Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Spring is sprung

Ah what a lovely day! And it is my day off as well. We've had a bit of rain during the night so the air was all fresh and lovely when I went out to pick up the newspaper. Just one of those things you realize you've missed during winter. A fresh spring morning...

Well another thing I haven't missed is just how stressful it is to hire someone to do a job for you. We've had 2 builders here to have a look and give us an estimate of how much our decking plans would cost. I am still not sure who to give it to so we've called a third company and they are coming next Monday to have a look. Also we have a man coming here today to give us an estimate about new windows and a new patio door. There is just so much to think about, what you want, when you want it, how much is the topp end cost we can afford or want to afford. But mostly, who will do a good job?

Let me introduce the contenders. First guy drew a very nice first draft on his computer when here to see what we wanted. He's now come back with a more detailed draft that we said was what we would like so he is going to come back to us this week with a quote. We can call him Baldy (because he was, completely).

Second guy is more of a jack of all trades kind of guy. He came by on Sunday and had a quick measure up and came back with an offer later on same day which we were surprised about since we thought he would be a cheaper option. Maybe he is since we haven't got any others yet to compare with. We can call him Jack.

Third guy was very VERY nice on the phone but we haven't seen him yet. But I got to say that someone who has manners over the phone has an advantage.

I hate talking to builders, plumbers or whoever who cant see past the fact that yes I am a woman and yes it is me you will have to deal with since James thinks his Swedish still is too poor for such contacts. And I will NEVER EVER hire anyone who talks past me or treats me like an imbecile just because of my gender.

I'll keep you posted.

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