How long should a visit to Home Depot/ Lowes or the local hardware store last?

[Cypress Knee]

OK, I cannot believe I am the only person wondering this. I have had contractors work on my home over the past few years from painting to repairing damaged roofing to securing the foundation.

So here is the question(s) - your contractor/handyman runs out of supplies to complete the job, and needs to go to the local hardware supplier to get more nails, more paint, more flooring, whatever. How long does it take two workers to drive two miles to Home Depot to buy two dozen nuts and bolts to complete the job?

A) 30 Minutes
B) 1 Hour
C) 2 Hours
D) 3 hours
E) Who knows???

Right now I am at D moving to E in another few minutes!

[Tico]

It depends how many 6-packs of beer they needed to drink.

[catdaddy]

Originally Posted by Tico

It depends how many 6-packs of beer they needed to drink.

Yup! Always a good idea to stay adequately hydrated when working.

[cmd612]

Depends on whether they both had outstanding warrants when they got pulled over.

[Denny B]

I'd be at:

F) Call the contractor and ask what's the problem?

[David Eastwood]

Based on my experience with my tile guy, I’d say c) 2 Hours - unless it’s grout, in which case you can add an hour or so.

It really bugged me during the first job he did for us, but the quality of his work was so high, we had him back for 5 more projects. Each one was just the same. I learned to live with it as a quirk of the way he works.

What bothers me way more are highly rated contractors who can’t be bothered to return a call.

[flaggerphil]

My local contractor has never taken longer than two hours.

YLCMV

[PeteCady]

Ask yourself: As a lover of good guitars, how long does it take me to visit a music store with a good selection of good instruments, when my intention is to buy a set of strings or a couple of picks?

The only difference is, the contractors' meter is running at your expense.

The final question is, does the contractor do good work, and is the final overall price reasonable?

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Cypress Knee

OK, I cannot believe I am the only person wondering this. I have had contractors work on my home over the past few years from painting to repairing damaged roofing to securing the foundation.

So here is the question(s) - your contractor/handyman runs out of supplies to complete the job, and needs to go to the local hardware supplier to get more nails, more paint, more flooring, whatever. How long does it take two workers to drive two miles to Home Depot to buy two dozen nuts and bolts to complete the job?

A) 30 Minutes
B) 1 Hour
C) 2 Hours
D) 3 hours
E) Who knows???

Right now I am at D moving to E in another few minutes!

If your paying by the hour either deduct the time, or go get the supplies yourself . If it's a bid job it does not matter until it turns into days . Which is why one should always get a written job time estimate as well as cost.

[TBman]

Two guys aren't needed to go get supplies unless they are stopping at another job site to work too.

[DenverSteve]

The only way I hire contractors is with a contract price. When I've hired someone by a "parts and labor" method - I take the responsibility to have all necessary elements of the work and the contractor supplies the time and expertise.

If you've hired them at a contract price then it doesn't matter how long they take as they are wasting their own time.

Additionally, I don't know what kind of work you are hiring a contractor for that only requires "two dozen nuts and bolts to complete the job".

[harpspitfire]

the issue is if your satisfied with the work and price, apparently you are having worked these people before, a big time licensed company is sometimes not the best choice, nor is there work, dont forget ALOT of these small contractors have issues, some have drug problems, others cant find a real job so they do home improvement, sometimes they just dont feel right about something and need some think time, other times they just need a break from the job, main point is, if the job is getting done right at a lowball price, just be happy with it, these guys arent punching a time clock

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by PeteCady

The final question is, does the contractor do good work, and is the final overall price reasonable?

Exactly. I should have added to my response that a) I'm not paying him by the hour and b) it only becomes an issue if the project completion date bumps out too far. Which it never has, without mutual agreement.

[ahorsewithnonam]

They use it as an opportunity to take a nice break. One contractor (tile) ran to HD and was back with stuff in less than 25 minutes. Wow

Painting guy went to get a few more rollers........an hour and 25 minutes!! As he pulled up he had a big Wendy’s cup and threw the empty Wendy’s bag in my trash can. And this was like at 2 pm...not long after his lunch break.

[Seagull S6]

Originally Posted by PeteCady

Ask yourself: As a lover of good guitars, how long does it take me to visit a music store with a good selection of good instruments, when my intention is to buy a set of strings or a couple of picks?

The only difference is, the contractors' meter is running at your expense.

The final question is, does the contractor do good work, and is the final overall price reasonable?

Not even close to the same thing. Are they buying book matched quarter sawn tile or V-Braced paint rollers and have to evaluate playability, construction and tone? Are they shopping for supplies for other projects on your dime?

Doesn't take two guys to run for supplies either.