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Warning: a simple brick arch repair turned into a two day nightmare
Got called to fix a small arch over a garage door in an old house. The homeowner said it was just a few loose bricks. When I got up there, the whole center was shot, the mortar was basically dust, and the wooden lintel behind it was rotten. What should have been a half day job turned into a full day just to carefully take it apart without bringing the whole wall down. Then I had to source a matching reclaimed brick, which took another morning. The actual rebuild was fine, but the whole thing took two full days. I'm torn on these jobs now. Do you always quote extra time for 'simple' repairs on old buildings, or do you stick to your original estimate and risk losing money? How do you guys handle this?
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max2735mo ago
I mean, I heard you gotta double your time estimate for anything on an old house.
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henry_hernandez5mo ago
Yeah, that rule of thumb from @max273 is dead on. Read a whole article about hidden problems in old walls adding crazy delays. It's never just the one thing you see.
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beth_green4mo ago
Triple it if you're doing anything with plumbing or electrical. My buddy thought he'd swap a light fixture in his 1920s place and ended up rewiring half the living room.
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