Old timer told me to always double check my submittals before ordering.

I had a guy named Jerry, been drywalling since the 70s, tell me to always double check my submittal specs before I place a material order. I was doing a basement finish in Boulder last month and I skimmed the submittal for the acoustic panels. It said 2 foot by 4 foot but the drawing had notes about a staggered grid. I ignored it and ordered all the standard tiles. When they showed up, the grid was 22 and a half inches wide on one side, not 24. I had to eat $180 in restocking fees and wait three extra days. Jerry was right and I still owe him a beer for not listening sooner. Has anyone else had a supplier slip a weird spec into a submittal that you almost missed?

3 comments

3 Comments

nina_sullivan611mo agoMost Upvoted

Did you ask the supplier if they'd done that staggered grid spec on purpose to unload odd-sized stock?

wren6521mo ago

I saw a post in a buying group last week where someone got burned by this exact thing. They ordered what looked like a standard pallet of tile but it was a mixed batch of returns and leftovers the supplier was trying to clear out. The grid was offset just enough that you couldn't use it for the main floor without wasting like 15% extra material. Always ask for photos of the actual pallet labels before you pay, and make them send you a close up of the box markings too. I've been burned twice on "closeout deals" that turned out to be someone else's job site mistakes.

iris_burns1mo ago

Nah, good point @nina_sullivan61, probably exactly what they did.