| Contractor 1: The
first company we interviewed is a home improvement and remodeling
company based in Canton, Michigan. An interior designer came out
with a glossy brochure and an impressive portfolio with references.
The company had done remodeling work for several doctors, athletes,
and the like, with impressive (and expensive!) results.
It was a bit intimidating, and although it felt like being on
"Designer's Challenge" on HGTV, we felt the company was a bit
out of our league. Their basements started at $30,000 (for 1,000
sq feet), and went up from there. With some of the customization
we would need, my wife and I expected the final cost would end
up closer to $50,000. We opted to pass, and waited for contractor
#2 who was coming the next day.
Contractor 2: This guy was to polar opposite
of the designer who came the day before. He runs the business
from his house, and subcontracts most of the work. He came highly
recommended, so we had high hopes.
His 'portfolio' was a stack of snapshots taken over the past
several years. Come on dude- invest $5 in a decent photo album!
It would make a world of difference! He was very unprofessional,
and a few times, suggested 'shortcuts' to finishing the basement
that were not up to code, or maybe even illegal. (His reasoning
was "who's gonna know?") He also made a few 'off color' comments
that I found offensive.
To make matters worse, he never actually gave me an estimate!
The day he was supposed to bring it over (he wouldn't tell me
over the phone) he cancelled due to bad weather. When I asked
him to e-mail the estimate details, he said "I don't really use
a computer. But my wife can mail it…but my computer is broken…but
she can use the neighbor's…." blah, blah, blah… STILL waiting
on that estimate! Any day now….
Contractor 3: This company is a local family-operated
business run by brothers, and started by Grandpa. I found them
on the Internet. They had a decent Web site, but nothing special.
One of the owners came out. He showed up on time, was very professional,
and put together a detailed competitive estimate. The only negative
was he didn't bring any pictures of their work. (They were in
his work van which was 'in the shop'.)
His estimate was about $23,000. This included most of what we
need; however, it didn't include priming, painting, and/or carpeting
(services they don't offer.) When I estimated my materials costs
(about 12k) versus what they were providing, I decided to do it
myself.
I figured it would be a good learning experience (plus I could
use the money I saved to pay for my home theater!) One thing that
surprised me is that neither of the two companies followed-up
with me after the estimate. In one way it's great to not get a
'hard sell', but they may have been able to persuade me to use
their services with the right approach. Hmm.
Anyway, my DIY project was now a GO!
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