On Fri, 19 May 2006 15:49:44 GMT, 3rd eye
wrote:



I went to work last year in a brand new development. A row
house/townhome actually. These units were 4 stories high. You'd
actually have to walk up three flights of stairs to get to the top of
the unit. The new owner had closed the week prior. She had workmen
putting finishing touches on the place before she moved in.
She was a bit anal about her new floors, insisted booties be worn.

A guy on the top floor was putting in z brick & was nailing a template
on the wall when he hit a fire sprinkler line. The fire dept. showed
up. I was outside thinking not much about it when, after about 20
minutes I stuck my head in the front door & saw water running out of
the ceiling fixtures.
Wearing my booties I went up. Second floor carpet was saturated. Third
floor was two inches deep in water mixed with insulation swirling
around, flowing into the heat registers. I got to the top floor where
the brick guy had been working, the fire dept. had cut a hole in the
wall exposing the pipe.
He stood there muttering to no one in particular. I didn't have the
heart to speak to him.
I wasn't sure whether to feel more sorry for him, or for her.
I beat it out of there.

I spoke with her later she said it took 40 minutes before the fire
dept was able to shut the water off. She handled the whole thing
rather well. Nobody got hurt, her furniture wasn't yet in.
They had to pretty much gut the unit. Took a month to put it back
together.


Ok, note to self. A rubber pad and three big hose clamps
are an important part of your disaster control equipment
when working on someone else's house. Other note to self,
a pair of trash cans and two people to cart them to a window
or bathtub would do a lot to limit damage.