Mirror Support

[Halfathumb]

I made a display case approx. 36" X 16" X 72". The lady called me and her "friend" told her I should 've backed the mirror with wood. I used silicone to hold it in place. Her friend also told her I should've used leveling feet. Maybe I should've.

She also says there are gaps at the top of the doors.

She wants me to pay her back in full and pick it up.

I've learned a lot from this venture. I barely made $200 to cover shop supplies, 3 months labor labor and travel. Another words I did her a favor because she goes to my church.

Comments are welcome.

Jim

[jteneyck]

I made a display case approx. 36" X 16" X 72". The lady called me and her "friend" told her I should 've backed the mirror with wood. I used silicone to hold it in place. Her friend also told her I should've used leveling feet. Maybe I should've.

She also says there are gaps at the top of the doors.

She wants me to pay her back in full and pick it up.

I've learned a lot from this venture. I barely made $200 to cover shop supplies, 3 months labor labor and travel. Another words I did her a favor because she goes to my church.

Comments are welcome.

Jim

If she was happy with the piece when you delivered it then you'd be right to refuse.  Assuming she approved of the design then you have no obligation to take it back or do anything more.  Most store-bought cabinets don't have leveling feet.  Most mirrors have a vinyl backing on them to help prevent injury if they get broken, but there's no requirement to have a wood back.  It seems like those two issues only became important after her friend told her they were important.  

If refusing to take it back is going to present a problem at church, then that's another kettle of fish, one you'll have to decide what's best.  

A middle ground would be to go shim the cabinet level so the doors line up correctly (if they now don't but did when you first delivered it), tell her that's your last good faith effort, and be done with it.  

Good luck.

John  

John

[toolmiser]

Sounds like she should have had her friend make it. I personally would never run someone else's work, and I can't be accused of being a positive person. I doubt at this point that you are going to please this person, and if it "becomes ok now" it might not be in two years from now. It can be a very sticky situation working for people you know. It might even be a humidity issue, and you can't control that at someone else's house.

Sometimes it's better to take your lumps, but she still might talk negative of you.

Just think if it was made out of particle board it might not have changed. It might look like junk though.

Hope someone else has better ideas.

[Halfathumb]

If she was happy with the piece when you delivered it then you'd be right to refuse.  Assuming she approved of the design then you have no obligation to take it back or do anything more.  Most store-bought cabinets don't have leveling feet.  Most mirrors have a vinyl backing on them to help prevent injury if they get broken, but there's no requirement to have a wood back.  It seems like those two issues only became important after her friend told her they were important.  

If refusing to take it back is going to present a problem at church, then that's another kettle of fish, one you'll have to decide what's best.  

A middle ground would be to go ***** the cabinet level so the doors line up correctly (if they now don't but did when you first delivered it), tell her that's your last good faith effort, and be done with it.  

Good luck.

John  

John

As far as the people at the church go, several years ago I made an altar for the chapel that everyone has given me praise for how good it looks. I also made several other projects around there as well.

Plus I refurbished a mahogany table and a rocking chair which I had to turn 12 spindles to replace the broken ones. She was quite happy with these.

Lesson learned, CONTRACT CONTRACT CONTRACT.

Jim

[hcbph]

Jim
Here's some thoughts.  First the mirror: older units had silver backed glass mirrors and they did have a backing on them.  AFAIK this was to protect the reflective surface of the mirror to prevent scratching (silver applied to the glass).  Many had something like a sheet of cardboard between the mirror back and the mirror frame backing I assume to help prevent the glass from moving.  
A frame 36" wide and 72" high can easily rack if the floor isn't level both side to side and front to back.  Not too many old pieces of this size had leveling feet (they'd use shims under the feet as needed) but then again many times the frame would rack causing the doors to not fit correctly over time.
Having said this, depending on the design and construction, it may not be too hard to add leveling feet and a mirror backing.  Given your experience so far, I suspect the customer will go back to their 'friend' and come back with more complaints (been there, done that).
Now the real question, was the customer happy till the friend got involved?  Do you want to deal with them any more?
Unfortunately I think you're in a No-Win situation.  No matter what you do this person and their friend will never be satisfied with the work.
I it was me, I'd give them their money back and take it home.  I'd list it on CL, Facebook Market or some other place you could sell it at.  Add a little for your mileage etc. and be done with it.
In the future, get yourself a contract together and spell everything out along with a customer signature agreeing to the order.  Get at least 1/3 down with the remainder due on delivery.  Include provisions for a customer signature acknowledging delivery and acceptance of the product.  Include in your contract if there will be any refunds or not as long as the product matches the specs spelled out in the contract.
As far as this person goes, I wouldn't do anything further for them in the future.  If you want to have fun though, if they come back to you in the future, figure out what you'd do it for them multiply that number for a factor of 4 or 5 and watch them choke on that.

My 2 cents
Paul

[MstrCarpenter]

Jim
Here's some thoughts.  First the mirror: older units had silver backed glass mirrors and they did have a backing on them.  AFAIK this was to protect the reflective surface of the mirror to prevent scratching (silver applied to the glass).  Many had something like a sheet of cardboard between the mirror back and the mirror frame backing I assume to help prevent the glass from moving.  
A frame 36" wide and 72" high can easily rack if the floor isn't level both side to side and front to back.  Not too many old pieces of this size had leveling feet (they'd use shims under the feet as needed) but then again many times the frame would rack causing the doors to not fit correctly over time.
Having said this, depending on the design and construction, it may not be too hard to add leveling feet and a mirror backing.  Given your experience so far, I suspect the customer will go back to their 'friend' and come back with more complaints (been there, done that).
Now the real question, was the customer happy till the friend got involved?  Do you want to deal with them any more?
Unfortunately I think you're in a No-Win situation.  No matter what you do this person and their friend will never be satisfied with the work.
I it was me, I'd give them their money back and take it home.  I'd list it on CL, Facebook Market or some other place you could sell it at.  Add a little for your mileage etc. and be done with it.
In the future, get yourself a contract together and spell everything out along with a customer signature agreeing to the order.  Get at least 1/3 down with the remainder due on delivery.  Include provisions for a customer signature acknowledging delivery and acceptance of the product.  Include in your contract if there will be any refunds or not as long as the product matches the specs spelled out in the contract.
As far as this person goes, I wouldn't do anything further for them in the future.  If you want to have fun though, if they come back to you in the future, figure out what you'd do it for them multiply that number for a factor of 4 or 5 and watch them choke on that.

My 2 cents
Paul

I'd tell her that although you don't agree with her friends assessment, how truly sorry you are that she isn't thrilled with the cabinet. Make sure she realizes you built it for her as a favor and only charged for materials and overhead and hand her a check. I'd also send her a link to the posting (with the higher price tag). The next time I saw her, I'd confirm there are no hard feelings and describe how thrilled the new owners are to have it.

[Halfathumb]

Thanks everyone for your replies and recommendations.

I'm picking the darn thing up today, she accepted $100 less than she paid me. I either plan to sell probably on CL, FB etc. or talk to LOML & maybe keep it. 

At my age, 74, I'm not into confrontation anymore. Did enough that in the Army for 22 years & as a fraud investigator with the state. I just want to be able to move on and enjoy woodworking & life.

Jim

[brianwelch]

Sorry to hear of your travails, but sounds like you are able to move forward...taking the high road is usually the better route...