Business Cover Ups!

woodmagman

I have a question for all home owners that are business men and women….
What in our mental capacity cases us to cover up structural and architectural problems rather then correct them with true and time proven methods?
Example:
Plastic tub surrounds
Painting over blistering paint
Installing ceramic tile over curling V.C. tile
Putting weeping tile on the inside of the footing rather then, on the outside perimeter
Waiting for furnace/AC motors to seize up before replacing
Covering a roof valley with foundation coating rather then replacing the offending section of roof

This is only a very short list of red flags and indicators that will over time completely destroy a home. Our bodies consist of mostly water. Our homes can not tolerate the same degree of moisture. The mold and mildew that lurks behind the cover ups is frightening. To allow anyone to put a plastic tub liner over mildew tile is frightening to say the least. And allowing water to run through foundation cracks like a water fall is asking for chemistry at a different level. Even though the moisture is being channeled to a crack in the floor. The blisters and bubbles are telling us to maintain items not to cover them up. Yet, companies are being very successful at selling solutions that cover up the problems and do not correct them…..
As home owners, are we lazy or stupid?
As business men and women, are we just stupid?

ProWallGuy

I would assume the #1 reason would be cost. Not enough cash for the right fix.

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Wallpaper Hanger St. Louis
Digital Murals Installation

GregS

Lack of knowledge on how to do the job right?

dougchips

"We will deal with it later" "We are moving in a couple of years" "It's better than duct-tape".

Lazy Americans.

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Forry

My ineffectiveness @ my home has mostly to do with lack of time, and also some $ issues, and also, I do that work all day, and it's hard to motivate myself to do things right after all that (lazy?)

mickeyco

Cost-Benefit Analysis.

reveivl

When the customer calls you, you investigate, diagnose, and come up with a solution or solutions. From that point on it is up to the customer what they want to do: cover it up, fix it properly or some combination, then it is up to you, again, to decide whether you want to do what they request.

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From where does knowledge come? If you need to know what is in a box, you could ask someone (not reliable), you could pray, (not useful), you can consult with the scripture (not helpful) or you could open the box (science)

KillerToiletSpider

I spent a good portion of last weekend re-roofing my house, under the supervision of a buddy that is a roofing contractor, to take care of a small leak in one roof valley.

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A flush is better than a full house.

woodmagman

All expected answers. It just pisses me off!
Cover up contracting is a thorn in any reputable contractors side.
For those that are doing this types of work, reputation is what really brings you repeat buisness. Is this the reputation you want...?

WNYcarpenter

I'm a little confused about what angle we're looking at here...Why do we do sub-par work on our own homes, or clients?

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"I knew I lost my wallet as soon as I threw my pants over the fence". -'lil jarhead bro when asking for a wire transfer...

woodmagman

Exactly......why do home owners do this, or allow it to be done.
Home decrot sells the items, so they must be good, no?
google for foudation repairs and you will get systems that say it is ok to have water running down the interior of your basement wall as long as there is a resevior to catch the water.. WTH is that... A foundation patch for ten grand a bath tile patch for two hundred and fifty a roof patch for eighty bucks. It is not that they are costly, it is that they are patches and companies are profiting by selling patches rather then perminent solutions.....

marc

I just lost a job because the home-owners wanted to side over their masonite siding.......................The reason why

4 other contractors told them they could go over the siding. This is masonite siding. I can't go over it. (Not if I want to sleep at night.) But how do you convince a home-owner that it's not the right thing to do when 4 other contractors are telling them to go over it. All I said was that that could do what they wanted but if the wanted to go over the siding that they were NOT looking at their contractor. The asked me why the others said they could go over it. I answered "I truly don't know. You will have to ask them but I could take a guess." They asked me what my guess was and I told them "I believe they are all SSP's" They asked me what an SSP was and I told them "Self Serving Pukes" I told them that a lot of contractors believe that price drives the market and they may be afraid to add the stripping and disposal costs to the bid because they may lose the job. To them it's not about doing the right thing for the customer. It's about getting the job. I just wont cut corners just to get work. They went with the lowest price................Can't get them all.

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Marc

woodmagman

WNYcarpenter, your avatar is the number one reason why a quality camera should not be taken onto a job site. Your ceiling texturer had a hay day with the lens.....Send that photo to Mike Finely and tell him you photo shopped in a snow storm for a time lapased effect.