Blew out a 2 year old sidewalk section last Tuesday because I skimped on the expansion joints

I was finishing up a residential walkway in Boise, about 40 feet long, and I thought I could save time by spacing the joints at 6 feet instead of 4. Big mistake. Two days later the homeowner calls me saying there's a crack running clean through the middle. I had to tear out a 12 foot section and re-pour it with proper joint spacing, cost me an extra $200 in materials and a full Saturday. Anyone else ever try to cut corners on joint spacing and regret it bad?

2 comments

2 Comments

max_ramirez4810d ago

You ever notice how cutting one small corner has a way of snowballing into something way bigger than you expected? It's like that old saying about pay me now or pay me later, but the later payment always comes with interest. I see it all the time in other trades too, like guys painting over dirty drywall and having to come back for a third coat. One shortcut leads to a whole day of fixing what you should have done right the first time. Your story is a pretty good reminder that the ten minutes you save today can cost you ten hours tomorrow.

the_wyatt9d ago

Yeah, "pay now or pay later with interest" hits a little too close to home. I once figured I could skip patching a small hole in drywall because "nobody would notice." Three months and one collapsed shelf later, I spent a whole weekend fixing what would've taken twenty minutes. It's like the universe has a special tax on laziness, and the interest rate is brutal.