Plumbing Bloopers

[Rmarsh]

When I was just starting out, young guys like me were called a"carpenters helper"...not a carpenter.... and that label stuck until you reached a certain level of skill and knowledge...usually a couple of years... but today anybody who straps on a tool belt is called a carpenter.....when put to the test, its obvious they know very little.

The trades are in bad shape....too many kids were led to believe that a college education was the only way to go. Sad because many graduate with no skills, no job......and big student loans.

[Rmarsh]

So the electricians forgot to rough wire for under cabinet lights in the kitchen...here is their elegant solution for getting wires routed.
Luckily someone spotted it before the stove got re-installed.

[Guppy]

Did they wreck the cabinets

[Rmarsh]

Customer calls the office and says toilet in new home is "rocking"......original plumber (who I have judged to be incompetent and has been fired since then) goes back to fix.....customer calls back after a few weeks and says toilet not flushing completely now. So another more professional and experienced plumber was sent to check on the problem. The wax ring that is used to seal the toilet was improperly done with an excessive amount of wax was blocking the drain.

[FishermanTim]

makes you wonder how they got their job and license?

The kids, unfortunately, are being taught by an idiot and unless they get better, more complete instructions, are going to end up perpetuating those same bad work skills.

My brother and I built his house in NH.
The only things we didn't do were pour the foundation and do the heat/hot water piping. That was left to a competent licensed plumber. We were able to do the wiring ourselves and when it was inspected my brother was told we did a professional job.
Heck, my brother opted to go with a 2x6 framing for the exterior wall framing instead of 2x4 for more insulation.

Having a father who was a carpenter for BU and the opportunity to learn basics from him and my brother help make some projects easier and less expensive when you could do some of them yourself.

Still, when you hire someone for a job you should be able to expect that they do know their stuff and will treat each job as if they were working on their own house.....unless they live in a sh*thole.....

[Rmarsh]

Originally Posted by FishermanTim

makes you wonder how they got their job and license?

The kids, unfortunately, are being taught by an idiot and unless they get better, more complete instructions, are going to end up perpetuating those same bad work skills.

You nailed it Tim....The guy is a hacker, his work is awful, and his young apprentices will be as bad or worse than he is. He is also a part time inspector.

I was fortunate to have learned my trade from two of the finest craftsmen I have ever met, both were Wentworth graduates and had many years in the home building trade. They showed me methods I may never had learned on my own.

My company hired a young carpenter, very nice kid, hard worker, humble, and very willing to learn. When I see him having trouble with a certain task, or not sure about something, I show him how its done. It makes my day when he comes back later and says
"Thank you for showing me that"

[Guppy]

Originally Posted by Rmarsh

You nailed it Tim....The guy is a hacker, his work is awful, and his young apprentices will be as bad or worse than he is. He is also a part time inspector.

I was fortunate to have learned my trade from two of the finest craftsmen I have ever met, both were Wentworth graduates and had many years in the home building trade. They showed me methods I may never had learned on my own.

My company hired a young carpenter, very nice kid, hard worker, humble, and very willing to learn. When I see him having trouble with a certain task, or not sure about something, I show him how its done. It makes my day when he comes back later and says
"Thank you for showing me that"

Came back to haunt me, ended up competing with a couple of them :-)
All good!

[piemma]

Originally Posted by Rmarsh

You nailed it Tim....The guy is a hacker, his work is awful, and his young apprentices will be as bad or worse than he is. He is also a part time inspector.

I was fortunate to have learned my trade from two of the finest craftsmen I have ever met, both were Wentworth graduates and had many years in the home building trade. They showed me methods I may never had learned on my own.

My company hired a young carpenter, very nice kid, hard worker, humble, and very willing to learn. When I see him having trouble with a certain task, or not sure about something, I show him how its done. It makes my day when he comes back later and says
"Thank you for showing me that"

Great stuff!

[piemma]

Originally Posted by Rmarsh

Customer calls the office and says toilet in new home is "rocking"......original plumber (who I have judged to be incompetent and has been fired since then) goes back to fix.....customer calls back after a few weeks and says toilet not flushing completely now. So another more professional and experienced plumber was sent to check on the problem. The wax ring that is used to seal the toilet was improperly done with an excessive amount of wax was blocking the drain.

Interesting. We had a new toilet set 2 weeks ago and our plumber says they don't use a wax ring anymore. he used a neoprene ring.