We just installed a waterproof laminate in one of our rentals.

It's also the reason BP had to install a bot that screams "fraud" in every wholesaling thread.

I don't want to pay for a new unit when its nothing but capacitor or a thermostat, or have a short service life capacitor installed so the Tech can get a quick callback for extra work (not all Techs are top notch in diagnosis).If you intend to learn to service your own A/C units on the fly as they go down, I'd say that's probably a rather big learning curve, and will require some specialized equipment and training on how to safely do it.The rent or buy decision aside, it's best to have a couple of experienced reliable A/C techs at your disposal. 

DIY Eviction FAIL.

In a two-story house I'm planning to sell, there is a variety of flooring on the first floor, installed over a concrete slab.

The tenant also wants a metal gate installed for protection. 

Once you know what's being used, you could now look up the prices (hardwood floor on Home Depot, for example) and call contractors in the area to give a rough quote (ask a flooring contractor how much he would charge to install X sqft of hardwood, for example).

I needed a temporary power pole to be installed so that I could start the demo of the roof and 2nd story. 

So I go toTurn in my permit application and the lady tells me I must use an electrical and a mechanical(HVAC) contractor to install all of the electrical and HVAC.

If you want something custom tailored for something and the diy approach isn't great, they offer an API (https://developers.podio.com/) that is pretty feature rich and already a part of your account that most developers would be able to get you something pretty custom and as basic / feature rich that you would want.