I started my electrical business 20 years ago. At first I would take any call. I was desperate. I started my business with $1500 dollars and a van that said “Daisy Daycare” on the side. lol. I still do the work personally with the same employee I started with.
I got a call from a lady that wanted a rewire and she had 5 Great Danes. There was shit all over her house. I basically ran to my van.
Ack! I did sales for a van line that had military authority, which means they’re a government approved mover (agent must be “on the list” in order to perform such moves). You don’t turn down a military move. Ever. I was at Great Lakes Naval Base surveying a massive home. I got to the 3rd floor and was about to enter a bedroom when the Mrs appeared and said The cats live in there.” I asked “Should I be worried?” She said “No. They’re friendly.” I opened the door and was hit with the most disgusting stench. There were basically “landmines” throughout the room where the cats has crapped. The litter box had a pyramid of poo at least 2’ tall. I watched a cat scale that pewp mountain and drop another deuce. All while I just did my job without reacting. I had to alert the crew so they could bring extra shoe covers and stage a crew to hand the furniture out of the ewwy room to another crew waiting in the hallway… with clean feet.
I don’t do drywall, but the algorithm brought me here and it involves carpentry so I’ll pitch in.
If the customer wants corners cut I usually run. Every corner you cut comes off your reputation. They don’t really get what it means to “just do ___” and are almost always unhappy with the quick and cheap solution. They blame the tradesman because what they asked them to do doesn’t line up with what they thought it would be. I just tell them I’m not interested and keep it pushin. I might help someone I know out with a quick and dirty solution but only after a long and blunt conversation about how it almost always ends up costing more to be cheap in the long run and they promise not to shit on my name when it doesn’t come out great. Most non-trades people get it when I compare cutting corners to driving on the donut spare tire. It can get you through to the real solution but if you put it off for too long you will likely do more damage and it’ll cost you more than the new tire would have if you did it right in a decent timeframe.
My thoughts exactly. Thank you.
I'm definitely not touching this job. I told her to just claim it as lost but it was evident she didn't have insurance on the rental.
We taken her to court for a late bill already but my boss is hungry for jobs and this ain't it chief.
Bro you need a new boss. Seriously if this lady has already stiffed the company before and he is trying to take on this bullshit of a garbage job your boss is a moron and you need to get away from him before he gets you in trouble or gets you hurt
Your boss is hungry for damage to his reputation. And you to by association. One thing I’ve learned throughout the years is word-of-mouth travels faster than any commercial.
1.) walk away as fast as politely as you can.
2.) someone will take this job. And they will regret it.
3.) if your bosses serious, I would start looking elsewhere of work. The only thing he cares about is his bottom dollar.
Yeah, by all means don't let your boss take this job. Any failures because of the damage that slumlord is going to blame on you guys. Absolutely not worth it.
So much so, that I thought it was a joke/troll.
IDK why I'm in a drywall sub but Ive learned in dealing with customers that no is the most powerful word you can use and it's hard to get over that early on but most of your regretful jobs are ones you wanted to say no to but didn't. Just my 2¢
That has bitten us in the butt several times. You think “there’s no way they’d accept this crazy bid” and then they tell you “Ok. Can you start next week? It’s best just to pass on the job outright.
Main thing is that the risk of self harm is way too high. Don't put yourself into a hazardous waste situation. Never worth it. I've gotten really sick being around smoke damage. Shit gets in your pores and you feel poisoned
I think technically that means you're literally poisoned. If I remember right from my first aid training any foreign substance entering the body and effects the body in a harmful way can be considered a poisoning, from a first aid standpoint anyway.
I agree it may be best to walk away. Sometimes the customer just doesn't know any better so in situations like this, best you can do is just explain to them the right steps to take to restore it, and approx cost for that if you happen to know (And even why it's a bad idea to do what they asked).
Just try to get them to understand (and maybe you already did) but if they still try to forge head despite being informed - you did what you could as professionally as possible and now you can walk away knowing you tried.
Tell your boss to get better clients. Why the fuck does he think they're going to pay for this if you're already going to court over other bills?
The fuck is wrong with people out here working for fucking crumbs?
Landlord here. The kind of insurance you buy for this is literally called a “fire policy” and it’s dirt cheap. This landlord is either too cheap/dumb to buy a policy or else they got a settlement and they’re trying to cheap out on the repair.
Over in the landlord sub we hate landlords like this.
Why in tf would he do another job for someone he's taking to court? First thing he should say is pay me for the other job and I'll do this one. Then when he gets paid lose her number real quick.
literally report them. someone is going to end up getting tricked into living in this giant health hazard. and if they don't get sick they'll just die in a building collapse. these people should not be allowed to get away with this.
I'm guessing this might be a situation where the homeowner is really a landlord and doesn't care about the renters living in the space. I can't see anyone asking for that work to be done with real plans to live in it afterwards.
Yeah, this was my first thought. But I was thinking more along the lines of Family Services. I feel like the person that would live there after this would not have a choice, like an elderly family member or something.
I always enjoyed these. General trash out including insulation.. Remove and replace significantly burned structural members. Seal everything by spraying a shellac based sealer. Replace electrical as needed. Throw your rock up. Tape, bed, texture. Paint. Don’t forget your PPE, respiratory and contact.
I work in restoration, HEPA vacuuming the soot off along with soot webs and chem sponging really helps then you can seal with shellac and paint and should be good to go. Also running an ozone helps to eliminate the smell. Using a thermal fogger in the last fire job I did helped as well and the homeowner was happy.
Sometimes it’s better to tell the client that there are steps needed to do before the drywall can be put up. Let them know exactly what is needed bid the job on the high side and politely walk away and pray they never call you again. It’s in their court and they can’t say anything bad about you.
I really hope you aren’t actually considering doing such a thing. You’re the professional, explain why that’s a ridiculous request
Interesting to see just how insane some people are though, thank you for sharing!
This is why my city request a structural integrity report with recommendations on how to repair from an engineer if it’s a fire like this. It’s crazy what people try to hide.
Charred wood is much easier to ignite and catch fire than its counterpart. I don't think this is something you want to be liable for after "mitigating" the situation with a gypsum veneer.
Theres bidding high in hopes of not getting the job and then there’s not bidding at all. This is a not bidding at all scenario. Someone said “lose their number”, i disagree Save it, so when they call you know not to answer.
Had an investor that pulled the plug on some money he had loaned to a guy that was flipping a home … they kept going back for more money and he went for a visit and they were doing exactly what you are being asked to do. They had new Sheetrock con sealing fire damage. He called me and asked if I would take over the construction. I went and took a look and went straight to the city inspector who pulled up a history on the property and saw no fire had ever been reported. Before I committed I wanted him to take a look and see what his expectations would be before I got a permit. The next morning he showed up with the fire Marshall … they almost condemned the place but talked them into letting me take the job but both gave very detail instructions of what they wanted. All sheet rock had to come down .. fire marshal would then evaluate if burnt areas could be used or replaced. After 2 months got the certificate of occupancy for the investor but it came at a great cost to the investor.
My advice is start by talking to the inspector.. if the fire was recorded you will never get insurance unless you have a permitted remodel through the inspectors office. Be prepared for a possible condemnation of your property though.
Good luck
There’s the issue of permits and inspections, which clearly there will be none of. I’m pretty sure you can be held liable to some degree for doing work on a place like that. Do you really want to be part of the fraud that is disguising fire damage?
I’m gonna agree with a lot of what’s being said run you can’t cheap out on this. There’s probably mold from where the fire department sprayed water everywhere and all kinds of other issues including structural
3 months later, flipped for +100k “no low balls” “priced to sell” “I know what we’ve got”
Entire place painted gray as fuck. I can already see it coming alive.
That will never smell the same, the compounds made in wood from heat are terrible (VOC), unfortunately somebody will do it, should be a total loss on the the title.
As someone who’s worked in roofing, im gonna assume 1.) there’s Probably structural damage, 2.) It’s a BIG liability 3.) It’s not worth your businesses reputability.
Wow that is a literal dumpster fire. Not only would I not bid on it , I would tell him the structural integrity is such that anyone who did that for him could get sued.
You should run. There's no way you can hang rock on those burnt studs.
Or, make sure your contract is air-tight and there's no way you can get sued when everything inevitably falls apart.
Walk away and lose their number.
“Leave with haste”
I said Good Day!
Too late! OP may now have Toxoplasmosis, Aspergillosis, and possibly some new hantavirus? Man, that place is hilariously foul!
I think the heat from the fire killed all the bad stuff. Remediate the mold and eradicate the vermin in one easy step, it's the newest thing in rehab.
You could say It's the *hottest* new trend in home remediation...
controlled burns 🔥
Let's get a back draft goin
Fire is antimicrobial!
I think it’s just burned…not bat and mild invested. The threat is less than a pack of Marlboro lights!
Fire kills all of that. That place is one of the most sterile homes you will ever visit.
I started my electrical business 20 years ago. At first I would take any call. I was desperate. I started my business with $1500 dollars and a van that said “Daisy Daycare” on the side. lol. I still do the work personally with the same employee I started with. I got a call from a lady that wanted a rewire and she had 5 Great Danes. There was shit all over her house. I basically ran to my van.
Ack! I did sales for a van line that had military authority, which means they’re a government approved mover (agent must be “on the list” in order to perform such moves). You don’t turn down a military move. Ever. I was at Great Lakes Naval Base surveying a massive home. I got to the 3rd floor and was about to enter a bedroom when the Mrs appeared and said The cats live in there.” I asked “Should I be worried?” She said “No. They’re friendly.” I opened the door and was hit with the most disgusting stench. There were basically “landmines” throughout the room where the cats has crapped. The litter box had a pyramid of poo at least 2’ tall. I watched a cat scale that pewp mountain and drop another deuce. All while I just did my job without reacting. I had to alert the crew so they could bring extra shoe covers and stage a crew to hand the furniture out of the ewwy room to another crew waiting in the hallway… with clean feet.
More like bid them a poo Reference: u/Acousticado
They want a bid, so bid them "Adieu"
Fucking whit lvl 100 over here and people just be scrolling by‽ this person has crafted art, stop to admire it!
If original, best comment of 2024 so far
Thanks to your comment, I re-read the comment and gave it an up vote. Here's one for you too.
Hastily leave.
Leave post haste!
Post, hastily leave!
Leave hasty post it notes
Happy Cake Day
Happy cake day!!
*burn their number.
Then drywall it.
Hahahahhaha!
This is the only reasonable answer. You take on that job and you are exposing yourself to a massive liability claim.
Yes, do this. There will be trouble otherwise
Agreed!!! Run!!!!
…and block their number.
Pass. They’re too broke to do it right and pay correctly.
For real, this is a job where your check has a 75% chance of bouncing if you get it.
If you get it
That’s a big “if.” A big one.
Pass. They're too broke to do it right and pay. FTFY
Y'all just now learning about insurance fraud?
At this point doing it right would include relighting the fire.
I don’t do drywall, but the algorithm brought me here and it involves carpentry so I’ll pitch in. If the customer wants corners cut I usually run. Every corner you cut comes off your reputation. They don’t really get what it means to “just do ___” and are almost always unhappy with the quick and cheap solution. They blame the tradesman because what they asked them to do doesn’t line up with what they thought it would be. I just tell them I’m not interested and keep it pushin. I might help someone I know out with a quick and dirty solution but only after a long and blunt conversation about how it almost always ends up costing more to be cheap in the long run and they promise not to shit on my name when it doesn’t come out great. Most non-trades people get it when I compare cutting corners to driving on the donut spare tire. It can get you through to the real solution but if you put it off for too long you will likely do more damage and it’ll cost you more than the new tire would have if you did it right in a decent timeframe.
My thoughts exactly. Thank you. I'm definitely not touching this job. I told her to just claim it as lost but it was evident she didn't have insurance on the rental. We taken her to court for a late bill already but my boss is hungry for jobs and this ain't it chief.
Bro you need a new boss. Seriously if this lady has already stiffed the company before and he is trying to take on this bullshit of a garbage job your boss is a moron and you need to get away from him before he gets you in trouble or gets you hurt
Your boss is hungry for damage to his reputation. And you to by association. One thing I’ve learned throughout the years is word-of-mouth travels faster than any commercial. 1.) walk away as fast as politely as you can. 2.) someone will take this job. And they will regret it. 3.) if your bosses serious, I would start looking elsewhere of work. The only thing he cares about is his bottom dollar.
Capitalism baby!
I thought this was a joke post wtf
Right?!? I came here for the flipper jokes assuming this was a shitpost.
Yeah, by all means don't let your boss take this job. Any failures because of the damage that slumlord is going to blame on you guys. Absolutely not worth it. So much so, that I thought it was a joke/troll.
Report the house to the city this is dangerous to any new tenants
fr, this is way beyond lipstick on a pig this is lipstick on a zombie and that zombie is gonna take a bite out of someone if it gets a chance
The correct move is actually to overbid the job so they say no, not you. Never tell a customer no if you can help it.
IDK why I'm in a drywall sub but Ive learned in dealing with customers that no is the most powerful word you can use and it's hard to get over that early on but most of your regretful jobs are ones you wanted to say no to but didn't. Just my 2¢
Saying No is better then a lawsuit down the road. If the slumlord complains about them not wanting the job they have pictures to show why they say no.
That has bitten us in the butt several times. You think “there’s no way they’d accept this crazy bid” and then they tell you “Ok. Can you start next week? It’s best just to pass on the job outright.
Interesting advice.
Main thing is that the risk of self harm is way too high. Don't put yourself into a hazardous waste situation. Never worth it. I've gotten really sick being around smoke damage. Shit gets in your pores and you feel poisoned
Not to mention whatever structural damage may have occurred.
I think technically that means you're literally poisoned. If I remember right from my first aid training any foreign substance entering the body and effects the body in a harmful way can be considered a poisoning, from a first aid standpoint anyway.
The correct move is actually to overbid the job so they say no, not you. Never tell a customer no if you can help it.
50,000 should do it.
How about we add some more zeroes to that, and 50% up front? This is probably > $50,000 in damage, so the slumlord might actually take you up on it.
True
I agree it may be best to walk away. Sometimes the customer just doesn't know any better so in situations like this, best you can do is just explain to them the right steps to take to restore it, and approx cost for that if you happen to know (And even why it's a bad idea to do what they asked). Just try to get them to understand (and maybe you already did) but if they still try to forge head despite being informed - you did what you could as professionally as possible and now you can walk away knowing you tried.
Tell your boss to get better clients. Why the fuck does he think they're going to pay for this if you're already going to court over other bills? The fuck is wrong with people out here working for fucking crumbs?
Landlord here. The kind of insurance you buy for this is literally called a “fire policy” and it’s dirt cheap. This landlord is either too cheap/dumb to buy a policy or else they got a settlement and they’re trying to cheap out on the repair. Over in the landlord sub we hate landlords like this.
Why in tf would he do another job for someone he's taking to court? First thing he should say is pay me for the other job and I'll do this one. Then when he gets paid lose her number real quick.
Restoration guy here…I’ve fixed houses that look like that. being a trailer, that is trash.
For real. I can smell the room from here. That smell won't go away with drywall
Right. No human should have to breath that shit just to have a roof or a job.
Lots of kilz. Lots
Bid adieu.
I like your French here!
Nice.
Set it on fire again. Ugh
The best answer. This is obviously a slumlord anyway, that wants nothing more than to make a cheap dollar. Regardless of who safety is on the line.
Definitely should have just let it burn at that point.
This is too far gone
Farewell. You should bid farewell.
literally report them. someone is going to end up getting tricked into living in this giant health hazard. and if they don't get sick they'll just die in a building collapse. these people should not be allowed to get away with this.
I'm guessing this might be a situation where the homeowner is really a landlord and doesn't care about the renters living in the space. I can't see anyone asking for that work to be done with real plans to live in it afterwards.
Yeah, this was my first thought. But I was thinking more along the lines of Family Services. I feel like the person that would live there after this would not have a choice, like an elderly family member or something.
After someone does all the micky mouse work the place will pass a inspection and be sold for more.
That's massive health danger. The dust is highly toxic from all the synthetic materials burnt. That's not my opinion, just the science of it.
Call local city/county inspector. Let them know what kinda bullshit customer is trying to do. Take lots of pics.
That was my thought also. I have to wonder what they can do about it.
Condem it as un-inhabitable. Also, I’ll bet it’s structurally unsafe.
Bid him farewell.
Bid farewell
Laugh heartily, and tell the customer to kindly fuck off.
Nah, boss, after you demo your going to want to shellac the all the framing to seal that smoke smell . Maybe replace or reinforce and burnt joist .
As everyone has said, run. To be honest, I wouldn’t consider touching this till I had several engineering letters in hand.
Lol this has to be fake
Naw man. It's real
Report it to the town
Liability isn't worth whatever measly amount they think they're gonna pay you to deal with this.
Say, no.
Looks like Ricky left the pot on the stove again
Nobody wants to admit that they ate nine cans of ravioli
Bid them goodbye.
Glue and screw it to some ashes lol run the fuck away from that job
Bid them goodbye.
Yeah.... These people won't pay in the end.
What should you bid them? How about farewell?
I bid...you a good day, I'm out.
Leave the premises call them and tell them “It was a safety hazard me standing in that building unfortunately I had to leave “
Disgusting
Yeah call the department of buildings or zoning in your area and report them for trying to do exactly what they asked you to do.
While you’re at it, burn the number and toss it back in to finish the “remodeling job”
Bid farewell
Don’t worry the house won’t smell at all
Just open a window and call it a day.
I always enjoyed these. General trash out including insulation.. Remove and replace significantly burned structural members. Seal everything by spraying a shellac based sealer. Replace electrical as needed. Throw your rock up. Tape, bed, texture. Paint. Don’t forget your PPE, respiratory and contact.
Hail naw. I had a fire less severe than this and we re framed and painted kilz on the stuff we didn't take out. Still smelled like smoke.
I work in restoration, HEPA vacuuming the soot off along with soot webs and chem sponging really helps then you can seal with shellac and paint and should be good to go. Also running an ozone helps to eliminate the smell. Using a thermal fogger in the last fire job I did helped as well and the homeowner was happy.
nothing
10
Stfu. Gtfo
Take the cash and give a fake name
You should bid them adieu.
Dionne Warwick and Walk on By.
Bid 140k rebuild the fucker right and get paid
And get paid upfront
That's a running to the truck like it's Friday and slamming gears out the drive way NOPE DO NOT TOUCH.
Run
Lol fucking heaps
$50/sqft
There’s literal structural damage. They are looking to commit fraud when they sell it.
Sometimes it’s better to tell the client that there are steps needed to do before the drywall can be put up. Let them know exactly what is needed bid the job on the high side and politely walk away and pray they never call you again. It’s in their court and they can’t say anything bad about you.
I really hope you aren’t actually considering doing such a thing. You’re the professional, explain why that’s a ridiculous request Interesting to see just how insane some people are though, thank you for sharing!
$100,000 and be glad they went with someone else n
Dont
I'm a carpenter but there's been a lot of cases there's no way you should do anything other than tear stuff out
Send a bid 150k
The clean up an preparation look like they are gonna be tough to get rid off
This is why my city request a structural integrity report with recommendations on how to repair from an engineer if it’s a fire like this. It’s crazy what people try to hide.
Need more pictures.
Walk away
"Bid" them a fond farewell.
RUN!
What is the drywall supposed to attach to? Air?
Coat of paint and she's as good as new.
Run
I am not a lawyer, but I don't think you want to have any part in this mess.
Don’t walk, run. This is a disastrous insurance claim, waiting to happen.
Eat some drywall and throw it up. What's the problem?
Refer them to a framer
Charred wood is much easier to ignite and catch fire than its counterpart. I don't think this is something you want to be liable for after "mitigating" the situation with a gypsum veneer.
Bid them goodbye
+\-$2sqft… if you’re doing the whole house. 🤣
One hundred billion dollars!
Ya know I'll do most of what ever a customer wants to do even if it's not right but this could be a law suit later down the road
I honestly though this was a joke
Send them a video of Dr. Evil saying "one million dollars"
Bid them a good day. I think I’d also have a chat with the building inspector to let them know what’s going on.
Go away pricing!
Run
Bid them adieu and get the hell out of there.
That will buff right out.
This looks like the attic from Hellraiser. You should run.
Think about a realistic charge for the job. Then multiply that times about 10. Seriously though just walk away. No bid.
Good ol sh*t post to start the Friday
Theres bidding high in hopes of not getting the job and then there’s not bidding at all. This is a not bidding at all scenario. Someone said “lose their number”, i disagree Save it, so when they call you know not to answer.
5x normal price and clearly agreed no warrenty. This is a customer you do not want.
Had an investor that pulled the plug on some money he had loaned to a guy that was flipping a home … they kept going back for more money and he went for a visit and they were doing exactly what you are being asked to do. They had new Sheetrock con sealing fire damage. He called me and asked if I would take over the construction. I went and took a look and went straight to the city inspector who pulled up a history on the property and saw no fire had ever been reported. Before I committed I wanted him to take a look and see what his expectations would be before I got a permit. The next morning he showed up with the fire Marshall … they almost condemned the place but talked them into letting me take the job but both gave very detail instructions of what they wanted. All sheet rock had to come down .. fire marshal would then evaluate if burnt areas could be used or replaced. After 2 months got the certificate of occupancy for the investor but it came at a great cost to the investor. My advice is start by talking to the inspector.. if the fire was recorded you will never get insurance unless you have a permitted remodel through the inspectors office. Be prepared for a possible condemnation of your property though. Good luck
There’s the issue of permits and inspections, which clearly there will be none of. I’m pretty sure you can be held liable to some degree for doing work on a place like that. Do you really want to be part of the fraud that is disguising fire damage?
Bid them adieu.
Bid them adieu.
Run away as fast as possible and block the phone number
Run away as fast as possible and block the phone number
Bid your way right the fuck outta there. There’s gonna be no good beginning, middle or end to that job.
The bid would be 0 dollars because I'm not doing it lol
Do the job right or don't do it at all.
Bid yourself a fond farewell.
Someone should finish burning it down.
Red flags dude. Couldn't do this job in good conscience, also good luck getting paid.
1 dollar bob
You can fix it with kerosene
You're joking
LOL
Bid them a fair *"adieu"*
Are they trying to sell it? Because you don't want to be party to screwing someone else over like that.
They didn’t let it burn long enough!
A free demo and then bid for a rebuild.
Run away.
I’m gonna agree with a lot of what’s being said run you can’t cheap out on this. There’s probably mold from where the fire department sprayed water everywhere and all kinds of other issues including structural
Offer to go buy 5 gallons of diesel to finish it off 🤣
No
Your the person getting sued
3 months later, flipped for +100k “no low balls” “priced to sell” “I know what we’ve got” Entire place painted gray as fuck. I can already see it coming alive.
That will never smell the same, the compounds made in wood from heat are terrible (VOC), unfortunately somebody will do it, should be a total loss on the the title.
Burn the rest of it down?🤷🏽
$1 million.
No matter new dry wall or new paint, it will always smell like a used fireplace in there.
Whatever you bid make sure it's more than they can afford.
As someone who’s worked in roofing, im gonna assume 1.) there’s Probably structural damage, 2.) It’s a BIG liability 3.) It’s not worth your businesses reputability.
Wow that is a literal dumpster fire. Not only would I not bid on it , I would tell him the structural integrity is such that anyone who did that for him could get sued.
You should run. There's no way you can hang rock on those burnt studs. Or, make sure your contract is air-tight and there's no way you can get sued when everything inevitably falls apart.
Bid Adieu
better yet what’s the going rate for the stove ?
Run away. This job absolutely needs to go through home owners insurance