You gotta be kidding

[Loggiebone]

[justjoe]

I've got a hammer and a chainsaw. Can I help?

[aviator]

No Doug, The Porsche dealer got it all.
But seriously, we had a similar thing happen to our front door, and had to replace the whole thing. Expensive, but we spent some time choosing wisely.

[EricM]

Sucks indeed!!

[802Mike]

I've got a hammer and a chainsaw. Can I help?

A little caulk, a little paint, makes a finish carpenter what he ain't .

[Loggiebone]

[802Mike]

Same here, I see new homes that the trim looks like it was done by a lumberjack. It's accepted
as the normal !
Go to the lumber supply places and ask for a recommended contractor not Home Depot or Lowes.

[Karlb]

[Loggiebone]

Looks good ,Karl!

[McFly]

Looks great Karl. That's what I need to do.

[Karlb]

[Loggiebone]

Measure twice, cut once. Remember, you heard it here. First!?

[cabnfvr]

When we bought our home in PA we knew we wanted to change the front door. No problem, as I'd seen several at Lowes for a few hundred dollars. So we close and then go door shopping. Yep, the door is a few hundred. The frame and storm door however moves this up to a couple of thousand. I walked away muttering to myself, we talked about it, turned around and walked back to the door guy. Oh yesh, then he added the install fee. --- Susan, being wiser than me, said "Don't walk away again or it will go even higher".

[Loggiebone]

I hear ya. Now to make matters worse i had my roof inspected the other day as a result of a hail storm in the spring that has virtually everyone replacing their roof. Since mine is only 5 years old I thought no way I need a roof. Wrong...78 squares and 12/12 pitch . Probably be around 35k. Thank God for insurance.

what next?!??

[802Mike]

Watching two middle aged guys doing HardiBoard siding today, I wonder how they ever finish a job. The customer
showed me the invoice for work done and it wasn't even itemized. Just, "Labor and Overhead Cost", WTF is that?
You put overhead into the labor rate! They were from about an hour away and wrapped up at 2:30. Must be they
bill travel time both ways. Many times these guys bill for their time picking up materials (two guys, one truck).
The other day I saw two guys spreading stone for a walkway with a wheelbarrow. One would lean on the tailgate
of the truck while the other wheeled the load over and dumped it and then the other would lean on the truck while
he shoveled stone into the wheelbarrow.
I wanted to extend my driveway for more trailer parking, tried to hire some guys, everyone was busy. Screw it, I
went and bought a mini excavator and did it myself in a weekend. Always wanted one anyway!
There are some hustlers out there that do a great job, but they have so much work that the scabs get the cast-offs
these guys can't do and milk them.
Stop in at the lumber yard where the pros goes! The guy with the Ford F250 is serious, the guy with the old Volvo
wagon won't be around in a year.