Although I've provided information here that's accurate to the best of my ability, everything here is a matter of opinion and you should use it at your own risk. If you have comments you'd like to add (especially negative experiences with anyone listed here!) please contact me, and feel free to also send me recommendations (especially for categories that are not represented here).
(Last update: December 2003 or earlier.)
(Last update: December 2003 or earlier.)
Note that if you look on
the Web, the hours for News Express are wrong; the hours above are from their
business card, as of September 2010.
Cleaning
(Last update: December 2003 or earlier.)
House cleaning. I don't use them any more, but they were generally reliable,
competent, and flexible about schedules.
(Last update: January 2005.)
House cleaning. I've heard Merry Maids referred to as the
fast food of housecleaning. For a time we found that the local
office in Silver Spring, MD was pretty reasonable. Then we ran
into problems (esp. breakage of fragile items) and stopped using them.
http://www.merrymaids.com/
(Last update: December 2003 or earlier.)
Bonnie writes: Monique Jezierski of TLC Carpet
Cleaning charged me $175 for doing 7 rooms, 2 hallways, and 2 sets of
stairs. She spent 4 hours on the job, used a special solution, and
was on her hands and knees for some of the toughest stains (e.g.,
rust) that I had ever seen in my life. She is easy-going, careful,
and extremely competitively priced. She's a freelance cleaner, so her
hours are very flexible. Call Monique at 301-474-9229.
Electricians
(Last update: December 2003 or earlier.)
In my first experience with him, he replaced an old fusebox
with a new circuit-breaker box, did a heavy-up to 200 amps, and
installed a new ceiling fixture. He also did the electrical work
finishing my basement, which involved outlets, switches, and lighting.
Frank was punctual, got done on time, made helpful suggestions, and
charged what he said he'd charge. A reliable one-man operation.
Floors
(Last update: December 2003 or earlier.)
The carpet department at Home Depot (we used the one on Georgia
Avenue) was friendly and helpful and had quite a reasonable selection
at good prices. The installers they sent were excellent. A good place
to do carpets and blinds together.
(Last update: December 2003 or earlier.)
Bonnie writes:
If you are looking to get a LOT of carpet for a LITTLE price (but you
gotta watch these guys too!), check out Mattress & Carpet Outlet,
13491 Baltimore Ave Laurel, MD 20707 (301)-210-1500. They did my
whole house for $2461 (FR, LR, DR, stairs, halls, 3 BRs) including a
fairly nice berber rug. They also recently did a friend's home (LR,
DR, FR, 2 sets of stairs, 3 BRs) for $1900 including a berber rug.
They had to be called back to fix a few niggly things (nailing down)
later, but they did so quickly and the job was nice when it was
complete.
Furniture
Becky had had one bad experience with Marlo, where they were months
overdue delivering a bedroom set, and kept stringing her along with
"next week" and "any day now". Nonetheless, when we found exactly the
couch we wanted there, we decided to give them a shot, but we told
them we'd cancel the order if it wasn't delivered by a specific date.
They called and scheduled delivery just under the wire, and then, the
morning of the supposed delivery (!) we called to get the delivery
time and discovered that the items hadn't arrived after all and
someone had made a mistake in scheduling us. Actual delivery date?
Well, they thought it would be in two weeks. We cancelled the order
and I highly recommend avoiding them, even though they show decent
stuff at good prices. We found an alternative place to buy a couch
(Hamilton Sofa) and it worked out very well.
What on earth is the problem with furniture stores delivering anywhere
near when they say they will deliver? We found some furniture we
liked at Oak Post Furniture, placed an order, and were given an
estimated delivery date. In response to my explicit question about
how "real" the date was, the sales guy told me it was not a guarantee,
but that it was a very conservative estimate and the furniture was
very likely to come in sooner. Tick, tock... several weeks after the
estimated date, still no delivery. I called on a Friday and told the
young woman at the other end of the phone that I would be canceling
the order if the furniture was not delivered on Monday. On Monday I
called and spoke to the manager, who had apparently not been told
about my call on Friday. (Apparently my telling a store rep that I
was likely to cancel a healthy-sized order didn't merit passing along
the message?) He claimed I would receive a call on Tuesday or
Wednesday to schedule delivery on Thursday, and I told him that on
Thursday I would call him to either (a) thank him for the delivery or
to (b) cancel the order. (It's obvious where this is going, right?)
Thursday I called, and he said.... that the furniture was on its way
to the warehouse, I only needed to wait a few days more, etc. At that
point I got tired of "it'll be here any day now" and canceled the
order. I was told the refund would appear on my credit card in 3-5
days. A week later, guess who I had to call? Yup, my credit card
company, to dispute the charges, which had of course not been removed.
From this point on, we certainly wouldn't touch Oak Post Furniture
with a ten foot pole.
General Contractors
(Last update: December 2003 or earlier.)
I got an estimate from these guys and it was on the expensive side,
so I've ended up not using them; I think this is because they
primarily work with businesses rather than residences.
However, they are extremely professional and come recommended.Heating
See: Air Conditioning.Home Depot
(Last updated: before December 2003)
Need I even bother? Absolutely indispensible. The one in College
Park (just off 495 at Rte 1) was open 24 hours but I'm not sure that's
still true. At the new one on Georgia Ave (north a few miles past
Randolph Road) there's a really helpful guy known as "Mr. Bill". Inspectors
(Last update: December 2003 or earlier.)
Terry Ey did my home inspection and Chuck Itte did a lead-in-water inspection.
Both are friendly, very efficient, and outrageously knowledgeable.
The office personnel go out of their way to be helpful. Movers
(Last update: December 2003 or earlier.)
These guys did my last move a few years back, which was truly a short
hop, being less than a mile! They provided a guaranteed estimate,
which was based on the job rather than hourly, and they showed up on
time and did a very good job. The only downside: they were unable to
get my bed out in one piece, and since it would have required 1-2
hours to disassemble and reassemble (gotta love Ikea furniture!), they
offered me a discount if I'd deal with the bed myself since they had
another job to get to soon after mine. I was frankly unhappy at being
pressured to do this, but I suspected they'd be much, much more
careful if they were not feeling stressed and rushed, and I was right.
I can't fault them, though: they dealt honestly with a difficult
situation, gave me a great price, and did a really good job. I'd
recommend them, andBonnie's
recommendation was truly glowing. (Disassembling the
bed myself turned out to be not too big a deal, but the reassembly was
a nightmare...) They also handled Becky's move flawlessly.
(Last update: December 2003 or earlier.)
I decided to go with Short Hop, who had a much lower estimate.
(Last update: December 2003 or earlier.)
I used the 800 number to reserve a truck, and was told the regional
office would contact me with the specific pick-up time and location a
day ahead of the rental date. They never called, and for two days
solid their regional office had nothing but a busy signal. I gave up
and disputed the deposit charge they placed on my credit card. Now
that I've done a little poking around, it's clear that plenty of other
people have had problems with U-HAUL; for example, see the low
approval rating at epinions.com.
Painters
(Last update: December 2003 or earlier.)
Inexpensive, did a good job, including a nice job with some
wall repairs.
(Last update: December 2003 or earlier.)
Bonnie writes: I liked Polyzos Painting. They're a
family operation. They covered a large portion of my interior walls
(1 MBR, 2 baths, hallway, stairway, foyer, DR, LR, FR) for $1150.
They used two coats and it looked very good afterwards. I had to keep
an eye on them, though; they were a little sloppy in places (painting
onto some wood accidentally and also some drips), but I was happy when
they were done. They moved all the furniture around. They also
repaired some stains on the ceiling (from water) and, of course, some
holes in the wall (which everyone always has).
Pest Control
(Last update: March 2004.)
After a horrendous experience with our previous pest control outfit
(see Premier Pest Control, below, for dire warnings), we switched
to American Pest Control. We've dealt mainly with a fellow named
Steve Hauck, who is friendly, thorough, conscientious, and basically
a really nice guy. Highly recommended.
Previously I had a recommendation for this company up on this page:
I'd taken over Premier's warranty from the sellers of my house, and
they seemed reasonably competent and responsive. I'm retracting that
recommendation. The company was so slow to respond to my calls that I
finally stopped bothering, bit the bullet, and went to a different
company... where I discovered what a good pest control company is
really like.
Plumbers
(Last update: March 2004)
Sam's fantastic -- he installed an extra water line to accommodate the
water dispenser on a new refrigerator and was punctual, efficient,
friendly, and a neat guy to talk to. He's done other stuff for us
since. How many plumbers will talk your ear off about the chemical
changes that take place in old lead pipes when they interact with
water, complete with the chemical formulas? And also talk your ear
off about chess? Look no further.
(Last update: December 2003 or earlier.)
Julie writes: We have used this father-son plumbing team for many
years, as have my parents. The father works only part-time now, but
they are both industrious, punctual, and polite, and their prices are
moderate. "No job too small."
Post Office
(Last update: September 2010.)
Here's an underrecognized home-related problem to solve: finding a
post office that's open late when you've got papers that need to be
sent by a deadline. (Ok, yes, taxes also. I tend to get too close to
deadlines of all kinds...) Is it after 5pm, or Sunday, and you
desperately need that envelope postmarked with today's date,
even if you don't care about it actually being physically sent until
tomorrow? Go to News Express at 7700 Old Georgetown Rd, Bethesda
(301-951-5280); they're open Mon-Fri 7am-9pm, Sat and Sun 8am-7pm.
Someone I happened to be standing on line with there recently (never
mind why) told me she'd driven there from McLean, VA because nowhere
else in the entire DC area had she found someplace open later.
Real Estate Agents
(Last update: December 2003 or earlier.)
Rod Johnston Real Estate, email
RKJay@aol.com.