Just had a sub tell me my schedule was unrealistic, turns out he was right

I'm running a small retail build in Austin, about 12k sq ft. I had the drywall guys down for 5 days to finish. The foreman looked at me and said "you're gonna need 8 minimum." I didn't believe him. Day 4 came and they were barely halfway. Had to push back paint and flooring. Cost me a week. Lesson learned: ask the guys doing the work before you lock in dates. Has anyone else had a sub call them out and save them from a bigger mess?

3 comments

3 Comments

susan48813d agoTop Commenter

The 5 days thing is actually pretty aggressive for most drywall crews I've worked with, not gonna lie. Once you factor in taping, mudding, sanding, and then a second coat it's usually closer to 7 or 8 days minimum. The foreman was probably being generous with 8 honestly (I've seen crews take 10 on similar sized jobs). What really gets people is the drying time between coats, that's where the schedule falls apart. You can't rush mud drying unless you want cracks later, which is way worse than a week delay.

hill.barbara13d ago

10 days?! Holy crap, that's brutal. I'd lose my mind.

laurar3813d ago

And honestly, the drying time is where people really mess up. You can have the fastest crew in Texas, but if you push them to mud and paint on the same day you'll be back cutting out blisters in a month. I've seen guys try to cheat it with box fans and dehumidifiers, but even then you're looking at a solid 12 hours minimum per coat in this weather. The foreman probably knew that and was trying to warn the guy before he painted himself into a corner, literally.