Silly Homeowners

Rooster

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The gap between common sense and highly educated minds sometimes really escapes me.

I'm in the process of finishing off a basement for a couple in a rather upscale area here in the NE. New bedroom, kitchenette, entertainment area, and a new bathroom, with a shower, toilet and sink. I went in today, did some plumbing and a few electrical things, getting ready for the plaster guy to finish off. I get a call at about a quarter of six, the owner has discovered a leak in the plumbing. Naturally, I jump right up and head up to see what has happened.

I put 90 degree switch valves up in the back storage area for a shut off for the bathroom so in five or ten or however many years, they should decide to change the shower or sink hardware, there is easy access to the valves to shut the water off. Apparently, their college age daughter decided to stow away some of her summer clothing in totes, managed to shove a tote up on the top shelf in the storage and bumped one of the valves open. A half hour of driving, and 2 seconds to slap the valve back shut, the problem was solved.

Education ... the homeowners:

Mr. Sherad: Attorney at law
Mrs. Sherad: Psycotherapist
Ms. Sherad: College student studying law

Common sense ... the little guy:

Rooster: Just a poor schmuck that dropped out of college and fixes all those little things that happen. :whoa:

Ahh, I got a six pack for coming to the rescue, so what the heck! ;)
 

Rooster

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76GMC1500 said:
Common sense would be to plug/cap the open line with the valve on it in the event the valve is accidentally opened.

Or more common sense would be to not waste the time to cap it, un-sweat the cap, and run the rest of the lines when the vanity/sink/shower arrive, hoping that someone didn't accidentally bump the valve? Time is money. Perhaps my bad, but having told the homeowner not to do anything in the basement, I thought I had my bases covered. Ooooops!

I'm sure the communication between the parents and the college girl failed somewhere along the way.

This ain't my first rodeo, and it sure as hell isn't going to be the last. It IS however, the first time I've had something like this happen.
 

Rooster

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rpm12505 said:
Common sense?..........Priceless!

Priceless .. indeed!

There is a price, however, when someone calls me to do something commonsensical that isn't related to one of my projects. I charge a premium price for those little handyman jobs. :p
 

GETMETOCA

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Mar 17, 2002
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Roo, I have a pipe fitter bro-in-law (But can't seem to get him to do anything in my house!!! :) ) and I hear stories like that now and then. I've got one for you coming from the opposite direction....being the homeowner with a pipe fitter bro-in-law who won't do anything for her, I have to hire out this kind of work. But now that I know you'll do it for a six pack, I'll holla!!

In my new City of Livermore, ordinance requires that the houses have fire sprinklers inside the home and garage. The one in the garage is dripping and I finally decide it needs a new head or that there may be something wrong with the seal, etc. So guy comes out and has to replace the head and a small section of pipe and new seal, etc. That takes an hour. And then he said he would need to wait 45 min to an hour so that the whatever would "dry" before he could turn the main back on.

So, I told him instead of paying him for another hour of labor, I could turn the main back on myself an save the extra hour of labor costs. YAy FOR ME!!
 

squeaky

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YAY Natty! You're so smart!!!!

Good thing not all homeowners are that smart! ;)
 

BSWIFT

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Nat, glad to hear that your place has sprinklers. IMO, it should be required everywhere. I hope to have my home done in the next year or so. I've talked to the State Fire Marshal and got the skinny on it. I'm on well water so it is a little different that having a water main.
Rooster, I've dealt with the general public for many years. Sometimes you really wonder what planet they are from, I wonder if the live next door to Rich on Venus?;)
 

oldguy

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Dec 26, 1999
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BSWIFT said:
.
Rooster, I've dealt with the general public for many years. Sometimes you really wonder what planet they are from, I wonder if the live next door to Rich on Venus?;)
Don't even let me get started on the general public and common sense- It is probably a good thing I am now retired.
 

Rooster

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YAY for Natty!

I agree, some of these people on the planet make me scratch my head and wonder how they made it past their teenage years. Oh well, it's money in my pocket, I'm not going to complain!
 

GETMETOCA

Can't Wait For Tuesdays
Mar 17, 2002
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oldguy said:
Don't even let me get started on the general public and common sense- It is probably a good thing I am now retired.

I would imagine you have a ton of good stories to tell!! ;)
 
May 10, 2007
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Rooster said:
YAY for Natty!

I agree, some of these people on the planet make me scratch my head and wonder how they made it past their teenage years. Oh well, it's money in my pocket, I'm not going to complain!


you already did....
 

sigurd

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Jun 24, 2007
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flyingfuzzball said:
you already did....

No, if he were complaining it would be in the "flame forum". Since it is posted here it useful interesting information for all of us to enjoy and learn from. ;)
 

whenfoxforks-ruled

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How about you get sent to a guy's house complaining of an odor. Pop the hatch to the crawl space and there is a 3 foot pile of poop! Or the toilet has been loose for a while, what happened to the floor and ceiling below, for the last few years? Or what happens to them particle board CHEAP cabinets when they get wet, for years? What do you mean them bathroom fans need to be exhausted outside? How about them restaurant owners, they own houses also. For 5 years they noticed an odor emanating from the bathroom. Commercial buildings have air handerlers to control the atmospheric pressure, one benefit is the plumbing works correctly. Big exhaust hood gets turned over the oven, and the broken vent lines to the sewer in the walls gets pulled into the bathroom and rest of the building. 80 year old owners are deathly ill by now. Head aches and flu symptoms have subsided since fixed. And my personal favorite, that is not sewage, it is from the washing machine! Unbelievable! Well the guy at menards said it would be all right!
 

sigurd

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whenfoxforks-ruled said:
How about you get sent to a guy's house complaining of an odor. Pop the hatch to the crawl space and there is a 3 foot pile of poop! Or the toilet has been loose for a while, what happened to the floor and ceiling below, for the last few years? Or what happens to them particle board CHEAP cabinets when they get wet, for years? What do you mean them bathroom fans need to be exhausted outside? How about them restaurant owners, they own houses also. For 5 years they noticed an odor emanating from the bathroom. Commercial buildings have air handerlers to control the atmospheric pressure, one benefit is the plumbing works correctly. Big exhaust hood gets turned over the oven, and the broken vent lines to the sewer in the walls gets pulled into the bathroom and rest of the building. 80 year old owners are deathly ill by now. Head aches and flu symptoms have subsided since fixed. And my personal favorite, that is not sewage, it is from the washing machine! Unbelievable! Well the guy at menards said it would be all right!
:yikes: :yikes: :yikes:
 

Rooster

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flyingfuzzball said:
you already did....

I guess you missed the whole line about getting a free six pack out for my efforts to rectify a problem that I didn't cause? ... perhaps I should have elaborated and told you how the homeowner and I shared the sixer and had some good laughs about how silly the whole thing was? :coocoo:
 

knowiam

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Oct 17, 2006
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Rooster said:
the homeowner and I shared the sixer and had some good laughs about how silly the whole thing was? :coocoo:
So, you actually were compensated with a 3pack.... Hope at least it was Stella Artois[that's a beer right] :rotfl: Ken
 
May 10, 2007
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Rooster said:
I guess you missed the whole line about getting a free six pack out for my efforts to rectify a problem that I didn't cause? ... perhaps I should have elaborated and told you how the homeowner and I shared the sixer and had some good laughs about how silly the whole thing was? :coocoo:

i got that but the whole post still seemed bitter i guess.
 

Rooster

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knowiam said:
So, you actually were compensated with a 3pack.... Hope at least it was Stella Artois[that's a beer right] :rotfl: Ken

Yeah, the girls around here drink the Stella.

Ooooh! I forgot to mention that the customer now wants the entire interior of the house painted and the vanities in all three baths replaced, as well as the kitchen cabinets, a new countertop and a dormer off the front door. I really hate it when I answer those emergency calls. :p
 
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