Handyman Steve was a slightly-stocky, middle-aged man, an avid hunter and strong supporter of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. As he would put it, he was a "jack of everything and a master of none." (Being his most recent client I would have to agree.) Handyman Steve was a punctual man and put in a hard days work although his bladder issues required him to use my upstairs bathroom each and every hour (I deciphered this from distant observation). Handyman was a married man and recently displayed his devotion to his loving wife by purchasing her a new dishwasher with a delayed-start feature (although he selfishly admitted that this purchase now enabled him to watch TV in peace). In our poor economy Handyman Steve was looking forward to receiving a paycheck with a full-week of work. I liked Handyman Steve even after he seriously damaged my new hardwood floors (see previous post). He felt horrible and in parting I made an effort to make him feel better by jokingly thanking him for being responsible for the damage instead of being responsible myself.
This afternoon my wood guy (which I've never seen use the restroom) came over to estimate the damage caused by Handyman Steve. My wood guy tried to iron out the indentations (who would have thought of using an actual iron, I had to dust mine off for the job) - it did help but in order to completely fix the damage all 75+ boards will need to be removed. It’s not an easy job (the boards are tongue and groove and nailed down). So prying them up could result in more damage and then having to glue the new boards down could cause additional issues since the floor is somewhat uneven. Anyhow, as if that wasn’t enough (which quite frankly, I think I’ve had more than enough), my wood guy informed me that Handyman Steve was fired. Again I felt sick, I begged my wood guy to tell me he was joking, but his face remained serious. He told me this wasn’t the first time Handyman Steve has screwed up and continued by commenting about Handyman “missing something between his neck and the top of his head.” I tried to express how horrible I felt for Handyman, but there was no compassion from wood guy. Have you ever been responsible for a nice (although not very talented) man losing his job? It feels terrible.
This afternoon my wood guy (which I've never seen use the restroom) came over to estimate the damage caused by Handyman Steve. My wood guy tried to iron out the indentations (who would have thought of using an actual iron, I had to dust mine off for the job) - it did help but in order to completely fix the damage all 75+ boards will need to be removed. It’s not an easy job (the boards are tongue and groove and nailed down). So prying them up could result in more damage and then having to glue the new boards down could cause additional issues since the floor is somewhat uneven. Anyhow, as if that wasn’t enough (which quite frankly, I think I’ve had more than enough), my wood guy informed me that Handyman Steve was fired. Again I felt sick, I begged my wood guy to tell me he was joking, but his face remained serious. He told me this wasn’t the first time Handyman Steve has screwed up and continued by commenting about Handyman “missing something between his neck and the top of his head.” I tried to express how horrible I felt for Handyman, but there was no compassion from wood guy. Have you ever been responsible for a nice (although not very talented) man losing his job? It feels terrible.
Wood guy and I but a piece of tape on the boards that need to be replaced. 
4 comments:
lol...poor Handyman! But poor Holly's floor too, such a bummer all around. Try not to feel too bad about it, it isn't like you asked them to fire him.
Man, that is just sickening. I'm so sorry, what a huge bummer.
Oh, I can't even imagine! I guess you're probably thinking "what else could possibly go wrong that is worse than this?"
That is terrible that handyman Steve lost his job, but he did not sound very handy. I would feel sick too, but I do feel worse that your floor is in ruins. I hope that everything comes together for you (soon) and that Wood Guy becomes your next hero.
Too bad for handyman. It's just sickening that you have to deal with getting them repaired. They do look beautiful even with the blue pieces of tape.
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