My old boss said to never use a certain type of putty on storefront doors, and I finally get why.

Back when I was a helper in Cleveland, my boss would always say, 'Don't you dare use that fast-cure stuff on a main entry door, it'll crack before winter.' He was talking about a specific brand of glazing compound that set up super hard. I thought he was just being cheap and stuck in his ways. Fast forward to last fall, I did a rush job on a coffee shop's front door and used that exact putty to save time. Sure enough, after the first big freeze, the customer called me back because the seal had split right down the middle. I had to redo the whole unit in a proper oil-based compound, which took twice as long. That one call back cost me a full day's profit and taught me to respect the old rules about material flexibility. Anyone else have a story about learning a lesson the hard way with glazing materials?

2 comments

2 Comments

tarab5410d ago

Guess my own hard head is the best teacher too.

the_vera10d agoTop Commenter

Ever think you had it all figured out? I did, until a few hard knocks showed me I was wrong. @tarab54, you're right, sometimes that's the only lesson that sticks.