I hate giving customers bad news

Remodeling Maidiac

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Jun 13, 2011
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Today I had to tell a customer that the agreed upon amount for a job was going to have to be doubled. On rare occasions we have to make adjustments but very rarely to that degree. Once we tore out part of the job we saw too many substandard shortcuts had been taken when the house was built.
 
Today I had to tell a customer that the agreed upon amount for a job was going to have to be doubled. On rare occasions we have to make adjustments but very rarely to that degree. Once we tore out part of the job we saw too many substandard shortcuts had been taken when the house was built.

It happens. Hope you have language in your estimates to cover these situations.
 
I've done many of those kind of jobs..Once I redid floor tile in the bathroom, instead of leveling the floor they used newspapers to elevate the low spots..
 
Today I had to tell a customer that the agreed upon amount for a job was going to have to be doubled. On rare occasions we have to make adjustments but very rarely to that degree. Once we tore out part of the job we saw too many substandard shortcuts had been taken when the house was built.

Somehow you managed though didn't you. Ah well, they know what your word is worth now.
 
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Today I had to tell a customer that the agreed upon amount for a job was going to have to be doubled. On rare occasions we have to make adjustments but very rarely to that degree. Once we tore out part of the job we saw too many substandard shortcuts had been taken when the house was built.

Somehow you managed though didn't you. Ah well, they know what your word is worth now.
You clearly have no understanding of remodeling. X-ray vision is not a talent I possess. Wish I did
 
his word? no one can tell ya the stuff is alright till they see it...then you see shit like cut beams and support brackets cut for plumbing and if you have to pull permits they are gonna fail inspection...you have to correct the past work....and you have to charge for it...
 
I've done many of those kind of jobs..Once I redid floor tile in the bathroom, instead of leveling the floor they used newspapers to elevate the low spots..
The thing is, newspapers are made out of wood pulp which consists of cellulose fiber. So technically it is a manufactured fiber mesh reinforced structural building material.

:deal:
 
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So today we began ripping out the subfloor and discovered the joists are on 24" centers. Not only that they are tji's so bracing then for the additional weight is not going to be particularly fun. Had a general contractor who builds homes come out and he wanted double what I initially bid.
The homeowners neighbor came over today to inquire about what was going on after he heard the demolition hammers running and he told us the original builder let his son build the house. It was his first build. No surprise. The subfloor doesn't even go under the walls! They built the walls before installing the osb.
 
I've been lazy for the last couple years posting too much with you fools and it's showing. I'm a bit ashamed of myself to be honest.
 
I've had two major renovations done to older homes we've owned...kitchen, baths, windows, HVAC upgrades, floor plan modifications, etc, etc. Subsequently was an investor in 3 flips but only after I initially balked, based on my experiences, at only a 10% contingency in the reno budget for any unknow problems that were sure to crop up. The two others in the deal agreed to substantially increasing it and in the end were glad they did (I wouldn't have gone ahead had they not). In the end we had good returns on all three investments and I'll likely do it again if they come up with another good property.
 
Today I had to tell a customer that the agreed upon amount for a job was going to have to be doubled. On rare occasions we have to make adjustments but very rarely to that degree. Once we tore out part of the job we saw too many substandard shortcuts had been taken when the house was built.

that often leaves a sour taste in the customers mouth

they can justifiably feel they have been low balled
 
and this ladies and gentlemen is why you should always have a home inspection before buying a property.....
Agree inspections should always be made before purchasing a house, but if you're insinuating an inspection will uncover everything that may come to light when doing a major renovation it's simply not the case.

Also, inspectors are like any other profession. There are good ones and not so good ones so folks should do their homework before selecting one.
 
Shit always happens when you least expect it. Reminds me of a side job I did recently for a friend of a friend of a friend. Replace hot water heater. Piece of cake right? Electric too which is really easy. So I speak to them on the phone and give them a very cheap price to install it/remove the bad one. Tell them to purchase whatever one they want at HomeDespot/Lowes just make sure it is the same size and shape as the old one so it fits. I get there and it is in a back closet of a bed room in a double wide. Well that's a pain but not a big deal just move some furniture, drain water out window with a hose, done it before. Then I notice the rug is wet near the closet door. I open the door and there is mold, I mean massive mold everywhere. It is so bad the sheetrock is falling apart. Turns out the there is a leak that has been happening for quite a while, some idiot used a metal fitting with plastic piping. wtf. And the piping is all over the place, one section is a mistake that they apparently just tied in to another section instead of removing.

So I tell them they are going to need the whole thing gutted and much of the carpet ripped out to stop the mold. I offer a cheap price to do it, and this is a seriously rough job, mold sucks to deal with and can make you very sick if you don't take serious precautions They don't believe me, get pissed off at me, I mean wife is almost yelling at me. I say sorry dudes I'm out and leave. Two weeks later I get a call from the wife all nice as can be asking if I'm still interested, apparently they found out reality and that I offered them a very cheap price. I ended up not only gutting the closet but also removing the carpet in the whole room after showing them the mold growing under it, branching out from the door. Replaced with some vinyl faux wood flooring, pretty good stuff and I did it right with a moisture barrier. Also painted the whole room for a couple more hundred, all new bottom trim, etc. I actually made out pretty good after they realized they had to pony up real money.

You never know what you are getting into sometimes.
 
Not a big deal, everybody is selfish they look into their benefits and hence shortcuts pay them a lot kind of black money. I am also willing to have little bit of construction in my house in Feng-Shui way, as the directions given are not OK in my house. So that things go well.
 

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