This is topic The high cost of….EVERYTHING! in forum Member forum at The New Huntmastersbbs!.
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Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on May 11, 2026, 01:41 PM:
I had an event two nights ago. Well, here’s my imprEssions of (like) contractors, in general. And, a lot of our home projects, like tree trimming, lawn mowing, handyman type of stuff, a wide range of services available to homeowners.
Here’s the thing. They break stuff! Quick and dirty, they want to wrap it up ASAP! In doing that, well, they are in a hurry and not careful. Had a crew topping a tree in the back yard, they toss branches, grab an arm full of cuttings and maybe will knock over a potted plant, lots of possibilities. So, if they knock an ornamental spear point off of the gate or chip some of the flagstone on the stairs….no big deal; right. Yes, I have specific incidents in mind; and certainly, I have to clean up; after these bulls leave the china shop!
So, I have a set of stairs in the back, 9 steps to get down to the deck. They drop a log and chip a corner here and there. I’m being picky, but they were in a hurry to finish the gardening and maybe grap a cool Cerveza. All these exceedingly minor events always leave me with the repair and/or clean up. I’m getting sick of it!
What can be done, or must I suffer in silience?
LB 🐝
edit: Oh! I guess I forget the reason for my tirade? I had a contractor do some remodeling and while in my bathroom, one of them forced a faucet, and for a few weeks it has not worked like it used to. Two nights ago, very late and I was not as careful with the lavatory faucet handle on the cold side and I knew it was kinda sketchy ever since some contractor fella abused my appliance and I have been suffering in silence, for a month. Until two nights ago when the fucking thing finally broke in my hand and even the turnoff under the sink would not turn and I’m outside in my robe turning off the water main.
After calling two plumbers, I was shocked at the repair bill for a new lavatory faucet! I agreed to go pick up a new Delta faucet at Lowe’s which was $105. The first guy wanted $980 installation. the second guy Who came out wanted $800 and I negotiated the price down to $700. For installing a normal bathroom lavatory faucet.
Well, I just got back with the parts, and remember, this was a construction dude that forced my sink handle in some way that it wasn’t designed to work, IDK? lifting instead of turning or pulling, but with enough force as to break it if itdoesn’t turn or lift or pull the way you want it to work. I’m just babbling because some moron carelessly broke my faucet and now I have a guy wanting $700 to install a new faucet. You see how unfair life is?
Sorry to ramble
LB 🐝
[ May 11, 2026, 02:49 PM: Message edited by: Leonard ]
Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on May 11, 2026, 01:58 PM:
Three options;
(1) Sell that big house and move into something closer to your daughter.
(2) Sell that big house and move to Sun City West where everything is oriented toward retirees.
(3) Sell that big house and move to rural Az. where your neighbors on down the dirt road think that a shooting bench out back is pretty cool.
Are we beginning to see a pattern here ?????
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on May 11, 2026, 02:52 PM:
I like the way you think, ko ko! So. I’lll think about it.
LB 🐝
edit: I do like the entire concept of Sun City. Every house is the same. The only difference is what kind of cactus you have out front. How much is a large Organ Pipe these days? Or are they even possible
[ May 11, 2026, 02:58 PM: Message edited by: Leonard ]
Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on May 11, 2026, 08:30 PM:
Actually, Sun City West has a variety of home designs. ............ And an H.O.A. that to me seems a bit over the top. However, everything is neat and tidy. Golf carts are a standard mode of transportation to the local restaurants and the health care access is also geared to retirees.
Interesting factoid from a highly reliable source;
Couples combine their retirements and buy a nice house. Husband dies. Widow struggles to keep home.
Meaning; A target rich environment for well off cultured gentlemen such as your-own-self.
Moving closer to your daughter would have a number of advantages. I'm sure that she would be happy to point them out to you.
And last but not least, a small home w/large shop on about 10 acres off of a dirt road in rural Az.
This would be about as close to 180* different than Los Angles as you could get. Solitude, awesome sunrises / sunsets, starry nights, open or concealed carry, & critters running thru your property. Summer Monson lightening displays that defy description and winters cold enough for wood stoves & fireplaces.
However; Less medical care & shopping right around the corner. Simple fact to consider; Will the ambulance get here in time ??
Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on May 12, 2026, 06:29 AM:
.............. and as to your original point about the cost of everything going up ..... up ..... and away;
Our entire economy is based on inexpensive fuel. Fuel to grow it, mine it, import it or deliver it. Fuel goes up ............ Everything goes up with it.
Another factor is Liability Insurance. Everything has to be Lawyer Proof & Dumb-Ass Proof. Adds to the cost of goods & services.
And then there's taxes, supporting those who can't work, those who won't work, and those who took Political Science classes instead of going to Trade School. I recently had an Electrician come out for a simple job. $60 JUST to pull into my driveway.
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
Posted by earthwalker (Member # 4177) on May 13, 2026, 03:49 AM:
It isn't just there.
There is only one Plummer type guy here.
Friend down the road has had sewer problems since December.
Plummer got some of it fixed to keep him going through the winter.
Friend has dug out the line by the house moved trees, shed, fence and assorted misc he had piled in the way. Plummer was suppose to come this past Monday. He didn't show.
We were lucky to find a pump guy that will come out here and is reasonable. He comes in from Black Foot. Thanks to another neighbor who uses the same guy.
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on May 13, 2026, 04:19 PM:
well, does it seem reasonable to pay $800 to install a new la=story mix faucet? I bought a replacement that was $99 at Lowes. should have been an hour job but. they had to replace the valves at the wall under the sink. I might do it at that price but i have vertigo. Every time, like working under the dash, on a truck or car, I can’t handle it. nausious-sick and unpleasant as hell!
LB🐝
Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on May 14, 2026, 02:11 PM:
Actually .......... an install w/valve replacement ....... yeah, it's gonna be spendy.
Stop and think for a minute how much of that $800 is legal costs. Insurance on his truck to drive to your house, insurance that his truck won't release it's own parking brake and roll into your house, insurance that the homeowner won't trip over his tool box and sue him, insurance if a pipe bursts and floods the downstairs. And just to make it special, he still needs to get a business license from the State / County / City. Then the poor bastard can pay rent on his business building, do some work and hopefully get paid enough to pay his employees and have enough left over for at least one decent lap dance Friday night.
And after all of that ........ the Left wants to raise his taxes to support the homeless guy on the corner with a cardboard sign "Please Help".
And gas is what, in Calif. ??? $6 -$7- $8 bucks a gallon ????
And believe me, I get the part about claustrophobic in enclosed spaces. I swapped out a gooseneck under the sink, kinked my back up and out, missed three days of work and went to the bone-cracker a few times. But Hey !!!! I saved on calling a plumber !!!
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on May 14, 2026, 02:58 PM:
Yes, thanks for your input Mr Contrary, Sir. Except I remember having to replace the same fucking fixture in the upstairs bathroom not more than 2 years ago and he (different crook) charged me $150, neighborhood. I remember it well because: the fixture I bought at the same Lowe’s cost me about $50–60. and the plumber charged me $150 for the installation. What made it memorable was that the brass casting had a deformity in the casting that allowed the hot and cold to mix in the middle, where it couldn’t be noticed. But I sure noticed it when I turned it on! Did my professional plumber notice this defect? I guess he didn’t?
So, El Bee returned the fixture, no questions asked and I replaced/installed it myself. I remember this event quite clearly because I had to construct recliner with pillows and address the job very carefully and slowly, while coming up for air as needed.
Yes, I certainly do remember the event accurately, including the approximate costs and charges as well as how long ago it happened. What you, Mr ko ko are suggesting is that inflation over the past2-3 years is about 400% in the labor market while the cost of plumbing fixtures only doubled. OK, I once participated in that stuff and it does seem to me that the workman’s piece of the pie is grossly out of wack, in his favor.
LB 🐝
edit: Another thing. The reason I started this whining thread is that, lets say, just in round numbers that costs of every fucking thing, about commencing with the election of Joe Biden, HAS GONE UP LIKE A FUCKING SKYROCKET!
AQt the same time, my pension has not raised one penny in the last 21 years. I am surviving on what I retired with in 2005. Then my wife died and we lost her pension and social security. It was modest but it factored into the decision of whether or not it was feasible, or do able, having hit burnout. I just think that the cost of living has become seriously out of whack in the last 5 or 6 years. That’s just a casual observation without documentation. However, I believe it so no sense arguing with me. 😎
LB 🐝
Because I, or somebody screwed up and changed my annual Go Daddy renewal, you Peanut Gallery folks will be happy to know that this board has been prepaid for the next 3 years. Lucky you! I hate stuff like AUTOPAY, so I can’t figure out how it happened but was informed that it is a done deal. Hope we all survive to enjoy it!
[ May 14, 2026, 03:15 PM: Message edited by: Leonard ]
Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on May 15, 2026, 07:04 AM:
Ah yes .......... inflation. Wonderful subject.
The eminent economist Gary Schroeder recently stated in a publication that "The way the markets work is that when the supply of a commodity cannot keep up with the demand, consumers bid up the price of the existing supply."
Ergo ........... Out of a dozen High School students that can read when they graduate, 10 of them will take college courses such as Philosophy or Political Science and be unable to repay their Student Loans.
The other two will go to Trade School and actually learn something that will translate into an income, one of them being a plumber.
Enter inflation; Now .... if each of the items that I mentioned in the above post goes up 10% a year, our boy's cost isn't 10% more. It's 10% times each and every item, every year. Adds up pretty quick.
It does seem strange, though, that so many contracts will have provisions for employee Cost Of Living raises but not for retirees.
Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on May 15, 2026, 08:19 AM:
And since this COYOTE BOARD will be up for three more years (Thank You !!!) I'll get my Terms Of Service agreement out of the way and ask a coyote question;
So .......... Is a .223 enought gun for a coyote ???? ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Posted by NVWalt (Member # 375) on May 15, 2026, 03:17 PM:
How about some Creedmore wizbang? Should work on a mangy coyote like a house a fire.
OK,OK. how about 22wmr or is it a 22 wrm. I forget.
Posted by TA17Rem (Member # 794) on May 15, 2026, 05:39 PM:
you guys are too much.
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on May 15, 2026, 09:36 PM:
Yes, but will a well placed 223 actually kill a coyote? Yes, but preferably with 2 or more insurance shots. I have a 223Ackley Improved that is marginally better about actually killing a coyote with the first shot.
But why fuck around with marginal gear? Get a 243 and you will never ponder if it’s enough gun. It is so superior for the task that I am amused by the question. It certainly is a formidable coyote stopping caliber! So, why would anybody use a stupid 223? I remember trying it for half an afternoon and never tried it again. My trusty AR 15 has been locked in the back of the safe for 30 sum odd years. I learned rather quickly that there are far better choices. But, some meatheads still ask the question, but the issue has been debated and that cartridge and that platform has been found wanting a long time ago.
But, keep asking, Chump! the answer doesn’t change. It’s a poor choice. And, I say so!
LB 🐝
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