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?

 

[Brightspark2]

me and the spark out of that boiler room at such a speed that Usain Bolt would have come third if there was a race between the three of us.
.

ha ha brilliant

When I started working on a rewire I put my foot right through it.... yep, the ceiling lol I have pictures somewhere The floor boards had been left up on the landing stairs and when I was asked to bring the ladder up I was concentrating more on not damaging the decor on the wall (which also had lots of picture frames etc). Must have caught the very edge of the last board and my ankle turned over.... Should have seen that hole lol. I will find the pictures and post them up lol

I know people who have done this, on freshly plastered cielings to...funny...not an electrician though, a joiner...

Same joiner told me a story that I was in tears at laughing...They had just done an extension and fitted a new bathroom suite but the waste pipe wasnt connected, so word was spread not to use the toilet and a sign put up too, joiner and builders leave for the day and theres only 2 people left on site...Next day my mate turns up first to find poo splatered all down the back of the new extension, someone had only used the toilet, site managers going mad becuase of the stains left in the dry toilet and the stains all down the back of the house...but neither of the lads wouldnt own up to it...so good morning for him having to jet wash it all off...classic...

 

[ian.settle1]

The biggest mistake I ever made was marrying the Sunday School teaching daughter of a bunch of po-faced religious maniacs who had no sense of adventure & even less sense of humour !!!!

Was going to make a comment but then realised it was in the main forum and not the arms.

 

[axel132132]

Remembered a few more

One was working in a hospital again as an apprentice this time i was working with the builders taking down a wall, we smashed through it with sledge hammers going crazy at the ******* thing (Was on a saturday) next thing you know.. Dust set of smoke alarm

FULL HOSPITAL evacuated.. People going crazy it was absolutely mental! Luckily we didnt get into too much trouble as the caretaker was supposed to have turned them off.


Another being not me an apprentice i worked with for old company, i said to her (Yes a female apprentice).. Dont step on that board there as its plasterboard you will go straight through.. Bearing in mind the was a commerical unit not a house the drop to the floor below was about 3 meters maybe more.. I turn around go downstairs to check something CRASH BANG WALLOP.. i think OMG No way, walk around the corner there she is lying on the floor!! Luckily she was ok and stood back up, i said what happened she said ''i forgot that you told me not to step on the board so i stepped on it by accident".. She was sent home lol! The only saving grace for her stupidity WAS that there was fibreglass ontop of the board that she stood on lol!

 

[Geordie Spark]

Remembered a few more

One was working in a hospital again as an apprentice this time i was working with the builders taking down a wall, we smashed through it with sledge hammers going crazy at the ******* thing (Was on a saturday) next thing you know.. Dust set of smoke alarm

FULL HOSPITAL evacuated.. People going crazy it was absolutely mental! Luckily we didnt get into too much trouble as the caretaker was supposed to have turned them off.


Another being not me an apprentice i worked with for old company, i said to her (Yes a female apprentice).. Dont step on that board there as its plasterboard you will go straight through.. Bearing in mind the was a commerical unit not a house the drop to the floor below was about 3 meters maybe more.. I turn around go downstairs to check something CRASH BANG WALLOP.. i think OMG No way, walk around the corner there she is lying on the floor!! Luckily she was ok and stood back up, i said what happened she said ''i forgot that you told me not to step on the board so i stepped on it by accident".. She was sent home lol! The only saving grace for her stupidity WAS that there was fibreglass ontop of the board that she stood on lol!

Blonde by any chance ???

 

[axel132132]

Yep and was born German

 

[Guest123]

Marrying my ex wife.......biggest mistake I EVER made!!!!

Sent from my BlackBerry 9800 using Tapatalk

 

[mickys86]

My sisters house has hollow walls. I've no idea what they are but I'll post a pic, someone will know. I was an apprentice and Was doing her dining room under supervision of my boss who came in and instructed me what to do. "put a bigger box in for the switch in case they want a dimmer." he goes. I get the scutch chisel out and ever so gently taping the wall to try and make it bigger. Next thing ya know a hole appears and I can put my whole arm through her wall. Luckily she laughed about it and they also stopped taking the p about it now

 

[ayjay]

ive got many cock-ops
i was wiring a lighting point for a linen cupboard in a hotel from the loft above, and a carpenter was fitting a new lock to the cupboard door at the same time
i slipped off the joist that i was knelt on, onto the plasterboard ceiling-the complete sheet of plasterboard came away with me on top of it, he had just closed the cupboard door to test the lock
he nearly crapped himself when he opened it to find me sat on the floor inside on the unbroken sheet of p/board

 

[ayjay]

another-but worse than the other post about the soil pipe--
was working in an old office building , the plumber removed the 4 inch soil pipe bend to re-route it, this left the existing pipe sticking out of the wall at abt a metre above the floor
he was fitting a new toilet and was sitting on the floor by the pipe outlet
someone decided to have a dump in the toileton the floor above- above even though it had 2 lenghths of batten blocking the door
next thing it a VERY irate crap covererd plumber,shouting and cursing, he even had bits of pink toilet roll on his boiler suite
and turds all over the floor

 

[sparks1973]

My sisters house has hollow walls. I've no idea what they are but I'll post a pic, someone will know. I was an apprentice and Was doing her dining room under supervision of my boss who came in and instructed me what to do. "put a bigger box in for the switch in case they want a dimmer." he goes. I get the scutch chisel out and ever so gently taping the wall to try and make it bigger. Next thing ya know a hole appears and I can put my whole arm through her wall. Luckily she laughed about it and they also stopped taking the p about it now
View attachment 13970

some kind of seismic brick maybe?

 

[sparks1973]

Ok so why did it take the on site sparky 45 mins, after ripping the board to bits, to reset it?

I still don't know because I was too embarrassed to ask him lol. Funny, just funny.

you should have had the front to go and ask him then Paul....as i would have gone and asked him.....maybe he was going for gold on it....

 

[Guest123]

ive got many cock-ops

Well, I hope it's all better soon!!!:ninja:

 

[maffa ent]

haha love these!

as an apprentice, one of my colleagues finished his pyro cubicle job miles before anyone else? but no compound in pots!

i drilled into cavity wall for shower cable, then saw neighbour through glass of ffony door, leaning over wall and knocking on the door - turns out it wasn't a cavity after all!

 

[Paullestrange]

About Thirty years ago,i decided i wanted to be an Electrician,i should of thought bigger,crap money now i was on more 15 yrs ago,should of been a pilot

 

[Will_D]

ha ha brilliant

Same joiner told me a story that I was in tears at laughing...They had just done an extension and fitted a new bathroom suite but the waste pipe wasnt connected, so word was spread not to use the toilet and a sign put up too, joiner and builders leave for the day and theres only 2 people left on site...Next day my mate turns up first to find poo splatered all down the back of the new extension, someone had only used the toilet, site managers going mad becuase of the stains left in the dry toilet and the stains all down the back of the house...but neither of the lads wouldnt own up to it...so good morning for him having to jet wash it all off...classic...

Reminds me of the new loo on a site that WAS connected Ok - just that there was no bog roll. Up goes the youngster, does the works - "S***e no paper" -"Oh whats this yellow fluffy stuff? - that'll do nicely" says youngster

Moral:

Never ever use fibre glass insulation to wipe your a**e

Will