Rafter tails all rotted out, ended up being my own screwup from 3 summers ago

Last Tuesday I was up on a roof in Dayton redoing a porch overhang and when I pulled the trim off, the rafter tails were basically dust. Client asked if it was termites and I said no, it's water getting in behind the fascia. Then I got to thinking and realized I did a repair on this exact same porch back in 2021, I remember because it was that crazy heat wave and I caulked the seams but never primed the cut ends. Sure enough, the rot pattern matched my old caulk line perfectly. Had to tell the homeowner it was my fault and I'd fix it at cost, which hurt but felt right. She actually laughed and said "at least you're honest" which made it sting a little less. Anyone else ever come back to a job and find out your old work caused the problem? How'd you handle the awkward conversation?

0 comments

0 Comments

No comments yet

Be the first to share your thoughts on this discussion.