I got the first quote for the gutter work and the bathroom remodel yesterday, and then I had to open my Calm app and meditate for ten minutes to stop the building anxiety.
To answer your questions:
- Yes, this is just the first quote.
- No, I am not obligated to go with this particular company.
- No, I didn’t really think we would be able to afford an accessibility remodel of our bathroom anyway. (But I did let myself hope.)
Thing is, anxiety doesn’t stop to ask questions and then respond reasonably based on the information provided. That’s why I had to diffuse the situation with a few minutes of meditation.
Money is without a doubt one of my anxiety triggers. I’m not going to rehash the details of the medical bills I’m ignoring or let myself relive the nightmares of trying to sell The Condominium from Hell™, but money stress gets to me in a very painful way.
So when I saw the dollar signs followed by numbers WITH COMMAS, it was fight or flight. And since my fight and flight both seem to be broken right now, the result was what I like to call Countdown to Meltdown.
***
We can keep using our 1963 bathroom for the foreseeable future. If the day comes that I just cannot step in or out of the bathtub, there are more affordable (if a little bit janky) options available. I’ll deal.
However, the gutter and rotting fascia is a problem that needs a solution before it becomes a ginormous problem in need of an even bigger, more expensive solution. I’ve been trying to find other companies to provide a quote on the work without luck so far.
The problems with finding additional service providers:
- Fibro fog makes it hard for me to speak on the phone. I hated the phone before I was sick.
- Web searches for residential construction companies don’t turn up much in the way of results. The one company I did find is the one that provided the aforementioned quote.
- I’ve been pretty much sick since we moved here. We don’t really have a huge network of people to ask for recommendations.
Not that I’ve given up. I’m just not looking forward to the work I’ve got ahead of me.
I can totally relate to all of this! I hate speaking on the phone and I hate dealing with contractors and I hate thinking about spending the money, LOL. I’m not sure where you live, but our local city/town/area has a facebook page and we can ask people for recommendations. Maybe there is some local page for your area?
That’s a good idea. I’m going to do some more digging. I think one of local TV stations has a “find a pro” type of page on their website too. I haven’t given up, but I’ve got to take a few minutes to rebound from the blow.