I finally had a job go completely sideways because the client's 'free' reclaimed bricks were full of old, crumbling mortar.

Last week in Springfield, I spent three full days chipping and grinding before I could even start laying, which taught me to always inspect material on-site before agreeing to a timeline.

4 comments

4 Comments

martin.riley7d ago

Look at it from the client's side. They gave you free bricks to save you both money. You agreed to the job knowing the materials were reclaimed, so the extra prep work is part of the deal. West.casey's idea to check everything just adds more time before you even start, which also costs money. Sometimes you just have to eat the labor to keep a client happy and get the project done. That's the real cost of using free stuff.

charles_young4228d ago

It's the same with people offering free furniture, you have to check for bedbugs first.

ivan_murphy8028d ago

@charles_young42, how do you even check a couch for bedbugs?

west.casey27d ago

Check every single thing they call free. That old mortar cost you three days of labor, which ain't free at all. Learned that lesson the hard way too.