I've made a few threads about having my deck rebuilt, and the issues
that have come along with the contractor. I have to admit, though,
that at this point, the work is looking pretty darn good... as long as
I stand over the contractor the whole time and not let him get away
with shortcuts!

Anyway, today's issue has to do with a decision the contractor made
that I'm not even sure was legal.

Apparently, I had a nest of yellow jackets inside of my wall, behind a
GFI outlet, which he stirred up this morning. He tried spraying them
with wasp spray, and when that didn't kill them he decided to pour
gasoline into the hole.

Now, I have concerns with the smell that's overpowering the house, the
fire risk with electric wires, the risk of damage to the subfloor that
the gas has to be sitting on, etc.

It rained pretty hard today and I hoped it would wash the gas out, but
it smells stronger now than ever before. What exactly do I do to get
the gasoline out of the wall?? Or at least, get the smell out?

Jason Carlton wrote:
I've made a few threads about having my deck rebuilt, and the issues
that have come along with the contractor. I have to admit, though,
that at this point, the work is looking pretty darn good... as long as
I stand over the contractor the whole time and not let him get away
with shortcuts!

Anyway, today's issue has to do with a decision the contractor made
that I'm not even sure was legal.

Ventilate. Gasoline is volatile.

Were it me, I would pressurize the house, using
fans placed on the *opposite side of the house*
from the outlet in question. I would start
with a fan in clear air outside of a doorway.

If you are even a tiny bit lucky, all the
gasoline will slowly vaporize and exit without
any drama.

Lock your most important paperwork in the
trunk of your car and be ready to shut off
the fans and dial '911' if things go sideways.

--Winston

On Sep 10, 1:56*am, Winston wrote:
Jason Carlton wrote:
I've made a few threads about having my deck rebuilt, and the issues
that have come along with the contractor. I have to admit, though,
that at this point, the work is looking pretty darn good... as long as
I stand over the contractor the whole time and not let him get away
with shortcuts!

Anyway, today's issue has to do with a decision the contractor made
that I'm not even sure was legal.

Ventilate. Gasoline is volatile.

Were it me, I would pressurize the house, using
fans placed on the *opposite side of the house*
from the outlet in question. *I would start
with a fan in clear air outside of a doorway.

If you are even a tiny bit lucky, all the
gasoline will slowly vaporize and exit without
any drama.

Lock your most important paperwork in the
trunk of your car and be ready to shut off
the fans and dial '911' if things go sideways.

--Winston

That's pretty much what I did today, and I thought everything was fine
until it got cold and I shut the windows. 15 minutes later, it was
just as bad as before. I'll do the same tomorrow.

Now that I think about it, my MIL has a huge fan that they used to use
in a factory. I'll see if I can borrow that tomorrow, and then just
let it blow all day. That's a lot more powerful than the little window
fans that I have.

I'm not really all that upset about the smell (although the dogs
are!), because I figured that would go away. I'm more concerned with
the concept of having gas soaking into the subfloor, drywall, etc. I
certainly hope it DOES evaporate quickly! I thought about dumping
sawdust or kitty litter in the hole and then trying to suck it out
with a wet/dry vac, but even with the outlet out I don't think I can
get the hose down to the floor.

On Sep 10, 12:06*am, Jason Carlton wrote:
On Sep 10, 1:56*am, Winston wrote:



Jason Carlton wrote:
I've made a few threads about having my deck rebuilt, and the issues
that have come along with the contractor. I have to admit, though,
that at this point, the work is looking pretty darn good... as long as
I stand over the contractor the whole time and not let him get away
with shortcuts!

Anyway, today's issue has to do with a decision the contractor made
that I'm not even sure was legal.

Ventilate. Gasoline is volatile.

Were it me, I would pressurize the house, using
fans placed on the *opposite side of the house*
from the outlet in question. *I would start
with a fan in clear air outside of a doorway.

If you are even a tiny bit lucky, all the
gasoline will slowly vaporize and exit without
any drama.

Lock your most important paperwork in the
trunk of your car and be ready to shut off
the fans and dial '911' if things go sideways.

--Winston

That's pretty much what I did today, and I thought everything was fine
until it got cold and I shut the windows. 15 minutes later, it was
just as bad as before. I'll do the same tomorrow.

Now that I think about it, my MIL has a huge fan that they used to use
in a factory. I'll see if I can borrow that tomorrow, and then just
let it blow all day. That's a lot more powerful than the little window
fans that I have.

I'm not really all that upset about the smell (although the dogs
are!), because I figured that would go away. I'm more concerned with
the concept of having gas soaking into the subfloor, drywall, etc. I
certainly hope it DOES evaporate quickly! I thought about dumping
sawdust or kitty litter in the hole and then trying to suck it out
with a wet/dry vac, but even with the outlet out I don't think I can
get the hose down to the floor.

Jason-

Do NOT try to soak it up with saw dust or kitty litter and vac it
out!!!!!

Shop vacs generate sparks with their crappy little motors....sucking
vapors through shop vac is a good way to get an explosion.
Every couple years someone in SoCal blows up their residence by
washing greasy clothes in washing machine with gasoline.

Do as others have suggested.......pressurize the house using windows
on he opposite side of the house from the gas spill.

Gasoline is volatile and stinking but it will go away.

cheers
Bob

On Sep 10, 3:15*pm, fftt wrote:
On Sep 10, 12:06*am, Jason Carlton wrote:





On Sep 10, 1:56*am, Winston wrote:

Jason Carlton wrote:
I've made a few threads about having my deck rebuilt, and the issues
that have come along with the contractor. I have to admit, though,
that at this point, the work is looking pretty darn good... as long as
I stand over the contractor the whole time and not let him get away
with shortcuts!

Anyway, today's issue has to do with a decision the contractor made
that I'm not even sure was legal.

Ventilate. Gasoline is volatile.

Were it me, I would pressurize the house, using
fans placed on the *opposite side of the house*
from the outlet in question. *I would start
with a fan in clear air outside of a doorway.

If you are even a tiny bit lucky, all the
gasoline will slowly vaporize and exit without
any drama.

Lock your most important paperwork in the
trunk of your car and be ready to shut off
the fans and dial '911' if things go sideways.

--Winston

That's pretty much what I did today, and I thought everything was fine
until it got cold and I shut the windows. 15 minutes later, it was
just as bad as before. I'll do the same tomorrow.

Now that I think about it, my MIL has a huge fan that they used to use
in a factory. I'll see if I can borrow that tomorrow, and then just
let it blow all day. That's a lot more powerful than the little window
fans that I have.

I'm not really all that upset about the smell (although the dogs
are!), because I figured that would go away. I'm more concerned with
the concept of having gas soaking into the subfloor, drywall, etc. I
certainly hope it DOES evaporate quickly! I thought about dumping
sawdust or kitty litter in the hole and then trying to suck it out
with a wet/dry vac, but even with the outlet out I don't think I can
get the hose down to the floor.

Jason-

Do NOT try to soak it up with saw dust or kitty litter and vac it
out!!!!!

Shop vacs *generate sparks with their crappy little motors....sucking
vapors through shop vac is a good way to get an explosion.
Every couple years someone in SoCal blows up their residence by
washing greasy clothes in washing machine with gasoline.

Do as others have suggested.......pressurize the house using windows
on he opposite side of the house from the gas spill.

Gasoline is volatile and stinking but it will go away.

cheers
Bob- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Suggest: Don't switch anything on or off in the house until the smell
dissipates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
The spark from a light switch, radio, TV cooking stove could set off
an explosion.
Very very dangerous.
Also surprised that your battery operated smoke alarms have not
sounded.
Gasoline fumes are not the results of burning (yet) but our smoke
detectors will often sound off with excessive dampness, somethimes
when showers are operating, once or twice when using certain household
sprays, and/or when cutting wood on a bench saw which then jams and
while not making obvious smoke sets off the alarm.
Ventilate; ventilate. What a stupid thing to
do .......................... gasoline into wall of house!

On Sep 10, 1:24*pm, stan wrote:
On Sep 10, 3:15*pm, fftt wrote:





On Sep 10, 12:06*am, Jason Carlton wrote:

On Sep 10, 1:56*am, Winston wrote:

Jason Carlton wrote:
I've made a few threads about having my deck rebuilt, and the issues
that have come along with the contractor. I have to admit, though,
that at this point, the work is looking pretty darn good... as long as
I stand over the contractor the whole time and not let him get away
with shortcuts!

Anyway, today's issue has to do with a decision the contractor made
that I'm not even sure was legal.

Ventilate. Gasoline is volatile.

Were it me, I would pressurize the house, using
fans placed on the *opposite side of the house*
from the outlet in question. *I would start
with a fan in clear air outside of a doorway.

If you are even a tiny bit lucky, all the
gasoline will slowly vaporize and exit without
any drama.

Lock your most important paperwork in the
trunk of your car and be ready to shut off
the fans and dial '911' if things go sideways.

--Winston

That's pretty much what I did today, and I thought everything was fine
until it got cold and I shut the windows. 15 minutes later, it was
just as bad as before. I'll do the same tomorrow.

Now that I think about it, my MIL has a huge fan that they used to use
in a factory. I'll see if I can borrow that tomorrow, and then just
let it blow all day. That's a lot more powerful than the little window
fans that I have.

I'm not really all that upset about the smell (although the dogs
are!), because I figured that would go away. I'm more concerned with
the concept of having gas soaking into the subfloor, drywall, etc. I
certainly hope it DOES evaporate quickly! I thought about dumping
sawdust or kitty litter in the hole and then trying to suck it out
with a wet/dry vac, but even with the outlet out I don't think I can
get the hose down to the floor.

Jason-

Do NOT try to soak it up with saw dust or kitty litter and vac it
out!!!!!

Shop vacs *generate sparks with their crappy little motors....sucking
vapors through shop vac is a good way to get an explosion.
Every couple years someone in SoCal blows up their residence by
washing greasy clothes in washing machine with gasoline.

Do as others have suggested.......pressurize the house using windows
on he opposite side of the house from the gas spill.

Gasoline is volatile and stinking but it will go away.

cheers
Bob- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Suggest: Don't switch anything on or off in the house until the smell
dissipates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
The spark from a light switch, radio, TV cooking stove could set off
an explosion.
Very very dangerous.
Also surprised that your battery operated smoke alarms have not
sounded.
Gasoline fumes are not the results of burning (yet) but our smoke
detectors will often sound off with excessive dampness, somethimes
when showers are operating, once or twice when using certain household
sprays, and/or when cutting wood on a bench saw which then jams and
while not making obvious smoke sets off the alarm.
Ventilate; ventilate. What a stupid thing to
do .......................... gasoline into wall of house!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Now that you mention it, I'm a little surprised, too. There's a smoke
detector and a carbon monoxide detector on the ceiling in the kitchen,
so it's about 15' away from where he poured the gasoline.

On Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:24:21 -0700 (PDT), stan
wrote:



Suggest: Don't switch anything on or off in the house until the smell
dissipates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
The spark from a light switch, radio, TV cooking stove could set off
an explosion.
Very very dangerous.
Also surprised that your battery operated smoke alarms have not
sounded.
Gasoline fumes are not the results of burning (yet) but our smoke
detectors will often sound off with excessive dampness, somethimes
when showers are operating, once or twice when using certain household
sprays, and/or when cutting wood on a bench saw which then jams and
while not making obvious smoke sets off the alarm.
Ventilate; ventilate. What a stupid thing to
do .......................... gasoline into wall of house!


Gasoline will not burn below 1.4% or above 7.6% concentration in air.
Your nose will find it extremely offensive at as little as 0.15 ppm.
Unless the guy poured in a LOT of gasoline it is not an explosion
risk. The typical "bug bomb" aerosol is as flammable as gasoline -
often using propane or MAPP gas as the propellant.

"Jason Carlton" wrote in message

On Sep 10, 1:56 am, Winston wrote:
Jason Carlton wrote:
I've made a few threads about having my deck rebuilt, and the issues
that have come along with the contractor. I have to admit, though,
that at this point, the work is looking pretty darn good... as long
as I stand over the contractor the whole time and not let him get
away with shortcuts!

Anyway, today's issue has to do with a decision the contractor made
that I'm not even sure was legal.

Ventilate. Gasoline is volatile.

Were it me, I would pressurize the house, using
fans placed on the *opposite side of the house*
from the outlet in question. I would start
with a fan in clear air outside of a doorway.

If you are even a tiny bit lucky, all the
gasoline will slowly vaporize and exit without
any drama.

Lock your most important paperwork in the
trunk of your car and be ready to shut off
the fans and dial '911' if things go sideways.

--Winston

That's pretty much what I did today, and I thought everything was fine
until it got cold and I shut the windows. 15 minutes later, it was
just as bad as before. I'll do the same tomorrow.

Now that I think about it, my MIL has a huge fan that they used to use
in a factory. I'll see if I can borrow that tomorrow, and then just
let it blow all day. That's a lot more powerful than the little window
fans that I have.

I'm not really all that upset about the smell (although the dogs
are!), because I figured that would go away. I'm more concerned with
the concept of having gas soaking into the subfloor, drywall, etc. I
certainly hope it DOES evaporate quickly! I thought about dumping
sawdust or kitty litter in the hole and then trying to suck it out
with a wet/dry vac, but even with the outlet out I don't think I can
get the hose down to the floor.

Why are YOU feeling responsible for it? The contractor did it, make him
take care of it. HE has fans, etc., and it's his job to do that. And
don't let him charge you for that work; it's something HE did.
If the money's in the right state, I'd fire his ass if he didn't fix
it; he should have done that without you even thinking about it. I'd
watch that bass turd like a hawk thru the rest of his work. He
obviously believes in shortcuts and using any method, right or not, to
get a job done. Wonder what else he screwed up?

Jason Carlton wrote:
I've made a few threads about having my deck rebuilt, and the issues
that have come along with the contractor. I have to admit, though,
that at this point, the work is looking pretty darn good... as long as
I stand over the contractor the whole time and not let him get away
with shortcuts!

Anyway, today's issue has to do with a decision the contractor made
that I'm not even sure was legal.

Apparently, I had a nest of yellow jackets inside of my wall, behind a
GFI outlet, which he stirred up this morning. He tried spraying them
with wasp spray, and when that didn't kill them he decided to pour
gasoline into the hole.

Now, I have concerns with the smell that's overpowering the house, the
fire risk with electric wires, the risk of damage to the subfloor that
the gas has to be sitting on, etc.

It rained pretty hard today and I hoped it would wash the gas out, but
it smells stronger now than ever before. What exactly do I do to get
the gasoline out of the wall?? Or at least, get the smell out?

How would rain wash the gas out? Can rain get into the hole he put the gas into?

Why not call the local building inspector and see what he suggests?

I bet he would love to get that call.

Or maybe you should just call a lawyer. He'd probably love to get the call also.

________________________

Just another reason why I do-it-myself, I guess.

Bob F wrote:

How would rain wash the gas out? Can rain get into the hole he put
the gas into?
Why not call the local building inspector and see what he suggests?

I bet he would love to get that call.

Or maybe you should just call a lawyer. He'd probably love to get the
call also.

As would the local contractor's board. Pouring gasoline into a wall, that's
about as reckless as I've ever heard.

Jon

I'm really speechless. There is something wrong with both of you. All
I smell from here is 'free' deck.

Thomas wrote:
I'm really speechless. There is something wrong with both of you. All
I smell from here is 'free' deck.

I'm almost speechless, too....especially after advice to run a lot of
electrical fans or vacs with a house full of gasoline fumes. Call the
freaking fire department and then fire the freaking contractor.

On Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:23:38 -0400, "
wrote:

Thomas wrote:
I'm really speechless. There is something wrong with both of you. All
I smell from here is 'free' deck.

I'm almost speechless, too....especially after advice to run a lot of
electrical fans or vacs with a house full of gasoline fumes. Call the
freaking fire department and then fire the freaking contractor.
Not a WHOLE lot different than many of the bug killer products - at
least as flamable and almost as bad smelling.

wrote in message

On Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:23:38 -0400, "
wrote:

Thomas wrote:
I'm really speechless. There is something wrong with both of you.
All I smell from here is 'free' deck.

I'm almost speechless, too....especially after advice to run a lot of
electrical fans or vacs with a house full of gasoline fumes. Call
the freaking fire department and then fire the freaking contractor.
Not a WHOLE lot different than many of the bug killer products - at
least as flamable and almost as bad smelling.

No, not as flammable, not even the fumes. Gasoline is initially very
explosive depending on how much was used, which hasn't been mentioned.

Twayne wrote:
wrote in message

On Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:23:38 -0400, "
wrote:

Thomas wrote:
I'm really speechless. There is something wrong with both of you.
All I smell from here is 'free' deck.
I'm almost speechless, too....especially after advice to run a lot of
electrical fans or vacs with a house full of gasoline fumes. Call
the freaking fire department and then fire the freaking contractor.
Not a WHOLE lot different than many of the bug killer products - at
least as flamable and almost as bad smelling.

No, not as flammable, not even the fumes. Gasoline is initially very
explosive depending on how much was used, which hasn't been mentioned.



I remember reading an article, long ago, about the person with the worst
burns ever to survive. Being a nurse, it really hit home. It was a
young girl who had gotten paint on her skin. She was given a rag wet
with gasoline and went into the bathroom to clean off the paint and to
shower. She wiped the paint off with gasoline. When she turned on the
shower, the water heater caused the gasoline to explode. Fumes not
flammable? Insane! She had 3rd degree burns, 99% of her body.

Gentle reminder that gasoline is flammable. It has a flash
point lower than 100F. Also, gasoline and air mixtures can
be explosive. Sounds like a safety problem, to me.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Jason Carlton" wrote in message
...
I've made a few threads about having my deck rebuilt, and
the issues
that have come along with the contractor. I have to admit,
though,
that at this point, the work is looking pretty darn good...
as long as
I stand over the contractor the whole time and not let him
get away
with shortcuts!

Anyway, today's issue has to do with a decision the
contractor made
that I'm not even sure was legal.

Apparently, I had a nest of yellow jackets inside of my
wall, behind a
GFI outlet, which he stirred up this morning. He tried
spraying them
with wasp spray, and when that didn't kill them he decided
to pour
gasoline into the hole.

Now, I have concerns with the smell that's overpowering the
house, the
fire risk with electric wires, the risk of damage to the
subfloor that
the gas has to be sitting on, etc.

It rained pretty hard today and I hoped it would wash the
gas out, but
it smells stronger now than ever before. What exactly do I
do to get
the gasoline out of the wall?? Or at least, get the smell
out?

Stormin Mormon wrote:
Gentle reminder that gasoline is flammable. It has a flash
point lower than 100F. Also, gasoline and air mixtures can
be explosive. Sounds like a safety problem, to me.

Well, just a little lower, yeah--about 150F lower, in fact. The flash
point isn't of terrible significance here other than that gasoline is,
(surprise, surprise!) volatile and flammable...

The ignition temperature is about 500F.

I'll agree this is a bad deal if not just trolling and the advice to
call the fire department and expect the contractor to pick up any tab
for the resolution.

This could get expensive since the absorption into wallboard, studs,
floor, etc., will remain highly flammable for a long period of time even
after the most of the vapors are gone may require a significant amount
of material be removed and replaced to rid the place from the long term
problem...

Only thing I'd think might be beneficial other than ventilation (but as
somebody else noted it's spooky to put open electric motor in close
proximity for the "boom" factor) _might_ be non-flammable foam to encase
it but what the specific product might be I don't know...

This has to be about the stupidest trick I've heard in years...

--

"dpb" wrote in message

Stormin Mormon wrote:
Gentle reminder that gasoline is flammable. It has a flash
point lower than 100F. Also, gasoline and air mixtures can
be explosive. Sounds like a safety problem, to me.

Well, just a little lower, yeah--about 150F lower, in fact. The flash
point isn't of terrible significance here other than that gasoline is,
(surprise, surprise!) volatile and flammable...

The ignition temperature is about 500F.

I'll agree this is a bad deal if not just trolling and the advice to
call the fire department and expect the contractor to pick up any tab
for the resolution.

This could get expensive since the absorption into wallboard, studs,
floor, etc., will remain highly flammable for a long period of time
even after the most of the vapors are gone may require a significant
amount of material be removed and replaced to rid the place from the
long term problem...

Only thing I'd think might be beneficial other than ventilation (but
as somebody else noted it's spooky to put open electric motor in close
proximity for the "boom" factor) _might_ be non-flammable foam to
encase it but what the specific product might be I don't know...

This has to be about the stupidest trick I've heard in years...

But was it an ounce or a quart of gas? Did it go into the nest and the
nest was pulled out and the rest was clean?

Twayne wrote:
....
But was it an ounce or a quart of gas? Did it go into the nest and the
nest was pulled out and the rest was clean?

It was stupid beyond words no matter how much or little--only the
consequences might change some.

The chances it went solely on the nest are, imo from the OP's comments,
marginally nil...

--

"Jason Carlton" wrote in message
...
I've made a few threads about having my deck rebuilt, and the issues
that have come along with the contractor. I have to admit, though,
that at this point, the work is looking pretty darn good... as long as
I stand over the contractor the whole time and not let him get away
with shortcuts!

Anyway, today's issue has to do with a decision the contractor made
that I'm not even sure was legal.

Apparently, I had a nest of yellow jackets inside of my wall, behind a
GFI outlet, which he stirred up this morning. He tried spraying them
with wasp spray, and when that didn't kill them he decided to pour
gasoline into the hole.

You were standing over him the whole time, and let him do it? I would not
have allowed it, but it's good to know that anybody would actually try it.
Sorry for the mess you have, and I hope it resolves quickly for you.

Cheri

On Sep 10, 11:31*am, "Cheri" wrote:
"Jason Carlton" wrote in message

...

I've made a few threads about having my deck rebuilt, and the issues
that have come along with the contractor. I have to admit, though,
that at this point, the work is looking pretty darn good... as long as
I stand over the contractor the whole time and not let him get away
with shortcuts!

Anyway, today's issue has to do with a decision the contractor made
that I'm not even sure was legal.

Apparently, I had a nest of yellow jackets inside of my wall, behind a
GFI outlet, which he stirred up this morning. He tried spraying them
with wasp spray, and when that didn't kill them he decided to pour
gasoline into the hole.

You were standing over him the whole time, and let him do it? I would not
have allowed it, but it's good to know that anybody would actually try it..
Sorry for the mess you have, and I hope it resolves quickly for you.

Cheri

No, he certainly didn't do it while I was there. At the end of the day
before, I had given him a container of wasp spray and watched him use
that, but then the next day when I got there, he had already poured
gas into the hole. I found out about it when I went into the kitchen
and smelled the gas.

In my area, it's VERY common for people to pour gas on a yellow
jackets nest; usually when it's in the ground. I've never done it
myself, and never would (and I doubt that it's legal), but that's what
all of the old-timers do. It's seems pretty stupid to me, though, to
pour it into a wall!

I did just realize something, though. When he sprayed wasp spray the
night before, I had turned off the breaker to that GFI outlet, but
then turned it back on later that evening so that he could use the
outlet for his tools (the spray said it was non-conductive, anyway).
So when he poured gas into the hole the next day, he was pouring it
into a LIVE outlet!

The more I think about it, I'm just shocked that my house is still
here.

On Sep 10, 1:39*am, Jason Carlton wrote:
I've made a few threads about having my deck rebuilt, and the issues
that have come along with the contractor. I have to admit, though,
that at this point, the work is looking pretty darn good... as long as
I stand over the contractor the whole time and not let him get away
with shortcuts!

Anyway, today's issue has to do with a decision the contractor made
that I'm not even sure was legal.

Apparently, I had a nest of yellow jackets inside of my wall, behind a
GFI outlet, which he stirred up this morning. He tried spraying them
with wasp spray, and when that didn't kill them he decided to pour
gasoline into the hole.

Now, I have concerns with the smell that's overpowering the house, the
fire risk with electric wires, the risk of damage to the subfloor that
the gas has to be sitting on, etc.

It rained pretty hard today and I hoped it would wash the gas out, but
it smells stronger now than ever before. What exactly do I do to get
the gasoline out of the wall?? Or at least, get the smell out?

Call the Fire Department. They will call in there hazardous materials
team. The only truly safe thing to do is to remove all of the
contaminated building materials. The effect of the gasoline on the
insulation of the wiring would be major concern of mine. Lets see.
We have a small amount of gasoline spilled in a confined space. If
the vapor mixture is in the flammable range and the deteriorated
insulation leads to an arc... One cup of gasoline mixed with the
right amount of air has the explosive brisance of a stick of
dynamite.
--
Tom Horne

On Sep 10, 12:22*pm, Tom Horne wrote:
On Sep 10, 1:39*am, Jason Carlton wrote:





I've made a few threads about having my deck rebuilt, and the issues
that have come along with the contractor. I have to admit, though,
that at this point, the work is looking pretty darn good... as long as
I stand over the contractor the whole time and not let him get away
with shortcuts!

Anyway, today's issue has to do with a decision the contractor made
that I'm not even sure was legal.

Apparently, I had a nest of yellow jackets inside of my wall, behind a
GFI outlet, which he stirred up this morning. He tried spraying them
with wasp spray, and when that didn't kill them he decided to pour
gasoline into the hole.

Now, I have concerns with the smell that's overpowering the house, the
fire risk with electric wires, the risk of damage to the subfloor that
the gas has to be sitting on, etc.

It rained pretty hard today and I hoped it would wash the gas out, but
it smells stronger now than ever before. What exactly do I do to get
the gasoline out of the wall?? Or at least, get the smell out?

Call the Fire Department. *They will call in there hazardous materials
team. *The only truly safe thing to do is to remove all of the
contaminated building materials. *The effect of the gasoline on the
insulation of the wiring would be major concern of mine. *Lets see.
We have a small amount of gasoline spilled in a confined space. *If
the vapor mixture is in the flammable range and the deteriorated
insulation leads to an arc... *One cup of gasoline mixed with the
right amount of air has the explosive brisance of a stick of
dynamite.
--
Tom Horne- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

This is kind of my thought, too; that we'll have to cut out all of the
contaminated wood. The thing is, though, that I KNOW this guy doesn't
have the money to pay for it. I could sue him, of course, but even a
judgement doesn't do any good; he doesn't have a regular wage to
garnish, and he's a 60 year old man that's never going to sell his
house.

So, this repair will come out of my own pocket, no matter how I cut
it.

I think that I'll call the fire department tomorrow and have their
inspector to come out. I really hate to do that, because I can already
feel that he's going to require me to fix it, and I simply don't have
the money... but I don't have the money for my house to burn down,
either!

For anyone that cares, I let the contractor go this morning. All he
had left was the handrails, anyway, and I'll just do that on my own
this weekend.

Jason Carlton wrote:
On Sep 10, 12:22 pm, Tom Horne wrote:
On Sep 10, 1:39 am, Jason Carlton wrote:





I've made a few threads about having my deck rebuilt, and the issues
that have come along with the contractor. I have to admit, though,
that at this point, the work is looking pretty darn good... as long
as I stand over the contractor the whole time and not let him get
away with shortcuts!

Anyway, today's issue has to do with a decision the contractor made
that I'm not even sure was legal.

Apparently, I had a nest of yellow jackets inside of my wall,
behind a GFI outlet, which he stirred up this morning. He tried
spraying them with wasp spray, and when that didn't kill them he
decided to pour gasoline into the hole.

Now, I have concerns with the smell that's overpowering the house,
the fire risk with electric wires, the risk of damage to the
subfloor that the gas has to be sitting on, etc.

It rained pretty hard today and I hoped it would wash the gas out,
but it smells stronger now than ever before. What exactly do I do
to get the gasoline out of the wall?? Or at least, get the smell
out?

Call the Fire Department. They will call in there hazardous materials
team. The only truly safe thing to do is to remove all of the
contaminated building materials. The effect of the gasoline on the
insulation of the wiring would be major concern of mine. Lets see.
We have a small amount of gasoline spilled in a confined space. If
the vapor mixture is in the flammable range and the deteriorated
insulation leads to an arc... One cup of gasoline mixed with the
right amount of air has the explosive brisance of a stick of
dynamite.
--
Tom Horne- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

This is kind of my thought, too; that we'll have to cut out all of the
contaminated wood. The thing is, though, that I KNOW this guy doesn't
have the money to pay for it. I could sue him, of course, but even a
judgement doesn't do any good; he doesn't have a regular wage to
garnish, and he's a 60 year old man that's never going to sell his
house.

So, this repair will come out of my own pocket, no matter how I cut
it.

I think that I'll call the fire department tomorrow and have their
inspector to come out. I really hate to do that, because I can already
feel that he's going to require me to fix it, and I simply don't have
the money... but I don't have the money for my house to burn down,
either!

For anyone that cares, I let the contractor go this morning. All he
had left was the handrails, anyway, and I'll just do that on my own
this weekend.

Did your contractor have insurance? If not, maybe you can get some relief
from your own insurer.They can take him to court.

On Wed, 9 Sep 2009 22:39:20 -0700 (PDT), Jason Carlton wrote:
I've made a few threads about having my deck rebuilt, and the issues
that have come along with the contractor. I have to admit, though,
that at this point, the work is looking pretty darn good... as long as
I stand over the contractor the whole time and not let him get away
with shortcuts!

Anyway, today's issue has to do with a decision the contractor made
that I'm not even sure was legal.

Apparently, I had a nest of yellow jackets inside of my wall, behind a
GFI outlet, which he stirred up this morning. He tried spraying them
with wasp spray, and when that didn't kill them he decided to pour
gasoline into the hole.

Now, I have concerns with the smell that's overpowering the house, the
fire risk with electric wires, the risk of damage to the subfloor that
the gas has to be sitting on, etc.

You have a hazmat site now. The contractor needs to clean his mess if
he wants to stay out of jail.

I think what I'd do is call the non-emergency number for your fire
department and explain your situation. In this case, with such a stupid
contractor, they may not have heard of such a thing, but they should be able
to help you assess the risk.

Keith

Jason Carlton wrote:
I've made a few threads about having my deck rebuilt, and the issues
that have come along with the contractor. I have to admit, though,
that at this point, the work is looking pretty darn good... as long as
I stand over the contractor the whole time and not let him get away
with shortcuts!

Anyway, today's issue has to do with a decision the contractor made
that I'm not even sure was legal.

Apparently, I had a nest of yellow jackets inside of my wall, behind a
GFI outlet, which he stirred up this morning. He tried spraying them
with wasp spray, and when that didn't kill them he decided to pour
gasoline into the hole.

Now, I have concerns with the smell that's overpowering the house, the
fire risk with electric wires, the risk of damage to the subfloor that
the gas has to be sitting on, etc.

It rained pretty hard today and I hoped it would wash the gas out, but
it smells stronger now than ever before. What exactly do I do to get
the gasoline out of the wall?? Or at least, get the smell out?

I think what I'd do is call the non-emergency number for your fire
department and explain your situation. In this case, with such a stupid
contractor, they may not have heard of such a thing, but they should be able
to help you assess the risk. I've had gas on clothes before, and that smell
doesn't go away for a long time. It might be most expedient to create an
opening so you can get at the source and treat it directly.

Keith

Good on you, Keith

I think what I'd do is call the non-emergency number for your
fire department and explain your situation. In this case, with
such a stupid contractor, they may not have heard of such a
thing, but they should be able to help you assess the risk.
I've had gas on clothes before, and that smell doesn't go away
for a long time. It might be most expedient to create an
opening so you can get at the source and treat it directly.

Keith




At last, one common sense solution out of so many responses. I've
never read so many wild "the sky is falling" opinions in my life.
Because it was gasoline it had to be unsafe? The same people
would think nothing of spraying oil base spray paint or emptying a
can of wasp spray in a similar setting.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...pray&aqi=g-sx2

If you're worried - get some professional advice at the local
firehouse, although I have a fireman friend who thinks more than
two magazines and the evening newspaper on the coffee table is a
potential fire risk.

All of the "sue him" , "don't pay him", and "report him" nazis get
really old. I hope I never have the misfortune of working for or
around any of you. I can usually smell the type and avoid them
like the plague or charge so much it becomes worth putting up with
the b.s.

--
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)