This is not the time of year for this...

J Phipps TN

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Jul 14, 2004
Posts
1,423
Loc
Kingsport TN
Am I crazy or are engineers the worst to do framing for.

I am doing a shadow box for one and I know I spent at least 45 minutes with him when he first came in, and he had already laid the whole thing out on the computer and gave me a few copies in different sizes.

I mean he basicly did my job for me, but he has already called back and changed the finished size by 1/4 inch. Which wouldn't make hardly any difference in the design at all.

I don't think there is any way in this world that I will be able to please him. I mean, he picked the worst time of year to come in.

Anybody else have any trouble with engineers?

They are so picky! But I guess when you are building a bridge or a building that's what you want.

It's just a pain when it's framing!

Jennifer
 
A little trick I learned with engineers many years ago was to ask them……”Can you sign off on this design/job” …….so that we can get it into production……

For engineers asking them can they “sign off on the design”…… seems to satisfy them that their part of the work is finished……leave it open and they think they can keep making changes…….after signing off if they want more changes …..they pay…..


Good luck
 
That sounds like good advice, Dermot.
Personally I would probably go the route of explaining that certain items have various visual weight to them and the final perception the viewer has involves some psychology and feelings. Therefore, obsessive detail in measuring is often counterproductive. Same philosophy holds true in picture hanging.
:cool: Rick
 
So the teacher, the priest, and the engineer are to be put to death during the French Revolution.

First the priest is lead up to the guilutine. He is asked if he wants a hood, and refuses. In fact he wants to be laying on his back, 'the better to see where I will be going to be with my god'.

So they lay him down and pull the lever. The blade comes rushing down only to stop about two feet above the priest neck.

Of course they all think that it's devine intervention and release the priest.

Up they drag the teacher... who was also a good student, and he follows suit with the same line as the priest. So they strap him down face up and pull the lever. Same results and seconds later the teacher is running free through the crowd towards home.

They drag the engineer up and he too says that he wants to be looking up. So they strap him down. And just as they are about to pull the lever....the engineer starts shouting and pointing up to a point about two and a half feet above his neck "Wait, wait, . . . I think I see the problem."

accountants can be a problem too....
 
Ha! Wait until your engineer-customer picks up his work from you and then goes home to hang it! See how many times he calls you about the best way to hang it...so it's PRECISE & SECURE!

I did two large pieces for an engineer recently and like yourself, he required a very different approach. I first had to earn his trust! Once I did, it went much smoother but I had to be tolerant, answering many, many questions. He was quite pleased with the end result. THEN he took them home....

He had come up with a method to hang these unlike I'd ever heard of (doesn't mean it doesn't exist!). He never could adapt to the concepts of WallBuddies - no matter how hard I tried! He was ****-bent on nailing these hangers into studs (NEVER GONNA HAPPEN!) - not ALL FOUR hangers for the two pictures. Sure enough, when he tried to hang them, he realized it WASN'T GONNA HAPPEN! I believe he ultimately nailed a 62" x 6" x 1" board into the existing studs and then nailed the (provided) 30# brass hangers into that board. The board was painted the same color as the walls - obviously, the board between the two pictures (hung side by side) was going to show. I even discussed using Z-Bar since he was so worried, but wouldn't hear of that either. oooooooooph! Whatcha gonna do!
 
any of you guys think of charging hourly rates like an accountant, a lawyer, a doctor or an enginner?

We;re doing a very large oversize piece for an architectural firm here and I let it be known we charge by the hour. And our hourly rates are $60. that includes consultation, layout, design for their 35 window opening on a 48 x 70 piece plus they can d....d well come in and use the CAD design on our wizard to do the design themselves if they wanna save the consult fee 'cause I ain't gonna do it for nothing.

Amazing the results you can get. And yes, we still do scads of work for them.
 
Bill? Harry? Refutation by counterexample or piling on?
 
As one with an engineering background, I have no problem relating to the pickiest of them. I are one. :D

The advice here is good -- earn their trust and tell them why it should be your way, and then get their final approval to do the job. If changes come later, charge for them.
 
‘Course we’re not talking ‘bout <u>you</u>, Mark. <font size=-40>… snigger!</font>

I had an engineer design a triple mat with two openings apparently on a CAD. On the rendering, he even included what he thought the bevels should look like.

However, when he scaled it down to fit on an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, the fonts got scaled down, too. When he showed me the plans, the dimensions were in 3 point type. Even with a magnifying glass, I couldn’t read them and, of course, he couldn’t remember them, either.

When he went home and sheepishly called me with the actual measurements, they were in metric e.g. 3.65 inches. I finally got permission to round off to 3-5/8”.
 
I had an engineer at a shop I worked at a long time ago. When he came in to pick up his art he brought along a MM ruler with him and if the alignment was off on any part of the fit by as much as a millameter he would have us take it appart and realign it "properly".
 
Argh! Engineers! I can spot 'em a mile away. Had one once that I did a football jersey for. Spent way too long making it "just right", because I knew he'd be in with his tape measure, and sure 'nuff, he found a spot where I was less than 1/8" off on the shoulder level. I finally told him, after the 3rd "fix", that I believed I would not be able to please him no matter what and offered to refund his money, unsew the thing and give it back to him the way he brought it in, and he was welcome to find another framer who might do a better job. He kept it, no refund. I later found out he had been to several other framers in town who invited him not to come back, for the same reason. I'm still framing for him, and he agreed to leave his tape measure at home from now on. Thanks, Dermot, for the suggestion of "can you sign off on this job now, so that we can get it into production". Is that engineer lingo? I'll remember that for next time!
 
Yeah, but tell the truth. Can't you see a crooked picture or a reveal that is a little off from across the room? Me, too!
 
Ellen, you are so right!
I know I drive carpet and flooring people crazy because I can see everything! And drywall people. Actually, I get kinda picky with painters too....

Sherry was right about having to "earn their trust", but when you do, don't you find that they become your best customers? That's been my experience at least. Then they brag on you to everyone they talk to and that's always a good thing. Eventually, they come in , put it on the counter and say--"I'm going to let you do this however you see best." Ahhhh, victory!
 
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