The estimate
Contractors in Malta are as random as Roulette, at times you can get lucky and get a service done in no time, but when it goes wrong, you are in it for the long haul. An average turnaround for an estimate can take an average of 6 weeks, usually barred by several failed meeting attempts, where time or calendar do not apply. Your reminder phone calls for keeping an appointment are as futile as the spam calls you get from Burundi, and when a site visit does happen, you get a ballpark estimate for price and availability. The former usually has a tax free option, because who pays tax anyway? and the latter can vary between 1 month and 1 year and is always at the contractor's discretion as to when the work begins. You are just a layabout good-for-nothing asking for favours and signing cheques.