Find out what he would love to have but the wife won’t let him buy and then buy it for him. A few years ago when my neighbor was out of work, I offered to pay him cash to do some work for me but he didn’t want cash because the wife would take it. She wouldn’t let him buy beer so I kept him well supplied.
most people for general grunt labor will be fine with 100 bucks a day(about 7-8 hours ) of work ,if it takes him a day 100 - more like a day and half give him 150- two days 200
I proposed paying him to do the work, and he told me he will do it, but won’t take my money. I told him I’m not helping him at all, and want to pay him. He said to make him dinner…
At that rate you should ask if he has the time to dig you a french drain as well.
and when he’s done I’ll grill him a fat porterhouse steak, backed potatoes, and deep fried onion rings….
I was thinking about coming out your way next week.
Heck, if I leave now, I can be there tomorrow.
N/M, going the other direction to Traverse City tomorrow,...... sorry.
Man, and I haven’t had a porterhouse in a long time. Oh well. :down:
most people for general grunt labor will be fine with 100 bucks a day(about 7-8 hours ) of work ,if it takes him a day 100 - more like a day and half give him 150- two days 200
Lots of good ideas, but….....I hope he’s not a slow worker. This method could get REAL expensive.
Really though, you both sound like good guys, so why not just make him dinner after you both stack the wood?
If it takes several days, so what, you get to spend time together AND it gets done a little quicker than if just one does it.
Enjoy the steak and your brother while you can.
Put a few gallons in his gas tank while he’s there.
I think you should let him do it without pay. but the whole time he is doing it complain that he’s slow, doing it wrong, or getting in your way, etc. Then, next time when you need it stacked he won’t be so eager to come do it because you are a pain in the neck. THEN he might take your money.
how does one be a seasonal worker like that? does he save his money for the off season? I know people like that, but they take unemployment every year. I’ll never understand that. just find another seasonal job. be a lift operator at a ski place, or get into snow removal, or firewood sales, or i dunno, there’s gotta be something! If you can’t find employment all year and you need it then maybe you need to look for another career choice. How’s the retirement plan for working at a golf course, or country club? I know some people that have been able to save up pretty substantial amounts of money just working part time all their lives, but they are pretty frugal, and do lots of other things like have gardens, make their own clothes, drive a late 70s honda car that has about 10million miles on it, and don’t use cable, cell phones, and certainly don’t have any kids, lol. not a life for everyone, but certainly can be done.
He actually plows through the winter. That means things can - depending on weather - be lean for the next month or so. I like the idea of heckling him while he works. Based on what many people have written, I think that what I might do, besides dinner, is get him a gift. He has sneakers in the summer, and snow boots in the winter. Maybe when he gets here to stack the wood I’ll give him some new hiking/work boots and tell him “once thery’re on your smelly feet, don’t try and give them back.”
Ask him for a quote. Make sure to get at least 2 others to compare…
I like that idea, a lot. Then tell him “well so and so said they’d do it for this much which is higher than what you quoted me so I’m going to pay you their rate to do it”. Of course there’s no other quotes but that’s not what is important here.
. . . and when he’s done I’ll grill him a fat porterhouse steak, backed potatoes, and deep fried onion rings….
Are you any where near Stafford Springs . . . ‘cause if you are I may be down that way in another couple of weeks and if he doesn’t take you up on that offer, I might!
All kidding aside, well some kidding . . . that porterhouse sounds pretty good . . . I would work with him . . . there’s nothing like working with a good friend or close brother to make the time pass by quicker . . . feed him a good meal (always appreciated if he is a bachelor (which it sounds like he might be) . . . and then get him a gift or gift card as a simple token of appreciation.
This sounds like the way things go with my mother and I. I have one brother who is never willing to help out my mother with anything, though after realizing how little skill he has this is maybe better. So I am always the one fixing her house, computer, car, etc. I really don’t mind at all. This is my mother. Well after I have done somthing that took alot of time or was really hard, or when I’ve been over there more than normally working on stuff, my Mom will somtimes buy me somthing that I’ve been talking about getting, but just hadn’t or she will get me somthing much “bigger” for my birthday and tell me this is a thank you for all my work. Don’t get me wrong I don’t expec this, but over the last 10 or 15 years she has done this a few times. I always feel a little guilty taking the gift, but I also would feel bad giving it back. It would almost be insulting to hand it back. Somthing unexpected is always a good thank you.
Well, he came over today, refused to let me help him or said he would leave (think he just really wanted to help me out given that I’d done a lot for him in the past). He moved more than one cord in 3 hours. I told him to leave the rest as I’ll have my boys bring that up close to the house and build a new stack there. Anyway, he went home briefly, but is returning so that we can have a few beers and cook the porterhouse steaks that I just picked up. I also made him promise to let me take him out to dinner as well. There’s a great Mexican place about 1/2 hour from here, so we’ll go there this weekend. He gets 2 dinners, and I get to get out of the house and let the wife watch the kids while I eat some authentic Mexican food. Win-win. And my wood is now stacked and will be covered before the rain arrives on Thursday.
Well, he came over today, refused to let me help him or said he would leave (think he just really wanted to help me out given that I’d done a lot for him in the past). He moved more than one cord in 3 hours. I told him to leave the rest as I’ll have my boys bring that up close to the house and build a new stack there. Anyway, he went home briefly, but is returning so that we can have a few beers and cook the porterhouse steaks that I just picked up. I also made him promise to let me take him out to dinner as well. There’s a great Mexican place about 1/2 hour from here, so we’ll go there this weekend. He gets 2 dinners, and I get to get out of the house and let the wife watch the kids while I eat some authentic Mexican food. Win-win. And my wood is now stacked and will be covered before the rain arrives on Thursday.
“Honey, I really don’t want to leave you home alone with the kids, but I just need to do this to pay back my brother for his hard work.”
Pffffttttt. I’ve heard that one before. This is a total score on your part. Have mexican food and a corona or two and relax with your brother, that’s a win-win situation in my book.
Well, he came over today, refused to let me help him or said he would leave (think he just really wanted to help me out given that I’d done a lot for him in the past). He moved more than one cord in 3 hours. I told him to leave the rest as I’ll have my boys bring that up close to the house and build a new stack there. Anyway, he went home briefly, but is returning so that we can have a few beers and cook the porterhouse steaks that I just picked up. I also made him promise to let me take him out to dinner as well. There’s a great Mexican place about 1/2 hour from here, so we’ll go there this weekend. He gets 2 dinners, and I get to get out of the house and let the wife watch the kids while I eat some authentic Mexican food. Win-win. And my wood is now stacked and will be covered before the rain arrives on Thursday.
“Honey, I really don’t want to leave you home alone with the kids, but I just need to do this to pay back my brother for his hard work.”
Pffffttttt. I’ve heard that one before. This is a total score on your part. Have mexican food and a corona or two and relax with your brother, that’s a win-win situation in my book.
Agreed . . . sounds like you two have a pretty close relationship.
