That $200 "easy" deck staining job turned into a 3 week nightmare

I took on a deck staining gig for a friend of a friend in May. Quoted $200 thinking it would be a 2 day sand and stain deal. Showed up and the old stain was like glue, had to strip it with chemicals 3 times before it would take new stain. Plus it rained half the days I was scheduled. Ended up costing me about $150 in extra supplies and like 40 hours of work. Has anyone else had a quick quote blow up in their face like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

finleym375d ago

Man oh man... that brings back memories of when I tried to help my cousin pressure wash his driveway last summer. Quoted him a weekend, ended up being this whole saga where the machine kept clogging and we had to drive 45 minutes to rent a new one. Plus his neighbor kept coming out to complain about the noise every single day.

martinez.paul5d ago

40 hours over 3 weeks for $200? I mean yeah that sucks but you're making it sound like a disaster movie. A little rain and some elbow grease isn't exactly life or death man.

viola_garcia564d ago

3 weeks for $200"? Wait hold on. You're telling me someone spent 40 hours of their life over 21 days and walked away with two hundred bucks? That is genuinely insane. I mean I get it's not a medical emergency but 40 hours is like a whole work week for what, minimum wage? And in the rain no less. That's not just a little elbow grease, that's straight up exploitation with extra steps.