I love working on my house. And I actually enjoy remodeling projects.
But I hate, hate dealing with subcontractors. Every time I do I hate it even more.
I think it's worse when you've educated yourself about the particular trade and task at hand. I've found the majority of these guys [in my area] cut corners and are ethically dubious. Plenty of lies about what's safe and what's not, extremely high marked up material costs, refusal to do work that doesn't feel like it's worth their time but should be part of the job/bid, etc. Hey, I get running a business. I'm not an unreasonable guy. I'm just looking for honesty, integrity, and just a little bit of value to make me feel ok about parting with hard-earned money. That's asking for too much right?
Add to that an extremely corrupt building department and you can't trust anyone except yourself to make sure things are safe and to code for your family.
I think part of the issue is location. I'd describe the vast majority of subs that do residential work here to be "fast and loose," and they prey on homeowners that have zero know-how and flush pockets. They are not starving for work AT ALL but the quality of their work is not very good. And the guys that are really good end up doing mostly commercial work and have sky-high residential prices - they'll take your job if you make it worth their while. Example bid $6k for an extremely basic $2k plumbing rough-in. Over the last 10 years, I've dealt with highly recommended and reviewed "top-rated" electricians, HVAC, and plumbers in the area. I've found ONE plumber I'd call back for a future job and zero electricians. On every major job I've ended up being more informed about the code than the person I hired. On every major job I've ended up catching the guy in some kind of switcheroo or lie that affects the overall quality of the job or the safety of it. And I'm not hiring unlicensed people off Craigslist or anything - we're talking some of the most well-known businesses in the area.
Last 5-star electrician I called in to bid a job? High on meth during the bid.
Last plumbing rough-in? Inspector showed up drunk, passed the work because he knew the plumber, didn't catch the code violations we knew were there. Then I had to ask them to fix the stuff that wasn't to code and that the inspector didn't bother to catch.
My highly reviewed HVAC guy who's on the job at the moment? Caught him trying to install a single-stage furnace when the agreed upon model is a dual-stage. Guess he thought the model numbers would look similar enough and dummy homeowner wouldn't know any better or check. Could have been an honest mistake but I doubt that given how he has been on the rest of the job. Uh, and what's with the attitude like you're doing me a favor after I caught the "mistake?" Did you not bid the job and did I not agree to your price?
Protecting the home while they work on it? Forget about it.
But when I've dealt with subs in the suburbs at other properties, they are much better. There's actually a decent shot at getting someone who at least seems to be a stand-up person. Fair price, honesty, good advice, and gasp, even a PLEASANT experience. There seems to be a more balanced mix of good folks and shady ones.
I'm just venting after this frustrating HVAC experience. It boggles my mind how I can hand over so much cash to someone and still have a frustrating experience, and have that be the norm rather than the exception. I know there are lots of guys in the various trades on this forum and this isn't directed at you, as my experiences seem to be related to the deterioration of the trades within my particular city. I'm just at a loss for how hard it has gotten to find good people around here. And my wife wonders where I get an endless energy to educate myself on DIY projects that only a crazy person would DIY. It isn't even about saving money anymore like it used to be when we were younger and cash-strapped.