good contractors in the area?

Submitted by PassionsBite t3_ytb4bj in vermont

My house was built in 1853 and needs a bunch of work done. I'm having a hard time finding people to do it. I've tried Google and yelp and asking around, but most people are either retired or booked out for 6-12 months. Do you guys know anyone who works the area between st johnsbury and bradford? This is what I'm looking for:

Geothermal Insulation Grading Stonework Landscaping General carpentry

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Vtguy802812 t1_iw34t7j wrote

Good luck. Any contractor worth their salt is booked out at least 6 months and is currently bidding “I don’t want to do this project” rates on a lot of new work.

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Mad__Vlad t1_iw3clqm wrote

As someone who’s knee deep in the trades I’ll give you some advice.

First, exercise patience. As you’ve found out anyone worth hiring is committed and contracted to more work than they can handle right now. That means you’ll have to play the long game which will actually work out better for you.

Second, find a respectable GC in your area that can handle the entire scope of work. Sure it will cost more than finding and scheduling the trades yourself but there’s a very important aspect to hiring the GC, their network of subcontractors. Most subs won’t even return your calls but they’re in a committed working relationship with the GC, you’ll get actual results and often times better quality.

Third, the long game. Since you’ll most likely be looking at a start date in the later half of next year this allows you and the GC to come up with a solid plan, budget and schedule. The time invested before the project begins will determine the success and increase the odds of coming in on budget.

Trust me when I say this is much less stressful and productive path than managing a bunch of cowboy subcontractors that owe you nothing past the warranty of their scope.

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igneousigneous t1_iw3oy4r wrote

As a person in the trades I can’t tell you how hard it is for people to understand the value of a GC - both for you as the client AND for the various subcontractors.

Money well spent. And think like a baker: time is an ingredient. Play with the design. Experience the place in different seasons (if the place is new to you).

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whatsupbudbud t1_iw5il07 wrote

This is the way. If you need a lot of work call a GC who specializes in remodels/additions

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Umbert360 t1_iw371rk wrote

I do stonework but I live near Brattleboro. My buddy has a camp in NH up near Bradford though, I might consider doing some work up there just for an excuse to camp out for a while. I wouldn’t be available until early summer though, but I think you’ll find that with just about everyone at this point in the season. What kind of stonework do you need?

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PassionsBite OP t1_iw38kgr wrote

That would be awesome. There are a few places that I think need work. 1. Stairs: I have a 2 step concrete and brick stair I want to replace with stone. 2. Retaining walls. There are a couple of retaining walls that are a mix of concrete and stone. They aren't doing too well and I need to know what they would cost to fix / replace. I'm also curious if some terracing might help there.

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Stockmom42 t1_iw3k5vg wrote

Don't go with someone who doesn't have a waiting list it's not worth it. We end up doing a ton of our own work due to the wait lists and bad experiences with contractors that didn't have one.

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fiddlersgreen2021 t1_iw4qgkf wrote

I would start watching YouTube videos and learn to do a lot of that stuff yourself.

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Vermonter623 t1_iw726h7 wrote

Living in Vermont means being inclined and independent. There are not and never were a ton of tradespeople in the area due to the fact that 30 years ago it was mostly small family farms and farmers in my experience rarely could afford to hire out help for anything

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