Collateral damage

[ishium 80439]

Anyone who has worked residential or retail has done it. Broken something, drilled through something unintended, marked up a rug etc. My typical reaction is to do the best I can to minimize the apparent damage and than tell the owner. My question is if you do a good enough job of putting it back together are you "covering up" or did you fix the problem?

In the past I remember drilling through a built in cabinet. It was in the back corner and wasn't visible unless you really looked for it. I happened to have some wood putty (it was actually almost like an epoxy) on the truck and was able to cover the hole and sand it down to a level finish. I never told the HO about it. Was that wrong or did I fix the problem?

This comes up because today I was pulling out a previously installed old work recessed light and the paint stuck to the rim. When I pulled it out I ripped off some paint w/ it. I was all ready to give the HO the number of my painter to redo the ceiling but when I put the can back in I was able to match up the chip and the texture of the ceiling was such that I was able to spread some mud on it and it pretty much went away. I'll admit it wasn't perfect and that if you look right at it you can see the rip, but I truly feel that it will be invisible to virtually everyone who goes into that house.

So did I do wrong by not bringing the HO's attention to it or did I fix the problem? (And any other tales of breaking stuff would be fun to hear)

 

[jumper]

Well if you want to know about all the things I have drilled, cut, knocked over, ran into, scuffed, burned up, or similarly damaged or broke, then this is going to be one long post.

I always tell my boss and let him decide what to do. If he finds out from a client rather than me, he is going to be 5 times as mad.

If you are an independent EC, than no one but you can answer the question on what you do.

 

[e57]

So did I do wrong by not bringing the HO's attention to it or did I fix the problem? (And any other tales of breaking stuff would be fun to hear)

No - by bringing it up - you exhibit integrity. Some people like that more than taking the damage out of you....

Ya know them 6' flexible drill bits... I'll never use one ever again due to drilling into the house next door - pushed a Rockwell painting (real one) to the side at the frame - saved my employer from owning it. While fishing some wire I was drilling and noticed sheetrock dust - was trying to figure out where it came from when the door bell rang.... Frantic woman from next door showed me where it came out - ~3/8" behind the edge of the frame - pushed it over with no damage... Thankfully was a little patchwork - on both sides of the wall.... And did not require an Appraiser...

That said - I've saved lots of money being up front with stuff I break... Some of considerable value...

Former employer owns lots of dent and scratch high end non-matching furnature....

 

[growler]

So did I do wrong by not bringing the HO's attention to it or did I fix the problem? (And any other tales of breaking stuff would be fun to hear)

If I think that there will ever be a problem then I just ask the homeowner if the repair is acceptable.

Most people won't worry about it but you will get some ( very few ) that will.

I really wouldn't worry about it, it sounds as if you did a pretty good repair job.

If they do notice it is there anyone that doesn't speak english that you can blame it on????:grin::grin::grin: I got the idea from the Simpsons.

 

[mcclary's electrical]

Sliding a stove into place,,,,gave a slight nudge in the front with my knee.






SHATTERED the glass right in front of the homeowner. All my profit of the install goes toward new door.






Chasing wire into wall to add data lines. In the attic I found what I thought was the top of the wall. There was a nailer offset on top of the wall,so when I drilled in the center of it,,,,,I missed the wall and drilled right through a finished ceiling.




Running a trencher for a local sherriffs office. I can see the pole light, I can see the conduit coming down the wall, I ASS-ume that the conduit is at least 18" deep, as it should be. I ran the blad up to about 6" and came accross the pipe, ripped the whole conduit right off the side of the building and wrapped it up in trencher.



Opened up a trench through concrete to move a 400 HP motor. Running along beside the trench with Bobcat cleaning up mess. A huge chunk of concrete broke off under the bobcat, and toppled the bobcat and I on our side right over in the ditch. What a ride




Installing a VFD w/ dynamic braking on a 400 hp motor. Had parameters set wrong for decel time. First time we stopped it, there was so much inirtia it couldn't stop in that short of time,(but it tried) blew a fuse in a 750 padmount xfmr, shutting a huge portion of this plant down




AS Jumper said, this could be a long post:grin:

 

[e57]

If they do notice it is there anyone that doesn't speak english that you can blame it on????:grin::grin::grin: I got the idea from the Simpsons.

I know a painter that went and got a dog from a closed room to chuck into a 5 gallon spill to blame it on - it apprently worked but I don't suggest or advocate such....

 

[growler]

I know a painter that went and got a dog from a closed room to chuck into a 5 gallon spill to blame it on - it apprently worked but I don't suggest or advocate such....

Neither do I, that's terrible to blame things like that on dogs. I like to have a cat around for emergency situations like that. :grin:

 

[jumper]

Neither do I, that's terrible to blame things like that on dogs. I like to have a cat around for emergency situations like that. :grin:

IMO, that's the ticket:grin:

 

[jeremysterling]

Collateral finish damage is inevitable. Today was greasy fingerprints on the
ceiling tile. Coworker recommended a white powder athletes' foot spray for cover-up.

In my first year of apprenticeship, I installed a recept while sitting on a beautifully finished hard wood floor in nice house. When I stood, I gasped in horror at the gouges the lacing hooks of my work boots had carved in the floor. At the right viewing angle they were easily discernible.

I told my journeyman, but he downplayed it. I learned a lesson that day. Even though it was over twenty years ago, I still remember the pattern I left in the customer's floor.

 

[cadpoint]

Where's a knife in all this?

 

[e57]

Neither do I, that's terrible to blame things like that on dogs. I like to have a cat around for emergency situations like that. :grin:

I'm a cat person so of course I think the dog should be put down solely for all the other crap he obviously has done - since it's a dog and in it's nature.

I have fantasized about a bronze statue of a flaming dog in a lions teeth being shaken to death in its jaws on my front lawn to scare other dogs away from pissing on my lawn. And I would not mind the gas bill...

 

[okeefe]

I am not using 6' flexible bits anymore too. I once drilled through the exterior sidding of a nice home. I am alway honest and explain what I did.

 

[PetrosA]

Using a 3/4" auger bit I missed a wall and came up through an oak floor about a foot into an archway. I went and got some 3/4" dowel and plugged and sanded it as best I could.

I've left marks on the floor from my lacing eyes as well. I'm constantly searching for a better boot design.

Long long ago I was running an AC line into a 2nd floor classroom of a Sunday school. Exterior finish was stone and my bit blasted out about a 5" circle around the hole. I didn't have any way to get up there to fix it so I left it. Still haunts me

I don't know if this counts or not, but since at the time I was in a company truck, I'll add the story. I was behind a trash truck at a red light, two lane street in either direction. Once the light turned green, I check my mirror, signaled and went to pass him. A few seconds later I hear a strange sound and I see the bottom of a car in my rear view mirror. Some guy must have been flying behind the cars behind me, went to pass us all, I got in his way and he veered into the median strip which sent him flying. I had nightmares for years that the guy was going to hunt the company down and file a lawsuit, but it never happened.

 

[jaylectricity]

The other day I was cutting in a new exhaust fan in a customer's smoking room. He has 4 recessed lights in there and while cutting I nicked the leg between two of them. No big deal, the cans were 6-7 feet apart, I figured I'd just replace the 14-2 between them...take me 20 minutes total to fish the wire and make up the new splices.

So I do that and go to test it out. It's one of those electronic push-type Lutron dimmers and it shorts out. After 30 minutes of rechecking the splices and checking continuity I find that the thermal cutout in one of the cans is shorting out depending on the positioning of the wires.

If I left everything be, I never would have found the faulty cutout switch. But I also wouldn't have burned the dimmer. Luckily I explained the situation to the HO and he bought another dimmer while he was out and I replaced the burned out one.

He could have been a jerk, but in the end I got paid for everything I did.

 

[jaylectricity]

I am not using 6' flexible bits anymore too. I once drilled through the exterior sidding of a nice home. I am alway honest and explain what I did.

I hate those flexible bits, but not because of the trouble they cause...I can't seem to get one hole drilled before they go dull on me.

I had a grinder at my disposal to sharpen the bit at one job and I had to sharpen it three times before I could get the bit to drill through 5" of wood.

 

[growler]

I have fantasized about a bronze statue of a flaming dog in a lions teeth being shaken to death in its jaws on my front lawn to scare other dogs away from pissing on my lawn. And I would not mind the gas bill...

So, I take it you didn't cry when they had to shoot "Old Yellar". :-? If you ever go blind maybe you will end up with a seeing-eye cat. When home invaders come in you will be protected by your guard cat? When you are buried by an avalanche you will wait around for a St. Garfield cat to come find you ( little wine cooler strapped around his neck ).

We dog people take care of our dogs and our dogs take care of us ( except maybe at the track, then sometimes ).

 

[jaylectricity]

So, I take it you didn't cry when they had to shoot "Old Yellar". :-? If you ever go blind maybe you will end up with a seeing-eye cat. When home invaders come in you will be protected by your guard cat? When you are buried by an avalanche you will wait around for a St. Garfield cat to come find you ( little wine cooler strapped around his neck ).

We dog people take care of our dogs and our dogs take care of us ( except maybe at the track, then sometimes ).

According to your avatar, your guard dog appears to be sleeping.

 

[PetrosA]

My first wife was not a dog lover, my present wife (and mother of my child) is.

Life's simple

I'm really back and forth about getting a flex bit. I know they are the right tool for certain jobs, but man am I afraid to use them in kitchen ceilings... and that's where they are the most useful!

 

[Cow]

My helper and I had a good one. We were at a good customers house installing a hot tub disconnect. We had the bright idea to drill from the outside of the house at an angle down into the crawlspace. I was trying to avoid core drilling the foundation. My helper started drilling when I heard the screaming.....The woman was on her toilet when she saw the drill bit come out through the wall and plunge back into the flooring right in front of her. Fortunately, the hole was still close enough to the wall that all we had to replace was the cove molding. We even let her pick the new color

We ended up core drilling the foundation...:roll:

The lesson here is don't try this on a house with 2x6 tongue and groove flooring on post and beam construction. If there had been floor joists I would of had the room to do it!!

 

[LarryFine]

I refuse to respond to the OP on the grounds that it may tend to incriminate me.

I'm a cat person so of course I think the dog should be put down solely for all the other crap he obviously has done - since it's a dog and in it's nature.

PJ and me, too. :grin:

I have fantasized about a bronze statue of a flaming dog in a lions teeth being shaken to death in its jaws on my front lawn to scare other dogs away from pissing on my lawn.

Well, you are in 'Frisco.