The common denominator I see is, you. What are you telling these contractors and how are you communicating it?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:19 contractors is crazy. They might know what you’re doing and not want to participate in this competition for the cheapest price.

Had I been you I would have narrowed it down to five based on reviews and recommendations, and gotten quotes from three.

I started with 5 and gave them a few days to respond and then just started contacting everyone with high google reviews.

I think your problem is Google reviews.

+1 selecting any contractor based on Google reviews is insane.

The tariff situation are causing huge concerns with supply. A deck uses really expensive supplies that can wildly fluctuate during inflation/ supply chain issues/ tariffs. Now add to that deportations of legal immigrant labor. So unless they can immediately take the job and buy supplies this week it is risky to estimate.

BIL is a contractor and isn’t looking into providing estimates for jobs he will do in late summer/fall. He is responsible and has a great reputation (he jokes all that takes is show up on time and do the job) so he knows he can wait until late summer to give estimates for work in the fall.

Anonymous wrote:Update: I got another estimate in writing, so now I have two in writing and three verbal. I guess I have enough to work with. It's just interesting that contractors are so hard to get things in writing. I had a problem with a contract a few years ago, and because it wasn't in writing, they either forgot or didn't want to complete the job, and ended up leaving 5k because they didn't want to deal with an inspection.

Whatever you do get a contract in writing and signed, especially for a small job! I've drafted contracts for some jobs capturing all the vendor's verbal promises and claims and a few terms, insurance, warranty etc. A few have asked if they could use it because they didn't have one, lol!! I will never understand if a vendor doesn't wan't to do a small job just be upfront about it when a person makes an initial query so no one's time is wasted, but why getting multiple estimates is a bad thing or makes a person difficult when so many have been ripped off, lied to and abandoned by that industry is mindboggling. It's a job to them but it's your home or someone's home and when they have long moved on you have to live with their work, good or bad, finished or unfinished.

I'm in the industry and here is my feedback. If you contacted NINETEEN contractors and ONLY three of them responded... you are the problem.
GCs RUN AWAY from problem clients and they have a pretty well trained radar to keep problem clients away from them.
How do they do that? They don't provide an estimate.
Either there's a problem with your project or with you as a person. Sorry but, yeah. We do that a lot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Contractors talk to each other and network. They may know you’ve called a large number of them and are just not interested because you seem unserious.

Lol - from my experience most of you barely have the executive functioning skills to walk and breathe at the same time

Sounds like your house only merits bottom-barrel craftsmanship.

Anonymous wrote:Contractors may be good or great at their craft but not so great with business or with people.
You have the right to get as many estimates as you want! 5, 10, 25! Who cares? There are thousands of contractors in the DC metro area. They aren't going to weekly meetings and sharing stories of estimates they gave.
Also are you a woman? I've dealt with some who are so arrogant and sexist! Also for some their assumptions are insulting, that you not serious, don't have the money, don't know what you are talking about, etc. I had one tell me what want will cost a lot. What is a lot? That's not for him to decide! It actually wasn't a lot in my opinion but I will never work with him. Also I've had contractors call me up a few months later asking if I am still interested because they can start right away.
Trust and believe they all aren't busy in this economy.

They put off small jobs that aren't really money makers to them. They stay mostly busy with larger contract work doing multiple new builds or renovations at a time.

Contractors may be good or great at their craft but not so great with business or with people.
You have the right to get as many estimates as you want! 5, 10, 25! Who cares? There are thousands of contractors in the DC metro area. They aren't going to weekly meetings and sharing stories of estimates they gave.
Also are you a woman? I've dealt with some who are so arrogant and sexist! Also for some their assumptions are insulting, that you not serious, don't have the money, don't know what you are talking about, etc. I had one tell me what want will cost a lot. What is a lot? That's not for him to decide! It actually wasn't a lot in my opinion but I will never work with him. Also I've had contractors call me up a few months later asking if I am still interested because they can start right away.
Trust and believe they all aren't busy in this economy.

Anonymous wrote:This is crazy. I assumed contractors would not be busy now, with all the economic uncertainty. I don't know anyone who is planning to renovate, and several who have postponed work.

People selling and moving = renovations for the next renter or buyer.

Economic or job uncertainty is a boom time for contractor, RE, and lawyers.

This is crazy. I assumed contractors would not be busy now, with all the economic uncertainty. I don't know anyone who is planning to renovate, and several who have postponed work.

With tariffs, prices have changed along with supply lines.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Contractors talk to each other and network. They may know you’ve called a large number of them and are just not interested because you seem unserious.

Lol - from my experience most of you barely have the executive functioning skills to walk and breathe at the same time, let also cross-check who has called different contractors in the general area asking for quotes.

Op, they're some combination of too busy (applies to the good ones or the small operations that can only take on so many clients), or just too disorganized and chaotic to remember to return calls and follow up on stuff. A lot of times they be on drugs too.

These were probably the kids in school who never remembered to turn in homework or do anything on time, even when obviously harmful to themselves. Some people just can't get themselves together, and many of those people go into the trades since they have neither the IQ, motivation, or general social/life skills to fit in anywhere else.


Just talk to people who have had work done recently and if they like their contractor go with them. Don't waste a second thought on the others.

Not my experience at all. You may be operating from a place of some kind of assumption/bias here.