Freaking Out A Little

Thank God we still have Oriana.

The first contractor came this morning and seemed to be a really good guy. He basically gave me a lot of advice and info regarding what he could do and was very up front with me.

The second guy came and freaked me out from the moment he stepped out of the truck. He immediately told me that we would have to completely replace the chimney cap (there are cracks that the other guy told me would be no problem). I told him that there was nothing wrong with the cap...that there are some minor cracks. He told me that the whole thing needed to be replaced because it would be "easier." He starts to go into the crawl and had the nerve to ask me for a flashlight. I told him that I didn't have one and he muttered something under his breath. He comes back up and tells me that the whole front porch and front door has to be replaced and begins to tear apart some of the trim around the door. I yelled, "stop doing that!" He looks at me and says, "don't yell at me! It has to be replaced anyway." (the other guy said that we should probably just leave it.) I say, "but you are doing more damage and we are trying to sell the house here." He says, "you don't need to be yelling at me. I don't need to be yelled at!"

At this point, I'm shaking. The only thing I could think of to say was, "thank you for coming. You can go now." And I walked back into the house and shut the door. I immediately went to the garage and let Oriana back in. I look out the front window and he's just standing there. A minute later, he gets into the truck and leaves.

I know that it doesn't sound all that bad but for the first time in this whole thing, I was actually scared. We've had so many people come into the house that have been so nice (or aloof...not that it's a bad thing) that I wasn't prepared when an asshole came in.