What's The Worst That Can Happen?

[cr0ft]

I thought with all the talk of a 'double dip' recession us plumbers would need a funny thread to keep morale up. Let's hear the funniest (looking back) things that have happened to you as a plumber.

If ever you are in doubt that new-build plumbing standards are slipping in Britain, here's my story! Happened to me on Thursday whilst fixing 2 leaks on a back-to-wall WC.

The first leak was a sewage leak from the back of the pan which the customer noticed dripping through their ground floor ceiling. So I did the usual thing, open up the cabinet, unscrew the pan from the tiled floor. Next I removed the pan carefully then heard a large amount of running water from the back of the pan. Of course, being against a cabinet I couldn't see where it was coming from. Definitely not the cistern, that's been flushed and isolated already. Hmm.

Then the bits of poo started coming out all over the floor. Hmm, I don't think water should be flowing out of the soil pipe at the back of the toilet, this is a new one...

Then I looked at the soil pipe. What's this, its running uphill from the pan? Surely not... I had to check it twice with my eyes before I could believe it. It turns out the whole run from the back of the WC to the stack runs uphill, yes, uphill - explaining why I had just been soaked in sewage! I guess that explains why the other toilet on the branch sometimes backflows into the one I had removed. I just wish that had been mentioned earlier

Had to be the closest I came to chucking up on the job, but looking back, very funny.

Ok, beat that one!

 

[tamz]

You will come across a LOT worse than that. Sometimes you can't help but take the boak.

Here is a quick one i did when i was about 16.

My tradesman and i were sent to a factory to fix a chocked drain. After a bit checking about, the blockage was found to be in the main line to the sewer out in the car park. The whole factory was backed up.
We started rodding it but didn't have enough rods so as i didn't drive then the tradesman told me to wait there and he would go back to the yard for more rods, about a half hour round trip.
After he had gone i was having a look around and being a keen apprentice i figured as we had 30 or so rods in and not reached it it must only be around 15 or so up from the next manhole.
So i pulled the rods out and climbed down the next manhole (about 15ft deep) and started rodding from the bottom up.
Had about 12 rods in and felt the blockage and a did bit pushing around then i heard it.............i'll never forget the noise it made as 300yds of water came down towards me 15ft down a manhole.
I tried to get up and out but when the water (SH.TE) reaches the manhole it fills it and i was up to the chest before i knew it.
I was standing there in the car park in shock, covered in it just as Archie came back. He just started ****ing himself laughing at me throwing up all over the place.
Got me round to the boiler house and hosed me down then made me strip to my underpants gave me his donkey jacket and made me sit at the back door of the van with the doors open and drove me home.
My mother went into as much shock as i was in and was not going to let me go back to the plumbing, but i did. A bit wiser the next day

Btw If you get the chance read The Acid House by Irvine Welsh. There is a short story about some council workers at a drain in a block of flats. Hilarious and definitely based on something that has happened.

 

[kay-jay]

tamz thats priceless mate!


KJ

 

[cr0ft]

Ah brilliant. Suddenly I feel so much better! Anyone else got any funny tales?

 

[justlead1]

Whilst contracting to a building company carrying out a refurb on a 5 story well known auction house in the West end of London, late seventies. I was tasked to isolate three rads that were fitted in three romms being demolished to form a large area. These rooms hosed lot items, silver ware, books, paintings etc. In the suspended ceiling above the room partitions ran a 1" BI. F&R with 3/4" drops to rads. The plan being to freeze the F&R cut and unscrew back to a thread, then put a couple of pluged gate valves on for future reference. I briefed the two plumbers, who made all the right noises. Left to work on another job local to the auction house. Two hours latter i got call back to the freezing job. The guys had successfully frozen the pipes and cut them. Then realised it was 10 O'clock and went to the cafe for breakfast. The room most effected by the heating system draining down contained books worth thousands of pounds like Samuel Pepe's diary, that sort of thing. For some lucky reason the situation was so dire i was ushered away, and the claims and counter claims were sorted by the main contractor. Like Tamz i am sure. Every time i hear the work freezing i think of this cock up.

 

[Paulplumb]

There was a lad I used to work with who shall remain anonymous for the purpose of this story. This lad was a born natural plumber. I have never seen anything like him, a very gifted lad. However when he was an apprentice he and his boss were installing a system. The customer was at work so they were left to their own devices. Working in the loft space they were doing some hot work and must have caught something flammable and the place had pretty much burnt to the ground by the time the fire brigade got there. They called their customer and told him he had better get back... He took it very well apparently.

 

[plumbandplumber]

Here's mine.

Not long been in the game, when I was replacing some rads at a nice house for a very posh lady.

One of the 2 metre long double rads in the lounge was being replaced due to rust around the valve tail holes and bleed screw. Anyhow, because the area around the bleed screw was so rusty and cruddy, I couldn't unscrew it. So I drained what I thought was the contents of the rad. At the time I didn't think there was much water in the rad.

As I lifted the old rad off the wall, and swung the rad around to head for the door, I found out that because I hadn't been able to undo the bleed screw, there was still plenty of water in the rad. The slight swinging/rotating motion was enough to break the vacuum that was holding the remaining water in the rad.

This water, well black, tar-like fluid, shot out of the unvalved end of the rad and across the room, up the wall, and onto the part of the beige carpet that wasn't covered with sheets.

 

[paulster]

well i was working in a housing scheme in glasgow and got a call from my boss to go and change an immerser as the the water was over heating.simple right!!!
so got to the flat and first things first drain down cylinder i must have been there about 10 mins when the woman let a scream out and was shouting somthing about a rabbit,
so i go into where screaming lady is and find in the veranda/balcony there it was a dead rabbit where my scolding hot water from cylinder had unfortunatly poured out onto its cage the pipe led straight into cage i still got ribbed for it to this day poor rabbit
ps.and yes people in work did take to calling me a bunny boiler for a wee while

 

[PlumbBobBob]

not good.
similar thing happened to me older house system not cleaned for years cream carpet changing valves under bunged vacuum thought all water had stopped coming out after waiting couple of minutes with no flow from rad or valves i just turned round to get the new valves when there was a gurgling and very black sludge came out of the radiator soaking right through the sheets and into the carpet. customer was fine though seeing that i was devastated and couldn't apologise enough. you learn though don't leave valves off radiators even if there is definitely no water in the rad because there will be.

steve

 

[Bernie2]

Err!

Had virtually identical experience to Tamz in an office block. Not funny, well not until afterwards and certainly smelly.

I also went to a house once and reaching into the loft space off a step ladder accidentally got hold of an electric conduit which err! was live. I could not let it go and my legs where jiggling about so much I kicked the ladder away.

My mate ran to get hold of my legs to support me, but the electricity then went through the pair of us and so the two of us where dangling out the loft space and wriggling like a pair of hooked fish. Somehow or other we got free and felt as though we had been battered.

Also cut into a rising main to replace a stop tap, which they had told me was well earthed. Well "Bang" I flew across the bathroom having forgotten to bridge the pipe and woke up with an apprentice looking very concerned but admiring my new Afro.

 

[Guy]

Went out to a job just this saturday. The guy had an emergency one of his pipes was leaking and coming through the ceiling. I went straight out to him, completed the job. Offered to put the floor boards back for him (he had got them up) He said he wanted to do them himself. I invoiced him, went home, got a call 30 mins later saying he had put a nail through another pipe putting the floorboards back. Out i went again, fixed it. While i was out and the water was off he decided to take a radiator off and didn't cap the pipe work, just left open valves. This was in the bedroom and i was working on the landing. I turned the water back on and heard this mighty whoosh! Went into his bedroom and found the open valves. His ceiling has basically come through! Poor bloke i felt sorry for him i really did. Customers really should leave it to the people that know what they're doing. I gave him a 60 quid discount because the poor man really was extremely stressed.

 

[Paulplumb]

hey Guy do you get down the village?

 

[traineedrip]

From another plumber...
Fitting a bathroom the tiler asks if the bath can be filled to settle the level, waste is fitted but not trap. bath is filled tiling done when the customer invites them downstairs for a cold drink. All sitting there around the table when the tiler suddenly says i think we would all like to see the garden, pointing up as the ceiling starts to balloon. Just managed to get customer (who was 8 months pregnant) clear before the ceiling dropped. Turns out the ladies toddler had been told off for leaving the bath full and decided he didnt want the plumber to be told off by mum so pulled the plug. Bless him.

 

[moony]

You will come across a LOT worse than that. Sometimes you can't help but take the boak.

Here is a quick one i did when i was about 16.

My tradesman and i were sent to a factory to fix a chocked drain. After a bit checking about, the blockage was found to be in the main line to the sewer out in the car park. The whole factory was backed up.
We started rodding it but didn't have enough rods so as i didn't drive then the tradesman told me to wait there and he would go back to the yard for more rods, about a half hour round trip.
After he had gone i was having a look around and being a keen apprentice i figured as we had 30 or so rods in and not reached it it must only be around 15 or so up from the next manhole.
So i pulled the rods out and climbed down the next manhole (about 15ft deep) and started rodding from the bottom up.
Had about 12 rods in and felt the blockage and a did bit pushing around then i heard it.............i'll never forget the noise it made as 300yds of water came down towards me 15ft down a manhole.
I tried to get up and out but when the water (SH.TE) reaches the manhole it fills it and i was up to the chest before i knew it.
I was standing there in the car park in shock, covered in it just as Archie came back. He just started ****ing himself laughing at me throwing up all over the place.
Got me round to the boiler house and hosed me down then made me strip to my underpants gave me his donkey jacket and made me sit at the back door of the van with the doors open and drove me home.
My mother went into as much shock as i was in and was not going to let me go back to the plumbing, but i did. A bit wiser the next day

Btw If you get the chance read The Acid House by Irvine Welsh. There is a short story about some council workers at a drain in a block of flats. Hilarious and definitely based on something that has happened.

haha just read that out to the missus - 16 yrs old mate i would of cried haha