Good help is hard to find

I'm on my 4th HVAC guy. One guy was ridiculously expensive. One guy stood me up 3 days in a row. One guy hasn't returned calls. Another disappeared. This is ridiculous. If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourwelf, it seems. The only problem is, sometimes you have no choice but to use a licensed contractor for code reasons, permits, etc. And that is where it gets frustrating. Not one thing has went smoothly so far on my studio build. I'm still angry about the poor quality concrete job that I will STILL have to level myself.

I feel your pain... Such is the main reason I have done (and am still doing :roll:) all the work myself. I had similar experiences trying to get a concrete contractor to give me an estimate a couple of years ago. Only one eagerly appeared for an appointment, but he was unlicensed. :x I finally got a great one via a referral from someone I know in the home construction industry. It may be getting (believe it or not) a little easier now that the housing market is correcting. Back when I was looking for a concrete contractor, home construction in my area was red hot. Marc (guitardad72) reported some contractor horrors down in central Florida. Very sad state of affairs indeed. :( Kind of makes you wish you had the likes of "Span" and company as friends on this side of the pond, eh? (Referring to Lou's great crew...) Hang in there, man. Ask everyone you know for referrals. --Keith :mrgreen:

Kieth is right. We all suffer the same fate it seems. Getting good contractors is a nightmare. I'm just fortunate to have a friend that is a contractor (that guides me in doing it myself) and a dad that is in A/C and heating (whom I worked for through school). I still do most all of the work myself, but at least I have reliable help when I need it. What little I've had to contract, I have to about threaten their lives to get them to do things correctly and on time. :evil: As far as your concrete, I don't know how big your project is, or how bad it's out, but there are self-leveling concrete products out there that might help you. You can pick them up at Home-Depot in the flooring dept. But then - I don't know if that will affect you structurally. Maybe Keith or Rod can answer that. Hang in there. It just takes time. Scott