That remodel job in Phoenix where the homeowner hid a giant hole in the wall behind a poster

Last month I was doing a new alarm install for a house near Camelback Road in Phoenix. The homeowner said everything was fine, walls were solid. I'm running wires in the living room and I tap the wall near this big framed movie poster. Sounded hollow. I pulled the poster off and there's a hole big enough to fit my whole arm through. Someone had cut out a section of drywall to run wires and just covered it up. No patch, no nothing. Homeowner said he didn't know about it but I'm pretty sure he did. Had to stop everything and spend 2 hours patching and mudding before I could even drill. Has anyone else run into homeowners hiding structural issues or damage behind decorations? How do you handle it without making the customer mad?

3 comments

3 Comments

grant.felix18d ago

Man that sucks, homeowners pulling shady stuff like that pisses me off too.

xenaf5118d ago

Nah you're missing the real problem here - that homeowner probably patched it himself before you arrived, but did a garbage job because he's cheap. I've seen it a dozen times where they slap spackle over something and hope the inspector doesn't tap it. Next time just say you're "checking for pests" when you pull off decorations, that way they can't get mad you're doing your job right.

miles_roberts17d ago

@xenaf51 brings up a good point about them trying to patch it themselves. I'm a painter by trade and I've lost count of how many times I've pulled a mirror off a wall only to find a fist-sized dent or a water stain underneath. People think a little spackle and a nice frame just hides everything. But the real question is why they don't just fix it right the first time. Like, spending 20 bucks on a drywall patch and an hour of your Saturday saves everyone the headache later. I think some folks just don't want to admit their house has problems, even to themselves.