Can we talk about when a customer's old carpet changes your whole plan on site?

Last week I was swapping out berber in a 1970s house and the owner told me to just 'rip it up and see what happens' - got me thinking about how much prep we skip vs when we really shouldn't. Anyone else get caught off guard by surprises under old carpet that make you question your whole approach?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim.zara10d ago

A good installer should already be prepared for surprises, that's part of the job. If you're changing plans every time you pull up old carpet, you're probably not doing a thorough enough inspection before you start. Your mileage may vary, but planning for the worst has saved me more headaches than any last-minute adjustments ever have.

mark_price10d ago

Ain't that like saying good weather forecasters should never miss a storm?

williamm8210d ago

Wait, wait wait. @kim.zara are you telling me you've never had a subfloor turn out to be completely rotted or have a hidden water stain that ruined the whole layout? I mean, i don't care how good your inspection is, some stuff is literally hidden under layers of glue and padding. You can tap and listen all day but you still won't find everything until you lift up that old carpet. I've had jobs where the floor plan had to change completely because we found a load bearing wall we thought was just a partition. Planning for the worst is smart but pretending you can see through solid materials is a bit much.