Some of these replies made me wonder if I was supposed to tip the sub-contractors doing the work and maybe a cigar was an insulting substitution for good ol' cash. A quick Google search seemed to confirm that most people didn't think a tip in this line of work was expected.

Without knowing, I'd assumed tipping was not custom and gave the cigars more as a PIF or surprise. First time we'd had guys working on the house, so I guess I got lucky at least one of the was a brother of the leaf!