The plumber our builder found did the initial work, presented the bill, and then refused to itemize the bill. When I asked for a discussion about the bill, he told me to forget it. He said that I owed him nothing.
You guessed it! He got nothing from me. And his uncooperation caused us headaches. We had to find a plumber who could use his own imagination about what had already been done before he arrived.
Luckily my brother knew a young fellow who was trying to get his Allstar business up and running, and we were able to get our plumbing work done. This young fellow did not always answer his cell phone when we called, but I learned to call from different phone numbers (the phone at my dentist, for example), and he would answer. Caller ID isn't always helpful for the caller, unfortunately.
Recently we ended up installing our own kitchen faucet when no plumber wanted to come out into the country to our house in Wetcreek. Since that dizzying experience for my hub, we have seen some handy ideas on television handyman shows for future installations. Gosh, let's hope that won't be necessary!
If all goes well today, we can say goodbye to our Dutch plumber. Last week he and Colin installed a new water heater, and today they installed a new bathroom ventilation system and a new (old) heater for the spare bedroom here at the Beltway.
As I said at the onset of our home building in 2006, in my next life I will return as a plumber. Here is a list of the necessary items that I will take along to "finish" my jobs:
1. Two plastic buckets
2. Many large towels or rags to mop up water
3. Shop Vac
4. Floor mats or floor protectors
5. My own coffee/tea/bottled water
6. My own cookies
You guessed it! Our Dutch plumber (who also helped us with our Zoeterwoude farmhouse remodeling almost 30 years ago!) never brings the items mentioned above. Items 5 and 6 I have learned are the norm here in Nederland.
As for the rest, a good plumber needs to bring items 1-4 and use them!
Hmmm! In another lifetime, I suppose.
