Working Conditions

[dmagyar]

Crawl space under a house

Crawl space under a house

Working in a crawl space under a house, where the meter connections had been tapped and a second 200 amp panel was located under the porch. I got the job of tearing out the illegal installation and restoring all the loads to the original panel. I didn't see the 6' rattlesnake slithering out from under the house until I was almost done. I found an assortment of small cat sized animal skeletons which also added to the dread of working under the house.

Another time I was under a house and all the space available was about 10" under the flooring rafters. I couldn't roll over so I had to crawl face up till I got to the location then try to work. That time I didn't have any company under the house which was great.

Thirdly was working at Coalstrip Montana, alongside the conveyor system feeding the coal fired power houses located there. My Dad and I were teamed up together working in a chest deep trench running a rack full of 4" ridgid. At the end of the day when we returned to the "man-camp", we took off our sun glasses to uncover the only portions of ourselved not covered with coal tailing dust. It was like bathing in dry black talcum powder, I only lasted ten days before having to quit. That was my first taste of "Traveling".

 

[LarryFine]

Chicken processing plant. You won't eat chicken for a long time afterwards.

After reading this thread, I may never eat again.







Yeah, right.

 

[cowboyjwc]

Wow, after reading some of these stories, I am never ever ever ever ever gonna complain again.

I'm kinda like you. My worse day would be great compared to some of these stories.

 

[SAC]

Ok - 80 degrees, all day, for months on end! The AC just couldn't cut it our office building!

 

[peter d]

Chicken processing plant. You won't eat chicken for a long time afterwards.

Like a day or two after?

 

[chris1971]

Below 0 working conditions always stink.

 

[Cow]

Mivey wins!

I do a lot of dairy work, some guys don't care for it, but cow poop is mostly grass and hay. :grin: What always grossed me out was doing work on wastewater treatment plants. The workers there are always hosing off the clarifiers that churn the waste and a mist would always be in the air from the high pressure hose. When that mist hits you in the face, the only thing I'm thinking is "dammit my mouth was open!!"

 

[e57]

A residential program for homeless and degenerates.... The filth and grime were one aspect - the biohazards another - but the worst was having to deal with the mentaly ill... I was doing code corrections, and repairs to neglected buildings used as flea bag hotels for decades - that were taken over by the city as a number of them had burned down....

 

[macmikeman]

Ok - 80 degrees, all day, for months on end!

How about for 30-40 years on end. Not so bad once you get used to it.

 

[ohmhead]

Well you better sit down for this ! FAT BONES & GREASE PLANT

One job we did years ago here in central florida the name was the

LD PLANT .

It processes dead animal remains your local farms and you local animal humane SPCA cats & dogs come to this plant daily they actually pay you for the weight of the truck load and i mean truck load . Also each restaurant in florida has a 50 gallon green LD plant drum which they pick up every week like a dumster to the plant and use the old grease for recycle .

Now they process and ship this to dog food plants and the products made from this is also lip balm chap stick lip stick yes lipstick .

Soaps ect ect and the main process was the animal blood they make aircraft fire foam from animal blood to fight fires at you local airport and that foam they spray on the aircraft you can actually eat not me but you can .

Heres what i have seen a truck comes in with drums full of cats and dogs they go into a screw pit then run down a processing line ill never forget the first truck .

This is a major industrial plant one of many in the usa some of the products are shipped to soap companys in Italy they make high dollar soaps .

If you need pictures just ask i will not just post because it might offend some its not for everyone .

No one eats lunch at that job site !

 

[LarryFine]

"Soylent Green is people!"

 

[augie47]

Well you better sit down for this ! FAT BONES & GREASE PLANT

One job we did years ago here in central florida the name was the

LD PLANT .

It processes dead animal remains your local farms and you local animal humane SPCA cats & dogs come to this plant daily they actually pay you for the weight of the truck load and i mean truck load . Also each restaurant in florida has a 50 gallon green LD plant drum which they pick up every week like a dumster to the plant and use the old grease for recycle .

Now they process and ship this to dog food plants and the products made from this is also lip balm chap stick lip stick yes lipstick .

Soaps ect ect and the main process was the animal blood they make aircraft fire foam from animal blood to fight fires at you local airport and that foam they spray on the aircraft you can actually eat not me but you can .

Heres what i have seen a truck comes in with drums full of cats and dogs they go into a screw pit then run down a processing line ill never forget the first truck .

This is a major industrial plant one of many in the usa some of the products are shipped to soap companys in Italy they make high dollar soaps .

If you need pictures just ask i will not just post because it might offend some its not for everyone .

No one eats lunch at that job site !

We had one of those locally. The fellows who worked their daily ate their lunches on site. When they went to the supply houses wearing work clothes, they might be last in, but they were assisted immediately and encourgaed to be first out.
Fortunately most of my work there was in auxilary buildings....upwind

 

[Electron_Sam78]

A hot summer day in a tight attic -it was about 150 degrees in there- trying to run a circuit down the wall that meets the roof. I was squeezed against the boards on top of the ceiling joists and with my head against the roof deck getting poked by the nails sticking through and my arms stretched forward as far as I could reach. I came out soaking wet, covered in dust and insulation, and nearly suffering heat exhaustion.

 

[ohmhead]

We had one of those locally. The fellows who worked their daily ate their lunches on site. When they went to the supply houses wearing work clothes, they might be last in, but they were assisted immediately and encourgaed to be first out.
Fortunately most of my work there was in auxilary buildings....upwind

Well augie the guys who worked at the plant used to eat a sandwich at break time in front of my helper they knew he had a weak spot working there they did it just to get my helper sick he would take off running kinda upset his insides a bit .

Funny part was the plant workers used to tell him dont run outside its ok just do it in the screw pit and we can recycle it well off he went again lots of hours lost on that job .

We did the whole plant and got paid good money to work there during the operation when they fully opened operations in plant .

I got one story about a fruit packing plant but ill wait not just yet you may not eat fruit for a few weeks .

Take care

 

[dmagyar]

Normal situation here around Sacramento

Normal situation here around Sacramento

A hot summer day in a tight attic -it was about 150 degrees in there- trying to run a circuit down the wall that meets the roof. I was squeezed against the boards on top of the ceiling joists and with my head against the roof deck getting poked by the nails sticking through and my arms stretched forward as far as I could reach. I came out soaking wet, covered in dust and insulation, and nearly suffering heat exhaustion.

Electron_Sam78, thats half the fun in the summers here in Northern California. Sacramento gets nice and hot, and thats when the phone starts ringing with potential customers wanting to finally get that ceiling fan installed. I've come out to the truck many times dripping wet down to my underwear. I especially like those homes with the cellulose insulation, it may not itch as bad as the pink fiber-glas but it makes up for that with the choking dust. One homeowner just had added another 12" to what they had before they figured out that they wanted more recessed lighting, what a joy.

 

[PetrosA]

A hot summer day in a tight attic -it was about 150 degrees in there- trying to run a circuit down the wall that meets the roof. I was squeezed against the boards on top of the ceiling joists and with my head against the roof deck getting poked by the nails sticking through and my arms stretched forward as far as I could reach. I came out soaking wet, covered in dust and insulation, and nearly suffering heat exhaustion.

That's one thing I'm very careful about. I've been in one attic as hot as 160F and a lot above 140F. Don't work jobs like that alone and don't stay up there very long. You won't even know it when you lose consciousness and with some of these damn two story foyers in homes now, you might not survive the fall.

 

[chris1971]

Yes attics suck in the summer.

 

[electricguy61]

1) Working under a house where they let an old dog sleep. Came out from under the house and was kind of itchy. Started finding fleas on me. Got home, stripped off in the garage, hundreds of fleas on me. I got bitten so many times I had an allergic reaction and had to go to the emergency clinic for treatment.

2) Working under a house, real tight crawl space (like where you have to exhale to get past some spots), face down, just kind of pointing myself in the general direction because there wasn't enough room to lift my head in many spots. Raised my head up, shined the flashlight, and a scorpion was hanging in front of my eyes. It was dead, in a spider web, but I freaked out, but I was so far away from the opening and it was so tight I couldn't do anything but breathe deep and calm down.

3) The skunk that crawled under my own home, tried to crawl through an abandoned dryer vent, got stuck and died. I actually hired somebody to get it out because I couldn't stand the smell long enough to get to it.

 

[mivey]

Yes attics suck in the summer.

Especially if they have ridge vents. :grin:

 

[mivey]

That's one thing I'm very careful about. I've been in one attic as hot as 160F and a lot above 140F. Don't work jobs like that alone and don't stay up there very long. You won't even know it when you lose consciousness and with some of these damn two story foyers in homes now, you might not survive the fall.

I have been in attics where you could hardly breathe. I have had to work with one of those squirrel cage fans blowing directly on me. Never do this type of work alone as you need somebody around in case you pass out.

I made the mistake of crawling way back in an attic one time by myself. I thought I could get out before it got hot but time got away from me. I was a long way from the scuttle hole when I realized I was about to black out. I wound up crawling back over the rafters in stages and pulling the insulation back from the ceiling to get some cooler air to breathe. You will be amazed at how much cool air comes into the attic around A/C vent holes, recessed cans, etc.