Should i negotiate with a contractor?

Somewhere between "let's do it" and "what are we missing" — if that's where you two are sitting, you're in the normal spot.

Big decisions are supposed to feel like this. The trouble is, most contractors treat your hesitation like a closing problem — and every follow-up call really means "ready yet?"

Here, this stage runs on one rule: ask anything, and it gets answered the same day. Not a pitch — the actual answer, with the numbers behind it.

If the price needs to move, the scope moves with it — a smaller footprint, a different material, a phase two next year. What I won't do is drop the price while the work stays the same. A number that shrinks on request tells you what it was to begin with. And when we get on the phone to sort things out, I'd like both of you on the call — you're each carrying different questions, and both sets deserve real answers. One more thing: "no" is an allowed answer. I'd rather have a clean no than a nervous yes, and I'll shake your hand either way.

So whatever the sticking point is — the price, the timing, something you haven't said out loud yet — call me and put it on the table. That's what this stage is for.