knew who to call.
Luckily, nothing has needed to be fixed in the 10 years since the chimney went up and there was a small bonus: I wrote an article for the Washington Post about contractors who didn't keep their promises.
I hope the drips and drops are a thing of the past, retro.
- Placid-pool
- Posts: 92
- Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2009 11:09 am
Re: Hooray
We had the same experience with this house 4 years ago - we are used to re-building houses ourselves but this time, with winter approaching, we employed a couple of tradespeople to do stuff that needed doing quickly.
We wanted a bathroom built in the barn that is part of the house, leaving the other half as a workshop for the Old Feller - the quote he gave us was nearly as much as I paid for the house, ruined as it was. I smiled politely, refused and the Old Feller built it himself from scratch - bathroom equipment bought from the local DIY store, fitted by himself, floor laid, tiles done ....... and so far, so good, big useable bathroom at less than half the quote.
We wanted a bathroom built in the barn that is part of the house, leaving the other half as a workshop for the Old Feller - the quote he gave us was nearly as much as I paid for the house, ruined as it was. I smiled politely, refused and the Old Feller built it himself from scratch - bathroom equipment bought from the local DIY store, fitted by himself, floor laid, tiles done ....... and so far, so good, big useable bathroom at less than half the quote.
- Ngawang Drolma.
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Re: Hooray
Woot!retrofuturist wrote:Greetings,
We paid for some builders to build a pergola out in the backyard about four months ago. They told us to wait until it rained and to let them know if there were any leaks or problems with it. It took a while for it to rain and then it did leak... oh boy. Now after three months of hassling the guy we were dealing with, finally the builder is now back around with his young son (I think this is called "on the job training") and they're actually fixing it.
Woohoo!
Metta,
Retro.
- appicchato
- Posts: 1602
- Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 12:47 am
- Location: Bridge on the River Kwae
Re: Hooray
The secret to (or, at least, one of) a hassle-free life...genkaku wrote:...do the damned thing myself! .