Lucky...

[RF Lighting]

Just part rewiring a house at the moment.

I was nailing one of the floor boards back down when I heard a terrible noise of a nail hitting a pipe.

I pulled the next board up to look in case the nail was plugging the hole and found this:

22mm copper pipe

 

[Guitarguy]

Done that before (well my sisters ex had the hammer), made a dink in the pipe but that was it!

 

[gregers]

yep done that aswell,trouble was the nails actually went in

 

[EFLImpudence]

My nail was slap bang in the centre of the pipe, of course.

 

[Scoby_Beasley]

Was asked to put up a curtain rail in kitchen of ex Ma-in-laws Woodrow house a few years back.
Anyway, fully aware of how lord woodrow made his money on the quality of the house builds I took a wide range of fixings and my trusty sds along.

First hole. Hit what must have been the only brick in the wall! First time I'd used a rawl in that kitchen!
Second hole, straight into a cavity, Spit fitting used.
Third hole, now a third of the way across the window I hit metal. Changed masonry bit (I know, laughable in a woodrow home) for hss drill bit to get through what I thought was the galvanised lintel. I put some weight behind it.

Suddenly the drill went through. Followed by a rather large hiss of escaping gas. I'll tell ya, the sparking drill and glowing tab where thrown in different directions and I'd have beat Linford to the gas cabinet.

Who the feck runs a gas pipe above a window frame for christs sake??

The house, before the ex M-in-L moved in, had been subject to fire damage and, being built on a slab of concrete, I can only assume (which one should never do!) that whoever refurbed it ran a new gas pipe in, the quickest way possible, on a Friday afternoon when the pub was open!

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I was drilling a hole in an external wall for the cable for a light - worked out where it needed to be, angled upwards so as to avoid water ingress and to be accessible from inside as there's a joist running a couple of inches away from the wall.

Up the steps, trusty SDS in hand, 8mm bit for the first pass...

Hmmm. Why is there water coming out of my hole?


I had to cut away a section of the ceiling in order to get at the pipe running between the wall and the joist.

And yes, of course, it was a Sunday afternoon.

 

[ricicle]

I fixed up a small TV in the dining room taking care not to hit the cables going to the socket below. When drilling the dot and dab wall some fibre type material started to come out of the hole. It was the insulation around the microbore pipes going to the radiator below which I had totally overlooked. Luckily I had drilled straight in between the two pipes

 

[bernardgreen]

A few years ago a friend was drilling to fit a curtain rail in the lounge on Christmas Eve when he hit the cooker cable, 30 amp wire fuse. This was three inches above and to the side of the window opening in an old cottage.

A bit of ripped out plaster and two JBs got the turkey cooked. Buried cables everywhere above and around the window, 45 degrees from wall lamps.

But the ring main was the best bit of creative DIY " compliance " with accessibility I have ever seen

Junction boxes

• bernardgreen
• 13 May 2011
• 6

All junctions boxes must be accessible

The RFC looped round some of these junction boxes with almost all sockets run as spurs from these JBs. Others were for lighting and the door bell.

 

[matt1e]

I was drilling a hole in an external wall for the cable for a light - worked out where it needed to be, angled upwards so as to avoid water ingress and to be accessible from inside as there's a joist running a couple of inches away from the wall.

Up the steps, trusty SDS in hand, 8mm bit for the first pass...

Hmmm. Why is there water coming out of my hole?


I had to cut away a section of the ceiling in order to get at the pipe running between the wall and the joist.

And yes, of course, it was a Sunday afternoon.

Did similar at a working men's club and flooded the gents loos as it took us half an hour to find the stop cock!

T

 

[SaladFingers]

Experience here is the key to getting the joist centre near where you're nailing and getting the nail straight.

A lesson learnt and a good job it didn't cost you and turn into a major affair!

 

[SaladFingers]

I was drilling a hole in an external wall for the cable for a light - worked out where it needed to be, angled upwards so as to avoid water ingress and to be accessible from inside as there's a joist running a couple of inches away from the wall.

Up the steps, trusty SDS in hand, 8mm bit for the first pass...

Hmmm. Why is there water coming out of my hole?


I had to cut away a section of the ceiling in order to get at the pipe running between the wall and the joist.

And yes, of course, it was a Sunday afternoon.

At least it was a job at home and not someone elses! Never turns out good if it's someone elses property!

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Absolutely - Mrs Sheds was far more understanding about the water shut off, the damaged ceiling, the dirt washed down the walls etc than a customer would have been.

 

[viewer]

Busy using a torch to see under bedroom floorboards whilst plumber was cutting through hot water pipes. Head down I heard a hiss and thought that it was air going into the pipe as water drained below so took no notice. After a few moments realised that hissing was continuing; sawing had stopped and plumber had left the room. Yes, he'd sawn through a 22mm gas pipe. Not only did he not alert me as he ran into the garden, but he didn't shut off the gas on his way out!

 

[Scoby_Beasley]

Not only did he not alert me as he ran into the garden, but he didn't shut off the gas on his way out!

I know its not funny.... But.....

I forgot to add in my tale of woe that it took me two hours (pre mobile days) to find the ex M-in-L. She'd got a bus to our house without telling me. I'm not sure what she thought was the fall out range of a domestic gas explosion but I confirmed that it wasn't 11 miles.

 

[securespark]

A guy I knew was working on a CU right next to a gas meter. The lady had gone out shopping.

Don't ask how, I don't know, but the flexi pipe on the meter got punctured and there was a slight pop.

The lady came home to find the guy outside and the house well alight...