Still frustrated about a gate install in Austin from 2 years ago

I still get mad thinking about this one gate I put in back in July 2021 off South Congress in Austin. The homeowner wanted this fancy 8-foot cedar gate with a hidden latch system, but he kept second-guessing every measurement I made. I spent three whole days on that thing because he'd watch me pour concrete and then ask if I could move the post 3 inches left. He finally signed off on it, but then last year I drove by and saw it was sagging bad because he never let me put in a tension cable. I told him flat out that gate would need one for that span and he said "I've seen plenty of gates without them." Now I just wonder if he ever fixed it or if it's still dragging on the ground. Anyone else deal with a customer who thought they knew more than you about basic physics?

3 comments

3 Comments

emery_craig1mo ago

That homeowner on South Congress sounds like half the people I run into at Home Depot honestly. I swear there's this whole group of folks who think buying a tool makes them an expert on using it. They'll watch a 10 minute YouTube video and suddenly they know more than someone who's been doing this stuff for years. Its like that thing where people trust their gut feeling over actual experience just because they read a tip online somewhere. Sad part is they usually end up paying double to get it fixed right later on, but they'll still tell everyone the first guy messed it up.

emery3561mo ago

Man that sucks. My buddy had almost the exact same thing happen with a fence in Round Rock. Guy insisted on using these cheap metal posts he bought at a garage sale. Friend told him they'd rust out in two years. Now the whole thing's leaning like the Tower of Pisa. Last I heard the homeowner was blaming the hardware store for selling bad lumber. Just wild how people refuse to listen to the person holding the level.

park.riley1mo ago

Read somewhere that cedar gates over 6 feet without tension cables have like a 90% failure rate. Sucks to be proven right but also sucks seeing your work fall apart because someone wouldn't listen.