I hope you tipped those guys.
I love a good outcome on home repair!
Could you explain what “slack in the liner” means? Thanks.
I would assume it’s a flexible chimney liner that was not pulled completely taut over its 20’ span, so there was enough slack left in it to lift it the 10 inches needed.
Hell, he could’ve tightened the wire, told you he replaced the board, collected the $500+labor and returned the board to the distributor (or sold it to the next person that needed it) and kept all the money.
I’m assuming you never saw the board before and haven’t looked at it since, it’s not like you would have known if he didn’t replace it.
This is pretty much the case. The liner they brought kind of looked like the bending part of an evil plastic straw. What gets me is the first guy could have checked for this right away. He apparently was more interested in making a sale!:mad:
The football game was on. I asked them if they wanted some snacks and a couple of beers or sodas and they declined. Otherwise I do not tip repair people.
To avoid this kind of concern and the work to become an instant expert, I’ve learned to find the best people for the job who come highly recommended and have a stellar BBB rating. If they are good communicating with and have a business-like attitude, then I go with their recommendation for the job. In other words, I find a trusted vendor to begin with. I’ve been doing this for years and never regretted it. I don’t believe in calling other vendors for a quote, because they might be cheaper because they cut-corners, and I wouldn’t know it either.
This company came with BBB highest rating. You think this was my first rodeo, JR?
Yes, I believe it is. As you said, it all worked out fine. So why so much distrust and drama then posting to ask if you are being cheated? If you had the experience and did your homework you would have trusted the price and allowed them to do their job without concern instead of creating stress for yourself. If you couldn’t afford a estimated $1K repair bill, that’s a different issue. But a higher price than expected doesn’t mean you are being cheated, because you aren’t an expert in this field which is why I made recommendations of how to do this. And dial down the snark with your “JR” comment, it was uncalled for.
As I said:
Which is exactly what I did. The company I went with has the highest recommendations and ratings in this area. However, after thinking about it, it seemed like the job was over sold for 10 lousy inches. And what do you know, I was right, wasn’t I?
Nah. Your condescending wouldn’t let me resist. Let’s call it a draw on this one and walk.
You’re obviously allowed to get as many or as few quotes as you’d like, but your reasoning really doesn’t make sense.
Look at it this way. If you find a vendor you like based on what you said (good at communication, professional attitude, highly recommended etc) and they do a job for $5000 and everything is perfect, that doesn’t mean the company that could do it for $4000 wouldn’t do an equally good job or the one that will charge you $7000 was going to do a better job.
Case in point: When I got my roof done a few years ago, I got 4 quotes. I chose the company that quoted me about $10k. The one that came in the highest was nearly double that, for the exact same job. A few minor differences but certainly nothing that justified almost $10,000 more. Same exact shingles too. That’s really the only thing that should have swung the price that far.
Both of these companies come very highly recommended in my area. Both are very professional. Both do good work. Both are trusted businesses.
As it turns out, I wasn’t alone here either. Just about everyone I’ve talked to since my roof was replaced that got a quote from the more expensive place said of all the quotes they got, that one was close to double what all the others were.
IOW, sometimes the only reason one vendor is more expensive is because they charge more.
Also, one thing I did notice about the more expensive roofer. While talking to me and going over their quote, they told me every single minor thing they would do (use hip and ridge shingles, Grace Ice and Water Shield, replace all the flashing, replace rubber boots around furnace exhaust etc), but they implied other companies wouldn’t do any of that. He actually told me, just as part of his spiel, that he could get the price down closer to the other quotes if he started removing all these extras because the other places don’t do any of that stuff (they do).
So, keep that in mind.
I skip the businesses that badmouth their competitors. It indicates to me they don’t have enough good things to say about themselves, and that when there’s a problem they’ll blame others instead of taking responsibility.
I agree. I’m a big believer in ‘tell me why you should get the job, not why other’s shouldn’t’. Sure, there’s room for ‘this is why I’m better/they’re worse’ but lets try to keep the sales pitch about what you’re going to do for me and why I should give you my money.
The funny thing is, I’m sure his sales technique works well (scaring people into thinking the other places wouldn’t do these things) but it just caused me to do more homework. FWIW, as soon as he gave me the price, he lost the job. There was literally nothing he could have said at that point to change my mind, I simply didn’t have that much to spend (and I told him that, to which he happily offered to set up a payment plan (read:lien)). But I talked to the other roofers I got quotes from and they all said basically the same thing ‘yes, of course we do all those things (and it was in their quotes)’ as well as being very familiar with this company’s tactics.
So with that in mind, if the expensive company wasn’t ruled out from their price alone, now I know they were just padding their invoice in an failed attempt of perceived value (more expensive=better).
If you look at Beowulf’s link, an aluminium chimney liner is a semi-rigid metal duct. It is corrugated to be able to bend but this also allows for some extra length if the slack is pulled out, much like a plastic bendable straw.
Yeah … three years ago when we moved into this house, we had to get our HVAC replaced (new AC, new furnace, new water heater). We called two localish small business contractors that were recommended. One quoted $5500 for all that with a 2-stage furnace (American Standard), the second one quoted us closer to $7.5K for that with a 1-stage furnace (and similar AC–they may have been Lennox). One of my friends from a big box (Lowe’s) recommended we get an estimate from their contractor – a large, well-known local contractor that has constant radio commercials in the area. They quoted $11K and didn’t even include the water heater in the quote. And, at least Yelp-wise, they were also the only contractor reviewed at under 4 stars (2.5 stars). But you know what, they have an A+ rating with the BBB. Honestly, BBB ratings mean next to nothing to me unless they are bad.
I went, hesitatingly, with the $5500 guys and I couldn’t be happier. I don’t always get several quotes for a project if somebody comes very highly recommended, but it’s certainly worth doing.
Not so much for the repair, but the fact that they saved you several hundred dollars.
By being honest whereas the first guy was lying, or at best just overly enthused to make a sale? Forget it. Offering them some snacks and drinks was fair enough. They got paid to do the work they did, which was replace the cap. Still cost me $275 for 10 minutes work.
Where does this tip shit end? The auto mechanic discovers your breaks were squealing because they were wet from last nights rain and doesn’t slap you with an expensive brake job. So on top of paying him for the inspection you have to tip him as well?
The exterminator determines you don’t have bed bugs so in addition to his inspection fee you have to pay him a tip as well because he could have hit you for an expensive job?
This nonsense is starting to sound like extortion. I resent having to tip wait staff here but do because of the ludicrous pay scale they have forced on them. In most other countries tipping wait staff is optional if not outright not done at all. But everyone else? Nope. I’m not tipping you because you were more honest than your coworker who tried to stick me. And that doesn’t make me a dick.
Jesus, man, calm down. I didn’t call you a dick. No biggie, don’t tip if you don’t want to.
You didn’t mention that before, so folks gave some general advice, which is useful for other people with similar issues who might read this thread looking for suggestions.
No need to jump down our collective throats for that.
I didn’t jump down anyones throat. But the OP did say I had a reputable company come out. At the time I didn’t think come I had to expand on why I considered them reputable. But then I got hit with this condescending attitude like I’m some rube who doesn’t know how to research and pick a contractor. You can be sure that the next guy who researches them will know my full story. That first guy was over zealous to sell what I apparently didn’t need. Like going to an auto garage for a flat tire and being told you need a new car. Luckily the guys that actually showed up to do the work were honest enough to point out the truth. I wonder if they’ll get in trouble for that back at the office?
I own 4 properties and taxes are due at the end of the month. So saving that $800 helps!