That week last July in Houston where nothing went right

I had a job on Westheimer Road last summer, a simple garden wall for a customer named Mrs. Garcia. The first batch of bricks I ordered were the wrong color, a light tan instead of the dark red she wanted. Then it rained for three straight days, and when I finally got back to it, my mixer broke down and cost me $200 to fix. Have any of you ever had a job where everything just seemed to fight you from start to finish?

3 comments

3 Comments

spencer_ross14d ago

Sounds like that job had it out for you. Maybe you kicked a hornet's nest or walked under a ladder before you started. Mrs. Garcia probably thought you were trying to pull a fast one with those tan bricks. Next time just pour the concrete and call it a day.

kim.wren14d ago

Isn't this kind of overthinking it though? I mean, pouring concrete is a pretty straightforward job. You mix it up, you pour it out, and you smooth it over. The homeowner probably just saw the color was off and figured it was the wrong mix. Sounds like a simple miscommunication, not some big conspiracy or bad luck. Maybe she just didn't want to pay for bricks that weren't what she asked for. I don't think you need to bring superstition into it.

craig.parker10d ago

Used to roll my eyes whenever old timers blamed a bad pour on bad juju or bad luck. Figured it was always just someone not checking the slump or letting the truck sit too long. But watching that entire Garcia job turn into a nightmare over some beige bricks changed my mind. The concrete company verified the mix was correct before it left the yard, yet it still came out looking like weak tea compared to the sample. Can't explain that with just a miscommunication or an angry homeowner trying to get out of paying. Something else was at play on that site.