Four out of four....

Wonder of wonders, all four appointments with the contractors worked out just fine. They all showed up, and basically on time, more or less.

The first crew, the soft-spoken, slow-talking partners, have even called my husband back already with their estimate, which we didn't think was over-the-top-expensive.

The second contractor got here a little later than the appointment time, but he called to say he was on his way--- he took a wrong turn and ended up in the next town. When he got here, he knew what he was talking about and set about drawing out his plans for the new roof of the gazebo.

The third guy was on time and reeked of aftershave, but he knew what he was doing. Problem with him is that he's got five jobs going at once now, and we'd have to wait for some of that work to be done before he brings his crew over here. But he took down the measurements and said he'd call and give us the estimate.

The fourth appointment was this morning..... two partners, showing up on time, but neither one of them pulled out a measuring tape to make note of how wide the gazebo is, how much of a pitch we'd like on the roof, and how much material they'd need for the job. Nice guys, both of them, and they laughed at my husband's jokes, but I don't know if I want carpenters who don't take measurements before giving an estimate, especially with an eight-sided gazebo.

My husband went downtown this morning to look at samples of the metal roofing materials, which would be much less weight than plywood and shingles... so at least we have an idea of what these contractors are talking about when they suggest metal roofing is the way to go.

The operative word today is "go."  By the middle of this coming week, we should have all the estimates from the contractors.  My husband has the metal roofing samples on his desk as I type.  It shouldn't be a monumental decision to pick one of these contractors and tell them to "go to it" and get the job done.

I'm hoping to see a roof on that gazebo before I send out the invitations to our Halloween party. (As my cousin F would say: "Hope floats.")