My friend is my contractor but my contractor is not my friend. What I mean by that is even though he is a friend, and I trust his skills completely, I don't always trust his judgement aesthetically simply because he has his tastes and I have mine. He is a good friend of mine that I can call on anytime if I need help with installing or repairing something or even making something. There is no one I trust more. When it comes to making a decision about what I want for my home, he is no longer just a friend, he becomes someone I've hired to do a job because of his skill and expertise.
Over the last few years my contractor has completed several projects for me. When I bought my house it did not have a gate. When my Pug Roxie adopted me, it became necessary to get a gate because she kept finding her way out the yard. I asked him to install it and he offered to swing by and do it. When I came home the gate was in and I hated it. I didn't hate the material, it was just a simple cedar gate, but he put it right at the front of the house and it lined up perfectly with my neighbors gate. This really looked odd because it looked like one long 15' fence and you couldn't tell where her property began or mine ended. I wanted the gate to be at the back end of my house, but it was totally my mistake for not stating that. My contractor graciously came back, cut down the post because it was set in concrete, ripped out the gate and relocated it. In other words, he had to do it twice.
When it was time to install the tile in my bathroom, my contractor wanted me to use 6" x 10" tile. It's quick and easy to install because they're larger and would require fewer cuts, but that was not what I envisioned. I wanted 6" x 6 " tile in a running bond pattern. It was a little harder to put in, but it was what I wanted and I'm happy with how it turned out.
We installed the marble top in the downstairs bath but had not worked out the backsplash detail. The top came with a 6' long marble strip that was tapered on the ends. We cut the ends off and glued it to the wall but it looked awful. I asked if we could instead take the rest of the top and cut a 4" high piece to make the backsplash and wrap it around both sides of the counter. Again, it took a little longer but he did it the way I wanted and it made a tremendous difference.
When we installed the light, I again was not home when he started. I came home in mid installation and it was good thing I did. The placement of the light was too low and two far right. I wanted the mirror centered under the light and the way he positioned it my mirror would not have fit. He took the light back down, moved it up and over and now it's perfect.
What I learned is that even though your friend is your contractor it is still your project. It's important to review exactly what you want to avoid not being satisfied with what you get. You never want your contractor or even your friend to do anything twice because their time is just as valuable as your money. It's so important to be around when the work is being done because it's much better to catch a mistake at the beginning where it's easier to correct than it is to walk in, see it finished and have to rip it out.
I am so blessed to have a friend like Monroe work with me on my home. The amount of money he has saved me over the years by not taking advantage of my lack of knowledge is huge. We've developed a good working relationship and for every project we do I will make sure to discuss every detail thoroughly. This is the best way to maintain our working relationship and especially our friendship which at the end of the day is the most important thing.
Monroe rocks!!
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