Recently I had a building inspection done on a house I intended to purchase. There were a number of defects in the house and in the surrounding yards that the inspector brought to my attention. The rear deck structure was rotting so the inspector explained the repairs he thought were necessary to save the structure. When we had a tradesman in to give us an estimate, he told us the whole deck should be torn down and re-built. A second contractor told us we could save the deck with minor repairs. Now we’re wondering who to believe. What’s up with all these different opinions?

It is often difficult to gauge the precise amount of work required to repair a structure, while trying to avoid overkill and “too little / too late” scenarios. One contractor may think it is easier to tear down and start again while another sees ways of saving time and labour by replacing components. Unfortunately, it usually doesn’t help to get a third or fourth opinion because you will just get more variations on a theme, leading to information overload.

This problem of differing opinions is so common that the construction industry calls it “the last man in” syndrome.  It goes like this. The first man in sees the problem and makes suggestions. The next man in wants to make a good impression so he elaborates on the first man’s suggestions. The third man also wants to look knowledgeable so more suggestions get added to the mix. And so it goes, on and on. The best way to short circuit this syndrome is to pick the person whom you trust the most. But be wary of the person who has the most to gain by implementing his recommendations. In other words, you should be able to trust a professional, skilled person who has the least to gain in offering his opinion.