Did you ever have a job that was just going too well? I had that dream project yesterday and today until about 12:30. The project was to retrofit 28 recessed cans into an old house, the customer was a dream to work for and the pay was top dollar.
Yesterday went great, 21 cans no problems. Today one of my helpers stepped part way through the drywall ceiling, no problem the homeowner was having drywall patched and repainting anyway. Then it happened, I was on a ladder talking to a contractor on my cell and drilling with a 6' Diversabit. I wasn't paying attention and drilled through the 100 year old heart pine floor upstairs. OUCH! And it was me that did it, no yelling at a helper, just me. The customer was very nice about it, but I bet it'll cost me a fortune to repair. I guess I'll find out in the morniing when I meet a floor guy to get a quote.
This is going to push me to raise my prices about 10% to cover things like this. I went years without having any costly mistakes, but they've been occurring much more frequently lately. Most have been very minor ($10 or $20) and this was definately the worst, but I'm going to start a reserve fund. The bad thing, or good thing depending on your view, is that none of these mistakes will come anywhere near meeting the need for insurance to pay due to a $2500 deductable. But I hope I never need to use the insurance. Let my pain be a lesson to all to make sure you get paid enough to cover the mistake you never make.
