I had a small and unattractive project which consisted of covering the old insulbrick of a row house downtown (no alleyway, through the house only backyard access) with vinyl siding until proper renovations in a couple years - what I called "lipstick on a pig" as for now it's just to waterproof the wall and stop the leaks from further damaging the inside.
I received all kind of quotes and feedback from various contractors ranging from "I'm quoting you extra because it's an inconvenient job" to "I'm quoting you so you don't want to hire us". I received 6 quotes in total.
Oleg's quote at HomeVision came simply, no fuss, based on pictures and then a visit, where he said coming from inside wasn't a big deal at all (and it wasn't, the other contractors made it sound as a terrifying experience). On the contract he added a line for sheathing replacement in case it was needed, but didn't have to replace any as he found it was in ok condition after all (a few contractors said we'd have to take down the entire insulbrick and sheathing for an additional $2-4K). I said ok and he started the very next day (also a delight of punctuality!), 8am to 1pm, and wrapped up taking away any debris.
Voila! It doesn't get easier than that. Sometimes a client really just want a bandaid solution and doesn't have handy capacities to do it themselves. In my case I felt like Oleg was the only one who understood my motivations. You pay a premium for the team to do it instead of a friend, but he still gave me the 7 year warranty and at the end it looks so much nicer than lipstick on a pig ;)
Thanks Oleg!