That job in Charlotte where the client wanted a built-in with no visible fasteners at all

It was a solid two weeks of my life I won't get back. They wanted a full wall unit for their living room, floor to ceiling, but insisted on no screws, no nails, no plugs, no nothing showing. I explained that even with a sliding dovetail or a stopped dado, you need some mechanical fastening for a piece that size. They wouldn't budge. I ended up using a massive amount of specialized cabinet glue and a crazy number of bar clamps, some I had to rent. The stress of waiting for each section to cure, hoping the alignment held, was unreal. It turned out fine in the end, but the profit margin was gone after the extra glue and clamp rental. Sometimes, is the 'perfect' look really worth the extra headache and cost?

3 comments

3 Comments

margaretm2313d ago

You said the profit margin was gone, but that's a short term view. For a high end client, that "perfect" look is the whole point. They're paying for an impossible result, and you delivered it. That reputation for doing the undoable is worth way more than one job's profit.

olivia_rivera883d ago

Yeah but how do you even put a price on that kind of word of mouth? I mean, that story about the impossible job becomes your best ad.

grace_white13d ago

Margaretm23 has a point about the reputation thing. My reputation now is just as the guy who will accept payment in bar clamps. The whole thing was a glue and prayer operation.