Am I the only one who had a simple sensor install turn into a four hour nightmare?

I was putting a basic door contact on a historic house downtown, and the old wooden frame was so warped the magnet wouldn't align within the gap. I tried shims, different mounting spots, even a different sensor model. What should have been a 20 minute job took me over four hours of fiddling before I finally got it stable with a custom bracket I bent on site. It got me thinking, do you guys always push through and find a fix on the spot, or is it sometimes smarter to just tell the client the location won't work and pick a different door? How do you handle these unexpected time sinks?

2 comments

2 Comments

bettyperry12d ago

Honestly, the hidden cost on those old buildings is the mental tax. You burn so much focus on one stubborn spot that the rest of your install day feels rushed. My rule now is to set a hard time limit before I even start, like thirty minutes of trying fixes. If it's not working by then, I explain the physical problem to the client and offer a different, solid option right away. It keeps the job moving and usually they just want it to work, not fight a losing battle with their hundred year old trim.

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david_hayes12d ago

Thirty minutes is way too generous for some of these old houses, @bettyperry. I've seen spots where you know in five minutes it's a lost cause because the wood is just dust held together by paint. Setting a hard limit is smart, but man, sometimes that clock starts ticking fast.