Contractors who return calls?

[gentlescholar.livejournal.com]

Hello all,

I am in moderately urgent need of a contractor (of the home repair type). I hope the job is small but
it might escalate. I've left messages with several but none have called me back.
Is there anyone local you recommend?

Comments

[ron_newman]

I tagged this -- see if any of the older tagged postings are helpful.

[barodar.livejournal.com]

What's the job?

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

I posed this same question about a year ago, and was referred to Angie's list. I'll be forever grateful to whomever rec'd that site.

You have to join (IOW, pay a fee), but I highly recommend it, cause you can pick and choose what type of contractor that best suits your needs, location, job size, etc. And they have other services as well.

My experience with them was positive as far as feedback is concerned (called 3, they all called me back eventually). Two of the three I met with were way above my budget, but like Goldilocks, I picked the third, and he's working out so far; I'll let you know how it goes when we're done (I still got at least 8 weeks of work to go...).

Good luck.

[enveri.livejournal.com]

We had mixed results with Angie's List while living in Chicago. Some of them don't seem interested in work, I guess, and won't return calls.

[secretlyironic.livejournal.com]

I have had several good experiences with Abe barker -- especially for small to medium jobs.

http://www.abriambarkercarpentry.com/

[enhf94.livejournal.com]

Me too. He came across to me as a little odd but I was fine with it and his work has held up perfectly for a year or so of heavy use.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Clarifying what kind of job you need done is important for knowing who to recommend. I know a very responsible guy who does lots of small jobs mostly involving wood stuff (doors, walls, porches, cabinetry, etc.) but if you're looking for some tilework, or electrical, or plumbing work, he's not your guy.

(Sorry, not sure how this originally got attached to Secretlyironic's comment. Whoops!)

[dahdahdahdancer.livejournal.com]

I've had good experiences with all-around handyman Kris Routt (617-230-5050) for small jobs over the years - carpentry, tiling, plastering, rebuilding front steps, fixing fence gate, etc., etc.

[she-of-emeralds.livejournal.com]

I ditto this about Kris. He returned my call promptly and did a very good job (it was to clear out the snow and ice from my driveway spot), and he seemed very professional.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Sergio! http://www.yelp.com/biz/sergios-renovations-medford He did an emergency Thanksgiving-week shower repair for us -- only shower in the house so we needed it done urgently, and it was. Our tile is totally outdated and he wasn't going to be able to get anything to match it, and it would've looked weird to have one wall with different tile than the rest, so his guys took down all the tile without breaking a single one, fixed the plumbing, and put the tile back actually better than before.

[ron_newman]

I concur with others above who suggest that you specify here the type of contractor you are looking for.