Hardscape mishaps

Some mistakes are tough to predict. Patrick Perugino of Picture It Landscape & Design in London, Ontario, recalls a time when a sealer sprayer exploded on his crew member toward the end of a residential construction job.

“It went all over the place,” he says. “It was right at the end of the day – I was about to collect the check, get the invoice and be on our way. So, it was the worst time to happen, right when we wanted to get out of there.”

Picture It Landscape & Design kept the worksite clean, though, so Perugino says the homeowner was very understanding of the mistake. “They were watching us most of the time, socializing, and they even saw it happen. They knew everything prior to that went smoothly. We kept things clean, which helps.”

The Picture It Landscape & Design team was able to clean up the mess quickly and finish putting in the rest of the sealer with a roller, which only took an extra hour of time.

The sprayer that burst was older and the cold weather caused the problem, Perugino says. The mistake served as a reminder to him and his crew members to check that all equipment is in good working condition before using it.

In a scenario at Chicago-based Green Effects, a crew member made a mistake when applying polymeric sand on a jobsite. Green Effects President Kyle Rea used the mistake as an educational experience.

“(The crew member) wasn’t properly trained in this, so he left a bit of hazing on the brick,” Rea says. “We then had to get cleaner and clean it up, then reapply the polymeric sand. I showed him how to do it. I think whoever makes the mistake should help out in correcting the mistake. That’s the best way to learn – people don’t like to do things twice, so this is one way that helped him to remember.”