That contractor who told me to skip the vapor barrier under my deck
Last spring I was framing a deck for a homeowner in Arlington and this guy who called himself a handyman comes over from next door. He said I was wasting money putting down a vapor barrier under the deck boards because rainwater just drains through the gaps anyway. I told him politely that was wrong but he kept arguing, saying I was overengineering a simple project. Three months later his neighbor called me to fix his deck boards that were cupping and rotting from moisture wicking up from the ground underneath. That one conversation cost that guy probably $1,200 in replacement lumber and labor. Has anyone else run into a neighbor or friend who gave terrible advice that ended up costing you time or cash?