Pro tip: That 'easy' residential rewire in a 1920s bungalow turned into a full week of chasing knob and tube because the homeowner insisted the attic was 'clean and accessible', which it absolutely was not.

Spent three days just mapping the old circuits before we could even start pulling new wire, and honestly, I think sometimes we should just flat-out refuse jobs when the existing conditions are that misrepresented from the start. Has anyone else just walked away from a residential job after the initial walk-through?

3 comments

3 Comments

craig.grant2mo agoMost Upvoted

What's the point of a walk-through if the info is wrong? I'd walk if the place is a total lie like that. It's not worth the fight over price later. Some customers just hope you'll eat the cost when you find the mess. My rule is bad info upfront means I'm out.

grant.luna10d ago

Oh man, that's hilarious in the worst possible way. Honestly, "clean and accessible" is homeowner code for "we haven't touched this since 1923 and there's probably a raccoon skeleton up there." Ngl, some homeowners think if they just say the right words the mess magically disappears. I've walked from jobs less than that, just handed the key back and said "best of luck finding someone else." Tbh, my cutoff is when they try to sell me on how "easy" it'll be before I've even looked at anything. That's a red flag the size of a barn. If the walk-through feels like they're reading from a script, I'm gone. Not worth the headache or the drywall repair bill.

tylerg302mo ago

Man, that sounds brutal. What's your cutoff point for walking away, like what kind of misrepresentation makes the job a hard no? I've heard some guys will only do those old houses on a strict time and materials basis now.