Frustration beyond belief.
That’s what you get when you work with local contractors, casual painters, roof “specialists” and similar workmen. It’s the same in Cape Town as it is in Johannesburg.
Things go wrong. Areas get sanded that were never meant to be touched. Paint shows through because the prep work was half done. Primer slapped on. Top coat applied. And then you see it all bleeding through.
One workman was on tik — which explained why he spent most of the day lying on his back, getting up for ten minutes of work, then collapsing again. Another shouted and screamed over nothing and stormed off site. His boss later told me I should be harder on him.
Then there are the bigger contractors. The shiny Toyota Fortuner in the driveway. The promises. The “we’ll handle everything.” Yet somehow the eaves are missed. Or the roof still leaks after three separate call-outs. Money flows out. Water still flows in.
On one occasion a critical section of roof simply wasn’t sealed. The most obvious, vulnerable point. When the rains came, so did the flood.
And so it goes.
After two years of renovations and repairs, I’ve come to a conclusion: there is no simple job. Every job has complexity. And if you don’t do the thinking, no one else will.
Most of these workers are low-skilled. But the bigger issue isn’t skill alone — it’s trust.
The Low-Trust Problem
How do you operate when trust is thin or non-existent?
That’s the question I keep circling back to.
In theory, a contractor-client relationship should be straightforward. You agree on scope. You agree on price. Work gets done. Payment follows.
In practice, especially in South Africa, it often feels adversarial from the start.
Corners get cut. Work is left unfinished. The next job is already being chased while yours sits half done. A day’s work stretches into two. Two into five. Snag lists multiply.
You become the foreman, the quality controller, the timekeeper, and the financier — all at once.
It’s exhausting.
And it raises a bigger question: how do you function in a low-trust environment without losing your mind?
What I’ve Learned (The Hard Way)
Out of necessity, I started adjusting.
Some of it I did instinctively. Some of it I only recognised later.
1. Break everything into phases.
Never discuss “the whole job.” Discuss Phase 1. Then Phase 2. Payment follows completion of defined pieces — not vague progress.
2. Estimate time yourself.
Even roughly. Even imperfectly.
If someone tells you a small prep job will take five days, ask yourself why. Google it. Watch a video. Do a small section yourself. Knowledge reduces vulnerability.
3. Do some of the work.
Not because you should have to. But because it teaches you how long things actually take. It sharpens your eye.
4. Prepare snag lists early — not at the end.
Don’t wait until “completion.” Walk the site daily. Write things down. Small corrections prevent big re-dos.
5. Pay for history, not promises.
No large upfront payments. No paying for “almost done.” Money is leverage — once it’s gone, so is your influence.
6. Set a visible standard.
Get one section done properly. Agree: This is the standard. Then everything must match it.
7. Stay calm and business-like.
Anger wastes energy. Documentation preserves it. WhatsApp confirmations. Written task lists. Clear next-day objectives.
The Energy Drain
The real cost isn’t always financial. It’s mental.
You don’t feel like a homeowner. You feel like a prison warden. Watching. Checking. Following up. Questioning.
And here’s the uncomfortable truth: in low-trust environments, oversight becomes part of the job.
You can resent it. Or you can structure it.
The deeper issue is what economists call the principal–agent problem. Their incentive is to maximise income with minimum effort. Yours is the opposite. In high-trust societies, reputation bridges that gap. In low-trust environments, you must manufacture that bridge through structure, staged payments, and constant verification.
It shouldn’t be this way.
But it is.
So I Ask Again
How do you deal with people when trust is low — sometimes absent?
How do you protect your time, money and sanity without becoming cynical about everyone?
I don’t have a perfect answer.
But I do know this: clarity, structure, and controlled payments reduce chaos. Knowledge reduces vulnerability. And emotional detachment reduces stress.
You may not eliminate the problem.
But you can reduce the damage.
