Well, I did it.
I hired a handyman to work on my house. It was an agonizing procedure, too.
I got a list of handymen from the AHFC (Alaska Housing & Finance Corporation) and chose the only three on there that listed an email address. I contacted all three of them, explaining what I had in mind and asking if they thought they might be interested. All three responded back within a few days, so I set up appointments for each of them.
The first to arrive was a guy who looked very much like somebody my brother would hang out with. That in its self is a pretty good recommendation, in my book. He sealed the deal by taking off his shoes to reveal bare feet! And, to top it off, he pulled himself up into the attic by one hand off the floor! Needless to say, I was impressed.
The second to arrive was so clean-cut you could almost hear him crackle as he walked past, like a shirt that has too much starch in it. However, he totally won me over by being just as excited as I was at the prospect of making my home more energy efficient. He knew all about what I was attempting to do, and ended up going over the entire house talking to me about everything for over two hours! He even liked my Thing (don't get excited: Thing is my cat) wich automatically put him up on the top of my list.
The third guy never showed up. I made two appointments with him, with no luck. But - that's ok. I'm sure he had reasons, and I had two others giving me their estimates, so I wasn't upset.
About 2 weeks later, I sent another email out asking when I might expect to hear back from the two handymen. Only one responded back - so, that pretty much made my choice for me.
As luck would have it, it was the second guy! His estimate was pretty much what I expected it to be - as in, way too much for me to go on vacation again in 2008, but low enough that I don't need to get a loan to pay it off.
So, as soon as he gives me a date to start construction, my second New Year's Resolution for 2007 will be completed.
Assuming I survive the chaos that will be my house.
What all are you having done?
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