How could you carpet a home for $37?

Contractors have a reputation for questionable business practices and ethics, most of the result of a few disreputable small time operators. But for some time now, some of the big players in the remodeling industry have been using sales tactics that are as misleading as any fly-by-night roofer or siding salesman.

Home Depot is running ads saying that, on certain brands of carpet, you can get your entire home carpeted for $37. Now think about it that. The fine print says that it does not include the time it takes to move the furniture, pull up and dispose of old carpet, or install on stairs--so right there that $37 goes out the window. The installer is going to charge plenty for those items--but at least its relatively easy to see that these are not included.

But think about installing that carpet. In my state, the minimum wage is $8.40. When you figure employer costs on top of that, you would be lucky to get 4 hours of labor out of that $37. And do you want minimum wage labor installing your carpet?

Obviously the cost of installation is covered in the cost of the carpet--and possibly the charges for all those non-covered items. How else could it get paid for? Which means that you are paying more for the carpet than if the labor were priced separately.

At the end of the day, the total cost for carpet and installation may work out to be the same price as another carpet installer--but this type of advertising is misleading if not deceptive. It leads people to have unrealistic expectations as to what reputable, competent labor from a reliable company costs. And that does not do anyone in this industry a favor. Especially in the aging-in-place market where limited resources and fixed incomes require homeowners to do careful planning, creating unrealistic expectations is a bad idea.

Care in choosing contractors

We're not the sort of people who like to try to sell by creating fear, but I came across this video clip and thought I would pass it on. It underscores the risks people face when dealing with contractors. While it does not make the point, seniors can be at an even greater risk for this sort of scam artist. It's part of the reason why we started our business--to provide a recognizable, trustworthy resource for a wide variety of home maintenance and remodeling needs. Because we are insured, licensed and take extra steps like conducting employee background checks and training on customer service, we are seldom the cheapest option in town. While sometimes cheapest is a deal, often it becomes an expensive lesson or even turns into a risk for your family. For seniors on tight budgets and a sense of what things used to cost, the temptation can be strong to save money. But seniors can often be at greater risk due to decreased mental capacity, medical conditions, grief from a lost spouse and so on. And, as one of our customers said last week when scheduling a grab bar installation--"I don't want something that is going to pull out of the wall." Even a handyman who isn't a crook can unintentionally create problems by improper methods.

As this story mentions, not all states regulate contractors, so verifying the contractor can be a problem. They give some good tips in the video clip. They did not mention Angie's List--a great way to see what customers say about the company and how the company responds, which is often just as important.

The video is located at the link below, and you'll have to watch a commercial of some sort before it starts--the one I saw was for a video game.

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&brand=msnbc&vid=b83da96a-d107-4f6c-ba7d-8d7c7bd3ba03