handyman cometh
he was back last evening. although originally the plan was to have him come on Sunday, he came on the pretext of taking stock of what needs to be done on sunday and then, of course, started working so now i have to pay him for two hours of work. what did he do in two hours. replaced light fixture and shower head, took the taping off the drain, installed towel bar (not level and so will have to redo) and toilet roll holder on pre drilled holes, and siliconed the backsplash behind the sink. it should have taken an hour or so.
he could not install the shower valve because he forgot to check whether it fits flush to the wall or needs to be embedded in it earlier. so now i have to go looking for one that fits cuz i don't even want to think about cutting circular niche in the tile. it will be a nightmare.
he knew very well the list of things he had to do to finish up and yet the first thing he said to me yesterday when he traipsed in empty handed was: so do you have teflon tape for the shower head? when i said: what tape (not without irritation) he made a gesture like this was common knowledge before explaining what it was. i wish i could be amused by his trying to prove that i am a loser for not having construction know-how. i have a goddamn phd!! so now i have decided to remind him of it every few minutes. and also to let him know that socially we are from two very different classes. i realised lately that it's your only protection in america: the class system.
isn't that ironic? i wonder what the founding fathers would have to say abt that.
...
i got sunday to look forward to (not!). he planned to bring an assistant and i told him point blank that i am not going to pay the extra. i am sure he is going to retaliate by taking two extra hours and making me pay him even more... hahaha. i can't ever win this game.
...
i also got anecdotal evidence - as always - of how good a deal i am getting. you know those stories that go: so and so did such and such and paid thi~~~s much for it? well, truth be told, the contractor's quote i got earlier had listed labor at $1250 for 5 days (and a lot better quality work no doubt as well as a lot less stress and manual effort from me). By the time we are done - I'll have paid this a-hole $1000. i did save some money on material where the contractor had high mark-ups. But still... i am left pondering the efficacy of my fateful choice.
he could not install the shower valve because he forgot to check whether it fits flush to the wall or needs to be embedded in it earlier. so now i have to go looking for one that fits cuz i don't even want to think about cutting circular niche in the tile. it will be a nightmare.
he knew very well the list of things he had to do to finish up and yet the first thing he said to me yesterday when he traipsed in empty handed was: so do you have teflon tape for the shower head? when i said: what tape (not without irritation) he made a gesture like this was common knowledge before explaining what it was. i wish i could be amused by his trying to prove that i am a loser for not having construction know-how. i have a goddamn phd!! so now i have decided to remind him of it every few minutes. and also to let him know that socially we are from two very different classes. i realised lately that it's your only protection in america: the class system.
isn't that ironic? i wonder what the founding fathers would have to say abt that.
...
i got sunday to look forward to (not!). he planned to bring an assistant and i told him point blank that i am not going to pay the extra. i am sure he is going to retaliate by taking two extra hours and making me pay him even more... hahaha. i can't ever win this game.
...
i also got anecdotal evidence - as always - of how good a deal i am getting. you know those stories that go: so and so did such and such and paid thi~~~s much for it? well, truth be told, the contractor's quote i got earlier had listed labor at $1250 for 5 days (and a lot better quality work no doubt as well as a lot less stress and manual effort from me). By the time we are done - I'll have paid this a-hole $1000. i did save some money on material where the contractor had high mark-ups. But still... i am left pondering the efficacy of my fateful choice.
