What Mistakes Have You Done?

[Paul.M]

On site today and I had an Ashley backbox that was loose on one side because the plasterer is rubbish (another story). Anyway, I thought I'd do a quick fix by putting some fire foam on the dodgy side to hold it in the cavity wall. The walls are full of the stuff anyway.


I'm there putting a bit in at a time so not to over fill the void. Ok a bit more as nothing is showing. Ok a bit more, still nothing foaming back at me. Ok a lot more until it starts foaming back at me..... That was a bit of a mistake.

One of the building site labourers said "are you sure your not going through the other side?"

Me "No, don't think so mate. Let's just have a look to check." Then I saw this coming out of the other room:-

Paul you rounded door handle. I've only gone and put way too much in and its now running down the wall like a slow moving waterfall! Btw this picture was taken just as the flow began, ten seconds later I was too busy to take a pic but it was worst than that!

Twenty mins spent cleaning the foam from the other backboxs and cables, another 40 mins cleaning the bloody foam from my hands and screwdriver, what a prat . Oh, that's a £40 socket that I've just wrecked, its in the bin, they can clean it if they want because I'm not.

Head spark just laughed at me and then banned me from using the foam gun again unless supervised! Think he was joking but I'll put that to the test tomorrow .

Lesson for today Paul, don't be out done by the words of wisdom from a builders labourer again lol.





What silly mistakes have you done in the past? This could be an interesting thread if people own up?

 

[telectrix]

should have left it to set. it's easy to cut away with a knife when set. no gooey mess. next time use some dryline adhesive.

 

[Darkwood]

Once went to a Toga party dressed as a Goat............

Bloody dislexia!

 

[topquark]

Digging down for a cable to move a meter on a caravan site. Marker paint mark on the floor I was told, 3 feet later, no sign of cable. Called the site manager over, oh no mate that's where we want the new meter, the cables around the other side of the van. :6:

 

[axel132132]

When i was 17 i cut about 20 fastafix boxes into the walls.. I turned them so the face was on the plaster drew around and cut them all out.. Turned them around to push them in once id cut all 20 out and OOOPS they pushed straight into wall cavity.. Cos im PROO

 

[Resu]

Cut the tip of my left index finger off on the second week of my apprenticeship with my shiny new stanley knife! Made fitting things off difficult for a month and a half!

 

[johnboy6083]

Loads of times when I first started, I forgot to put shrouds on the SWA before glanding it. Ive also cut the wrong cable down to gland it, and it was short.
Try not to make to many mistakes these days, but they still happen!

 

[Resu]

forgot to put shrouds on the SWA before glanding it.

This. Raging when you realise! Haha

 

[trev]

While I'm a third year apprentice and my mother bought these two bloody horrible brass chandalier things so I said I'd put them up at the weekend for her. She told me because I'm not a proper electrician yet I'd do no such thing, so to keep her happy I said ok and that I'd ask my mentor to pop round one day after work.
I made the mistake of asking him just outside the bait cabin. Sparkys, plumbers, joiners, even the bloody labourers tore into me for about a week then one of the other apprentices cocked something up so I was left alone

 

[thekingiam]

knocked a scafolding coupler down some stairs on to fire alarm setting off alarm and evacuating food factory, a couple of thousand in down time for factory helicopter fly by to check no harmfull gas escaping, was working as a mate at the time and denied everything.

 

[claret73]

I don't mind owning up. Best to own up & learn & move on...

Was working in a department store & was up on the second shop floor with the spark below me up near the ceiling on the phone asking me to drop the rod through. I did as he said...the phone goes silent, next thing he's come up the escalator to me and says "You were supposed to attach the cable..."

Best one for me & not proud of it, same chain of department store. Altering a power socket in a concession & kept getting last minute calls from the building contractor to change position. Anyway, must have been 3rd time I changed the socket placing. The Electrician went up a few floors to do a minor job elsewhere, asked me to join him when I was done. Grabbed the double extension ladders & battery drill. Ladders on my shoulder, onto the escalator...next thing I hear is a 'Crash, Bang, Wallop' with the escalator coming to a grinding halt & bits of ladder flying off. Only got the top of the ladder jammed on the ceiling, which in turn jammed on the escalator tread. Disaster!!!! As I'm self employed subbie to the guy I got the insurance quote from the escalator engineers...8k!!! But in the end, nothing got put through...absolutely died a death of shame that day!! I couldn't stop apologising...

 

[Paul.M]

When I was starting out as a mate the boss dropped me off at a house to fit a security light. I knocked on the door, told the lady who I was and what I'm here for (rented property) and away I went.

Almost finished the job when the neighbour from down the street came up and asked if I was the sparky fitting here security light at number 46? That's right, the boss sent me to 64 and she dint say anything! Lol, free fitting due to a spelling error.

 

[ExArmy]

about 2 years ago i was fixing down boards after running a new cable in in my own house (2 way light conversion) i carefully marked out where on the end of the board the cables were running accross the joist(and not to put a screw)and then proceeded to put a screw right on the mark. right throught the cable. then at that point i banned myself from using the cordless and gave myself a good talking too!

 

[applemac]

When i was 17 i cut about 20 fastafix boxes into the walls.. I turned them so the face was on the plaster drew around and cut them all out.. Turned them around to push them in once id cut all 20 out and OOOPS they pushed straight into wall cavity.. Cos im PROO

done that last month, wasn't thinking straight...dont want to relive that feeling...

 

[Brightspark2]

Was poking through a false ceiling once in a canteen, (the tiled type in offices), had half my body up through it, then for some reason when I was coming back down the ladders I put my wieght on the framework of the cieling and it all fell down mg_smile:. It was just hanging onto the wall in certain parts and my work mates proping it up in the middle. Massive sweat on trying to get it back up before dinner started, I tried not show i was panicking but really I had a little poo in my pants.


Funny when you where an apprentice and you relize you have done some wrong and made a big mistake and you just start sweating thinking oooooohhhhhhh sh*t!!!!!!....trying to think how you can fix it before you have to tell your boss...