The Construction Thread

[rosco rathbone]

I saw a guy hook a high voltage line into a low voltage control box accidentally.

When he flipped the main switch, the cover of the control box blew off.

This was for a large machine in a factory. Insurance covered that one. Took a couple days for the new control box and electronics to arrive.

The electrician got laid off not soon after for that boo-boo.

Turd, what's your trade? I like this side of you better than the wikipedia-whackjob side.

 

[Hester]

i hung a picture on the wall the other day.

 

[thør]

i hung a picture on the wall the other day.

I'd bet you didn't wear your safety glasses.......

 

[rosco rathbone]

i hung a picture on the wall the other day.

I was wondering when you'd turn up and regale us with some masonry tales.

 

[sufisaint]

Back in my concrete cutting days, I drove a 4,000 gal water truck over a four ton bridge...

 

[rosco rathbone]

and promptly had her thumbs sheared off.

Oh fuck, that made my thumbs itch.

I had a tale to tell about a similar situation ,but I realised after I'd typed it up that I'd told it already here.

 

[thør]

Back in my concrete cutting days, I drove a 4,000 gal water truck over a four ton bridge...

Did you live?

 

[sufisaint]

Did you live?

floored it and heard some awful noises..but it stood up...we went back later that day in some guys pick up truck..called the township anonmously complaing about big construction trucks driving over the bridge..just to be safe.

 

[thør]

floored it and heard some awful noises..but it stood up...we went back later that day in some guys pick up truck..called the township anonmously complaing about big construction trucks driving over the bridge..just to be safe.

Hopefully, the engineers got a little work out of it.....

 

[sufisaint]

Hopefully, the engineers got a little work out of it.....

never went back there again...

 

[rosco rathbone]

That tale reminded me of this movie which is awesome:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wages_of_Fear

So you ran one of those big concrete saws? I've only worked around them on one job. We had to reinforce all around an elevator shaft in a building that used to be a parking garage but was being converted to a fancy apartment building (Manhattan --I don't want to think about all the lead and shit right on the other side of people's sheetrock). Then they came behind us, set up tracks and sawed the load bearing walls right out. I was on that job , on the roof, when the planes hit the WTC.

 

[sufisaint]

That tale reminded me of this movie which is awesome:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wages_of_Fear

So you ran one of those big concrete saws? I've only worked around them on one job. We had to reinforce all around an elevator shaft in a building that used to be a parking garage but was being converted to a fancy apartment building (Manhattan --I don't want to think about all the lead and shit right on the other side of people's sheetrock). Then they came behind us, set up tracks and sawed the load bearing walls right out. I was on that job , on the roof, when the planes hit the WTC.

I did mostly road sawing and a little core drilling...the only wall sawing I did was in an old jewerly store taking down the old safe room...rebar just thrown in randomly...it sucked... Road sawing..you don't know how many idiots drive right threw sites..

 

[rosco rathbone]

I did mostly road sawing and a little core drilling...the only wall sawing I did was in an old jewerly store taking down the old safe room...rebar just thrown in randomly...it sucked... Road sawing..you don't know how many idiots drive right threw sites..

Those blades go right through the rebar, I thought?

I know something about morons on the road from flagging around rigs and backing trucks into jobs in the city. Still, the highway has to be worse.

 

[sufisaint]

Those blades go right through the rebar, I thought?

I know something about morons on the road from flagging around rigs and backing trucks into jobs in the city. Still, the highway has to be worse.

diamond blades do...but you had move slow threw it and its not good for the blade..

One of the guys I worked with was killed about 2 years after I left...70 year old women ran him over

 

[Xander]

Concrete sawing story. In a small scale, compared to you guys.

Last spring we were putting in a basement bathroom, and we had to saw out a good part of the concrete floor to be able to run the plumbing to code.

Well we all knew that running a gas powered saw in a confined space, there is a great chance of carbon monoxide poisoning.
So we took every precaution we could, putting in fans to blow out whatever the saws were blowing out.
It wasn't enough and unfortunately 3 of us, including myself, got carbon monoxide poisoning and the 3 of us, were out of commission for 2 days after that.

Needless to say, we're very weary about sawing concrete now.

 

[rosco rathbone]

Concrete sawing story. In a small scale, compared to you guys.

Last spring we were putting in a basement bathroom, and we had to saw out a good part of the concrete floor to be able to run the plumbing to code.

Well we all knew that running a gas powered saw in a confined space, there is a great chance of carbon monoxide poisoning.
So we took every precaution we could, putting in fans to blow out whatever the saws were blowing out.
It wasn't enough and unfortunately 3 of us, including myself, got carbon monoxide poisoning and the 3 of us, were out of commission for 2 days after that.

Needless to say, we're very weary about sawing concrete now.

I'm trying to think how you'd get around that on a budget. What I've seen is fume-eaters and fan systems. You were using a demo saw/chopsaw/deck saw, right?

 

[Xander]

I'm trying to think how you'd get around that on a budget. What I've seen is fume-eaters and fan systems. You were using a demo saw/chopsaw/deck saw, right?

Well I work in rural Michigan, and here it's really all about who you know, when handling jobs like that. One of my buddies owns one of those saws, and he has a sewer company as well, so the company I work for, and his company trade favors all the time.
I was using a hand held 18 inch diamond blade saw, and my boss was using the wheel based 22 inch diamond blade saw.

In hindsight we were stupid thinking that what we had would give enough ventilation. But we needed it done, and the house owner paid big bucks for us to do it fast.

Our fans wasn't enough at all. But we got it done, and once the need to projectile vomit passed. We finished it in 2 days.

 

[huskie]

I'd bet you didn't wear your safety glasses.......

I'm calling OSHA

 

[Jimi]

Slowlane, it's good to see you. I'd like to see the nonunion side represented here as well.

My eyes have been opened re comp this year. There's been a lot of talk about how to reduce abuses of the comp system. Obviously, it's strangling the little guy.

I only employ helpers who carry their own insurance. A one-man band is SO much easier to manage, than a latent bureaucracy... ESPECIALLY when there are nailguns, powertools and ladders in the equation!

 

[rosco rathbone]

I only employ helpers who carry their own insurance. A one-man band is SO much easier to manage, than a latent bureaucracy... ESPECIALLY when there are nailguns, powertools and ladders in the equation!

So what's your trade? Are you hiring journeymen, with independent insurance? Independent contractors is what they call them here.

 

[Jimi]

So what's your trade? Are you hiring journeymen, with independent insurance? Independent contractors is what they call them here.

Same here.

Me, I'm a "General" with a focus on the repair/renovation side. STRICTLY residential... kitchens, baths and the like. I only hire painters, "sparkies" and plumbers if it's a real time-crunch, or big code issues are found.

The IBEW has Ontario SO sewn up, it's a crime... Oy!

 

[rosco rathbone]

Same here.

Me, I'm a "General" with a focus on the repair/renovation side. STRICTLY residential... kitchens, baths and the like. I only hire painters, "sparkies" and plumbers if it's a real time-crunch, or big code issues are found.

The IBEW has Ontario SO sewn up, it's a crime... Oy!

From what I hear, the Canadian unions are far stronger. The IBEW does not have their fingers in residential contracting pies in the USA as far as I know.

 

[Jimi]

From what I hear, the Canadian unions are far stronger. The IBEW does not have their fingers in residential contracting pies in the USA as far as I know.

Don't be so sure... Anyway, unless the HOMEOWNER does the work "downstream" of the panel, it must be a licenced Journeyman. In the City of Ottawa, they've decreed no more Journeymen "moonlighting"... MUST be a corporate employee of/ or the holder of a Master's Licence electrician.

 

[Hester]

I'd bet you didn't wear your safety glasses.......

i was wearing a welding helmet. which explains why i hung it upside down.

 

[rosco rathbone]

i was wearing a welding helmet. which explains why i hung it upside down.

So you got your machine? Did you fabricate your milking stand yet?