Scott did a fairly simple job for me; we extended an existing bathroom which required re-routing the vents, the toilet, and the tub. The work was easily accessible at the exterior corner of the house and had 6' headroom below the floor. He worked 1 1/2 days and seemed to do an adequate job. I was grateful that he agreed to do the work despite being busy and having a sore knee. So, thanks for that. My beef is what he charged. We didn't agree to an upfront price, either fixed or T&M, and I blame myself for not following up on this. I am a good and fair person to work for: I hire someone and, despite being an architect, then get out of the way as much as possible. This was not a particularly challenging job although it's an old house, but Scott billed $165/hour for two full days of work. Not only was he not at the site for that many hours, the rate was completely ridiculous. This wasn't brain surgery and while I'm perfectly willing to pay people for their work, and pay a fair rate, his invoice left me feeling ripped off. I have used Lanes before and have been grateful that Scott has been willing to come out on fairly short notice. He works with his son-in-law Casey and I was excited about developing a relationship with a business that would be carried on by a younger generation. I own several rental units and like to have a stable of subs that know me and on whom I can call. I'm very disappointed. Maybe I'll try again sometime. read more
