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Just realized a client's 'simple' floor repair turned into a full demo after I pulled up a corner
I was at a job in Tacoma last month, fixing a small water spot on some laminate. The homeowner said it was just that one board. When I lifted the edge, I found black mold covering about 60 square feet of the subfloor underneath. Now I'm stuck between two minds. One side says you have to stop, show the client, and quote the full, proper fix, even if it kills the small job. The other side says you just quietly put the board back, finish the patch, and walk away from the bigger problem you found. Where do you guys draw the line on stuff you weren't hired to find?
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west.casey6mo ago
So you just put the board back and left?
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diana_carr666mo ago
Just put the board back and left?" Come on, is a little mold always a full blown emergency? @christopherw34 makes it sound like you're walking away from a toxic waste site. Sometimes it's a tiny spot that's been there for years and isn't even wet anymore. Do you really need to scare the homeowner and triple the job price over a few specks?
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christopherw346mo ago
Yeah, that's the tough call right there. I never just put a board back over something like that, @west.casey. You have to show them and give a new quote, because if that mold spreads later, your name is on the last work done. I draw the line at health and safety, so rot, mold, or bad electrical gets a full stop every time. How do you handle it when the new price is way bigger than the original job?
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