I understand your frustration. You need some type of documentation stating you’re going to be going with another contractor and why. Give him a couple of days to reply and, if nothing, move forward.

thanks for your reply. by "documentation", do you mean either text or email? i don't have a mailing address for him and he has only answered his phone one time, that was the first contact i had with him. since then, it's been via email (from his wife) which has been sporadic, at best.

How formal is this "contract"? Does it state a time period that his price is good for? Or is it more informal: Here's my price and you said "OK". If the conversation has been over email, then I'd email him my intention to go elsewhere if he doesn't follow through. Give a deadline.

You are under no obligation, I don't care what is written and/or signed. Guys like this underbid, get overwhelmed, and are grateful when potential customers go away on their own.

I would send him a friendly email asking when he can start, and request he gat back to you with a date in the next day or so. If you’ve been calling and texting, that will show up on your phone bill, so there is documentation that you have tried to get him to come out and do the work. He can’t hold you to a contract if he doesn’t give you a start date, especially since it’s been 60 days.

You owe the first contractor - Nothing! Don't waste your time any further with him.

If you decide to use him - you will get the same treatment as he is giving you now.

If the second contractor does what he says, then go with him.

@ jrb451 there is no formal contract, just a written/detailed estimate. i did NOT sign anything so yes, it was a Here's my price and you said "OK". the more i think about it, the more i am inclined to simply go with the second contractor, assuming he follows through with sending an estimate, and just not bother trying to communicate with the first one any longer. he/his wife have not answered any of my last 3 emails asking when he will be putting me on his schedule so i have written him off.

@ Joseph Corlett, LLC due to his lack of responding to me, i've been thinking that maybe he just doesn't really want this job and is hoping i'll just go away. i'm happy to oblige him. 🙄

@ ShadyWillowFarm the day he was here to take measurements, he told me he didn't think it would be too long before he could start and indicated it would be just a couple of weeks. i told him several times that this had to be done before fall and now i find myself wondering if he ever intended to take the job and has now left me scrambling to find someone else. i live in a very rural area, so far out in the boonies that i should have my own zip code so finding contractors to do literally anything is often an exercise in futility. it's beyond frustrating!

@ shirlpp you will get the same treatment as he is giving you now. this is exactly what i fear and it would not be the first time it's happened.

my late husband was a general contractor and had his own vinyl siding business. oh how i miss the days when i would simply have to mention wanting something done/built and many times i would come home from work and find the project completed or at least materials bought and a plan laid out. before he passed away, he made me promise i would never use his chain saw or circular saw because he knew what a clutz i was with power tools so i'm at a distinct disadvantage in that most things i need done, i have to hire someone. *sigh*

thank you all for your responses, i really do appreciate your advice!!

thought i'd update you all since you were so helpful. the job is DONE and they did an excellent job!! they were on time both days, were very particular about their work, never took more than an hour break for lunch and a few 5 minute breaks during the day. they are coming back soon to add some lattice to my front deck. i'm beyond satisfied with their work. as an aside, i still haven't (and don't expect to) hear back from the first guy. 🙄

from this...

to this!!! **happy dance**

the guys came back yesterday and dressed up the front deck. 😊

i'm curious about something...is it typical that people don't tip workers like this? i can't think of a better way than to express my appreciation for jobs well done than to add a little extra cash separate from paying the final installment on the work. they were very appreciate both times and said they had never had anyone tip them before. given the fact that it's impossibly difficult to find contractors around here that are prompt, pleasant, and take great pride in their work, i want to keep these guys happy!

Absolutely nothing saying you cannot tip the crew. It is appreciated for sure.

thanks for the replies! i gave them each $100 after they finished the skirting. i did the same yesterday even though it was just a 1 day job. it was near 90, 70% humidity and i just can't imagine working in those conditions.

i have 2 very needy, in-your-face great danes and while i kept them away from the guys while they were working, during their breaks they were happy to be wallowed by them. they brought dog cookies every time they came to work so just another reason i put them on my speed dial!!

The best tip you can give a contractor is a positive Google review. Same goes for the guy who didn't show up, in reverse. A regretful negative review about his communication skills and followup.

i gave them a gushing review and also hired them for another project, replacing the old deck on the back of my house, something i've been wanting to do for years.

as for the first guy, if i can find his business online, i'll gladly slam him.

and now i have a new deck on the back of my house! from start to finish, it only took them 4 days. they worked from early morning until almost dark every day. they are very particular about their craft and i am so pleased with their work!!

as for the first guy, if i can find his business online, i'll gladly slam him.

He might only be on Facebook.

The new guys did a great job!

thanks! they really did a great job and obviously took a lot of pride in their work.

i've been giving a lot of thought to how to handle the first guy. as much as i'd like to express publicly my displeasure with him and his lack of following through, i will probably just bury this as a lesson learned. i would feel awful if i blasted him and then found out later that there was some sort of unavoidable situation in his own life...sudden illness/accident, whatever. i'll just lose his number. :)

the new guys found these solar lights while they were buying materials and thought they'd be a nice touch. i LOVE them!

I understand!

I had a guy do some work on my interior doors(widening doorways and changing others), as he and I were talking he mentioned his 5 kids.

After he was completely done and I thoroughly looked at his work, I was not happy with all of it.

However, I decided not to do put out a review on the Net, because of his kids.

i suppose everybody has an off day here and there. with 5 kids, he probably doesn't get much sleep!

these guys have a facebook page where they post before/after photos of their work. they do everything from basic remodeling to concrete work. their favorite things to build are decks. :)