Folks be careful out there. We responded to a fire in a wall yesterday due to some guys washing a house. I can’t speak to what they did but a combo of washing a porch interior with some less than substandard electrical work caused a small fire. Not saying to be scared of electrical stuff but it was a good reminder of what can happen if things go bad. I usually tape stuff that appears to be a risk plus cover key slots. A couple minutes of prevention, maybe a better technique and just paying attention could have prevented this. So it does, will and can happen. Good luck. Sorry no pics due to policy.
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Thanks for sharing, and the heads up. One can’t be TOO careful
Every time I see a story like that I almost instantly think of the people that wash without insurance. They always try to justify that they’re only part time so don’t need it or they’re going to wait to make sure pressure washing is what they want to do. Electrical fires is just one example of many that can get you in trouble and fast. Depending on where the house is located a small fire could turn into a complete loss. I’d hate to be an uninsured washer and be the one responsible for a new house.
Thanks for posting. I think there should be a sticky up top to where these stories can be posted and seen by everyone.
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Yeah we were just discussing that very thing on another thread. I would be a nervous wreck working without insurance. It doesn’t matter how careful you are things beyond your control happen and 9 out of 10 times the court will side with the homeowner because in today’s culture someone has to be the victim. I’m working on a disclaimer but that won’t always hold up in court. I agree with whoever said that insurance should be mandatory. I think there should also be testing
Totally.
I wonder how many guys, even forum members have caused damage but never mentioned it here, sometimes it’s just not something you want to share, but having insurance helps a ton.
@Kps0410 right! I see so many ads and billboards of lawyers boasting how much they got their clients, guess who they’re suing!!!
What’s so bad is that it’s a combination of events and each other’s lawyer and insurance company are going to point fingers at each other. I have always operated as an LLC and been insured in every business I ran or own(ed). However, I have tried to keep enough liquid assets to cover stuff like this too. If it was installed correctly there would have been no issues. Coming from a building/construction background well good luck. It is more normal to cut corners than do the job right. That’s why I can’t compete building in this market.
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I haven’t even started back up yet. My wife is about to change jobs and we’re pulling her 401k to purchase the equipment but I’m insured because one of my old property management companies asked if I could rent a machine and clean their sidewalks. I’m working on developing a couple of days per week with storefront window cleaning. Even with that I want insurance in case someone accidentally on purpose trips. I know very little about LLC’s but I am going to look into it.
I am reminded of our last slip and fall. Her lawyer was huge hung ho on the “no signs by water on the floor”.
He stopped skipping through the tulips when he saw the video footage showing his client taking a practice dive, then poured the water on the floor and walked around the corner until she hear witnesses coming down the hall.
They settled for a no trespass letter and agreed she would never to return to the properties. He was pretty embarrassed that he bought her bs.
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