# Your worst job ever?



## cappaint (May 24, 2011)

What was the biggest nightmare job you have done? 

You can define "worst" however you want...maybe it was a job you lost money on or a job where the customers were brutal.


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## Schmidt & Co. (Nov 6, 2008)

cappaint said:


> What was the biggest nightmare job you have done?


 
Moderating this loony bin. :jester:


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

Schmidt & Co. said:


> Moderating this loony bin. :jester:


Hey, I just clicked this thread to post that!


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## Schmidt & Co. (Nov 6, 2008)

:whistling2::whistling2:


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## Schmidt & Co. (Nov 6, 2008)

To the OP: Nothing that sticks out in my mind in the last 15 years. Sure we had a few in the beginning. But with a little experience at reading people and knowing what the warning signs are, I have been able to weed those people out. Kind of nice not dreading going to the jobsite. :yes:


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

My worst job was the one I did not get paid for.


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

Workaholic said:


> My worst job was the one I did not get paid for.


Any progress on that one yet? Did you get a court date?


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

NCPaint1 said:


> Any progress on that one yet? Did you get a court date?


I got a judgement but no money.  What pisses me off the most is when I drive I hear his fvckin radio ad. Can't pay a painter but you can pay for radio advertisement.


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## Ole34 (Jan 24, 2011)

I pinched a nerve in my left shoulder while sanding down a skim coated ceiling about 4-5 yrs ago........had it tested soon after an the doc said I had the strength of a 10 yr old in my left hand lol ............surgery was out of the question cause I couldn't afford to miss work so I just dealt with it .......first year was brutal, couldn't even use my left hand at all..go through the drive through an the chic gives me the change only to have it fall through my fingers lol .........now its about 60% but still hard to work with small stuff like nuts/bolts etc etc ....never be back to normal but at least I can paint with it ..............oh well........that's why I drop the brush sometimes in my videos  ...........


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

Ole34 said:


> I pinched a nerve in my left shoulder while sanding down a skim coated ceiling about 4-5 yrs ago........had it tested soon after an the doc said I had the strength of a 10 yr old in my left hand lol ............surgery was out of the question cause I couldn't afford to miss work so I just dealt with it .......first year was brutal, couldn't even use my left hand at all..go through the drive through an the chic gives me the change only to have it fall through my fingers lol .........now its about 60% but still hard to work with small stuff like nuts/bolts etc etc ....never be back to normal but at least I can paint with it ..............oh well........that's why I drop the brush sometimes in my videos  ...........


When you first came to this site I thought this chucklehead will not last, now look at you all opening up and stuff.


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## Schmidt & Co. (Nov 6, 2008)

Workaholic said:


> When you first came to this site I thought this chucklehead will not last, now look at you all opening up and stuff.


I like the new Ole :yes:


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

Worst ever was an exterior we did back in 2007. Don't know what it was about this house, but absolutely everything went wrong. We'd get to the jobsite early in the morning on a bright and sunny day, and just as we rolled up it would start to rain - out of frickin nowhere! Happened every other day on that job, and it only rained in that one area 

Had wasps and hornets everywhere too - man I hated that job :jester:

Clients were nice though


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## Schmidt & Co. (Nov 6, 2008)

Rcon said:


> Worst ever was an exterior we did back in 2007. Don't know what it was about this house, but absolutely everything went wrong. We'd get to the jobsite early in the morning on a bright and sunny day, and just as we rolled up it would start to rain - out of frickin nowhere! Happened every other day on that job, and it only rained in that one area
> 
> Had wasps and hornets everywhere too - man I hated that job :jester:
> 
> Clients were nice though


That just reminded me, sometime in the 90s I was on an exterior. This was before mobile phone weather apps. Well this awning I was _trying _to paint got rained on three times. Fourth time painting it was the charm.


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## Paint and Hammer (Feb 26, 2008)

Hmmmm.....nope....all bliss.


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## AztecPainting (Jan 28, 2010)

One of the worst jobs ever... like 5 years ago when I found out I am colour blind, and have a hard time with greens and/or reds, my old boss dropped off 2 cans of paint in the morning before I got there (both very pastel creamy colour, didn't have the name or code on top, both said flat, name brand and thats is), badly enough I finished the entire top of the house by lunch time, then my boss came over saw the paint and started to freak out, then we opened both cans and seriously it looked exactly the same to me, the he was joking that I was colour blind.

I went to the optometrist to reaffirm that, indeed I am colour blind, since then I have my sharpie with me all the time and I label every single can of paint and sleeve used at the end of the day and my guys have to do the same.


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## cappaint (May 24, 2011)

Had this job I might have mentioned b4 where i felt like a marriage councelor. I gave them the slack to pick the colors as I go and these 2 whakos would argue for a half hour in front of me in the morning and at the end of the day. The wife would snap at the shmuck husband and then they'd look at me to be the 3rd vote. Then I would come back daily to a room full of post its....they were so microscopic Id have to call the guy in to show me what the sticky means and he wouldnt even know. And they had no AC and I was workin upstairs during the worst heatwave in ten years.


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

I once had these steel doors.....

One of the worst was my first year painting exteriors. I was working above a patio and this elderly lady comes to the window yelling, waving her hands and generally throwing an incoherent fit. I looked around trying to see what could be upsetting her and think, hmmm, maybe the drop cloth is not covering enough for her and adjust it to cover more patio and go back to my painting.

A few minutes later, more gesticulating and pounding on the slider glass. I look around again and see a flower pot about 20 feet way from where I am working. That must be what she is concerned about, so I move that further away and go back to painting.

Well, I was wrong. She now comes outside to yell at me and the foot of her patio table, which was FAR away from the painting, was TOUCHING the dirt of her flower bed. You know, those 1" diameter metal feet and it was nearly within a foot or two of a flower right by the edge of the flower bed. Not touching anything. Not close to touching anything. I am up on a ladder at this point brushing out some oxford brown stain and I tell her I will move it. As the dutiful painter I am, I was going to finish the board I was working on to avoid a lap mark as dark, oxford brown stains can do if you stop in hot weather at a bad stopping point.

Before I could finish one board, she was once again yelling and waving her hands crazily as if the Rapture, Judgement Day (both Biblical and Terminator), Dec 21, 2012, Armageddon, and whatever other apocalyptic occurrence imaginable was about to happen on her very patio.

That and the crazy lady who no one wanted to paint the deck area wall for because we were warned "I used to paint house so I know...." about a billion times on that job. As soon as I was done, out she came and started complaining that it looked all streaky, as she ran her hand against the wall. "Oh, it is still wet." Yeah, you used to paint but thought paint dried in under 1 minute. Hmmm.


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## ltd (Nov 18, 2010)

this year it seems like all the houses im doing the people are border line hoarders .big houses little house it doesn't matter . i mean all i need is a 4x6 corner so i can throw down a drop, so i can set myself up a shop.also give me a laundry tub that doesn't have clothes,and clutter around it and am happy:yes:. i have an empty town house coming up in aug. im looking forward to that .all in all im having my best year ever .


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

About 20 years ago when Rob and I started the second paint biz (on our 3rd now) we hooked up with a guy who flipped foreclosed homes. Some were awful, people would destroy the homes. When the utilities got shut off, you can imagine what happened. I would do all the cleaning and prep while Rob was working for a painter, he'd come by after work and spray it out and I'd finish the next day. I had to draw the line though at the bathtub full of poop and dirty diapers cause the water was off and the toilet was full.


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

The $6,000 screw up is still too fresh in my mind to talk about. Pisses me off that I thought I had taken all necessary steps to get this hyper expensive silk mural installed correctly.

I do think I have learned how to approach something like this again.


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

Getting burned for 25k ranks up there as well.

Any project I used a proshot on but one.


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

RCP said:


> I had to draw the line though at the bathtub full of poop and dirty diapers cause the water was off and the toilet was full.


Which one of you two were wearing the diapers? :jester:


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

Workaholic said:


> Which one of you two were wearing the diapers? :jester:


Didn't you read the whole post, Rob was gone and I was there all day with no water, whaddya think?!

This was when we had one vehicle, no cell phones, no ipods. Just me and a bucket!


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

RCP said:


> Didn't you read the whole post, Rob was gone and I was there all day with no water, whaddya think?!
> 
> This was when we had one vehicle, no cell phones, no ipods. Just me and a bucket!


And I'm sure you emptied your stomach into the bucket a few times, I know I would have.

And then torch the place.


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

RCP said:


> Didn't you read the whole post, Rob was gone and I was there all day with no water, whaddya think?!
> 
> This was when we had one vehicle, no cell phones, no ipods. Just me and a bucket!


lmao, I read the post but I can not let the PT goddess enter my mind like that so it was Rob in diapers, call me delusional.


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

Workaholic said:


> ..... call me delusional.


and whose to say we haven't been already ????


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## Precision-TBay (Jun 1, 2011)

I painted a fully operational, occupied, mental institution. It was a complete nightmare, from all the security BS we went through, all the way to a guy who guzzled oil paint right from a tray. It was a job that took nearly a month and in the end I almost could have become a patient myself.


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

daArch said:


> and whose to say we haven't been already ????


lol, I figured it was a given.


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

Workaholic said:


> lol, I figured it was a given.


More like a mod requirement!


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

Precision-TBay said:


> I painted a fully operational, occupied, mental institution.



You painted PaintTalk ?????


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

Precision-TBay said:


> I painted a fully operational, occupied, mental institution. It was a complete nightmare, from all the security BS we went through, all the way to a guy who guzzled oil paint right from a tray. It was a job that took nearly a month and in the end I almost could have become a patient myself.


For some reason, I can completely understand that!


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

Precision-TBay said:


> I painted a fully operational, occupied, mental institution. It was a complete nightmare, from all the security BS we went through, all the way to a guy who guzzled oil paint right from a tray. It was a job that took nearly a month and in the end I almost could have become a patient myself.


PT mod material right there.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Every  stained, pest infested, dump of an apartment I've painted. It's amazing to me how some people live.


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## PatsPainting (Mar 4, 2010)

One that really stands out to me and I have never forgot it. There was this one job where I had to apply two freaking coats of Aura. For some freak of nature, stars must have aligned funny or something but I actually had to do two coats. I will never forget that. Had some sleepless nights after that. 

Pat


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## ewingpainting.net (Jun 2, 2008)

Workaholic said:


> I got a judgement but no money.  What pisses me off the most is when I drive I hear his fvckin radio ad. Can't pay a painter but you can pay for radio advertisement.
> 
> It does make me feel better to know that I am slowly working the phrase "You just got Bradforded" into the local mainstream. Kind of like the Munson from King pin lol.


You just have to collect it.

Have you tried to get a court order to pull it from his bank. You can get that, take it in the bank and they have to pull it from his account if the funds are available.


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## 6126 (May 9, 2010)

Precision-TBay said:


> I painted a fully operational, occupied, mental institution. It was a complete nightmare, from all the security BS we went through, all the way to a guy who guzzled oil paint right from a tray. It was a job that took nearly a month and in the end I almost could have become a patient myself.


We painted 3 in a row about 20 years ago back in Atlanta. One was occupied as you described, and quite depressing to see how bad off some people really are. The other two were additions. Then we did an addition at a Juvenille Detention Center. Now that one was sad. There were some really screwed up kids there.  My worst job ever? Portland Housing Authority by a long shot. Man, I hated working there. Some of those people live like pigs. Their apartments were beyond discusting. Many didnt work. While working in peoples apartments, I quickly realized they only get two channels. Jerry Springer and Peoples Court. I will say, they all had big screen TVs though. And God forbid you show up before noon. The filth was the worst part though.


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## Wolfgang (Nov 16, 2008)

Worst jobs.....well they always seemed to fall in the insurance resto catagory. Wasn't bad enough to have to deal with the water and fire damage by itself, but as other's have said; the filth that some people lived in. Just when you think you've seen it all, something worse came along. Buying tyvek suits by the case, respirators, masks, heavy chemical resistant gloves, bringing along changes of clothes.....ah the good old days. It was a great way to get rid of the old work clothes though. Strip and into the trash.


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## rjensen ptg (Jun 9, 2011)

1980? 2-3 yrs 'in business' -

i gave the customer a 'ballpark price' for T&M, for entire int. should be 10 man days- $1400.- plus materials.

i started painting house... 1st day 'took it easy' - 1 room - ceiling and new wood bay window, prep & stain.

2nd day- poly window, 2 coats, more ceilings, & prep other rooms.

3rd day- he's telling me he wants the window steel wooled & another coat. *and* he's got a list of list custom colors. plus bathrooms & hallway that they decided to wallpaper... and, and, and, etc.

well, i told him that this was a WHOLE lot more than we discussed... *and* i can't even 'ballpark' it. but i can do the "perfect" work he wants.

sure, sure he says... "I want it done right" (read-picky, PITA). but, i know he can afford it! so we progressed - i got a few payments along the way; maybe a $1000.- each time. i told him we had gone *way* past the $1400.-

we did a lovely job! i can't even remember how long it took, but it felt like we lived there! he & his wife were happy & impressed.

so, you can guess what happened... 
he refused to pay.i had to take him to small claims. judge's ruling comes in the mail, weeks later (of course). F'kng judge just decided to 'split the difference' of what he owed.

so, i should have seen it coming right?

NO, this 'customer' was a friend and employer of my mother-in-law!!! she had known him for yrs. *AND* had told me what a great person he was...

so, i tell my mother-in-law about him refusing final payment and ...

wait for it...

wait for it...


she says - "oh yeah, he does that all the time". and- "he loves 'suing' & going to court!" :blink:

so, who do i blame?- him? - my M-inlaw? - me?

all the above.

i learned from that, about trusting people. the biggest PITAs are 'friends & family'!!! it still burns me up, he knew my wife & baby, and didn't care he was 'taking food out of their mouths'!

OY! - rick


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

About five years ago. Got a call from an guy who owned a fairly successful Chinese restaurant in town. He'd bought a new and bigger place about a mile from his previous home and wanted the old one painted for selling. I bid the job, he accepted, and I mailed him off the contract. Told him I needed it signed and in my hand three days prior to starting (state law here). Start time approaches - no contract. I arrange to meet him at the house. He shows up - without the contract and claims he didn't get it. I tell him I'll start when it "arrives" but otherwise I'll move on. He panics, runs home and returns with the contract, unsigned. I should have walked then. He signs it and three days later I start. They had used lots of oil in their cooking and the ceiling (vaulted ) was covered in greasy smoke stains. Full wash down and prep with Zinsser Allprime shellac based primer - not fun stuff to use. I move the fridge and the walls and floor are covered in soy sauce. More cleaning and priming. Lots of water damage stains on the ceilings as well but doesn't want them completely painted - just "touched up" - right. 
After the job's completed, no final payment. I write three letters. The final one involved my lawyer. He finally paid. Funny thing is, when I first met this guy I had that "feeling" that he was going to be a pain. Learned my lesson about listening to my instincts. About two years later he calls and wants me to paint at his newer place - I declined.
Second place goes to a job I did back when I was doing exteriors. There was a bees' nest inside the attic and the bees were coming and going from a second story corner of the house. That night the owner goes up and puts a bug bomb in the attic (this was in the days before you could hire someone to come and remove the hive). The next day I show up and the ground is literally a mass of dead and dying bees - looks like something out of a horror movie. Within a few minutes, one comes up of the ground and stings me on my eyelid. My eye swells shut and the remainder of the job involves me only seeing out of one eye while trying to go up and down ladders and spraying. Not fun.


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## CoatedInMatte (Jul 14, 2011)

rjensen ptg said:


> 1980? 2-3 yrs 'in business' -
> 
> she says - "oh yeah, he does that all the time". and- "he loves 'suing' & going to court!" :blink:
> 
> ...


Sometimes I wish there were a site out there where we could review clients the same way they review us as contractors. 
I've been taken like this too. Both of them had long records in small claims, and the judge in one of my cases didn't appreciate the fact that the guy taking me to court was suing yet another contractor. He pulled me aside after the fact and told me that in the future I could look up small claims information on our county government's website. I know in some places, public information to that information is the law. You should check to see if your county has that service as well. 

I always check it before agreeing to work for a client. If there is anything that might raise red flags for me, such as a history of suing contractors I know to be quality guys, or more than 2-3 recent small claims filings, I walk away.

A site like www.angieslist.com perhaps?


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

CoatedInMatte said:


> Sometimes I wish there were a site out there where we could review clients the same way they review us as contractors.
> I've been taken like this too. Both of them had long records in small claims, and the judge in one of my cases didn't appreciate the fact that the guy taking me to court was suing yet another contractor. He pulled me aside after the fact and told me that in the future I could look up small claims information on our county government's website. I know in some places, public information to that information is the law. You should check to see if your county has that service as well.
> 
> I always check it before agreeing to work for a client. If there is anything that might raise red flags for me, such as a history of suing contractors I know to be quality guys, or more than 2-3 recent small claims filings, I walk away.


Great info, thanks.


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## timalpha1 (Mar 20, 2012)

i paid $75 oop for the pleasure of painting a deck...


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## playedout6 (Apr 27, 2009)

I painted a bank interior via a restoration/clean up guy named Tom M from Nova Scotia , Springhill ? and he stuck us for close to 5 Grand . I think he went bankrupt for the 2nd time and js now a franchise holder for another restoration company in Nova Scotia somewhere...possibly Truro area . He is a pro con man ...he fooled me and the bank...unless he and the guy that looked after the part on behalf of the bank were in it together ...and I'll never know ! What I do know is that I have a LONG memory and he and I will cross paths some day some where...BE WARY of Restoration Co's the rep they have is really bad !!!


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## oldccm (Jan 23, 2013)

I have a worst job EVER!!! Still not acceptable (to the homeowners anyway) currently 25k over budget (and we won't see a dime of it). I'm going need more time to write this novel, so ill do it tonight or something. This is just a stay tuned message.


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## cdaniels (Oct 20, 2012)

Worst job ever for me was a batting cage/miniature golf course.The owner was a friend of mine I had known since jr. high and we had a verbal agreement.Big mistake on that one.


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## kdpaint (Aug 14, 2010)

Worst? While blasting 3500 sq ft of tin ceiling in a church built in 1790, one of my guys knocked off a sprinkler cap (bagged and duct taped) with some walnut shell. 
End result? Hundreds of gallons of water before fire dept came and shut off sprinklers in locked room. Envision 3 guys with push brooms pushing water out of a side door while being nailed with sprinkler water in an unheated building in the middle of the winter. Nasty and cold...

Oh yeah, and the owners claiming that the air pressure from the water was responsible for lead dust traveling out of the sub flooring.... Thanks for the $180,000 insurance claim! Cool guy at the DEP told the building owner he was nuts, and blamed him for opening up floor, disturbing 300 years of lead dust.

Worst part? Never got balance of contract paid.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

I stubbed my toe on a job last week. Still hurts.


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## Repaint Florida (May 31, 2012)

kdpaint said:


> Worst? While blasting 3500 sq ft of tin ceiling in a church built in 1790, one of my guys knocked off a sprinkler cap (bagged and duct taped) with some walnut shell.
> End result? Hundreds of gallons of water before fire dept came and shut off sprinklers in locked room. Envision 3 guys with push brooms pushing water out of a side door while being nailed with sprinkler water in an unheated building in the middle of the winter. Nasty and cold...
> 
> Oh yeah, and the owners claiming that the air pressure from the water was responsible for lead dust traveling out of the sub flooring.... Thanks for the $180,000 insurance claim! Cool guy at the DEP told the building owner he was nuts, and blamed him for opening up floor, disturbing 300 years of lead dust.
> ...


 been there, done that ...

back in 1999 night shift harrahs casino new orleans spraying gold automotive paint on ceiling new constructions, they ask us to do it at night we cover all light, heads, ect start spraying i head back to my apt for sleep for morning shift a hour later lights on timer come on, paint flashed fire set sprinkles off, flood new glue down custom carpet, fill conduit for slots with water them flows to ballroom 

place was on 24 hr fire watch but no one could shut it off, 911 & 1 hour later they got if off :notworthy:

sparky forgot to disable timer his lost


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## kdpaint (Aug 14, 2010)

The benefits of up to date insurance....priceless.


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## capepainter (Mar 9, 2012)

Worst job ever the one I'm on currently dentist office were my wife works ,so for the next week we work and live together .


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## 6126 (May 9, 2010)

Workaholic said:


> My worst job was the one I did not get paid for.


I've got one of those too  Filing a lien and taking the deadbeat to small claims court  We'll see what happens. It was either that, or risking going to jail . :whistling2:


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## propainterJ (Jan 31, 2011)

Did a Dentist Office for little kids they wanted painted in all these horrible Blues,Orange,Green,Pink etc..

The thing started out at 18 colors on the inside,then,they changed their minds on certain areas,went ahead and changed these same areas 4 times,the 4th being the original color.

I finally finished this thing 12 days ago.

Got an Email this afternoon,they want me to change the same areas again,but now,I have to be there at night or weekends as they cant shut down.

This thing was 18 colors inside and 8 colors outside,they did pay,but I was way too nice to them on the Change Orders,not to mention the fact that it's an hour drive from my place.

Evidently they've got more of these places in towns even farther away from me that I've told them I didn't want,but they keep asking.

God I hate that place,I got visited by OSHA there,then had my Truck stolen from there,which I got back 10 days later unharmed,but still,I never want to see that place again,and some of those colors arggh.

Took 3 coats to cover,just an insane job that I'll never do again if I can help it.


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## NACE (May 16, 2008)

Soda blasting a bread proofer at Pepperidge Farm. Nasty hot humid 30' high and 20' diameter corroding steel in an incredibly noisy 95 degree 100% humidity with a 48 hour turn around with 60 gallons of epoxy mastic that kicked in my sprayer every 40 minutes destroying the pumps and hoses and the paint store closed.


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

Schmidt & Co. said:


> Moderating this loony bin. :jester:


*Sigh* what have I done. :jester:


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## luap2011 (Aug 26, 2011)

Gave estimate to a previous client for complete repaint (inside and out) for a lakefront home that was being overhauled. Client had absolutely no problems with the contract and signed it. In the contract it stated that we were to use SW emerald as the main paint for the house, right around 4 weeks to complete the project, and 1/4 down on the project for materials & labor. 

We start the job the place is an absolute mess; junk everywhere, excess amounts of prepwork, and a handyman from the clients company in there with us all week. Towards then end of the week we get a text from this clients wife with colors specifically stating- ceilings in a certain pittsburgh color and walls/trim in ben moore regal select. We were like WTF? and called the client to inform him that it wasn't in our contract; that it would require a change order and cost more money. He blatantly stated that he would not give us any more money than he was quoted, even though it was explained what he agreed to when signing the contract. 

Long story short we ended up walking off the job monday morning of the 2nd week when a flooring guy showed to repair sand, stain, and poly the floors for the week. We told the client we had completed 1/4 of the work necessary and the between the paint & flooring guy that they had violated/voided our contract. Many texts came in from them saying that we owed them money and that they didn't want to sue us. Nothing ever came of it and glad to have that project far far away from us.


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## MKap (Sep 11, 2010)

propainterJ said:


> Did a Dentist Office for little kids they wanted painted in all these horrible Blues,Orange,Green,Pink etc..
> 
> The thing started out at 18 colors on the inside,then,they changed their minds on certain areas,went ahead and changed these same areas 4 times,the 4th being the original color.
> 
> ...


I vote this one the worst. OSHA, stolen truck, and 26 colors repainted 36 times. Just about sums out my nightmare. Sorry you had to go through that. 
How did your truck get stolen??


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## A+HomeWork (Dec 10, 2010)

luap2011 said:


> Many texts came in from them saying that we owed them money and that they didn't want to sue us. Nothing ever came of it and glad to have that project far far away from us.


That's because his lawyer told him he didn't have a leg to stand on! Good for you for holding to your guns. :thumbsup:

I know it's unavoidable, but I hate doing jobs where several projects are happening at the same time. Everyone seems to show up when the painter is ready to start.


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## propainterJ (Jan 31, 2011)

I was inside the building,truck was taken right after we took afternoon break,theres a security camera recorded it.

I walked away from my truck,sat down on a bucket for 5 minutes,we get up walk back inside and 10 seconds later this guy walks up gets in and away he goes.

He didn't do any damage to it other then destroying the locking gas cap,I guess he put gas in it,when I got it back there was half a tank in it.

The keys were left in the ignition and the door was unlocked,thats how he stole it.

I know,I know!


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## propainterJ (Jan 31, 2011)

And it's been over a month since my OSHA experience and still not a word out of them.

I suppose they'll wait for Christmas to send me my fine notice???


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## SeaMonster (Apr 13, 2009)

My worst job ever was in college....I needed money bad and responded to an ad for painters.....:whistling2:


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## SeaMonster (Apr 13, 2009)

propainterJ said:


> And it's been over a month since my OSHA experience and still not a word out of them.
> 
> I suppose they'll wait for Christmas to send me my fine notice???


Can you pls give more detail on the OSHA thing? I sort of live in constant fear of those guys.


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## luap2011 (Aug 26, 2011)

A+HomeWork said:


> That's because his lawyer told him he didn't have a leg to stand on! Good for you for holding to your guns. :thumbsup:
> 
> I know it's unavoidable, but I hate doing jobs where several projects are happening at the same time. Everyone seems to show up when the painter is ready to start.


Yeah it was the first one we have ever had to walk off of and kind of at a bad time as it was slow time towards the end of winter. Happy we did it though, I'm not into losing money and giving away things for free. They kept pestering us with empty threats for the longest time 

The thing about the flooring guy was that we had called the client on saturday and he reassured us that he was only going to be there on monday to patch in hardwood that was damaged.


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## MKap (Sep 11, 2010)

SeaMonster said:


> Can you pls give more detail on the OSHA thing? I sort of live in constant fear of those guys.


Glad to know I'm not the only one. I try to do everything "by the book" but they will hit you with a fine for anything. 
One of my painters use to work for a safety company, kind of like an OSHA sub. His knowledge about OSHA is awesome. He has said they will fine you for having your shoes untied if they can't find anything else.


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

NACE said:


> Soda blasting a bread proofer at Pepperidge Farm. Nasty hot humid 30' high and 20' diameter corroding steel in an incredibly noisy 95 degree 100% humidity with a 48 hour turn around with 60 gallons of epoxy mastic that kicked in my sprayer every 40 minutes destroying the pumps and hoses and the paint store closed.


Holy crap! That must have been a nightmare. Did you get it done?


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

Every drywall job that was hung by the HO


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

I would have to say the worst job I've ever done was applying fiberglass matting to the interior of a sixty foot high process tank column. The glass fibers poked right through my Nomax coveralls. I didn't even bother to change them after the first night. We just put the same ones on and felt the thousand pricks of glass puncture the skin for a moment, then settled in for an all niter of sickly fragrance from vinyl resin.

The things i did to make ends meet.


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## Ole34 (Jan 24, 2011)

Time too make the Donuts


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## propainterJ (Jan 31, 2011)

SeaMonster said:


> Can you pls give more detail on the OSHA thing? I sort of live in constant fear of those guys.


They were just there,It was only 1 guy,no hat on no shirt,no marked car.

There were 3 people I saw talking to General Contractor,one guy,two ladies.

Guy was OSHA one gal was from CSLB the other was from some other acronym I never heard of.

They showed up to this job because the Generals Insurance Broker didn't submit paperwork properly on Insurance renewal,his Insurance never lapsed,but the CSLB got a red flag over something stupid so they all showed up at this Commercial Job I was working on.

Caught me with no First Aid kit,no Documented Illness Injury Prevention Program,no Documented Proof of Heat Illness Prevention Program,No Documented Proof of Site Specific Injuy Prevention,no MSDS Sheets on Paint.

They gave me a week to come up with the Documents I told the Guy I had,I did Mail and Fax copies,and haven't heard anything else in a month.

But I figure even if I got lucky and they accepted the "Documentation" I gave them,they're still going to fine me for not having a First Aid Kit.

I was good enough to have the State's Labor laws posted in my trailer,and had 2 signed Safety Meeting sheets.

He took a walk around,took a picture of my guy wearing his half face respirator hanging around his neck,not covering his nose and mouth while he brushed his Latex Paint on walls,said my cords looked good,said he saw nothing major,all we were doing was touching up with brushes and rollers.

He even asked my main guy if he knew about what kind of chems were coming out of the drying paint.

Then the lady with the weird acronym wanted to talk to my longest employed guy and make sure I wasn't torturing him,holding his head in paint fives full of poisonous fumes and the like,and away they went.

Leaving me with a ruined day,the worst of it is,I wanted to and had every right to leave as soon as I got there,they told me it was ready for Touch Up,and as soon as I walked in the place was that I should leave,it wasn't ready for Touch Up.

It was not cleaned,not even 1st cleaned,like everybody and thyre Uncles had been in there sawing stuff in the halls,dust all over the walls,floors,
3 other trades there.

I wanted to leave,if it had been closer to home I would have left,but that job is an hour drive,my guys were there,I didn't want to pay them to drive out there and back without getting something done so I stayed,against my better judgement I stayed and had a nightmare day for my decision.

Freaking OSHA guy asked me if I knew were the nearest Hospital was,I told him if I had need for a Hospital I would call 911.


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## Underdog (Mar 9, 2013)

Heavy texture with 12, count 'em 12 windows with curved corners.
Job nightmares are made of.


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

Underdog said:


> Heavy texture with 12, count 'em 12 windows with curved corners.
> Job nightmares are made of.


 
looks good, and I hate those jobs the most:yes:


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## Underdog (Mar 9, 2013)

chrisn said:


> looks good, and I hate those jobs the most:yes:


Thanks Chris,
The first time I hung those curved corners the wallpaper rippled by morning. I think the plastic needed DrawTite type sealer.
Since I started using it I haven't had a problem.


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

I think those rounded corners look great wallcovered! Nice job.


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## Underdog (Mar 9, 2013)

CApainter said:


> I think those rounded corners look great wallcovered! Nice job.


Thanks... the homeowner thought they looked like fabric; because of the curve I think.


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## 6126 (May 9, 2010)

SeaMonster said:


> Can you pls give more detail on the OSHA thing? I sort of live in constant fear of those guys.


Do you have safety meetings with your guys? Heres some good links http://www.lni.wa.gov/wisha/rules/corerules/HelpfulTools/HT3-CR.htm http://www.lni.wa.gov/wisha/rules/corerules/PDFs/296-800-130.pdf http://www.lni.wa.gov/formpub/results.asp?Keyword=safety meeting http://www.lni.wa.gov/safety/topics/atoz/toolboxtalks/


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## painter1986 (Mar 19, 2012)

Painted a house for a deaf couple, whose first language was not English. They called me via a relay service and asked for a bid for painting and possibly some light sanding. I gave them my price on the spot for some light sanding of drywall, priming, and painting. They seemed very pleased with the price (it was my second job, so I was pretty low) and we were off to the races. Sherwin Williams truck was late, which caused me to be late because I couldn't get the materials. They're deaf, so they didn't have a phone in the house, the only method of contacting them was via email (which I did, but I got an auto "sorry I'm out of the office" reply"). Come to find out this was their vacation home (Colorado), they were actually from Jersey. So I show up 2 hours later than we'd planned, at which point I was greeted by ALL of their neighbors who wanted to know why I was taking advantage of such a nice older deaf couple. 

After all that got sorted, a few days later as I was nearing completion, I was putting the final touches on and they wanted to know why I didn't texture everything. I said we didn't agree on me texturing the drywall (this was all scribbled furiously on notepads in tense silence), and they said "you said you would texture all the drywall". They sat and watched me prime, and put 2 topcoats onto all the drywall surfaces in their renovated cabin, and at the very end threw a fit when it wasn't textured. Then after a few hours of writing back and forth they calmed down, understood that it was a miscommunication, and everything was smiles and handshakes. Then on the day I was to be paid, the wife "forgot her checkbook back in New Jersey" so they'd have to mail me a check. A month passes and after many emails, the wife contacts me and says: "You very bad painter. Bad paint. You didn't texture like we ask. We'll give you $300 or we call lawyer". 

Long story short I shut my mouth, accepted the $300 (I spent more than that in gas alone), and chalked it up as a learning experience. The bottom line is I didn't draw up a contract, I just took them at their word. So in the end it was my own dumb fault. That's why I always use contracts now. Some lessons have to be learned the hard way. Part of me thinks it was a genuine misunderstanding, but part of me thinks they were trying to take advantage of a young, dumb painter. Oh well.


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

painter1986 said:


> Painted a house for a deaf couple, whose first language was not English. They called me via a relay service and asked for a bid for painting and possibly some light sanding. I gave them my price on the spot for some light sanding of drywall, priming, and painting. They seemed very pleased with the price (it was my second job, so I was pretty low) and we were off to the races. Sherwin Williams truck was late, which caused me to be late because I couldn't get the materials. They're deaf, so they didn't have a phone in the house, the only method of contacting them was via email (which I did, but I got an auto "sorry I'm out of the office" reply"). Come to find out this was their vacation home (Colorado), they were actually from Jersey. So I show up 2 hours later than we'd planned, at which point I was greeted by ALL of their neighbors who wanted to know why I was taking advantage of such a nice older deaf couple.
> 
> After all that got sorted, a few days later as I was nearing completion, I was putting the final touches on and they wanted to know why I didn't texture everything. I said we didn't agree on me texturing the drywall (this was all scribbled furiously on notepads in tense silence), and they said "you said you would texture all the drywall". They sat and watched me prime, and put 2 topcoats onto all the drywall surfaces in their renovated cabin, and at the very end threw a fit when it wasn't textured. Then after a few hours of writing back and forth they calmed down, understood that it was a miscommunication, and everything was smiles and handshakes. Then on the day I was to be paid, the wife "forgot her checkbook back in New Jersey" so they'd have to mail me a check. A month passes and after many emails, the wife contacts me and says: "You very bad painter. Bad paint. You didn't texture like we ask. We'll give you $300 or we call lawyer".
> 
> Long story short I shut my mouth, accepted the $300 (I spent more than that in gas alone), and chalked it up as a learning experience. The bottom line is I didn't draw up a contract, I just took them at their word. So in the end it was my own dumb fault. That's why I always use contracts now. Some lessons have to be learned the hard way. Part of me thinks it was a genuine misunderstanding, but part of me thinks they were trying to take advantage of a young, dumb painter. Oh well.


Woah. I gotta make an appointment to read this one.

My most recent annoying job: customers both retired, real picky, with too much time on their hands, who last hired an incompetent guy ( guy before me *cough*)


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