Tipping contractor?????

[tvguy]

Thanks for that explanation. Negotiating down the price after it started (and after he added necessary charges for some extra work) is not something I even thought of, and of course he called us each time he found some problems with the foundation that needed extra work and money (and he specified how much) and we gave him the go-ahead each time. But I guess thats what he meant and I did not understand as I would never have dreamt of trying to not pay him for what we agreed on. I would not be able to sleep at night if I did anything like that. In any case, I gave him an extra $50. And half of the payment for the next job he will do for us

Got bids on a bathroom repair yesterday. Lowest works out to $37.50 an hour for job, and $37.50 an hour for any additional work that turns up. Way way way above what I would tip for.

 

[HMANSION LOVER]

I think the best advice I can give, 28 year homeowner, is this: DON'T BE IN A RUSH!!!!! As another poster put it " I mentally double the time in my head". He does that because building and remodeling take a long time. We as humans want instant gradification which is contra indicated when trying to get a quality job done. You have to get more than one quote even if he comes highly recommended (the person recommending him my not even had work done may just be a freind helping him out by telling everyone he's a great contractor). You should get a minimum of 5, drop the lowest and the highest and then compare the remaining bids that are similar. Especially when your original contractor has found an underlying problem that was unforseen. In that case I recommend getting an independant contractor to asess the situation and see if he agrees with the first contractor. This will add more time to the job but will ease your apprehensions and fears. AND NEVER TIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!