ATTC, Episode 3: The Petes

The third contractors I met with were two guys named Peter.  They showed up with their notepads and measuring tape, ready to work.  I walked them around and they took notes and measurements.  They had suggestions for the project and asked me questions about what I was looking for, all the while writing everything down.  So far, these guys were impressing me.  I told them I was looking for a detailed bid, separating materials and labor.  The other contractors I met didn't seem willing to do that, but they said it would not be a problem.  They would give me a bid that was just labor, so I could "compare apples to apples".  Though without materials listed, I would need to do a little more work to figure out the exact budget, I was very excited to be able to get the exact labor cost.

I was very impressed with the guys.  They took measurements of the rooms, even measured the entire back of the house so they could give me a precise estimate of how much it would cost to restucco.  They pointed out aspects of the job that might take a bit more work, like the fact that I would likely have to replace the about a third of the wood floor in my master bedroom before it I refinished it because the boards appeared to have shrunk and were separated from each other.  Although this would mean that the repair cost would go up, I did like that they were actually looking at the job and giving me some realistic expectations about what needed to be done.  I told them that I was not interested in non-permitted work, that anything that required a permit would need one, and they were fine with that too.

They were at the house for about 45 minutes, measuring and discussing the plans with me and each other.  At the end, head Pete (the one I would sign the contract with) asked to set up a time later in the week to bring in his electrician and plumber so that they could have a look and get me a real number for how much those parts of the project would cost.  We set up a time to meet both subs at one time and they headed out.  I knew I would need to get and check references (they agreed to provide them), but I was pretty sure these were my guys.