Showerthought: My uncle told me to always double-check the spec sheets on a job, and man was he right.

Back when I was just starting out, he said, 'Kid, the prints and the actual product specs are never the same.' I ignored him on a school re-roof job in Dayton, ordered the insulation based on the plan, and it was the wrong R-value. Had to eat the cost of a whole new truckload, about $2,800. Anyone else get burned by trusting the initial drawings too much?

3 comments

3 Comments

jordan7713d ago

Oh man, preach. Tbh, I did the same thing with a water heater for a bathroom remodel last year. The spec sheet from the supplier said it was a certain gallon capacity and had the right connections. Showed up, and the physical unit's inlet was on the opposite side. Had to re-plumb half the wall. Cost me an extra day's labor and a bunch of new fittings. Learned that lesson the hard way.

park.abby12d ago

How much money do these mistakes cost the whole industry? It's wild that checking a spec sheet against the actual product isn't standard practice before shipping. You'd think suppliers would want to avoid the returns and bad rep. But nope, the burden is always on us to catch their errors. Makes you wonder if they even open the box at the warehouse.

holly_sanchez7512d ago

We had a spec sheet for a commercial door that listed the exact hinge type. The hinges that showed up were close, but the pin was a different diameter. Couldn't use them. Now I call the supplier and have them physically check the product in their warehouse before it ships. It adds a day, but it saves those huge headaches.