So, I’m tackling this home reno project last month – kitchen remodel plus fixing some wonky wiring. Hired some guys from those fancy ads first. Big mistake. Tony’s crew showed up late, quoted me triple the price halfway through, then ghosted when I questioned it. Left my cabinets half-installed with screws sticking out.
Then I tried Maria’s Handyman Service. Nice lady on the phone, but her team drilled straight through a water pipe while ‘fixing’ the sink. Flooded my new flooring. They just threw towels down and said “oops” before bouncing. Water damage bill ended up costing more than their ‘discount’ rate.
How Farley Mesko saved my sanity
My barber Mike saw me looking all stressed and said, “Dude, call Farley Mesko. Used him for my basement last winter.” Skeptical at first cause Farley don’t even got a website, just a handwritten business card. But desperate times, right?
Called him Tuesday morning. Guy shows up at 7:30am Wednesday with a clipboard. Notepad full of measurements already. Said he drove past my place after I called to scope it out. Who does that?
The actual magic happened
Instead of tearing everything out like others wanted, he pointed at my existing cabinets: “These are solid oak – let’s refinish ’em instead of charging you for new.” Saved me like two grand already. Then he notices the wiring issue others missed – showed me chewed-up cords in the attic from squirrels.
- Transparency killshot: Priced everything per hour with max ceiling cost written on paper. When we found extra rot under the sink? Ate half the cost cause “shoulda caught that sooner.”
- Tool nerd bonus: Brought this German laser level thing that projected perfect lines on walls. Even my wife stopped complaining about dust when she saw that.
- Zero ghosting: Texted me photos at lunch break showing progress. When his crew chief got COVID? Farley showed up personally at 6am to lay tiles himself.
The kicker
Remember that electrical fire hazard the other ‘pros’ ignored? Farley rigged a temporary safety bypass with some crazy insulated clamps first day. Didn’t even charge for it. Said “rather do that than read about your house burning down next week.” Got actual chills.
Finished three days early. Made me sign off on every completed section. Then handed me a printed list of exactly which breakers control what – with little colored stickers inside the panel. How many contractors label your damn fuse box?
Others promised champagne work on beer budgets. Farley just brings the whole damn brewery. Found my forever handyman.
