# Stupid mistakes



## Tsmil (Jul 17, 2011)

Yep. Doing resi.


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

SEREMan2000 said:


> You guys ever make a stupid careless Rezi mistake and beat yourself up over it?


Have you ever smoked crack until you hit the moon and then regret it the next day when you cant pay the rent :laughing:....

Yes, we all have. You'll get over it. Next question.


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## chewy (May 9, 2010)

Not resi but at a school, drilled into the sub sheathing, see a grey color, think I must have come out the top of the atrium pelmet, so I drill another through the joist on an angle, long story short I drill through guttering run inside the roof cavity and the grey I saw wasn't the celling but an overcast sky about to rain.


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## SEREMan2000 (Aug 29, 2011)

Thanks guys I feel better now. Lol.


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## Deep Cover (Dec 8, 2012)

Yep, after a 16hr day, I drilled into the drain pan of an evap for a walk in cooler.

oops...that isn't resi

Second year on the job, drilled thru a joist without checking the backside. Figured a water line was back there...


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

A mistake is something wrong you do more than once...

The first time is part of the learning process... we all go through it


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## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

Walked into a building and saw a guy mounting unistrut to a "steel column" with teck screws... I asked "What in the f&*k are you doing?" He looked at me like it was my first rodeo and said "What does it look like?" I asked him "Do lots of steel columns have sight glasses on them where you are from?" The color drained out of his face as he looked and saw that his column was a Day Tank for the Compressor Oil... We managed to fix it, and I doubt he has ever drilled near a beam without looking for a sight glass.. lol....


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## toolaholic (Aug 13, 2010)

*Yes ,this year at an old brothel*

Now that I have Your attention ! Building is in Sausalito Ca. Sally stanford's
Old brothel, over 100 years old. I was up in attic drilling through plates to extend Gas line. Huge building , I was off on My Measurements . I came into the room below to My Horror saw this . My 5' Elec auger bit came through the
top rail of the double hung sash ! No broken GLASS ! No one around thank God! " Bondo N paint, Makes a hack what He aint "


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## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

through the years I have been involved in many unfortunate disasters. Fortunately, no deaths. With each one I try to work out a system whereby all negative aspects are avoided by preventative planning (the 7Ps as it were). Some day everything will go perfectly because I will be an expert. Until then, I'll just keep whittling away at it. (as a side note, I think that trial by fire is what has evolved me into such a nonchalant prick sometimes)


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## electricmalone (Feb 21, 2013)

Thought i was such a smart apprentice... I took a scrap of carpet, put it down under the ladder to keep from scratching the new shiny hardwoods. Dragged it around for about two hours (unsupervised 1st year apprentice) before the builder screamed. I had it soft side up, binding side down. Yup, that cost the boss about $1000. OOPS.

Two weeks later, my journeyman sent me in to swap a crystal chandelier by myself while he sat on the bumper of the truck having a cigarette catching a tan. Yup I dropped that monster 6ft. $2500 chandelier smashed into little shiny pieces, and the marble floor too. Turns out a bakelite plaster ring isnt that strong...


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## JohnR (Apr 12, 2010)

SEREMan2000 said:


> You guys ever make a stupid careless Rezi mistake and beat yourself up over it?


You mean like the time I was drilling across 2floor joists and ended up drilling through the floor above with my flex bit?

Yeah!

Oh!, wait that was an convalescent home. Does that count?:laughing:


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## gnuuser (Jan 13, 2013)

not a resi but an old buick!
changed the timing chain, gears, harmonic balancer, and gaskets!
did a nice neat job 
while picking up the tools to clean up spotted the fuel pump cam still setting on the bench.(smacking my head a few times)


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

Flexi bits, wonderful, but evil... Replacing 13ft of Azek trim because of operator error this week. It happens.


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

Walking through an attic of blow in insulation, stepped on where I expected there was gonna be a joist, and found nothing. Dropped completely through the ceiling. Made a hole you could've driven a Mini Cooper through.


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## FanelliBT (Dec 14, 2012)

I have 4 that come to mind for me... 2 resi 2 commercial.

Drilling threw 2 joists at once and was angled wrong came right threw the floor above. My mechanic flipped out when the snake taped him on the head.

Drilled threw antique crown molding in my mothers house while re running all the LV

Wood construction store was in the attic and tripped, feel threw the drop ceiling and dam near took the entire grid down with me.

Accidentally cut a fiber optic line while cleaning up LV wire in a drop ceiling thought I was going to be fired


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## foothillselectrical (Mar 17, 2013)

Putting the attic light up in a custom home once, I too fell through the ceiling due to blown in insulation. Foot slipped off a joist and went through one side, butt went through the other side, and arm went through another cavity over. So there I am splayed out across three joist cavities when I look down into the room below me to see my boss, the hvac boss, the plumbers boss, and the builder all meeting with the HO and his wife. Yup, bad day for sure.


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## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

MHElectric said:


> Have you ever smoked crack until you hit the moon and then regret it the next day when you cant pay the rent :laughing:....
> 
> Yes, we all have. You'll get over it. Next question.


:laughing::laughing::laughing:


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

electricmalone said:


> ...Two weeks later, my journeyman sent me in to swap a crystal chandelier by myself while he sat on the bumper of the truck having a cigarette catching a tan. Yup I dropped that monster 6ft. $2500 chandelier smashed into little shiny pieces, and the marble floor too. Turns out a bakelite plaster ring isnt that strong...


 That's not your mistake. That's the journeyman's mistake.


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## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

The older I get the further and fewer those days of mishaps come. But I do recall drilling thru a floor and hi end carpet once while installing a dedicated outlet for a treadmill. I moved the treadmill over 6" to cover the mishap, politely collected my bosses money and left quietly.


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## Industrialsparky (Jul 10, 2012)

I had a very close call one time. Another company roughed in a house and I was sent in to finish after they were fired lol. By anyway I hung a very expensive copper lantern outside on a porch. The ceiling was finished ten feet up so I hung the light and was finished. While I was still up there the light dropped out of no where ad I caught it by the chain the box wasn't mounted right I have no idea how I caught it but I did. And I didn't tell them about it either just went on and redid it right


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## LARMGUY (Aug 22, 2010)

A 2 inch screw through a 1 3/4 inch desktop?

Drilled above a second story window in a second story house to mount a PIR and found a water pipe. 

I still say that wasn't my fault. Who would have known being the added bathroom was on the other side of the house?

The last one was adding a CAT5 to a 400 ft four inch conduit no where near filled and burned the fiber cable inside. Had to buy and repull a 500 ft fiber optic cable.  I pulled real slow and paused a lot.


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## electricmalone (Feb 21, 2013)

Big John said:


> That's not your mistake. That's the journeyman's mistake.


Thankfully that's how bossman saw it. Journeyman was written up and suspended for two days. Taught me a great lesson (albeit expensive) in checking boxes for weight rating & construction...


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## farlsincharge (Dec 31, 2010)

Telco guy I know drilled a 1/4 pilot hole from the inside of the house to the outside. Right through a canoe leaned against the house.


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## xlink (Mar 12, 2012)

I feel so much better. Thank you, everyone.

I drilled a hole down a plug outlet on a second floor to fish through the wall below into the basement. Then, I dropped a fish chain down. It took an hour to find the end of the chain in the central vac system in the basement.

In a bank I was working on my knees beside a central cash machine and when I stood up a tellers skirt caught on a screwdriver in my pouch. It lifted her skirt to wast level.

A day without mistakes is a day I stayed home.


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## Sparky J (May 17, 2011)

Was the teller good looking?


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## Sparky J (May 17, 2011)

A buddy I used to work with is working for a new company and needed a new help wiring some food lights on a two story home, as he could not get them wired himself. He called me and said he needed help and I was slow so ok. The framing on the home was weird they had an exterior soffit that was actually more of a bulkhead as we later learned. He drilled into the exterior wall to what we both perceived as being a diagonal shot to the attic I was up there waiting on the fish tape then with no luck then some glow rods, sifting through the blown in insulation I herd it couldn't find it for S went back down from the attic and found he had like 3-4 sticks through the wallpaper top border hitting the drywall ceiling in the bedroom below oops. He called his boss and boss said cutout what's needed to run wire in wall. Okiedokie.


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## Awg-Dawg (Jan 23, 2007)

xlink said:


> In a bank I was working on my knees beside a central cash machine and when I stood up a tellers skirt caught on a screwdriver in my pouch. It lifted her skirt to wast level..


 
Awesome!:thumbup:


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## Sparky J (May 17, 2011)

On the beginning in the trade note I had a Forman tell me notching drywall over the studs and running romex over the face of the studs without drilling was ok. I learned it as untrue when he was doing an installation that way and the inspector was checking the house next door saw him and busted him. Again oops.


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## cdnelectrician (Mar 14, 2008)

Was using a flexi bit to run wires for pot lights in a kitchen, drilled through the floor above. Bit grabbed all the under padding under the carpet and twisted it into a HUGE ball underneath the carpet. 

Installed pot lights in another kitchen using flexi bit, cleaned up went to next job. Boss calls and says to go back, water is coming from the ceiling every time they flush the toilet upstairs


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## FastFokker (Sep 18, 2012)

cdnelectrician said:


> Boss calls and says to go back, water is coming from the ceiling every time they flush the toilet upstairs


Holy sheet! That's one of the best stories yet!


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## xlink (Mar 12, 2012)

Sparky J said:


> Was the teller good looking?


Yeah, and I think she liked you.

I had a journeyman who fished a switch into a lathe and plaster wall. He told me he figured out how to mount the box by running a screw through the back of the box into the lathe on the other side. Then the customer called. She couldn't move the dresser in the next room.


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## xlink (Mar 12, 2012)

Just one more:

On a new office the gc paved the parking lot before the car plugs (it's a northern winter thing) were trenched. We decided to do a horizontal bore to go under the pavement and under the office into a hole in the electrical room floor. The gc took charge of the bore and directed up, down, left, right, etc all the way under the office. About half way through the office they had a minor "hit". Then, they couldn't turn the bore so they just pushed through. After a second minor hit, the bore turned up in a floor drain. He said he remembered where the sewer lines were. Pretty much dead on, it turns out.

There is a new product out for lining broken sewers.


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## jett95 (Sep 18, 2012)

Sounds like alot of you guys gotta stop using flex bits. Jeeez


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## thegoldenboy (Aug 15, 2010)

xlink said:


> Yeah, and I think she liked you.
> 
> I had a journeyman who fished a switch into a lathe and plaster wall. He told me he figured out how to mount the box by running a screw through the back of the box into the lathe on the other side. Then the customer called. She couldn't move the dresser in the next room.


Not saying I haven't done it, but I really don't like using that method. It's sort of an "when all else fails Hail Mary" resort.


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## cdnelectrician (Mar 14, 2008)

FastFokker said:


> Holy sheet! That's one of the best stories yet!


Yea, that was probably one of the worst days at work I have ever had. Never used a flex bit after that.


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

I did this 2 days ago....














YUP, flexi-bit......


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## toolaholic (Aug 13, 2010)

*Two story home window replacement*

Go up to the ladder 2 stories to bath window ,and there is Mrs Gerber on the Pot Panties around Her ankles . We never spoke of this !


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## MIKEFLASH (Apr 14, 2012)

I was cutting in a cut in box in the wall and found a fire block below drilled through it and hit a pex water line and flooded out my wall. I never thought i could run so fast to turn off the water main, my wife was screamin and grabbin towels. What a disaster. :-O lol


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

After getting call backs about breakers tripping, I have learned that you can't run enough home runs to a bathroom. I don't know what kind of appliances women are using these days to beautify themselves but they all suck enormous amounts of power. It seems like the clients who look like extras from The Walking Dead spend the most time in the bathroom.


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

99cents said:


> After getting call backs about breakers tripping, I have learned that you can't run enough home runs to a bathroom....


 How many do you run, and how big are these bathrooms? 

I never heard about problems from only running one.


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## drumnut08 (Sep 23, 2012)

MIKEFLASH said:


> I was cutting in a cut in box in the wall and found a fire block below drilled through it and hit a pex water line and flooded out my wall. I never thought i could run so fast to turn off the water main, my wife was screamin and grabbin towels. What a disaster. :-O lol


Was this at your house ? I know that's where I make my biggest mistakes usually , lol ! My latest was a missed joist in the attic while putting a floor down , and my foot through put bedroom ceiling .


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## drumnut08 (Sep 23, 2012)

SEREMan2000 said:


> You guys ever make a stupid careless Rezi mistake and beat yourself up over it?


I once drilled through at least 2 NM 's stapled nicely to the top of a cat ( fire block ) in a wall cavity , while trying to get a switch leg to new decorative crown moulding up lighting . I found out when I pulled my flexi bit out of the switch box hole and it had black and white insulation wrapped around it ! Luckily there was a coat closet on the other side of the wall , where I cut in a 2 gang box and was able to splice all my damaged cables in there . Blank plate and called it a day . I guess this was a fixed mistake , lol ?


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## JoeKP (Nov 16, 2009)

I can only think of 2 off my head

1 was last year I was running a phone line in my own house. Drilled from attic into stud bay. Ended up being in the dining room. 
2 was last month. Short attic. Foot slipped and it was the first time I went through a ceiling. I got lucky as it was a section that they are re plastering. I didn't go all the way through as I weigh nothing. But 3 giant cracks and a good sized indent.


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## daveEM (Nov 18, 2012)

99cents said:


> After getting call backs about breakers tripping, I have learned that you can't run enough home runs to a bathroom. I don't know what kind of appliances women are using these days to beautify themselves but they all suck enormous amounts of power. It seems like the clients who look like extras from The Walking Dead spend the most time in the bathroom.


I don't recall ever getting a callback on a breaker tripping. I've installed at least 14,237 breakers. 

Well one callback on a 50 amp bulldog. But I did inform the customer it was my policy to reset once and and check the amp draw with as much on as I could turn on. If it tripped I'd replace. Damned if it didn't trip a week later.

I run the bathroom(s) on it's/their own circuit. Home run to the first GFI plug and from there to all the other bathrooms... usually two max for my work.


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

xlink said:


> ...A day without mistakes is a day I stayed home.


 Pretty much.

And while I'm never happy when I butch something, the only reason I'm not ashamed to admit it is because over the years I've been privileged to work with some very smart and talented people, and I've seen all those guys screw up, in some cases majorly.

Find me someone who brags about not making mistakes and I'll show you a lazy man or a liar.


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## RGH (Sep 12, 2011)

....hmmm anyone of the 1256 times I have step off the second last step of a ladder.....the list goes on....and on...ect...relax kid....just try and learn from them...after 32 years I still make them...if you work and are busy its going to happen....just try and try hard to be safe:thumbsup:


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

Big John said:


> How many do you run, and how big are these bathrooms?
> 
> I never heard about problems from only running one.


The last bathroom reno I did, the home owner spent $100,000.00 on two bathrooms. These are complicated bathrooms.


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## kejemere (Dec 13, 2011)

My best, took a bank down. While working in a load center a neutral slid out sending 240 to the data room, all computers, phone system and security went down. If it was not for the ups blowing up, Im sure I would have had a bigger problem.

Flex bit through window also, right between the two panes of glass. 

Sure glad I own my business


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## SEREMan2000 (Aug 29, 2011)

Anyone ever make a wiring mistake?


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## xlink (Mar 12, 2012)

Big John said:


> And while I'm never happy when I butch something, the only reason I'm not ashamed to admit it is because over the years I've been privileged to work with some very smart and talented people, and I've seen all those guys screw up, in some cases majorly.


When you make decisions, you take a chance of making a mistake. No decisions - no mistakes. Mistakes are the hazard of leaders but they are less painful after the first couple months with a new employer.

I worked with a guy who buried at least a hundred feet of teck cable. When he walked behind the satellite building, there as another reel that he forgot about. He and I went out on a Saturday and hand-exposed the cables and added the forgotten run. Friends are people who help you recover from your mistakes.


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## xlink (Mar 12, 2012)

kejemere said:


> My best, took a bank down. While working in a load center a neutral slid out sending 240 to the data room, all computers, phone system and security went down. If it was not for the ups blowing up, Im sure I would have had a bigger problem. Sure glad I own my business


I took down the PanCan plant in South Sask. and they started sending operators out to shut down wells. One pinched 24 volt control wire did that.

I have a buddy who tested a multi-lin on 12kv with cable cutters. Wow!


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## SEREMan2000 (Aug 29, 2011)

Well my mistake is forgetting how to wire a well pump. It has been close to eight years since I've wired one but feel dumb as hell for forgetting something so simple.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

Put a couple of pull strings in a wall and forgot they were going to spray foam the cavity. Plan B took an entire day.


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## drumnut08 (Sep 23, 2012)

99cents said:


> The last bathroom reno I did, the home owner spent $100,000.00 on two bathrooms. These are complicated bathrooms.


People with money don't have much common sense do they , lol ? That's absurd for bathrooms !


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## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

This is kind of lame but it’s the closest I could think of since I don’t do much electrical work. I used to install large copy machines that needed to have a 60 amp dedicated circuit run. On one install the instant, and I mean the EXACT instant, I turned the machine on for the first time the lights in the room went out. This was in a large office building and I went out into the hall and people were running around saying the entire building lost power. Then I eventually made it outside for a smoke and noticed that all of the traffic lights and other buildings were out as well. The logical part of me was saying that I couldn’t have caused this but I was still kinda freaking out about it. :001_huh:


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

Absurd or not you are there collecting a piece of that number. Its all good. I am greatful for my wealthy customers.


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## electricmalone (Feb 21, 2013)

nrp3 said:


> Absurd or not you are there collecting a piece of that number. Its all good. I am greatful for my wealthy customers.


I'll second that. If it wasn't for stupid people spending stupid money, I'd have nothing to do...


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## drumnut08 (Sep 23, 2012)

electricmalone said:


> I'll second that. If it wasn't for stupid people spending stupid money, I'd have nothing to do...


Point taken , lol !


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## 3D Electric (Mar 24, 2013)

*Happens to everyone*

Everyone make mistakes. Resi is pretty forgiving though


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## thegoldenboy (Aug 15, 2010)

I snapped a 12 inch vacuum line in a paper plant with a lift trying to get into a very congested area. Shut production down for a while. The kicker was the plumbers were supposed to take that line out earlier that week but didn't. I did it for them. :thumbsup:


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## Hippie (May 12, 2011)

Last bad one was probably 6 months ago, was drilling into a wall from below, tiny crawlspace and bit ended up being angled enough to come through the side. Luckily it just missed the baseboard. 

Worst one was when I was an apprentice, spent half the day walking out a large control pull, like 60 some #14s, rolled them up on a reel and went to pick it up with a forklift. Being an inexperienced operator I pushed the up lever the wrong way while moving forward and ran one of the forks into the side of the reel and made a huge gash across the wires


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## foothillselectrical (Mar 17, 2013)

I was pushing a metal fish tape from one cabinet to another when I was a green horn in the heat treat department of a major bearing plant. My mechanic walked off, without telling me to stop, so I only assumed he went to the other end to catch the fish tape. The tape exited the conduit in a live panel, bucked all three phases of 480, and tripped every main all the way to the switch gear on the roof. I shut down 8 heat treat lines and had every engineer and manager in the plant investigating. That was a bad day.


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## Tsmil (Jul 17, 2011)

Worst mistake I made... Spent an entire Saturday relamping 120 highbay MH lamps in a production area. At end of day was told I was in the wrong wing.


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## MIKEFLASH (Apr 14, 2012)

drumnut08 said:


> Was this at your house ? I know that's where I make my biggest mistakes usually , lol ! My latest was a missed joist in the attic while putting a floor down , and my foot through put bedroom ceiling .


Yup my house


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## farlsincharge (Dec 31, 2010)

SEREMan2000 said:


> Anyone ever make a wiring mistake?


Once in awhile I forget about high leg delta, yes.
Let the smoke out of three thermistors last week before I decided the problem must be somewhere else. 
I broke a $500 light fixture last month.

For the amount of attic work I have done it is surely a miracle that I have never fallen through.

Last summer I trenched in a secondary for the poco. Strictly trenching contract, no electrical work. They were there and told me exactly where they wanted it. A week later they phone and tell us it is on the wrong property and can we come retrench.

Back in my apprenticeship I had a journeyman working in a rats nest of a panel. He was reaching in with his sidecutters to try and get a wire meanwhile telling me that I should never do this. No sooner had the words left his mouth, he touched the side of the can, lit up his pliers, and jumped a foot off the ground. I told him that I would have just taken his word for it.


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## Hippie (May 12, 2011)

A couple years back I was on a job doing service upgrades in an apartment complex. 4 gang meter sockets, they weren't labeled so first thing would be pull meters one at a time to identify which meter went to which apartment. Had been doing the outside part for months and had gotten complacent. I pulled all but one meter and started cutting the old discos loose, all the while talking to a co worker. Then big boom and flash as I cut into the live one. Only casualty was my Kleins but I have been much more careful since then. That was a real wake up call, probably the most dangerous mistake I've made


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## FCR1988 (Jul 10, 2011)

A few weeks ago i drilled around 20 trusses... luckily the inspector didn't seem to care.


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## running dummy (Mar 19, 2009)

SEREMan2000 said:


> Anyone ever make a wiring mistake?


Not too long ago I was ready to turn out and was in charge of all the site work on a new construction project. I had done all the rough work, set all the poles and everything went in with out a hiccup. 

One day my foreman told me to go wire up an emergency call station in the parking lot. The company that made it is called Code Blue and it's in parking lots so that if you are being followed or threatened you can hit a button and it will notify the police/security. 

Well the wiring diagram was a joke, but being so close to topping out I made an executive decision and wired it based on my gut feeling. 

About a week later, after getting sent to another job, my foreman called me and said they fired it up and that I ****ed up the wiring. 

He said a Code Blue turned into a Code Red and I let all the smoke out. 

He's a good guy and covered for me. The company sent out another control transformer with a new wiring diagram on the cover. :lol:


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## Mcsparkin (Sep 12, 2012)

pulling a temp circuit out of a panel and clipped the bus bar with a tip and !!*FLASHBANG*!!


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## wcord (Jan 23, 2011)

farlsincharge said:


> Back in my apprenticeship I had a journeyman working in a rats nest of a panel. He was reaching in with his sidecutters to try and get a wire meanwhile telling me that I should never do this. No sooner had the words left his mouth, he touched the side of the can, lit up his pliers, and jumped a foot off the ground. I told him that I would have just taken his word for it.


If I had a dollar for every time I told an apprentice "never do this",
I could probably retire:laughing:
And then, I go ahead and do it -duh


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## Bobert (Mar 10, 2013)

Big John said:


> Walking through an attic of blow in insulation, stepped on where I expected there was gonna be a joist, and found nothing. Dropped completely through the ceiling. Made a hole you could've driven a Mini Cooper through.


Oh baby!!! Been there, done that!!

Homeowner in the room admiring his perfect new pot lights over the fireplace. Not much $ profit that day.


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## thoenew (Jan 17, 2012)

Not a wiring mistake, but a couple weeks ago, I flipped the company's 4 wheeler,


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## Sparky J (May 17, 2011)

Years ago I learned that hills, gravity and walk behind trenches don't always necessarily work in unison. I was trenching for a lady's hot tub in her hilly backyard and had been careful all day but got complacient and had the blade up while traversing at too much of an angle. 
The 2 kickers were I was finishing up and I was driving it to the front of her home to take it off rental and when the tow driver came to up right it he almost didn't have enought chain to tie to it to upright it. But on the plus side it did still work and once cleaned off a bit you couldn't tell I rolled it.....


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## cwsims84 (Jan 21, 2012)

drilled thru a microlam on a 28,000sq ft custom home(same day, I hit a patch of ice and rear ended one of our other work vans)... luckily i just clipped it enough and the engineer cleared it. This was during my first apprenticeship about 7yrs ago... i left the trade and I am just now getting back in.. hopefully no major screw ups this time around.


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## JoeKP (Nov 16, 2009)

thoenew said:


> Not a wiring mistake, but a couple weeks ago, I flipped the company's 4 wheeler,


Drove mine into a tree tonight. Making another thread with pics for that


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## AlbertaBeef (Mar 30, 2013)

cwsims84 said:


> drilled thru a microlam on a 28,000sq ft custom home(same day, I hit a patch of ice and rear ended one of our other work vans)... luckily i just clipped it enough and the engineer cleared it. This was during my first apprenticeship about 7yrs ago... i left the trade and I am just now getting back in.. hopefully no major screw ups this time around.


This is the screw up of your Jman. They give you a drill and tell you to use it, but don't tell you where not to drill...


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## cwsims84 (Jan 21, 2012)

AlbertaBeef said:


> This is the screw up of your Jman. They give you a drill and tell you to use it, but don't tell you where not to drill...


Funny you say that... I asked him if the spot i was drilling was good, he went downstairs into the finished basement and called me and said we were good.. after about 5min of drilling I was super confused!! needless to say, it didnt look pretty.


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## 100wattskunk (Mar 13, 2013)

I'm still apprenticing, but, so far the only mistakes I've made have been getting zapped ( bout 6 times in 6 mos.) and misplacing my bosses' "sawzall" and never finding it.....Also, drilled through the ceiling of the kitchen (twice) while trying to drill down into the wall from the attic to install plug for fridge.....And on another occasion, I was tidying up some existing wires in the basement and, somehow, accidently ran a staple right through a strand of 12-2...Blew up right in my face! luckily I was wearing my safety glasses


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## ponyboy (Nov 18, 2012)

100wattskunk said:


> I'm still apprenticing, but, so far the only mistakes I've made have been getting zapped ( bout 6 times in 6 mos.) and misplacing my bosses' "sawzall" *and never finding it*.....Also, drilled through the ceiling of the kitchen (t*wice*) while trying to drill down into the wall from the attic to install plug for fridge.....And on another occasion, I was tidying up some existing wires in the basement and, *somehow, accidently* ran a staple right through a strand of 12-2...Blew up right in my face! *luckily I was wearing my safety glasses*


don't know if you meant this to be humorous but it made me lol


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## Chris1971 (Dec 27, 2010)

Stupid Mistake: Becoming an electrician.:laughing:

Just kidding. I enjoy it most days.


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## kub (May 27, 2009)

Had my share of mistakes over the years. The worst was really not my fault in the end but, got a call that a light lift in a custom home we just finished wouldn't come down. So go over there and chandelier was about 20 ft up , I hit the the key to lower it and as soon as I hit it snap! Cable snaps light falls 20 ft onto custom stained staircase and breaks into 20 pieces and gouges the stairs all up.

After investigating the lift and talking to the painter figured out that the gc lowered the fixture all the way down so they could patch the drywall around the box that was cut to big. The gc lowered it down and let sit on the ground and when hit went to put it back up turned the key the wrong way cable spooled out twisted up and pulled the light up turning the the key the wrong way so now the micro switch that stops the motor was no longer in play. Ho was so thrilled about it, that they filed complaints against the gc.


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## Caustic CC (Jan 31, 2013)

Up on a six ft. ladder drilling old joists with a R/A drill with a dull nail eater bit.
Was on second to last step, leaning into the drill with my shoulder. Hair got caught in chuck, dropped drill, throwing me off the ladder, ripping out hair, putting a nice bloody bald spot on the left side of my skull.
The chuck looked like I caught a rat.

Having your hair ripped out is a pain you don't want to feel. Forget falling off the ladder...
Never used a dull bit since.
And I cut my hair eventually...


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## Industrialsparky (Jul 10, 2012)

Caustic CC said:


> Up on a six ft. ladder drilling old joists with a R/A drill with a dull nail eater bit.
> Was on second to last step, leaning into the drill with my shoulder. Hair got caught in chuck, dropped drill, throwing me off the ladder, ripping out hair, putting a nice bloody bald spot on the left side of my skull.
> The chuck looked like I caught a rat.
> 
> ...


GOOD GOD lol that sounds horrible


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

Caustic CC said:


> Up on a six ft. ladder drilling old joists with a R/A drill with a dull nail eater bit.
> Was on second to last step, leaning into the drill with my shoulder. Hair got caught in chuck, dropped drill, throwing me off the ladder, ripping out hair, putting a nice bloody bald spot on the left side of my skull.
> The chuck looked like I caught a rat.
> 
> ...


:laughing::laughing: That sucks!


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## toolaholic (Aug 13, 2010)

Caustic CC said:


> Up on a six ft. ladder drilling old joists with a R/A drill with a dull nail eater bit.
> Was on second to last step, leaning into the drill with my shoulder. Hair got caught in chuck, dropped drill, throwing me off the ladder, ripping out hair, putting a nice bloody bald spot on the left side of my skull.
> The chuck looked like I caught a rat.
> 
> ...


 I shave My Head, I'm safe !


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## Caustic CC (Jan 31, 2013)

toolaholic said:


> I shave My Head, I'm safe !


VERY wise choice, pal!! Haha... keep your bits sharp too just to be sure...:thumbsup:


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## dronai (Apr 11, 2011)

New construction custom home.
Mounting my disposal outlet surface mounted wiremold box inside the new kitchen island, (plumber not there yet) used a couple of drywall screws. A few days later I get a call from the GC, when the granite guys installed the counter top. the weight made my drywall screws create a pinhole leak in the plumbing pipe that was behind my box. I heard it wet the entire new imported hardwood floor, all the way to the base of the cabinets. Carpenter tore the floor up without letting me see it, or the flooring contractor. Owner wanted new flooring, and new cabinets ! ($30K-$40K) He asked for my insurance which I told him I didn't have (I did though) The flooring contractor replaced the floor using the scrap material, and only charged me $400. The cabinets were fine. I sweating bullets on this one.


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

dronai said:


> New construction custom home.
> Mounting my disposal outlet surface mounted wiremold box inside the new kitchen island, (plumber not there yet) used a couple of drywall screws. A few days later I get a call from the GC, when the granite guys installed the counter top. the weight made my drywall screws create a pinhole leak in the plumbing pipe that was behind my box. I heard it wet the entire new imported hardwood floor, all the way to the base of the cabinets. Carpenter tore the floor up without letting me see it, or the flooring contractor. Owner wanted new flooring, and new cabinets ! ($30K-$40K) He asked for my insurance which I told him I didn't have (I did though) The flooring contractor replaced the floor using the scrap material, and only charged me $400. The cabinets were fine. I sweating bullets on this one.


Good call on not giving him your insurance. :thumbsup:


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