What to Do When a Shared Fence Needs Cleaning
A back line in Newington, late spring. Six foot vinyl between two yards, and the customer had already scrubbed a few patches by hand on her side. The far side, under a big maple, was solid green top to bottom. She wanted a quote for her side only. The first thing worth telling her was […]
What to Do When Your HOA Objects to Your Chosen Contractor
Early spring, a central Connecticut condominium development, attached units with a small assigned deck off the back slider. The deck had gone green and slick over the winter and there was a family gathering coming. The owner booked the job. Then, two days later, forwarded an email from the management company: the contractor is not […]
What to Do When Wash Water Runs Into a Storm Drain
What to Do When Wash Water Runs Into a Storm Drain Late summer morning on a quiet Newington side street. A 1960s ranch with an asphalt driveway that slopes all the way down to a catch basin at the curb. The homeowner was standing at the end of it with a coffee, watching gray water […]
What to Do When Overspray Reaches a Neighbor’s Property in Newington
One of the older Newington streets where the driveways nearly touch. A sedan parked on the neighbour’s side, maybe a dozen feet from the wall we were working on. The air was dead still when the trailer came off the road. Partway up the second story, a breeze came through the gap between the houses. […]
What to Do When You Suspect a Contractor Is Unregistered in Connecticut
What to Do When You Suspect a Contractor Is Unregistered in Connecticut First warm Saturday of the spring in Newington. A flyer under the wiper, a decent price quoted over the phone for the front elevation of a split-level, and one question asked before booking: do you have a Connecticut registration number? The answer took […]
What to Do When a Job Is Half Finished and Weather Turns
A July afternoon on a split-level with a long concrete apron. The front and one side elevation washed and rinsed, the back still untouched, and the crew standing by the trailer looking at a phone screen instead of at the house. The homeowner comes out and asks the question everybody asks: are you coming back? […]
What to Do When You Cannot Reach a Contractor After a Job
A homeowner in one of the outer towns had the house washed in late spring. Three weeks later the shaded north elevation had greened up again and a gutter end cap was hanging loose. She called the number on the invoice four times over eight days. By the fourth call the voicemail box was full. […]
What to Do When Sales Tax Was Not Charged on Your Connecticut Invoice
A homeowner on a street of 1960s colonials called us late last spring, after the wash was already done by somebody else. She was not calling to complain about the work. She was holding a handwritten invoice with a single number on it, and she wanted to know whether that was normal. It is a […]
What to Do When a Contractor Cannot Produce Proof of Insurance
What to Do When a Contractor Cannot Produce Proof of Insurance Three quotes on the kitchen counter of a 1960s split-level in Newington. Vinyl siding, a tall maple leaning over the back roof, and one of those quotes several hundred dollars under the other two. At the door the homeowner asks the question everybody asks: […]
What to Do When the Final Bill Exceeds the Quote
What to Do When the Final Bill Exceeds the Quote A woman on a quiet Newington street of 1960s split-levels met us at the door on a Tuesday morning holding the printed quote in one hand. Big maples over the north side of the house, coffee still going inside. She did not say good morning […]