Tried saving a day by skipping the concrete mix check on a vinyl fence

Had a job in Springfield last month for a 50 foot vinyl run. The client supplied the posts and bags of concrete, so I just started setting them. Turns out they bought the wrong mix, the fast setting kind that goes off in 15 minutes. Wasted a whole afternoon and about $80 in labor chipping out three posts that set crooked before I even got the line right. Anyone else gotten burned by a client-supplied material that was wrong?

3 comments

3 Comments

adam41412h agoTop Commenter

Check your own materials before you start. That's on you, not the client.

hannahj4911h agoMost Upvoted

Adam414 has a point about checking your own work, but sometimes clients give unclear instructions that set you up to fail. It's not always black and white like that. A little communication from both sides usually fixes these problems.

anthony_jackson317h ago

Adam's comment reminds me of how many people treat responsibility like a hot potato. Everyone's quick to pass the blame instead of just fixing the thing that went wrong. You see it everywhere, from work to family stuff. It's this weird need to be right that stops actual solutions. Sure, double-checking your stuff is key, but acting like the other person can never be part of the problem just makes everything harder. The real fix is both sides owning their piece and moving forward.