Why is it so hard to find people that know what they are doing

invaderzim

invaderzim

Super Member
and care about what they are doing?

Last year our roof sprung a leak. It is a concrete tile roof. I'm slightly handy around the house but figured rather than worry about if I'd fixed he problem every time it rained I'd pay someone to come out and fix it right the first time. I searched through reviews and found a well rated place that got back to me quickly, I took the day off work, paid them a good chunk of money and it was fixed.... until last night.

My first thought was to call them today and try to figure out when they could get out there and take a look at it and probably end up with them saying it was a new problem that wasn't related to the one they fixed or something like that.

Thinking about how much of a hassle that would be I climbed up on the roof in the rain and found the problem and did a temporary fix to get us through until the rain lets up in a few days and I can seal it right where the water is clearly finding its way through (the 1" section that wasn't properly sealed when they built the house) and trim a couple tiles down by 1/8 to 1/4 so that it actually matches the other side of the area where the water flows fine and doesn't have blockage issues that push the water up into that 1" section missing sealant.

They had cleaned up some blockage and replaced some wood that had rotted but didn't actually address the cause of the problem. Were they somehow less knowledgeable than a person that had only ever been on a roof once before? Were they just lazy? Were they counting on a follow-up repair call? What is wrong with people?
 
Incompetence and Lack of Pride is about it.

I once had a leak and had 5 quotes. Not one company went into the attic to see if the leak was actually coming from where the water ended up. I finally had a friend who is a GC take a look and the first thing he wanted to do is look in the attic. There he found that the leak was coming from a whole different location, running across a beam, then into my family room. I let him fix it.

Then I had a new roof put on and the idiots had no clue how to flash. I withheld payment until I had my buddy inspect it all. The roofing company had 2 guys a whole day redoing flashing and following the samples my buddy cut and drew for them.

It's a shame, but not many people care or have any pride.
 
A lot of 'em are just stupid. They don't know what they're doing. Easy to learn to squeeze a nailgun trigger (hey this is fun!!) and call yourself a carpenter. Calling someone with a state license can give you a little confidence that they will know what they're doing but even that's no guarantee. Sadly the word "craftsmanship" is not in a lot of "craftsmen" vocabulary nowadays.
One reason I generally do the stuff myself. At least I'm cheap and if it's screwed up I don't have anyone but myself to blame.
 
Hyfi said:
Not one company went into the attic to see if the leak was actually coming from where the water ended up.
Click to expand...

It is funny you say that, after chasing down water leaks in cars the first thing I did was checked the attic to see where it was originating. I now have a temporary camera setup inside the attic so I can watch to make sure it doesn't start leaking again in the current storm
 
While not pleased by your problems, it is a little reassuring that this is a world-wide problem, and not just something we in the third-world have to live with.

Most of them are too ignorant or stupid to even realise that they don't know what they are doing - it's not a strategy.
 
steerpike2 said:
it is a little reassuring that this is a world-wide problem
Click to expand...

My friends in Germany and Switzerland say it's even starting to happen there,
where it most definitely didn't use to. Maybe everyone's just getting old?
 
I rarely let people work on my house and when I do, I try to learn as much about the job as possible. Knowing technique and material is important when screening handymen. And it is important to monitor the job in progress. It's sort of a bell curve thing. I wish the guys were always at the far left end of intelligence and integrity but that is almost always not the case.
 
I got lucky with my roofer. They delivered and did a good job. I recommended them to family. To the mechanic inspecting my car tried to rip me off for shocks, well, they are out of business.
 
The landlord had someone come over to repair the chimney, as the top part was crumbling and not up to code. And also, re-mortar and replace a couple of blocks supporting the front porch. The porch repair lasted about six months until spring rolled around. One freeze/thaw cycle was all it took. I've patched it up myself.

For the chimney, they were dropping the new blocks on the asphalt shingle roof. They also made a mess of the neighbor's driveway, and the head goon bitched to me about our neighbor telling him to clean up the shards he left on the driveway. He also tried to steal my own aluminum extension ladder. A few months later, we have water leaking in the exhaust fan in the bathroom. And one time, a seam in the kitchen suddenly let loose with water.

Landlord has a roofer come out. He takes a look on the roof--the goons had damaged some of the flashing when they were letting the new blocks fall onto the roof. The other leak was around the utility conduit running through a section of the roof (not related to the goons) and he fixed that also.

The fence at the rear of the property was also a sloppy job. And that goon didn't clear away the blocks of concrete, nor did he ever return to finish removing the stump.

Yet we've had a handyman work around here before--he sided the garage in a day, and did an excellent job. Sad thing is, he's too good, and now he's booked up for months. Our HVAC guy runs a small operation but he also does good, honest work.

So many out there take no pride in their work these days. And I don't see millennials rushing to fill the void as these aging service workers retire. Plumbers, roofers, electricians, HVAC techs...what's going to happen in 20-30 years? At least it can't be outsourced overseas.
 
I have repeat customers for many, many, years because if I don't/can't fix their problem they don't pay. The risk and expense is all mine and my customers come back time and time again because they know that. And that's whyits called work.
 
Last edited:
Civilization. If you can call it that, is falling apart.

The old craftsman type mentality died sometime in the 60s. I know very few people that can fix anything or make anything.

DIY has nearly died out so a lot of skill and knowledge has died.

The cost of living pushed labor cost and that pushed profit margins which pushed hiring anyone dumb enough to work cheap. Sadly, much of cheap labor is not very bright. Well meaning, hard working but just not smart.

The other end is in trouble also. Incredibly bright talented know it all educated kids that could not care less if they screw up.
 
I have found that it seems that it is darned near impossible to find a really good contractor that is a true craftsman that has the skills and actually cares to do a job correctly.. I am going to retire in a couple of years. My wife has a couple of relatively big remodel projects that she wants to have done-Hardwood floors, re-do the en-suite master bath. I just had the guest bath remodeled about a month ago. I paid for, and expected it to be perfect. I was disappointed. And, I do not know anyone that can recommend someone. It is scary to turn a contractor loose in your house when you are unsure of how it will turn out. I would do all of this work myself, but I have reached the point in my life that home remodeling is not what I want to spend my time doing. I guess I will ask for and actually contact their references. Not a guarantee, certainly, but maybe we'll get lucky.
 
I guess that I feel like if I pay for perfection, that is what I expect. I am more than willing to pay for an expert craftsman. I just can't seem to find one. I used to watch Mike Holmes on TV talking about all of the mistakes and shoddy work he was fixing for folks that used inferior contractors that did not deliver on their promises. His advise is spot on. It just doesn't seem like it is possible to actually find a good one.
 
I agree that people the economy is different these days.
Except for the rich getting richer, middle class folks income hasn't even kept up with inflation. So people don't want to pay what it costs to actually pay local people a living wage. So the contractors use cheap, inferior help (I'm speaking in generalities here) and there you are.

I've also found you can't trust any contractors - and keep reading in the new about contractors here in Iowa ripping people off - and there's basically nothing they can do. Sometimes people will take the contractor to court, win - and still not be paid anything because there's no enforcement. without getting into the forbidden subject, it's considered too much of burden on small business to allow any enforcement.
 
peerson said:
I guess that I feel like if I pay for perfection, that is what I expect. I am more than willing to pay for an expert craftsman. I just can't seem to find one. I used to watch Mike Holmes on TV talking about all of the mistakes and shoddy work he was fixing for folks that used inferior contractors that did not deliver on their promises. His advise is spot on. It just doesn't seem like it is possible to actually find a good one.
Click to expand...

Oh, I think they are out there. They are just far and few between, IMO.
 
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