Hello all,ive been doing this as a professional for 23 years,,,, just wondering,do you worry about your jobs after you leave? Lets take something like a basic compression angle stop,how many of you worry about leaks and or floods after youve checked it several times and left the job? Ive been struggling with this lately,the "what ifs". Its driving me mad!Has anything ever went seriously wrong? Share your nightmare!
Dear fellow plumbing professionals - share your nightmares
- Thread starter PP1
- Start date
Help Support Plumbing Forums:
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2014
- Messages
- 8,578
- Reaction score
- 2,976
3 story dorm. job is complete, final walk thru
2nd floor, i see a drp under a sink, i reach in to tighten the nut on aa angle stop, it blows off in my hand.
i drop to the floor, put my palm over the pipe and hold back water.
i am screaming, turn off the water, BUT, building is finished i am in a bathroom on the 2nd floor, ac is running and door is closed
no one can hear me..about 45 minutes later, they are wondering where the hell i am.
they turned off the water, after i was found, i had let out about a gallon of water,
i had a hole in my hand for 2 mths.
or.
you know how the water to the meters is always soft copper ?
the meter was looking down, needed to be leveled to hook up
i reached in the hole, grabed the meter and pulled it up
SNAP pvc not copper
I am instantly in a mud hole. ONLY way to turn this MF off is with a dressor clamp and a valve
easier said than done. 30 minutes later, water off, and i am going home...i dont give a damn good by
2nd floor, i see a drp under a sink, i reach in to tighten the nut on aa angle stop, it blows off in my hand.
i drop to the floor, put my palm over the pipe and hold back water.
i am screaming, turn off the water, BUT, building is finished i am in a bathroom on the 2nd floor, ac is running and door is closed
no one can hear me..about 45 minutes later, they are wondering where the hell i am.
they turned off the water, after i was found, i had let out about a gallon of water,
i had a hole in my hand for 2 mths.
or.
you know how the water to the meters is always soft copper ?
the meter was looking down, needed to be leveled to hook up
i reached in the hole, grabed the meter and pulled it up
SNAP pvc not copper
I am instantly in a mud hole. ONLY way to turn this MF off is with a dressor clamp and a valve
easier said than done. 30 minutes later, water off, and i am going home...i dont give a damn good by
A lot of things occurred when making repairs that you have to keep track of.
Like faucets opened to drain a system.
You turn the water back on and forgot to close that one faucet that had a slow sink drain. As you walk back into the unit the water is overflowing onto the floor.
The one that bothers me the most sometimes is screwing a threaded nipple into a fitting inside a wall. You can't see it to see if it is leaking when you turn water back on. I can only whisper to myself "Hope I don't get that call about something leaking in the wall"
I cleaned a laundry drain through a stand pipe once. I must have knocked out the drain tube form the water softner. Later that night, it cycled and flooded the guys home. Hard wood floors and cost my boss about 30K. He likes me, I'm still working for him.
You've been doing it for 23 yrs. You must have some stories of your own.
I try not to loose any sleep over it. $hit happens.
Check, double check and then check it again. I can be very forgetful about things but I try to focus on what I am doing when I'm working. Especially when I'm burning something inside a wall.
Like faucets opened to drain a system.
You turn the water back on and forgot to close that one faucet that had a slow sink drain. As you walk back into the unit the water is overflowing onto the floor.
The one that bothers me the most sometimes is screwing a threaded nipple into a fitting inside a wall. You can't see it to see if it is leaking when you turn water back on. I can only whisper to myself "Hope I don't get that call about something leaking in the wall"
I cleaned a laundry drain through a stand pipe once. I must have knocked out the drain tube form the water softner. Later that night, it cycled and flooded the guys home. Hard wood floors and cost my boss about 30K. He likes me, I'm still working for him.
You've been doing it for 23 yrs. You must have some stories of your own.
I try not to loose any sleep over it. $hit happens.
Check, double check and then check it again. I can be very forgetful about things but I try to focus on what I am doing when I'm working. Especially when I'm burning something inside a wall.
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2014
- Messages
- 8,578
- Reaction score
- 2,976
i was accused of burning down a house by the home owner. they said i started it on fire fixing a leak
funny thing, the water piping was not copper, it was cpvc
the arson investigator wanted to talk to them after i told him that.
funny thing, the water piping was not copper, it was cpvc
the arson investigator wanted to talk to them after i told him that.
I remember you mentioning that before. You sure you didn't use a torch to warm up the fittings when you fixed the CPVC? I thought everyone did that.
I read it somewhere on the internet. Must be true
I have one incident (that i know of) with a wax seal failing on a second story,(i told him then about the flange needing to be repaired,instead of just a wax replaced,major cheap ass )luckily it was just some drywall and flange the 2nd go around.I worry about the angle stops,of the compressed nature. Sometimes i forget the seriousness of the trade. I just keep thinking "one of these times". Why do the stops fail? Too tight?Or not tight enough? I tighten mine until i hear "the squeak " and haven't had issue. But i still worry myself to death over it!
Last edited:
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2014
- Messages
- 8,578
- Reaction score
- 2,976
if it sets your mind at ease, stop using compression and use sweat stops
seems easy enough to do, do not understand the dilemma
seems easy enough to do, do not understand the dilemma
plumb_bob_square_pants
Well-Known Member
There is one that sticks in my mind that I still worry about years later. I was just a year out of the military and working at an apartment in maintenance. Supervisor was gone for a few days. I get a call for a leaky toilet. Now keep in mind I've done some basic repairs with no, and I mean no training. All self taught, no help on the learning side. Very basic knowledge and just the right amount to get me in trouble...
Pull the toilet and the flange is broke. I call the supervisor and he says there is a repair flange in the shop. I go and get it and take it back to the apartment and look at it and the broken flange. I'm thinking how do you put this on. Don't ask me why but I assume it takes the place of the old flange so I proceed to chip off the old broken flange. Srew the repair flange to the floor, set the wax seal and toilet and give it a flush. Water all over the floor. Pull the toilet and see the seal is too low. How do I fix this on a saturday morning? Two seals I come up with... it worked for the rest of the time I was there. I would go there today and fix it right if I was able and do it for free.
Pull the toilet and the flange is broke. I call the supervisor and he says there is a repair flange in the shop. I go and get it and take it back to the apartment and look at it and the broken flange. I'm thinking how do you put this on. Don't ask me why but I assume it takes the place of the old flange so I proceed to chip off the old broken flange. Srew the repair flange to the floor, set the wax seal and toilet and give it a flush. Water all over the floor. Pull the toilet and see the seal is too low. How do I fix this on a saturday morning? Two seals I come up with... it worked for the rest of the time I was there. I would go there today and fix it right if I was able and do it for free.
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2014
- Messages
- 8,578
- Reaction score
- 2,976
Jackson Mississippi. PTL plumbing "praise the lord'
owner/operator was called out to a house to fix a leak under the house.
he craweled under and fixed a water leak.
when he was finished he presented a bill to the home owner.
owner said, I am not paying that bill, If you had fixed it right the first time, it would not be leaking now
plumber said WHAT? I did not fix your pipes, you need to pay this bill
owner said, You damn sure did ! 10 year ago in that big freeze,
plumber said, I do not remember, but you need to pay this here bill,
owner shot the plumber. dead
true story
owner/operator was called out to a house to fix a leak under the house.
he craweled under and fixed a water leak.
when he was finished he presented a bill to the home owner.
owner said, I am not paying that bill, If you had fixed it right the first time, it would not be leaking now
plumber said WHAT? I did not fix your pipes, you need to pay this bill
owner said, You damn sure did ! 10 year ago in that big freeze,
plumber said, I do not remember, but you need to pay this here bill,
owner shot the plumber. dead
true story
plumb_bob_square_pants
Well-Known Member
Murphy ' law. That could have been me easily.
A lot of things occurred when making repairs that you have to keep track of.
Like faucets opened to drain a system.
You turn the water back on and forgot to close that one faucet that had a slow sink drain. As you walk back into the unit the water is overflowing onto the floor.
The one that bothers me the most sometimes is screwing a threaded nipple into a fitting inside a wall. You can't see it to see if it is leaking when you turn water back on. I can only whisper to myself "Hope I don't get that call about something leaking in the wall"
I cleaned a laundry drain through a stand pipe once. I must have knocked out the drain tube form the water softner. Later that night, it cycled and flooded the guys home. Hard wood floors and cost my boss about 30K. He likes me, I'm still working for him.
You've been doing it for 23 yrs. You must have some stories of your own.
I try not to loose any sleep over it. $hit happens.
Check, double check and then check it again. I can be very forgetful about things but I try to focus on what I am doing when I'm working. Especially when I'm burning something inside a wall.
The owner paid 30 grand? Didnt the insurance pay for that?
Chris
Well-Known Member
I am an underground utility contractor and not a plumber, I worry about leaks all the time mainly because a leak on my lines is usually a flood. We had a fire riser blow out under a building that was two days from opening. It was a 10" line with 155 psi, that is a lot of water. The building was a 300,000 SF freezer for walmart. We got that riser fixed but then had to dig up 12 more to verify the same issue was not going to happen to any others. It was one of my guys using the wrong restraint on the pipe. This problem cost me 110 grand and almost put my company out of business.
Everything we do is a liability and I lose sleep all the time over it. Right now I am getting sued by a lady for tripping over a properly installed steel plate. She didn't even fall, just tripped and it will cost me a bunch.
Everything we do is a liability and I lose sleep all the time over it. Right now I am getting sued by a lady for tripping over a properly installed steel plate. She didn't even fall, just tripped and it will cost me a bunch.
From what I was told, he paid out of pocket. Filling a claim raises his insurance and was better off just to pay it in the long run.
Not my only big BoBoo. He often reminds me of them now and then.
Many times I have been ready to walk and find new pasture to piss in, but I did not get fired when I screwed up big time. So! It's tough to walk away
Chris
Well-Known Member
Same reason I paid 110 grand out of pocket. My rates the next year would have been more than the 110 grand.
