Bad Work

 
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Old 12-23-2006, 01:37 AM   #1
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Bad Work


In the service game, there never seems to be a shortage of bad workmanship I have to repair.
Two days in a row I had one silly call after the next.
First call... guy had no hot water anywhere in the house, but had hot/warm water coming out the cold side. He had a dusty circ pump at the W/H and I could hear it humming away. I went outside and opened the hose bibb, and HOT water came out. His sprinklers kicked on while I was there, and just for giggs I felt the water..HOT!!
I knocked the dust off of his circ pump to find it had been installed backwards.

Next call...T+P popping off, but only when it's cold outside. Another "plumber" was out there for the same problem but couldn't fix it. He installed a new T+P valve, an expansion tank, and a new single element thermostat.
First thing I did was check his PSI...95.
Then I look at the heater. Expansion tank with a 40 PSI pre-charge on the HOT side and the thermostat (set at 120) is hovering at least 1/2" off the tank rendering 140 degree water.

Next day...A leak in the ceiling had been repaired by a "plumber" a few months ago and after re-sheetrocking, had returned to drip through into the kitchen. I tore open the ceiling to find a pin-hole pipe leak in a 1" copper line, with a repair made by a cross-section of rubber coupling and two hose clamps.
I almost burst out laughing when I saw it, and I should have thrown that other guy under the bus, but I played it off and got paid. I didn't want to get in the middle of that. I never know how to tell homeowners that the last "plumber" was an idiot.

All you bad plumbers ...STOP IT!!!
There...I feel better.

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Old 12-23-2006, 01:50 AM   #2
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Re: Bad Work


it's everywhere...

a house waste plumbed with sch 40 pvc with pressure fittings...

just recently a house plumbed hot and cold in pvc

a house a contractor did his own plumbing with san tees on their back picking up toilets with reverse grade only supported about every 12-15 feet (he ended up in court with the homeowners)

water heaters on concrete with no pad

copper male adapters right into galvanized fittings

and then there is mobile homes................
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Old 12-23-2006, 09:35 AM   #3
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Re: Bad Work


Quote:
Originally Posted by Squench View Post
In the service game, there never seems to be a shortage of bad workmanship I have to repair.
Two days in a row I had one silly call after the next.
First call... guy had no hot water anywhere in the house, but had hot/warm water coming out the cold side. He had a dusty circ pump at the W/H and I could hear it humming away. I went outside and opened the hose bibb, and HOT water came out. His sprinklers kicked on while I was there, and just for giggs I felt the water..HOT!!
I knocked the dust off of his circ pump to find it had been installed backwards.

Next call...T+P popping off, but only when it's cold outside. Another "plumber" was out there for the same problem but couldn't fix it. He installed a new T+P valve, an expansion tank, and a new single element thermostat.
First thing I did was check his PSI...95.
Then I look at the heater. Expansion tank with a 40 PSI pre-charge on the HOT side and the thermostat (set at 120) is hovering at least 1/2" off the tank rendering 140 degree water.

Next day...A leak in the ceiling had been repaired by a "plumber" a few months ago and after re-sheetrocking, had returned to drip through into the kitchen. I tore open the ceiling to find a pin-hole pipe leak in a 1" copper line, with a repair made by a cross-section of rubber coupling and two hose clamps.
I almost burst out laughing when I saw it, and I should have thrown that other guy under the bus, but I played it off and got paid. I didn't want to get in the middle of that. I never know how to tell homeowners that the last "plumber" was an idiot.

All you bad plumbers ...STOP IT!!!
There...I feel better.


you should be thanking the bad plumbers. without them, you'd habe to work hard for a living.
mahlere is offline  


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