Tragic for us, but you should get a laugh out of it
So… three weeks ago we were called to take over in the middle of a job. The carpenters had installed about 700sq feet of T&G ceiling boards. As it turns out, they were supposed to be stained and sealed before they went up… Short story, there was a dispute over who was at fault, they walked off the job and we get called to bat cleanup so to speak.. (should have been our first “red flag”….)
So, we carefully remove everything, being sure to mark the ceiling joists and clearly label the back side of each board (with a sharpie marker) so as to be able to re-install everything exactly where it came off.. (LOTS and LOTS of can lights, speakers, hips and valleys, etc…. We sent all of this, as well as the un-installed lumber to the painter’s shop to be stained and sealed…. (I bet you already know where I’m going with this….)
Today we go back to re-install it all and begin cutting and installing the rest of the ceiling… As we are unloading the truck and unpacking the lumber, we discover that the painter has stained and sealed THE WRONG FACE OF ALL THE BOARDS!!!!!!! He even sanded off all of the writing where we had meticulously labled everything !!!!!! When asked, he said “I thought it was odd that somebody had written all over everything… it sure was a lot of work to sand all of that off.”
Needless to say, by 8:00 not only was our day completely in the dumpster, but so is the rest of the week! Now we’re scrambling to try to find work for next week . (This job was supposed to keep us busy for the next three weeks…..)
So… How did your day go today? :~)
Replies
" So... How did your day go today? :~)"
Gotta confess, not as bad as yours. My condolensces.
(How come the painter didn't get the word about the felt-pen marks?)
Every painter
knows that the Sharpie writing is on the parts that won't be seen. It is just unfathomable that your guy did not know this and sanded all of it all.
Are these pieces so special that you can't fit most of them in somewhere? Now that he's got the backs sealed, the fronts can be done in place, so you can work this week.
"Now that he's got the backs
"Now that he's got the backs sealed, the fronts can be done in place, so you can work this week."
If only... The homeowner was firm about wanting all of the lumber sealed on all sides, And also firm about it being pre-finished prior to installation, so in order to stain the correct side they will first need to strip the sealer off of it. This may, or may not even be possible. We won't know the answer until next week .
I actually agree with the homeowner. this is a huge outdoor "pool house", and there will be moisture issues to contend with .
Needing to start over with new lumber might actually be the cheapest alternative all around. Aside from whatever it will take for the painter to fix what he did, there's the fact that it would take us twice as long to attempt to figure out where each of these jigsaw pieces go now that they aren't labeled as it would to just cut new stuff. (Like I said, there are a LOT of lights, speakers, vents, etc... and the ceiling is VERY cut up with valleys everywhere.
In the meantime, I went fishing yesterday for the first time in over ten years.....
Bummer, Man.
Now I know why most of the successful trades guys I know are slow (I mean that in a good way), patient, careful thinkers. Sometimes you've got to think all the issues through before you make a move.
Drumroll please.........
Exactly six weeks later, This morning we finally went back and started on the ceiling install !
As it turns out, (And as I predicted) there was no way to salvage any of the T&G, so they had to re-order the entire amount and start over from scratch.
I have no idea who wound up eating the cost for this fiasco, nor do I care. but somebody, somewhere along the line certainly took a huge hit in the pocketbook over all of this.
Mark
Better luck on this go round!
How bout a photo when you're done?
thanks.