Location: No longer in a hovel in effluent Damnville, VA Gender:
Posted:
Jun 17, 2025 - 4:52am
Its real fun here in the Azores getting contractors to actually show up and do something also. I've been here 3 years now and my house remodeling is less than half done. There are so many ex-cowpats here buying houses that they want fixed up that the workers are spread way to thin. The guys working for me do really nice work but I am lucky to have them show up more than 2-3 times a month. When they are here they get a lot done but still its gonna take another 3 years or more to get the place done if I am lucky. Nearly every room in the house is in some middle stage of completion and mostly unusable. There are 3 full bathrooms and only one is functional etc.
Its even worse for the natives as the ex-cowpats can usually pay lots more than they can and the contractors go where the money is. They say if you want a new house built here its a minimum of 3 years. And it will get worse as all the contractors are getting old and usually their kids would work as apprentices and take over but none of the kids want to do manual labor anymore. And there are no schools that teach that stuff here.
Who knew dealing with home handyman types was so fraught?
I installed dad's new toilet after work and told him if the guy comes tomorrow or whenever, he'll have to pull the toilet but shouldn't start the clock until he's done that and actually starts work on the floor.
I guess thatâs something to hope for.
When we remodeled, our electrical guy killed himself. And our drywall guy died from an asthma attack.
During a remodel I had to fire our cabinet maker. Things got a bit ugly and there was some finger in chest confrontational stuff, but he grabbed his stuff and left. A couple weeks later, he shot up a police station in an attempted suicide by cop. He's in jail now, and has lambasted the police for their poor aim. Our next cabinet guy was really fantastic though.
Location: At the dude ranch / above the sea Gender:
Posted:
Jun 16, 2025 - 3:23pm
ScottFromWyoming wrote:
ON THE JOB?
At their homes, not in our house. Otherwise Iâd be selling it for cheap.
Very sad thing was that the drywall guyâs father called our contractor and asked what he had left undone that he was willing to come finish the job.
Location: At the dude ranch / above the sea Gender:
Posted:
Jun 16, 2025 - 2:45pm
ScottFromWyoming wrote:
I got up early this Monday morning and went to my 92-year-old dad's house and pulled his toilet in anticipation of a flooring guy coming at 8AM to fix some water damage to the subfloor and put down new linoleum. It was supposed to be a one-day job but he hasn't shown up yet (3 PM). So now I get to go reinstall a toilet and await notification from This Fucking Guy when he plans to show up. Tomorrow? Weeks from now?
He hasn't responded to any phone calls so maybe he's ceased to be.
I guess thatâs something to hope for.
When we remodeled, our electrical guy killed himself. And our drywall guy died from an asthma attack.
I got up early this Monday morning and went to my 92-year-old dad's house and pulled his toilet in anticipation of a flooring guy coming at 8AM to fix some water damage to the subfloor and put down new linoleum. It was supposed to be a one-day job but he hasn't shown up yet (3 PM). So now I get to go reinstall a toilet and await notification from This Fucking Guy when he plans to show up. Tomorrow? Weeks from now?
He hasn't responded to any phone calls so maybe he's ceased to be.
I got up early this Monday morning and went to my 92-year-old dad's house and pulled his toilet in anticipation of a flooring guy coming at 8AM to fix some water damage to the subfloor and put down new linoleum. It was supposed to be a one-day job but he hasn't shown up yet (3 PM). So now I get to go reinstall a toilet and await notification from This Fucking Guy when he plans to show up. Tomorrow? Weeks from now?
He hasn't responded to any phone calls so maybe he's ceased to be.
Every single letter to Chase regarding different credit cards gets me a reply saying theyâll deal with it in 4-5 business days.
And then, days later, I get a message saying that I have to handle it over the phone - the problem that I noticed a flipping WEEK ago.
Location: At the dude ranch / above the sea Gender:
Posted:
Jul 24, 2024 - 4:31pm
Every single letter to Chase regarding different credit cards gets me a reply saying theyâll deal with it in 4-5 business days.
And then, days later, I get a message saying that I have to handle it over the phone - the problem that I noticed a flipping WEEK ago.
Looks like you've become pretty well integrated in the local culture
