One for the books

[Verdeboy]

As far as putting two and two together to figure out why rocks were in the ceiling? Possibly getting a bow out of the tile or trying to get the ceiling panels to lay flat in the grids. I can't come up with anything else that would apply.

You left out the most obvious reason: It was a set up job. Anyone out there trying to get you?

Seriously, though, I expect that kind of stuff in SW NM. Here they throw old tires on the roof to fix a roof leak.

I think if that happened to me, I'd be laughing my ass off. I always carry a camera around, so I'd snap off a few pictures of the hole and the rocks before I took off.

 

[Gary Slusser]

I'll be damned if I'm paying for that nonsense; wtf was two big rocks doing up in the ceiling?

Possession is 9/10ths of the law and you found the rocks, yep they'll be classified as your rocks. And then you HIDE the damage as she watches. Kinda like you were stuck in stupid! Wait 'til the attorney hears about this!!

I've told you before, the only thing to fear is fear itself. Now ya did it and you think it's OK as long as you don't get caught....

I think the leak was with the gray PVC risers, not PEX.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

a plumber ahs got to do what he has got to do

in my old home I got a couple of ceiling tiles
that I got a brick holding down the corner......


I suppose some day some poor s.o.b is going to
drop it on his foot or head........

you were not going to win no matter what you did ,

so its best to just sweep it under the rug and hope for the best.

 

[GrumpyPlumber]

OK, good story for anyone who thinks plumbers are money hungry.
Today I get a call from a referral, from a regular that has given me alot of business.
Old customers co-worker has several plumbing items in need of repair, I agreed to stop by on the way home from my last job.
They're french, and apparently unfamiliar with dishwashers(?).
There was a leak on the DW, and he told me she said it was constant...so to me it sounded like it could be the feed (if not, it'd be an appliance repair guy thing), I take a look and ..nothing.
I ask her to run it...nothing. Questions occurs to me..I ask..."what did you use for detergent?"
YUP...regular dish detergent...problem solved.
Next, batch feed disposal not working...we take a look, and sure enough it doesn't.
I notice something on the wall in the corner...a switch...YUP you guessed it...was off. ...problem solved.
The husband, with silly grin, says...I feel like we're wasting your time...I have one more item..."
Downstairs there was a slow drip...from a packing nut on a shut-off.
Problem solved. (with his channel locks...saved me the trip to my truck)
I was there all of 15 minutes.
Gave them my buz card, smiled and said "It's on the house, as long as you promise to call when you REALLY need a plumber."
The mrs tried to get me to take a "tip"...had to outrun her to my truck.
Told her "No tipping ma'am...the boss doesn't allow it."

 

[Terry]

We allow tips.
Jamie got a $40.00 tip this last week.

I worked on a job, installed two toilets and got an $80.00 tip.
What's wrong with taking tips?
It just means they liked the service.

 

[Dunbar Plumbing]

Same here. I get food, tools, money, items they no longer want and only take with discretion. Some people enjoy making a home cooked meal for me to take home. I think they do it solely because I'm the boss and not just an employee of the company.

I did a turnaround back to 10 of my best paying/best talking customers tonight; I sponsor the local town's fireworks celebration every year and I get 10 VIP passes to front row seats to the fireworks with indoor event and eating. Didn't cost me anything and I'm sure that my customers really enjoyed their evening. The weather was perfect for the event.

 

[Cass]

Tips, Oh ya I'll take them any time.

Like Terry, my son was helping me do a sewer line where the C/O was under a set of stairs, it was Thanksgiving AM also and they gave him a $20.00 tip.

O.K. by me.

Under the circumstances where you were doing the job gratis I might not have taken it.

 

[Kordts]

My best tip was on an electric water heater installation. I made out the invoice for 700 bucks, the homeowner gave me 8 one hundred dollar bills.

 

[GrumpyPlumber]

We allow tips.
Jamie got a $40.00 tip this last week.

I worked on a job, installed two toilets and got an $80.00 tip.
What's wrong with taking tips?
It just means they liked the service.

I know, but I'd had a good day, and this was a referral from someone who gives me regular business.
I went with my gut on this one (and wanted to get the heck home...saturday night) I imagine if they heard about me through a co-worker, then this helps..who knows, maybe my name comes up at the water cooler...word of mouth makes a full size yellow page ad look like a flyer on a telephone pole.
I can guarantee they'll have my card in hand when they decide to do some upgrading on the new home.
Ironically the job before that threw an extra 50 in the check, also a regular (he threatened to call the BBB if I refused it, with a smile).
I buy into an expression Jay Leno once coined..."Losing the battle, winning the war."
I do almost no advertizing, business is good.
That $20-$30 tip I lost last night made up for a 2K ad in the yellow pages, as I see it.
Of course, there are people who don't seem to realize when you're bending over backwards, I get burned, par for the course...as I see it.
The people who remember a good deed are the people I want as regulars.

 

[GrumpyPlumber]

My best tip was on an electric water heater installation. I made out the invoice for 700 bucks, the homeowner gave me 8 one hundred dollar bills.

I had a guy throw me an extra 300 after a full house remodel.
I bent over nackwards to schedule at his convenience, he said "this'll maybe make up for all the coffee you brought me". He's now a regular customer, we call eachother on occasion just to chat, or I stop by when in the area.

 

[GrumpyPlumber]

Wrapped up a boiler this week..on inspection the inspector informed me there was a new local ordinance the requires the vent to be 6" higher than state code.
It was no biggy...just a simple add-on of two 90's.
I've done two boilers in the past month and had priced around, theres a supplier I frequent thats less than 5 minutes away from this boiler that I'd called for prices on both...so I originally figured I'd use them for this particular boiler purchase.
They priced it and I was surprized...there was a several hundred dollar price increase for the same model I'd priced at another supplier..I went to the best price.
Narurally I went to the supplier closest for the 2 S.S. 90's, and sure enough it was the fella I'd priced the boiler with...as soon as I placed the order he looks at me with a smirk and says "You still want the boiler to go with these?".

 

[Cass]

Cass, I use those PEX or, "poly risers" alot inside vanities ot KS's- the light grey colored ones (beleive it or not I really do and YUP, they're legal)..they can be deceptively easy to use, you crank 'em about the same amount you would regular copper and it seems fine....then. 15 minutes later the line blows out of the ferril. Trick is you have to bottom out the comp nut or they can develope delayed leaks.

Yup that is the only way to use them and I had a plumber friend flood an older ranch doing the same thing....not tightening them down enough. Now I just use the braided stainless supply lines. The price difference is not enough to bother using the polly lines... maybe $1.50 each so if I replaced them on a kitchen and 2 bathrooms were talking 9-$12.00 additional which won't make or break a job. Now if your doing new work X 300 homes your talking $3600.00. The type I hate are the ones that are 1 piece, push on non removeable plastic stop and supply line push/pull on/off because you have to cut the copper to replace them and I have had to replace several that have developed leaks at the O ring. I see them in houses that are in the $800,000.00 range all the time and the leaks often ruin hardwood floors as the customers only notice when the floor starts to turn black.

 

[GrumpyPlumber]

Oddly enough, a larger job is the last place I'd use...for the simple fact that you'd likely have newbie's using them.
I only use them because I'm the one doing it.
Company I used to work for uses them and nothing but...and I'd seen at least one blow out in a year...all it takes is one and the savings is shot, not just on insurance premiums, but customer trust.

 

[Dunbar Plumbing]

Dropping rocks pays off!

Landed about $1200 worth of plumbing repairs on the house the seller is now living in, I also tied a prospective buyer which has a contract to buy on the house I worked in. I knew of someone that was in hairstyling and this house has a full setup with hair sinks and chairs, mirrors and anything you'd need for a in-home business.

I need to start carrying big rocks on my truck for future employment.

 

[GrumpyPlumber]

Landed about $1200 worth of plumbing repairs on the house the seller is now living in, I also tied a prospective buyer which has a contract to buy on the house I worked in. I knew of someone that was in hairstyling and this house has a full setup with hair sinks and chairs, mirrors and anything you'd need for a in-home business.

I need to start carrying big rocks on my truck for future employment.

Geesh......my luck I'd have been in "insurance red tape hell" for months.

 

[Dunbar Plumbing]

Yep. I found out why this woman was so impatient and so short-tempered with me that day as well; a plumber before me came in there and told her that she needed to replace all the drain lines under that ceiling. He "may" not of known the PEX supply line was leaking but being thorough I found the source of the leak.

Once again, honesty paid off. Maybe the last plumber put the rocks in the ceiling thinking he'd nail the next plumber.

 

[Billsnogo]

Which one do you think was done by a licensed plumber, and which one do you think was by the caretaker?

Code here is the drain for the kitchen sink must be supported continuously, and now I see why! I love those pics

 

[Cass]

Another One For The Books

A fiery auto crash in July near Augusta, Ga., had killed the driver and would likely kill the passenger, too, if the fire were not immediately smothered. Firefighters were still minutes away, but passing by was a pump truck from a local plumbing company, whose quick-thinking driver extinguished the flames with 1,500 gallons of raw sewage from a septic tank-cleaning job he had just finished. [WJBF-TV (Augusta), 7-9-07]

 

[GrumpyPlumber]

WOW!
That really is one for the books.

 

[TMB9862]

Get a call from a real estate agent needing a plumber for a client in town who's selling their house. After numerous phone tags I arrive at the house to a ceiling leak. It's a drop ceiling so access to the source was fairly simple.

I take the first soaked panel down, no problem. I take the second panel down,

two HUGE rocks were on top of this panel, one fell off and smashed the top ledge of the fiberglass tub. Put a hole in it 4" wide.

I had something similar happen to me. I was doing the bathroom in my own house and was in the basement working. I push on a 2in black pipe for some reason and two bricks fall down almost taking out my head. Apparently instead of using another strap the only strapped one pipe and wedged bricks between it and the one above it. Also had two large 1"x15"x1/4 straps of some sort fall on me that were resting on the pipes. I guess they misplaced those straps and used bricks instead.