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cathyr19355 at 11:57pm on 01/03/2008
cathyr19355 at 11:57pm on 01/03/2008I finally did get Contractor Guy to visit, and look at my basement.
He thinks that it may be possible to solve our problem with a combination of gutter replacement/repair (to keep the runoff from the roof from landing so close to the house) and grading of the soil near the house (to keep the water that sinks into the ground from seeping straight down to the foundations).
Since I need the gutter work done anyway, and this will be cheaper than having one of those Basement Dry Guys rip apart our built-in wall units to rebuild things, I agreed. The estimated work will be about $1,800, about 40% of which is the gutter-related stuff that I knew I needed in any case. Here's hoping it cures the basement problem too!
Meanwhile, shortly after my conversation with Contractor Guy, another guy (this one a stranger to me) rang my doorbell. This one said he's an asphalt-laying contractor who's doing work in the area on people's driveways, and would I let him do mine? Since he was there already, he was prepared to give me a price break of $100 or so on labor, and would only charge me about $900.
I *do* need the driveway redone, but I need the gutter and grading work done more, and in any event I don't like to make snap decisions about spending that much money when I'm not feeling quite well. So I told him to leave his card and/or come back later.
He came back the next day. I had![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
esrblog take his business card and send him away. I will eventually get back to him--after the more urgent work is paid for and when I'm feeling more up to making decisions.
House=money pit. Even a good, solidly built house like mine. Sigh.
He thinks that it may be possible to solve our problem with a combination of gutter replacement/repair (to keep the runoff from the roof from landing so close to the house) and grading of the soil near the house (to keep the water that sinks into the ground from seeping straight down to the foundations).
Since I need the gutter work done anyway, and this will be cheaper than having one of those Basement Dry Guys rip apart our built-in wall units to rebuild things, I agreed. The estimated work will be about $1,800, about 40% of which is the gutter-related stuff that I knew I needed in any case. Here's hoping it cures the basement problem too!
Meanwhile, shortly after my conversation with Contractor Guy, another guy (this one a stranger to me) rang my doorbell. This one said he's an asphalt-laying contractor who's doing work in the area on people's driveways, and would I let him do mine? Since he was there already, he was prepared to give me a price break of $100 or so on labor, and would only charge me about $900.
I *do* need the driveway redone, but I need the gutter and grading work done more, and in any event I don't like to make snap decisions about spending that much money when I'm not feeling quite well. So I told him to leave his card and/or come back later.
He came back the next day. I had
esrblog take his business card and send him away. I will eventually get back to him--after the more urgent work is paid for and when I'm feeling more up to making decisions.House=money pit. Even a good, solidly built house like mine. Sigh.
hopeful
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http://www.allaboutstuff.com/General/Outwitting_Gypsy_Home_Repair_And_Home_Improvement_Hustlers.asp
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He claims to be the same person who did my neighbor's driveway. If so, my neighbor may turn up in the reference list. But I certainly wasn't going to take his word for it, sight unseen, without checking.
Frankly, "scam" was the first thing I thought of, which was the other reason why I didn't intend to just say "oh sure, go get started...." Thanks for the advice.
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The late aviation writer Gordon Baxter put it like this: "What does it take to own an airplane? Everything you've got." A house isn't nearly as bad.
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It'll also make some things possible that aren't otherwise...for example, it'll cut the time needed to go visit Paul's parents from 6 hours each way to 2, and that means that we can actually plan a visit for a day.
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There's regrading, and there's filling in what sinks
Re: There's regrading, and there's filling in what sinks
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That's a very common scam. You'd likely wind up with used motor oil spread over your driveway. He'll tell you to "let it dry" and it never will and he'll be long gone by the time you find out.
Really, it's a scam. Trust us.
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In any event, I need more than just resurfacing and would insist upon same. My driveway is deeply rutted and needs to be scraped and leveled as well.
Completely off topic....
or 2 ago - something about ammo - & when I tried to post a
response, I was told that I was blocked.
Um, did I actually do something to tick him off?
Or was this some sort of glitch?
Re: Completely off topic....
I don't even know if he's looked at his blog lately; he's been busy with other stuff.
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