A GC's throwaway comment about my saw cuts stuck with me

Tbh, a general contractor in Columbus told me my control joints looked 'too perfect' and that real slabs need a little life in them. It hit different because I've been chasing dead straight lines for 12 years, but now I wonder if I'm overthinking the whole finish. Has anyone else had a client or GC say something that made them second-guess their standard approach?

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the_hayden6d ago

Too perfect" huh? That's a wild thing to say to someone who's been grinding for 12 years. I gotta ask, did he actually explain what he meant by "life" or was it just some vague gut feeling he threw out there? Because in my experience, GCs will say shit like that when they can't articulate what they're really unhappy about. Are you sure he wasn't just trying to manage your expectations so he could pay you less for a longer schedule? Or did he actually want you to loosen up the joints so the slab cracks less later? That's the real question, because if he's got a point about stress relief, that's one thing, but if he's just talking aesthetics, that's a whole different conversation.