/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>2714456
A few sad situations

1. Wealthy clients who are near their death who don't want their spouse living in a ruined home. Wheelchairs and at home medical care ruin their stone. I usually carefully make my way through the house not only fixing the stone, but cleaning up cabinets, light switches, washing the walls etc. They are often people I've known for many many years or are friends of clients who trust me - it's pretty emotionally taxing. Others who do at home service will know there are some clients who just want someone to talk to and you become that someone more often than you'd think ~5-15% of any day is spent just chatting with a client about things, not sure if it's me as a person or their loneliness.

2. Middle class folk who didn't hire a designer and made terrible decisions. The wrong grout, poor installers, no budget for maintenance, extremely sensitive materials put in the wrong places (like porous limestones/sandstones in showers). You shrug it off when it's a rich person, but when its a recently retired couple or a young family who aren't so wealthy and they spent a ton of money on issues that could have been avoided, it does feel bad.

3. Drug abuse. Every so often you get a glassy eyed client who is either on a cocktail of medication or alcohol or both and you spend a week working in the strangest atmosphere. They are bored, lonely and very high/drunk all day while you do your thing. I stay patient when they ask me the same thing 400 times and just do my job, it's very awkward.