construction stories. the good and the bad

[shithawk420]

When I was locked up I was arm wrestling and beating everybody.anyway this skinny south american comes in,can't speak a word of English.he's interprutor says he can beat me.I look at him and start laughing.he looks like he hasn't eaten in months he's so small and skinny.so I said sure I'll arm wrestle you.I'll tell you guys this now.I have never felt forearm strength like this in my life.nor have I since then.his interprutor said its cause he's a carpenter and swings hammers all day.that's real "man strength".

 

[CoCoSativas]

Ok I was working at a condo building on a golf course during the construction phase and there was this plumber Tom that was working on this 4" PVC drain line.
There were other guy cleaning and gluing on the same line too.
This basement was 10' tall and there was water in the basement .It kinda sucked because of extension cords getting wet and shocking every one.

Well Im walking by and he is trying to glue up this 4" Y fitting off this 8ft ladder and he could not tell if it had made in all the way so I reached for one of those clipon drop lights so he could look inside the fitting to see.
I was to late.
He pulled a lighter out and lit it so he could see. So I see 40ft of pvc illuminate and blow a massive flame out of the fitting into his head and face.
Knocking him of the ladder into the water on the basement floor.

Well I was standing there in fucking shock at what just happened with the light still in my hand.

So we all go outside to eat and see Toms face. He had NO HAIR.
He looked like a deranged mental patent. Eyebrows Gone,Mustache gone,forehead hair gone. He smelled of one thing Burnt Hair.

Well Tom was a real character and he was not seriously harmed,I do not know how???
The water on the floor saved him.
That was my second day working construction

I saw a gasfitter do the same thing. He had a huge mustache, just gone after...

Id be pissed. Dosent take long for mine to grow but i hate the feeling of wind over my bare upper lip so i keep a mustache at all times...

Thats a good second day in constuctiin man!

 

[CoCoSativas]

Seen an electrician get zapped by commercial voltage... not sure how much but it was in a shopping mall so im sure the place was buzzin... I was a little kid just so u know... guy walked out the elcrical room mumblin... hair was smokin... clothes all ripped up like a tiger attacked him... seriously fucked up...

Ive been shocked, a sparky left a live wire hanging and my shoulder brushed it. Thanks asshole... I was up in his face so quick i went upstairs and just gave him the scare of his life. I asked him if he wants i can take him down there and shove his face right into it see how it tastes. He offered me some merrets... Fucking moron dont you think i already put them on before coming to acost you?

Every sparky ive met has been zapped. Ive seen some horrible burns, clothes smouldering. These guys go to school for what? Waste of fucking time and money. My deaf guy isint certified but was trained by a sparky. He pulls all this stupid shit and then wonders why he gets shocked. Last year his extensions had no grounds, boom... Idiot.

Ive never been shocked when doing work, but have been zapped lots of times by idiots bad shit...

 

[CoCoSativas]

^^^they sure can! I had one shard of fiberglass go about 2" into my left leg, directly to the left of my shin! pulled it out wrapped it up with some duct tape and kept goin lol the scar is still there, over 10 years later! lol I was going up a staircase and lost it...OOPS! lol I'm 6'1", and was like 220lbs at the time...I could bench 315...there were little paisas that were like 5'7" 165 that were throwing those tubs around easier than me...that's exactly when I realized that "man strength" was straight up legit! lol now that I'm a little older and can't throw up shit on a bench I really have to ride to coattails of "man strength" LOL

I smoked cigarettes like a chimney on outside jobs, but I was always working with a smoke in my mouth(yuck) so the only delay was pulling a smoke outta the pack and firing it up...I smoked for 12-13 years, and put em down on oct 1st of last year...just for a shameless plug! lol I'm really happy that I stopped smoking though...me and my chick actually.

Were you the kinda moker to fill a shopping bagwith butts? Lol thats funny.

Half myguys are chimneys. Im like 2 packs a week and a few cigars here and there.

 

[CoCoSativas]

When I was locked up I was arm wrestling and beating everybody.anyway this skinny south american comes in,can't speak a word of English.he's interprutor says he can beat me.I look at him and start laughing.he looks like he hasn't eaten in months he's so small and skinny.so I said sure I'll arm wrestle you.I'll tell you guys this now.I have never felt forearm strength like this in my life.nor have I since then.his interprutor said its cause he's a carpenter and swings hammers all day.that's real "man strength".

I can drive a 3 inch framing nail in one stroke. All day like its nothing.

Im scared to get old. Man i hope i can do that shit for a long time.

 

[Ph-patrol]

Im scared to get old. Man i hope i can do that shit for a long time.

I was digging a quick sonotube hole at the end of the day and ask my self the same question.
It gets harder to work hard after getting time off.I can still out work the 20 year olds but that's because I love it and its a job for them.

 

[whadeezlrg]

I'm sure I filled up some grocery bags over the years...averaged maybe 8 packs a week, 10 if the weekend was poppin, and drinks were flowin lol

leading up to when I quit smoking, there were more than a few weekend spent with my bro in law and handles of jack daniels...we'd both end up smoking 2-3 packs a piece in a night and my body was more fucked up from the cigarettes than the booze, I ended up catching a pretty gnarly cold right after one of those weekend booze fests and then I just stopped lol

 

[CoCoSativas]

I was digging a quick sonotube hole at the end of the day and ask my self the same question.
It gets harder to work hard after getting time off.I can still out work the 20 year olds but that's because I love it and its a job for them.

I was diggin holes today for fence posts. Im not using sonotubes tho, just cement in the hole probably.

Yeah lots of young guys its only a job. This is my passion. You and i would have some digging races for sure if you worked for me...

 

[CoCoSativas]

I'm sure I filled up some grocery bags over the years...averaged maybe 8 packs a week, 10 if the weekend was poppin, and drinks were flowin lol

leading up to when I quit smoking, there were more than a few weekend spent with my bro in law and handles of jack daniels...we'd both end up smoking 2-3 packs a piece in a night and my body was more fucked up from the cigarettes than the booze, I ended up catching a pretty gnarly cold right after one of those weekend booze fests and then I just stopped lol

You make me laugh, always man. I imagine your avatar saying it, so fucking hillarious when you are ripped on some haze

 

[snake11]

Ive been shocked, a sparky left a live wire hanging and my shoulder brushed it. Thanks asshole... I was up in his face so quick i went upstairs and just gave him the scare of his life. I asked him if he wants i can take him down there and shove his face right into it see how it tastes. He offered me some merrets... Fucking moron dont you think i already put them on before coming to acost you?

Every sparky ive met has been zapped. Ive seen some horrible burns, clothes smouldering. These guys go to school for what? Waste of fucking time and money. My deaf guy isint certified but was trained by a sparky. He pulls all this stupid shit and then wonders why he gets shocked. Last year his extensions had no grounds, boom... Idiot.

Ive never been shocked when doing work, but have been zapped lots of times by idiots bad shit...

I got a bad electrical story. Luckily I didn't see it. New construction with about a dozen gas pack/heat pump commercial HVAC units going on the roof. They are all ran off of a sub panel. Electrician wires up the units and placed the fuses in the disconnects. He then went to the sub panel and threw the switch. First off it is never a good idea to energize tha many units at the same time. He had wired the units incorrectly. The arc from the sub panel threw him across the room into a cement wall breaking his back among other things like major burns. Also took out a very expensive transformer(which the company he worked for had to pay for)sending the area into darkness. If he would have wired them, turned on the breaker, and then added fuses to the disconnects there would not have been any injuries. The first unit he added fuses to would have blown the fuses or tripped the breaker and he would have known something was not wired right. Safety first and always be thinking. The majority of injuries I have seen are when the pros get too comfortable.

 

[CoCoSativas]

I got a bad electrical story. Luckily I didn't see it. New construction with about a dozen gas pack/heat pump commercial HVAC units going on the roof. They are all ran off of a sub panel. Electrician wires up the units and placed the fuses in the disconnects. He then went to the sub panel and threw the switch. First off it is never a good idea to energize tha many units at the same time. He had wired the units incorrectly. The arc from the sub panel threw him across the room into a cement wall breaking his back among other things like major burns. Also took out a very expensive transformer(which the company he worked for had to pay for)sending the area into darkness. If he would have wired them, turned on the breaker, and then added fuses to the disconnects there would not have been any injuries. The first unit he added fuses to would have blown the fuses or tripped the breaker and he would have known something was not wired right. Safety first and always be thinking. The majority of injuries I have seen are when the pros get too comfortable.

You would think thebguys who deal with the most dangerous aspect of construction would know better. Nope, they alwags catch a live connection. Buddy thurn the juice off for fuck sakes...

 

[shithawk420]

If people would just use common sense most of these accidents could be avoided.for fucks sake use your brain!that's what its there for!

 

[Ph-patrol]

Digging fence holes and racing while doing it is something I have participated in.Its funny remembering installing fence and racing at all tasks.
I did commercial and residence fence installations in my 20's as a form of work when my reg job got slow.
We use to race pulling bob wire off a spool threw the woods.We had a lot of fun.

Installing commercial fence is the most physically demanding job I have ever done.
Way more than framing.

 

[shithawk420]

Installing fences is tough work.especially with a post digger.still never got paid on my last fence job.fucking uncle took the money and run.that's the last time I bust my ass for nothing.I'm sick of this shit

 

[Ph-patrol]

Paying people is a #1 priority in this business.I have a saying prompt service equals prompt payment.
You pay your people for there hard work.

 

[shithawk420]

I agree Ph.my uncle is a slimy bastard who only cares about himself.unfortunately there's a lot of people like that in this business.I've worked for great people too but it just seems the majority of them fuck me over.I have little choice.I'm lucky to get a job at all.its just that bad here.maybe its time to relocate

 

[whadeezlrg]

You would think thebguys who deal with the most dangerous aspect of construction would know better. Nope, they alwags catch a live connection. Buddy thurn the juice off for fuck sakes...

the biggest thing about working on live electrical is doing so one handed(you never want the circuit to ground across your chest...that's how people die working on 120v) , with good insulated boots, no metal buttons, belt buckles etc.....and I personally won't work on a hot 240v circuit.

some times you literally have no choice...a company I was working for was doing a major auto parts chain conversion in the SW a few years ago...the stores stayed open while we had to land new cash register circuits/battery charging stations/ replacing ballasts in 50%+ of florescent light fixtures above the showroom etc...having their stocking crews changing all of the store fixtures and having customers in the store at the time...no fun, but like I said some times the sparky has no choice...now if you're working on live stuff just because you either A) don't have the correct tools and or knowledge or B)are too lazy and careless to be working on electrical to begin with...either way a or b, you should probably look into a different trade before you die.

 

[whadeezlrg]

I agree Ph.my uncle is a slimy bastard who only cares about himself.unfortunately there's a lot of people like that in this business.I've worked for great people too but it just seems the majority of them fuck me over.I have little choice.I'm lucky to get a job at all.its just that bad here.maybe its time to relocate

quoted for absolute truth! that's a big reason I've been doing less and less construction...I've got piles of rubber checks, and I'm never getting my sweat or my gas back...

 

[shithawk420]

Forgive my ignorance but sparky means electrician right?and yeah,electricity is not something to fuck around with

 

[shithawk420]

Story of my life whadeezlrg.and its getting harder.my most valuable commodity is TIME!I'll never ever get my time back.fuck the gas.fuck the blood.what I really want back is my TIME! Cest le vie