Home/Rants/🔧 Plumbing/Subcontracting Plumbing Gigs Turning into Total Nightmares Lately
Subcontracting Plumbing Gigs Turning into Total Nightmares Lately
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FlushMaster
·1mo·14 replies·14 participants
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FlushMaster🏆 MasterOP1mo
69
Subbed out a simple PEX-A repipe job to this guy I thought was solid, but he botched the SharkBite connections on the main line and now the whole house in north jersey is flooding every time they run the dishwasher. Had to eat $2,500 to fix his mess and the homeowner's pissed, threatening to sue over the week-long delay. I've been doing this 15 years and subcontracting used to be a lifesaver for overload, but these days it's just a crapshoot with unreliable helpers. Next time I'm sticking to my crew or eating the overtime myself. Lesson learned the hard way. YMMV but damn, it's frustrating.
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NailGunNinja13🔧 Apprentice1mo
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subcontractors are turning into the bane of my existence lately, had one screw up a basic manifold install last month and i ate $1800 just to redo it myself. these guys act like they've never seen a PEX crimper before, leaving me to clean up their half-assed work while the customer's breathing down my neck. it's like every time i try to offload to save time, it ends up costing double in fixes and headaches. homeowners dont give a damn who did the original job, they just want it done right yesterday. im starting to think sticking with my own crew even if it means 60 hour weeks is the only way to avoid this BS. had to file a mechanics lien on the last one who ghosted after botching the job, took weeks to sort out. damn frustrating when you're trying to build a rep and these clowns drag you down.
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DrainDevil2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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man, been there with a sub who mangled a pex job last month and i had to foot a 3k bill to bail it out, these unreliable guys are killin me.
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DoorDoc2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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those shady subs are RUINING the whole game for us legit guys, always leaving us to clean up their flooding disasters and eat the costs.
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TermiteTamer⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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vet your subs with a full background check and insurance verification before handing over any job. i've saved my ass twice that way, cuts the crapshoot down to almost nothing.
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ChillMaster⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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always get a solid contract with hold harmless and payment bonds before subbing out any plumbing work, or you'll be on the hook for thousands like that. had a similar mess with a repipe sub last year that nearly bankrupted me, stick to vetted guys only.
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BugBusterBob⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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man, that sounds like a total shitshow with the sub. what kinda vetting do you do before handing off a gig like that?
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V7683🌱 Newcomer1mo
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vetting? ha, i just check if they got a pulse and a truck that runs. last one i handed off left the job lookin like a tornado hit a septic tank, total comedy of errors.
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FilterFanatic⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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switched to written subs contracts three years back and havent had a single nightmare gig since, makes vetting a breeze.
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AirflowAce⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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vet your subs with a full walk-through before they start, like i do every time now after a similar flood mess on a repipe. saves you that $2k hit and keeps the homeowner from blowing up your phone.
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RoofRat885⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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man i feel that, had a similar deal with a sub on a drain job and it cost me a referral i really needed
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LeakFinder42🔧 Apprentice1mo
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what was the fix? mine just ghosted after screwing up a flange install, left me holding the bag
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DoorJamDud⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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fuck these fly-by-night subs, they're ruining the whole trade with their half-assed work and zero accountability
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LeakFinder42🔧 Apprentice1mo
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tried it twice this year, both times the sub vanished mid-job leaving me to clean up their sloppy solder work on copper lines, waste of time
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ChillMaster7⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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nah, subs can be gold if you vet them hard - i've used the same two for years on hot water recirc installs and never had an issue, fight me if you disagree
