Terrible discoveries

[David M]

What terrible discoveries have you made over the years in the trade?

This one I discovered plastered over (literally) in a bathroom.

These cables came into the box from all angles. The junction turned out to be used for the ring circuit, immersion heater, central heating control and some upstairs lighting.Some of which had been interconnected.

A few Years back I went out to a house in town. The young lady there had just taken over the tenancy along with her new born baby. Her lighting had tripped and she could not get in contact with the landlord, so she phoned a friend for help who turned out to be one of my previous customers. Anyway I agreed to take a look, I could not believe what I was seeing when I got there. The complete electrical installation was still in, what was now a totally eroded v.i.r wiring system with the old wood and baker light fittings! After I'd isolated the whole supply I did a little bit of inspection. As I pulled up the already exposed landing floor boards there was a whoosh of air. Who ever had nailed down the boards had nailed through the lead gas main running across the landing joists! The pipe now resembled a long flute! also the now exposed conductors of the lighting circuits were draped over and in places wrapped around the pipe, it was madness

Hasten to say the young lady moved out that night and in with friends, the landlord was contacted and agreed to have a full re-wire and replace the gas pipes. In my opinion the tight git should have been prosecuted for letting out such a hazardous property. He had been the proprietor for many years so should have been aware it desperately needed upgrading!

 

[Leesparkykent]

The guy I was apprenticed to was a nasty mean tempered bugger who would lash out if and when I made a mistake (that's the back story btw) (most of you know it anyway)
So we went to a very nice victorian terraced house to do a rewire. Mr was a councillor, Mrs was a college lecturer (might have been the other way round but never mind) She was very heavily pregnant. All the furniture apart from a few odds and sods had been put in storage so we were looking at a pretty free reign on this one.
We kept finding these cotton wool balls lying around with some sort of strange cream coloured residue on them.
So I've got my arm under the floor boards one day when my mentor comes barging in to the room, blue with rage, he screams at me to pack my tools and leave right now (only a little more direct than that). Now I'm wondering what the hell I've done and I'm trying to ask him what the problem was but he just screamed at me again, pack your tools and go. Eventually he told me to wait by his car.
So now I'm thinking maybe it's not something so bad that I've done.
It wasn't me at all.
Bill had found a leaflet which explained how a cream to combat a "downstairs" infection should be used.
We refused to go back until the whole place was cleared.

haha, reminds me about a time i was wiring a new build block of flats, the brick layers were still on site as was timber frame and they was putting the brick skin round the outside. there was a general site labourer, we was all sat in the site hut having lunch and the site labourer pipes up and says i keep finding wet wipes dotted around the scaffolding, it peeing me off having to pick them up, then one of the brick layers ( just to add he was the loud and proud type) proceeded to tell the labourer that when hes working and his arse crack gets sweaty he gives it a wipe and lobs them of the scaffolding for him to pick up, it was also the end of July and blazing hot. what an absolute wrongen! lol

 

[Knobhead]

Being told I had three teenage daughters knocked me back a bit.

 

[trev]

Being told I had three teenage daughters knocked me back a bit.

Try being told your 16 yo daughter is presenting you with a grandson in a few weeks.
The day before an I&T practical. That was a fun day out

 

[Knobhead]

I’ve given up all hope of ever being a granddad.

 

[trev]

I’ve given up all hope of ever being a granddad.

Best job I ever had mate. My boss is a bit demanding though
You'll get your turn sooner or later

 

[Knobhead]

Being told I had three teenage daughters knocked me back a bit.

Just too clear things up they weren’t mine. If they were it would have taken divine intervention. I had the snip 28 years ago!

 

[jay sean]

I worked in the Pizza hut in Leicester Square in London, on nights, to keep us company when they were shut we has cockroaches and rats.

 

[Engineer54]

How many of you have worked in a house where a horse was being stabled in the lounge/dining room of a night?? Or where the downstairs of a house being used a motor cycle garage!!

Unbelievable i know, but none the less 100% true!!! lol!!

 

[shanky887614]

How many of you have worked in a house where a horse was being stabled in the lounge/dining room of a night?? Or where the downstairs of a house being used a motor cycle garage!!

Unbelievable i know, but none the less 100% true!!! lol!!

my stepdads brother kept his motorbike in the front room next to the tv

 

[Engineer54]

my stepdads brother kept his motorbike in the front room next to the tv

There were at least half a dozen motor bikes in this place shanky, all in various states of repair. Oil and grease everywhere you touched. Walk in through the front door and literary slide down the hallway into the kitchen.... lol!

 

[Silly Sausage]

There were at least half a dozen motor bikes in this place shanky, all in various states of repair. Oil and grease everywhere you touched. Walk in through the front door and literary slide down the hallway into the kitchen.... lol!

I've known a couple of bikers who'd always be re-building bikes in their front rooms.
Standard practice for bikers I think, especially British motorcyclists!

I stripped and rebuilt a Mini engine once in my mates 19th floor flat.

 

[David M]

How many of you have worked in a house where a horse was being stabled in the lounge/dining room of a night?? Or where the downstairs of a house being used a motor cycle garage!!

Unbelievable i know, but none the less 100% true!!! lol!!

Talking of horses,
I went out to a farm to take a look at a nuisance tripping RCD. The farmer told me that the thing was tripping out quite often usually late in the day or evening.
Anyway he explain that the stables had a couple of sockets and a few lights. He said he'd checked the sockets and that they were undamaged and rarely used and that everything worked fine. So i had a quick look round then proceeded to run a couple of tests at the board. everything checked out ok, ramp tested the rcd that seemed fine. As I was collecting up my tools I noticed a flexi cable hanging down near a stable door that I must have missed earlier. When I took a look I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
The flex had been striped back around 2 foot and the individual bare cores had been nailed to the top of the lower part of the stable door. There was a plug top connected at the other end dangling next to a socket outlet. The farmer explained that the horse that resided there was a bit wild and tended to chew the stable doors. So he decided to refrain the horse from doing so by giving it an electric shock if it tried. As soon as the horse was stabled for the day he would plug in the flex turn it on and leave it!! :crazy: