Heard a contractor say 'we'll make it work' and I just knew we were in trouble

Last week I was walking through a basement reno in Mill Woods and overheard the foreman tell the homeowner 'don't worry, we'll make it work' about the plumbing. Red flag city. I've been around enough to know that phrase usually means they're about to hack something together instead of doing it right. Has anyone else got a gut feeling from a specific phrase a contractor dropped?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamesm483d ago

I mean, yeah it's a cliche, but is it REALLY that deep? Some guys just say that to mean they'll figure it out, not that they're gonna slap some duct tape on it.

nguyen.tara3d ago

That whole "figure it out" thing reminds me of when my uncle said he'd fix our fence and ended up using an old garden hose and zip ties. He meant well, but yeah, it's basically the same energy as duct tape. Sometimes guys just want to sound confident while knowing they're gonna wing it.

nancygrant3d ago

The point is that saying "figure it out" doesn't just mean winging it, it often means half-assing it with whatever is lying around. There's a pattern where confidence replaces actual planning, and that's why the duct tape cliche exists. Kind of hard to brush it off as harmless when people keep telling stories about garden hose fences.