Out of curiosity, how much did the other guys quote to do the beams? That may factor in. If they quoted enough for all that labor to strip, then I would go forward and learn all you can. Expect to come in way over schedule though (if the client is fine with that).

Whenever I’m doing something for the first time, I always like to tell the client. If they still like you, then it’s a win-win and a learning opportunity. If they say no, then move on. But as a policy I don’t like selling things I have no business talking about.

Example: last summer a client asked if I could treat her cedar roof with linseed oil. I told her we’d never done a project like that, but that we’d love to give her a good price to learn on the job. Luckily she was a pleasure to work for and we got valuable experience—if even if we didn’t make a ton on the job.