Told a customer to go with plywood backs, they insisted on MDF, now it's all warped 6 weeks later

I finished a kitchen remodel back in June for a client in Portland. They wanted MDF backsplash panels because it was cheaper, and I warned them about moisture but they said just do it. Fast forward to last week, they call me furious about bubbling and swelling behind the sink. Now I'm stuck spending a full day ripping it out and replacing with plywood for free because I didn't get it in writing. Has anyone else had a customer ignore your advice and then blame you when it fails?

3 comments

3 Comments

william_carter28d ago

Man, is the swelling really that bad or are they just being dramatic?

zara57228d ago

Oh come on @william_carter, you've clearly never had a bad allergic reaction. I got stung by a bee last summer and my hand looked like a inflated latex glove for three days. Couldn't even make a fist. That's not dramatic, that's just your body freaking out and dumping fluid everywhere.

richard_dixon28d ago

...and he goes "it's just a little swelling, walk it off." Walk it off. I had a run in with fire ants a few years ago. Stepped on a mound without noticing and my whole foot puffed up red and shiny like a tomato. Couldn't get a shoe on for two days, had to wrap it in ice packs and prop it up on pillows. My wife kept calling me "clubfoot" as a joke, but I was close to going to urgent care.