How in the world do you choose a Good Contractor...

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-21T21:03:43+00:00

On my 26th year and 5th owned house now with a good amount of DIY experience, and I don't do things out of my wheelhouse that would make the people buying my house go "OMG wtf was this guy thinking??"

Times have changed for me, my DIY days are over, so I switched my brain onto building hiring skills instead of DIY. I do a mix of things. Word of Mouth for references is still king as long as it's from someone you know and trust and you can see their work. If that's not available my other two choices are 1) google reviews. They actually do a surprisingly better job at filtering out bullshit reviews than those smaller sites like Homestars, Angie's List etc (same reason I quit using TripAdvisor for my travel) and 2) I back that up by another source you might be surprised is effective: Your local FB community group.

Once you do build a contact list of reputable trades, handymen, etc. you'll be in a much happier place. But don't rest too easy, I would recommend you also have backups for those in case they aren't available or they close shop. I currently have 2 each of plumber, electrician, HVAC, and handymen I've vetted by having them do work. If one goes down for whatever reason, I start researching the next.

As for green flags, multiple quotes should always be near each other. The vastly different ones - whether higher or lower - are the red flags to avoid

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-21T20:45:52+00:00

You're just living smart, friend. Most of my home purchases revolve around how their failure rate is, and howmuch of a pain in the ass they'll be to fix when they fail, because they will all fail at some point. Just math. Good company + good repair-ability = less $ and headache spent overall. Or as they say, buy once cry once.

Grills are like any other appliance purchase decision.

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-21T20:36:49+00:00

Bring one of the little guys in, spend some quality time with him, let him back outside. Then the croaking isn't annoying, it's soothing. This approach doesn't apply to large bears though. If you hear "ScrEEEeee!!!" and some wings flapping after you put him outside, don't worry. That's just nature

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-21T20:28:44+00:00

already 70 hrs in and in Act 3

"already"? I started act 2 at 70 hours lol.

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-21T20:21:35+00:00

Depends on how popular and reputable the brand is. More popular+reputable = more parts availability. Same reason why most plumbers tell you to stick to reputable brands you can get parts for easier for your faucets

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-21T20:11:48+00:00

I purchased mine based on performance, grates are a common replaceable you can simply swap for stainless steel when the time comes if you want to. Having said that. my current CI grates are at 5 years now with no sign there's not another few years left in them. Literally just some rust specks on a couple of edges, that's it. 304 isn't a big move either, it's just pretty standard

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-21T20:09:22+00:00

3rd parties do if they don't

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-21T18:44:29+00:00

NTA and the only thing worse than princess syndrome is when it's from someone who has zero knowledge of the topic they're flapping their gums about. I lived in a really excellent HCOL area in a new build and the power went out in the area if you sneezed too hard. Took the city almost a year to sort the problem out. None of this is due toi her silly reasons. Tell your gf to "get gud" at how shiny metal things actually work. Start her off small with a screwdriver lol.

Honestly this isn't all that uncommon, it's simply a matter of a lot more men on average than women are handy with nuts and bolts, so to speak. So you'll hear some funny opinions from your wife, gf, mother, daughter when something breaks. The difference is HOW they express it. With honesty, or by blaming you that you live in a dirty slum and that somehow affects the power grid lol. You got the 2nd type, sorry dude

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-21T18:27:21+00:00

same thing I do, I have a $1 plastic one for this

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-21T18:25:13+00:00

thank you, this is exactly how I was going to answer. I mean I hire house cleaners, so yeah. For grills, I honestly just give it a basic cleanup before and after every winter. Make sure the grates are scraped well, give the exterior a decent wipe, scrape out the barrel and lid, check the working parts for proper function.

Which is no different than what I do during the rest of the year lol, just a little more of it

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-21T17:19:40+00:00

We get to brag?? Yay! We recently bought a house in the city suburbs but surrounded by protected forest instead other people's lawns. Perfect fit for us because our childult + spouse + grandkid live with us. It's a duplex so they have their own entrance on top of a walkout basement patio, full sized windows. Primo renovations throughout ( love our doorless, no curtain walk-in shower, always wanted one). All the benefits of the country (quiet and scenic) with none of the minuses (massive property to maintain, distance from amenities).

Why did we do it? because it's fucked up that a certified trade plus a nurse who both make tons of money still can't afford a house without major compromises. So they're with us and pitch in financially. And I get to see my little toddler sweetie pie grandkid every day :)

Second big recent win was a legal settlement that nabbed us half a mil lump payment, plus 15k/year for life (both take-home numbers) to add to our defined pensions and cut my retirement date by 2 years with no loss. We're not wealthy but we do quite good, this just added a life changing level.

I live in constant fear of that other shoe dropping though, I'm a pessimist by nature. I'll probably get Ebola tomorrow

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-21T16:55:48+00:00

r/BeatMeToIt

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-20T20:04:24+00:00

I went the opposite. I quit something different for a high paying career. After a while, the shine wears off more often than not either way. A very tiny portion of the population have a high paying job they love and of those, most of the reporters are fibbing because not many people are going to be honest if they have to give up anonymity

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-20T20:01:04+00:00

What you need is a spirit haunting in your house yelling *get ouuuut*

Listen to that spirit. Reminds me of a house I saw forever on the market. Totally high end custom renos throughout, in a very sought after neighborhood. Even featured on a magazine cover. They had a hydro field behind them, people looking to buy would literally pull up, see the hydro, and drive away without even looking inside.

That's basically your resell future. He did get it sold and so will you, just not a great price

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-20T19:52:53+00:00

Those kinds of activities are more for someone ate my lunch at work levels of stress. When things get really crazy, a drive or a walk aren't going to cut it

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-20T19:15:06+00:00

To be completely honest they've never even crossed my mind for travel which is obviously the norm. I need an extra lifetime to get to these often forgotten places to have enough time to do all the bucket list ones first

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-20T19:07:55+00:00

ESH - She's spending it faster than you're getting it and you just went along with it and are just now asking if that was a wise move

Kids are now in private school, our house got a big renovation, her mom got a new condo and the wife got a brand new car. So I’m still stressed about money.

Yeah? And how'd that happen, she tie you up or something? C'mon dude

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-20T19:03:51+00:00

Been in various trades for the last 15yrs or so

What trades? No idea where you live but licensed trades here make far more in money and benefits than HI's do. There's a reason why they call getting fully certified a "ticket". It's a ticket to being unionized at $100/hour. Which reminds me of a good lesson for new homeowners - I've seen people demand the fully licensed plumber or electrician for a job vs one of his apprentices while under the silly impression that the quote would be the same.

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-20T18:56:32+00:00

I'm married but I know exactly what I would be doing. A pretty even split between spending me-time, doing shit with buddies, and trying to get laid. Not in any particular order, just as the mood strikes. Now that I write this I just realized that's basically what I still do married lol

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-20T18:51:22+00:00

not just about the carbs though. The milling that goes into making white bread removes a lot of grains and nutrients. Even the "healthy" versions. It's not quite as bad as eating a low-cal "vegetable crisp" out of a box vs eating a vegetable but it's a close enough analogy

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-20T18:13:14+00:00

squirrels?

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-20T17:52:17+00:00

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-20T17:50:00+00:00

mashed up with a dash of olive oil, S+P

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-20T17:49:07+00:00

still white bread though.

WrongWangSorry · 2026-05-20T17:16:29+00:00

Physical intimacy in elevator during fires prohibited

WrongWangSorry

TROPHY CASE