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The day my trowel slipped and I created a custom star pattern
Last Tuesday, I was finishing a driveway in Akron when my handle got greasy, my trowel spun out, and I carved a perfect 3 inch star into the middle of the pour. Had to explain to the homeowner that his 'custom galaxy finish' was actually just me trying not to cry. Any of you ever turn a screw up into a design feature?
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allen.kai2mo ago
32 feet of crown molding in a Victorian living room, I mitered the corner backwards by exactly 14 degrees. Told the homeowner it was a "handcrafted shadow gap detail" that was very popular in the 1890s. He nodded along and paid me an extra $150 for the "authentic period touch." Two months later his neighbor hired me because he wanted the same exact custom feature. So I'd argue that if you can sell it with a straight face and a solid backstory, a screw up is just an uncharged upgrade waiting to happen.
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vera_robinson361mo ago
36 feet of crown molding in my own house and I did the exact same thing with a miter saw, but I didn't have the guts to sell it as a feature. I just sat there staring at the gap for like 10 minutes before deciding to call it a "design choice" in my head lol. But what @danielnelson said about the travertine floor is basically the OG version of that trick, just with rocks instead of wood. The crazy part is now that shadow gap thing is actually a real trend I see on HGTV shows, so you basically invented a style that people pay extra for now. I bet if you wrote a little blog post about Victorian era molding secrets, you could double your business by accident.
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danielnelson2mo ago
Laid a whole floor of travertine once and accidentally chipped the corner off the first tile I set. Told the client it was a 'restoration antique finish' and charged an extra 200 bucks. I mean, it was either that or admit I'm just clumsy with a rubber mallet.
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