Overheard a guy at the lumberyard say prefinished plywood is a waste of money

He was loading up a truck with raw birch and said he'd rather spend the extra time finishing than pay the premium. I get the cost savings but I've had too many jobs where the client's paint job chips on site and I'm the one fixing it. What do you guys think, is prefinished worth the markup or just an upsell?

4 comments

4 Comments

emmamason10d ago

Right, because nothing says "savvy" like handing over a paintbrush to every client who wants to change the wall color. I wonder how much of his "spare time" he's billing to fix those inevitable chips and touch ups. Sure, save a few bucks now and spend a whole weekend sanding and sealing instead, that's a killer tradeoff.

brooke_jones10d ago

Starts to make you wonder if that "spare time" is really about the cabinets or just avoiding what clients actually need. Most people think paint is the big decision, but its the prep work that kills you. Sanding, filling grain, primer coats, letting it cure for weeks before you even hang a pot. You can spend more time fixing bad adhesion from rushed paint jobs than you save by doing it yourself. That's the hidden cost nobody talks about.

eva_moore10d agoMost Upvoted

Ha, right @emmamason, learned that the hard way with my own kitchen cabinets, what a nightmare.

ruby65910d ago

Wait didn't you used to swear by painting cabinets yourself?