# Goofs and mistakes.



## aptpupil (Jun 12, 2010)

BradingCon said:


> What I'm learning from this thread is don't put in that last screw/nail...there's almost always a water line behind it.


There's a reason it's the last screw. Kinda in the same way "it's always the last place you look" (because after you find it you stop looking).


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## Calidecks (Nov 19, 2011)

aptpupil said:


> There's a reason it's the last screw. Kinda in the same way "it's always the last place you look" (because after you find it you stop looking).


Actually that's makes a lot of sense. :thumbsup:


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

If you meant to put a screw or nail there, it wasn't really a mistake:whistling


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## slowsol (Aug 27, 2005)

Californiadecks said:


> I once worked on a tilt - up where the laborers missed the bond breaker on a building. There are a whole block of buildings so missing one was easy to do. All the concrete panels stuck. Needless to say the Foreman and labor Foreman both got axed.



There's a tilt up over here where they horizontally cut additional architectural grooves because the groves were inches from lining up when they tilted the walls.


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## Calidecks (Nov 19, 2011)

slowsol said:


> There's a tilt up over here where they horizontally cut additional architectural grooves because the groves were inches from lining up when they tilted the walls.


A chamfer detail. That falls on the panel checker, you never, never! Should allow the layout guy to be the panel checker, he will make the same mistake twice. So many times companies allow this. All the really good tilt - up companies I've worked for have this rule. 

Most of the time it's lower level carpenters (youngsters) installing Chamfer detail, or regular detail, not a bad thing but they need to be watched closely.


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## Semih Kandiyoti (Nov 1, 2014)

Well Goof ups and mistakes are so a part of profession...something inescapable and prominent! I remember an incidence where a fellow contractor overheard (miscommunicated) some terminologies that brought major changes. But then as a team, you need to handle such goof ups


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## abelizer (Oct 26, 2014)

Removing a structural wall, radiator plumbing needed rerouting so plumber "drains" system and proceeds to remove existing lines to be re-routed with pex at a later date. I show up next day to a room COVERED in black slime, some type of rust inhibitor in the water. Apparently an air pocket on the 3rd floor let go and released the remaining black water at 3 A.M. to the horror of the homeowners! pic is the plumbing completed.


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Californiadecks said:


> I once worked on a tilt - up where the laborers missed the bond breaker on a building. There are a whole block of buildings so missing one was easy to do. All the concrete panels stuck. Needless to say the Foreman and labor Foreman both got axed.


Bond breaker?


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## owattabuilder (Sep 2, 2013)

TxElectrician said:


> I can't contribute to this thread. Never have made a mistake:whistling[/QUOTE
> 
> Anyone who has never made a mistake has never done anything.


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

I broke 2 toes on one of the guys last week. He definitely made a mistake


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## blacktop (Oct 28, 2012)

jlsconstruction said:


> I broke 2 toes on one of the guys last week. He definitely made a mistake


Is that what you do when one of your guys make a mistake ??


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

blacktop said:


> Is that what you do when one of your guys make a mistake ??


Well he was standing right next to me watching me work, I slipped and got him good with a roofing shovel. I bought him red wing steel toe boots, but he wasn't wearing them. So his fault, not mine. Even though the doctor bill was to me


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## jb4211 (Jul 13, 2010)

jlsconstruction said:


> Well he was standing right next to me watching me work, I slipped and got him good with a roofing shovel. I bought him red wing steel toe boots, but he wasn't wearing them. So his fault, not mine. Even though the doctor bill was to me


His fault for not wearing or your fault for letting him work without them? 

Just asking (devil's advocate)?


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## Jaws (Dec 20, 2010)

jb4211 said:


> His fault for not wearing or your fault for letting him work without them?
> 
> Just asking (devil's advocate)?


You shouldn't have to baby sit grown men. 

Shouldnt, but all to often you do.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Jaws said:


> You shouldn't have to baby sit grown men.
> 
> Shouldnt, but all to often you do.


Still better than herding kittens:whistling


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

jb4211 said:


> His fault for not wearing or your fault for letting him work without them? Just asking (devil's advocate)?



He's 15 years older than me, I can hope he learned his lesson, but I doubt it.


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## blacktop (Oct 28, 2012)

jlsconstruction said:


> He's 15 years older than me, I can hope he learned his lesson, but I doubt it.


Age don't mean nothing!


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

blacktop said:


> Age don't mean nothing!


True. Can't teach an old dog new tricks though


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

But back on track. 


I got a call from a home owner yesterday. We finished there whole house remodel Friday. They were cleaning up, and getting ready to move in and they didn't have heat. We didn't get gas on until Friday morning, so usually I run everything for a week to make sure it works, but didn't get a chance on this one, and the furnace guy fried a new furnace












That's the condensation hose not connected. Now he's got acidic water all over the basement


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## Roofcheck (Dec 27, 2011)

Roofed a house for a builder 15 years ago and after the subs were done a couple weeks later went back to side the addition, on the back side of the house. All subs drove across lawn and parked out back. Backed across the same path and broke the head off a newly buried 1000 gallon newly filled. 
Owner comes out on his porch yelling run as the propane billows out from under my truck. I ran. 

4 or 5 volunteer fire departments and a couple tv stations.


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## Okiecontractor (Oct 15, 2012)

Roofcheck said:


> Roofed a house for a builder 15 years ago and after the subs were done a couple weeks later went back to side the addition, on the back side of the house. All subs drove across lawn and parked out back. Backed across the same path and broke the head off a newly buried 1000 gallon newly filled.
> Owner comes out on his porch yelling run as the propane billows out from under my truck. I ran.
> 
> 4 or 5 volunteer fire departments and a couple tv stations.


Thats an awesome story. I would've ran too!


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

A friend had all new propane tank and piping installed. It was leak checked with soapy water, and not rinsed (by propane company). All the fittings turned to swiss cheese - her dog died, but she didn't. Her fittings are now used by the company to show why soapy water is not the right leak check stuff.


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## Kolbym (Aug 21, 2012)

Roofcheck said:


> Roofed a house for a builder 15 years ago and after the subs were done a couple weeks later went back to side the addition, on the back side of the house. All subs drove across lawn and parked out back. Backed across the same path and broke the head off a newly buried 1000 gallon newly filled.
> Owner comes out on his porch yelling run as the propane billows out from under my truck. I ran.
> 
> 4 or 5 volunteer fire departments and a couple tv stations.


That would be a good time to NOT have a lettered truck


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## Roofcheck (Dec 27, 2011)

My first new truck. 1999 Silverado. No letters but my brother who saw it on the news and was just with me showed up Ron Ron through the crowd I'm doing the international sign shh shh I did NOT want that free publicity. :whistling


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## donerightwyo (Oct 10, 2011)

When I was in high school I worked for a guy that delivered propane amongst other things. One day his mechanic,(an ace crane operator) knocked a pipe off the top of a full 20,000 gallon LP tank. Sometimes chit happens. All that propane set on the creek for a long time, nobody really knew what to do. They say it could of leveled the whole town, it's a really small town but I don't know if that is true.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

donerightwyo said:


> When I was in high school I worked for a guy that delivered propane amongst other things. One day his mechanic,(an ace crane operator) knocked a pipe off the top of a full 20,000 gallon LP tank. Sometimes chit happens. All that propane set on the creek for a long time, nobody really knew what to do. They say it could of leveled the whole town, it's a really small town but I don't know if that is true.


A pound of propane can have more explosive energy than a pound of TNT. I don't know the gallons to pounds conversion for propane, but even at 4lbs per gallon, that would have been a really *big* bomb.


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

hdavis said:


> A pound of propane can have more explosive energy than a pound of TNT. I don't know the gallons to pounds conversion for propane, but even at 4lbs per gallon, that would have been a really big bomb.



4 lbs per gallon is about right. Kinda scary that I have 500 gallons 3 feet from my bedroom


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

jlsconstruction said:


> 4 lbs per gallon is about right. Kinda scary that I have 500 gallons 3 feet from my bedroom


Rest easy, it's more of a big push than TNT is.:whistling


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## mnld (Jun 4, 2013)

The only TNT around here is kind of explosive too......


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## JAH (Jul 27, 2014)

I tried to learn cabinetmaking, hated it. I sucked at mortise and tendon door frames. The joints were always way to tight. I would have to put the door in a vice and pull it apart. I was pulling a door apart, both hands, like a mad man. The joint just let go and I smashed my mouth with the but end of the board. Split my upper lip in half and knocked a front tooth loose.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Cabinetmaking is thousandths of an inch sometimes. You seemed to have made things a few thou to tight.


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## JAH (Jul 27, 2014)

Framing a large addition. Things arnt going well and Im PISSED! I was power walking with my head down through the attic. All of a sudden I saw stars and everything went black. Woke up flat on my back directly underneath a low beam. That hurt...


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## JAH (Jul 27, 2014)

Leo G said:


> Cabinetmaking is thousandths of an inch sometimes. You seemed to have made things a few thou to tight.


I had no idea what I was doing. Just making it up as I go. The measurements were more like 1/16th strong or slack. :laughing:


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## Kniggit (Apr 11, 2013)

JAH said:


> Framing a large addition. Things arnt going well and Im PISSED! I was power walking with my head down through the attic. All of a sudden I saw stars and everything went black. Woke up flat on my back directly underneath a low beam. That hurt...


I did almost the same thing last week only it was 10' 2x4's hanging out of the back of my truck. I was building an arch form and forgot my tape in the truck, was trying to make a phone call as I was walking out to the truck...again....and bam I saw stars, had a pretty good gash on my forehead and under my eye.


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## Kniggit (Apr 11, 2013)

Here is one that happened about thirty years ago, but I remember it vividly to this day. We went to lunch and had a little over a sack of mud souped up in the mixer, somehow we ended up at this little club that the builder recommended that had some of the best burgers in the little town. One beer led to two beers and the next thing you know it's dark outside and we didn't make it back to the job till the next day. It took us almost five hours the next day with a hammer and chisel to get the mess cleaned out enough for the mixer to turn.


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## Robinson1 (Mar 14, 2014)

Bathroom remodel, framing a petition for a shower stall, drove a 16 through the feeder line for a sillcock on the exterior wall. Didn't show up until the homeowner tried to water some flowers a few days later. By then the bathroom was finished. Exterior was Bedford stone. Yep you guess it, had to pull the shower stall. 

Cutting a sidewalk and noticed a few sparks off the diamond blade. I was thinking rebar and kept sawing. Got the section of concrete busted out and I had sawed the wire going to the barn. 

Walked through a storm door with a bundle of base board. Man that was one clean piece of glass. 

Several 16 ga nails shot through water lines running base. 

Snagged a 4" gas main with a CAT 312 in my defense the utility guys missed it when they marked everything out. 

Small bridge project. Pouring headwalls and came up about 6 yards short. Then I remembered that the forms were 2 feet wider at the bottom and I had measured the tops when I called the concrete plant. 

Installing an aluminum pre-fab fence around a pool. Anchoring to the concrete patio with Hilti Red Heads, well for what ever reason I had a 
12" bit in the SDS. Helper thought he needed to drill through the slab. Found the underground lines going to the pool heater. Thankfully it was close to the edge and all we had to do was dig/tunnel under the edge and not bust up the slab. 

Letting out a 40 foot extension ladder and the rope broke. Like a genius I threw my hand up to grab the bottom rung as it came sliding back down. After rolling around on the ground for a few minutes and praying for death I finally realized that I still hand all my fingers and my arm was still attached. :laughing:


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## needs glasses (Aug 12, 2014)

I was replacing this double glazed unit on an old ladies kitchen skylight.
The guy at the glass shop had told me how the glass on the underside had to be laminated glass so it wouldn't fall down if it ever broke.

Anyway the old lady was out so I had taken the flashings off and the old glass unit sat in glazing caulking. So I had to get it off and thought I'll just get my bar under it and see if it's going to come off easy.

I pried just a bit to see and the whole under side piece of glass burst into a thousand little pieces about 1/4 of an inch. Of course I couldn't do anything as the top glass was still intact and all these little bits started to just drop down about 6 feet onto old ladies kitchen counter.

So I thought oh **** as you do, and what can I do, it's done now.... I'll get the top sheet of glass off, get a step ladder up on the roof and put it down into the opening onto the kitchen counter and get it cleaned up before she comes home and has a heart attack.

So I put the step ladder in the hole, started to climb down and ... oh no! the beep beep beep you get just before the alarm goes off! &^%$

So sure enough alarm bells, glass everywhere.... her phone starts ringing and its the alarm company....

I cleaned it all up and put the new glass in, the neighbour had been around and also alarm company had her son call me to check I was legit. 

I drove home and thought ah well.... you can't win em all and if the old lady decides her counter is damaged and won't pay then I'm probably not going to argue too much about it.

Funny thing was she called up and said it's looks great, and how she even thought there was no glass in there as it was so clear. And can she send me a cheque!


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## kfc510 (Feb 28, 2012)

Californiadecks said:


> This is why I tell the HO, if I hit a pipe or wire it's thier dime not mine.


This.

Everyone should have an "unseen/unmarked utilities" clause in their exemptions.

I always explain the risk, and offer to do exploratory investigation, but if they don't want to pay me to have a look in the wall first, that's on them. I don't have x-ray vision.

(This has come up on the last two seismic jobs I bid on- the engineer has spec'd increased nailing on existing shear walls and/or sheathing panels. I'm supposed to add hundreds or thousands of fasteners to existing ply, with no way of knowing where the utilities are. It's like russian roulette.)

* * *

But back to "Goofs and mistakes"...
I was working on the roof of a commercial building, we were doing a seismic retrofit that involved beefing up the roof framing and tying the roof to the exterior cmu walls with holddowns, threaded rods and plates. 

That company I worked for tried to do as much work as possible from above, rather than opening up the ceiling and working from below, for a couple reasons- 1. it let the tenants keep working in the spaces below, and 2. the guys were less physically beat up from bending over working down as oppose to arching backwards working up off a ladder.

So, we had a number of joist bays cut open on the roof to add blocking and holddowns. 

I was yelling to one of my compadres across the roof about "lonche" and wasn't really looking as I was striding over one of the open bays. My boot slipped off the joist, and I fell halfway through the drywall ceiling, one leg up on the roof, the other hanging down into the (ahem) attorney's office below.

No lonche for me; I scampered down into the office to clean up the drywall I had rained down into the office. When I got in, I saw that my leg had knocked an A.C. unit off its mounting brackets when I fell through. It was dangling from its supply line and swinging gently like a pendulum. When I kicked it off the wall, the (heavy) A.C. unit had swung like a sharp-cornered wrecking ball on its supply line directly over the secretary's desk seat. For whatever reason, she had not been in her seat at the time.

In the end it all worked out fine, I was a little sore and embarrassed, but basically ok, the secretary never really knew how bad it could have been, and the lawyer didn't sue. But it could have been very ugly.


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## Golden view (Feb 16, 2012)

I just remembered another one. My first ever concrete pour, no experience. Super simple, nine 36x36x12" footings. Rebar grid tied and placed at the bottom, with the thought I could pull it up to 1/3 with tie wire loops I left, since I'd seen slab crews pull mesh up with their placer hook, I figured it was the same concept. Well if I remember right it was about a 3 slump and there was no way in hell I could pull that up. By absolute dumb luck, 5 random friends showed up just then and helped shovel half the concrete out, pull the grid, shovel it back in and rod it.


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## Calidecks (Nov 19, 2011)

Golden view said:


> I just remembered another one. My first ever concrete pour, no experience. Super simple, nine 36x36x12" footings. Rebar grid tied and placed at the bottom, with the thought I could pull it up to 1/3 with tie wire loops I left, since I'd seen slab crews pull mesh up with their placer hook, I figured it was the same concept. Well if I remember right it was about a 3 slump and there was no way in hell I could pull that up. By absolute dumb luck, 5 random friends showed up just then and helped shovel half the concrete out, pull the grid, shovel it back in and rod it.


Come on man! No one would ever know


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