The first time in over 20 years.

had left, I was able to go back and tar the hole. Embarrassing!!

Magnet and brown Dap - Brinks installers best friends! The hard part is explaining why you need to access the roof. ;-)

everyone had left, I was able to go back and tar the hole. Embarrassing!!

Been There - Done That! :-)

I had a tech do that about 25 years ago. He went through a large beam and thought he was going upstairs. Solution: He pounded a 3/8" dowel through the hole and patched the roof with tar (in a caulking tube. I gave the customer a warranty on our work equal to the balance of the term of his new roof. No claim, still a customer. Still have the warranty letter in his file!

John Sowden American Sentry Systems, Inc. San Francisco Bay Area

everyone had left, I was able to go back and tar the hole. Embarrassing!!

Mine was trying to drill up through a header into an attic, I was certain I was in the attic so I shoved the fish tape (30 ft fiberglass) up the hole so the guy in attic could grab it.

He kept saying he couldn't see it and I was dubious as I had to have at least 20 ft of tape up there. I decide to go out to my truck and get him a better flashlight.

As soon as I opened the door I figured out why he couldn't see it - there was the end of the tape dangling right in front of my face.

I tarred the hole and told the plant supervisor (was I not supposed to do that?). He had his maint super check it and he had no problems with the fix and said he would check it every year or two for shrinkage.

everyone had left, I was able to go back and tar the hole. Embarrassing!!

Lol...

We had a guy drill right through a TV set when I was with Brinks. He was drilling for a motion to carpet run, his estimate of where it would come up was off. ;-)

Hell no!

"shrinkage", I hate it when that happens.

everyone had left, I was able to go back and tar the hole. Embarrassing!!

Hell, I think it was the policy that was developed because of an alarm guy drilling a hole through a roof, that was the model for the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.

everyone had left, I was able to go back and tar the hole. Embarrassing!!

Just wait until you get a few years older.

Back in 1965 or thereabouts I was drilling a hole for a wire from the outside of the house just below a first-floor window towards the inside of the house. I was mounting the bell box below the window. I eventually felt the bit turning, but not going any deeper.

I went inside the house and saw that I had drilled through the wall and had drilled into a cast-iron floor-mounted radiator, tight against the wall. I called my Dad, who drove many miles, saw my error, and proceeded with pipe wrench to disconnect the radiator from its feed pipe (don't recall ir it was steam or water). He re-drilled the hole, tapped it, and then with screw driver in hand he put a machine screw in the hole; moved radiator back into position.

His motto was "Never make a mistake you can't fix."

And there was the time I was in a basement whose walls were knotty-pine. While drilling with a two-foot bit at a slight angle but almost parallel to the wall I suddenly experiened water squirting at me from the wooden hole, behind which was a copper pipe. Dad to the rescue again.

Another time a customer called at the end of the day to say her clothes dryer was not working and "did we disconnect it?" No we did not, but the following day I discovered that in drilling a 3/8 hole from a first floor door to the basement the bit had passed through the center of the 220VAC dryer feed, and that we had also put a snake through the hole and our wire was now also passing throught the 220VAC line. I never felt a shock when the bit shorted the 220.

And there was the employee who couldn't care much about anything. He was the helper, who thought he new everything. He was in the basement with two-foot bit about to drill up into an interior wall. The basement ceiling was unfinished, no one was at home, the house was empty of furniture, the customer had just purchased the house, and the dummy was in the basement with this "lkethal weapon." Upstairs in the kitchen was the senior installer who was to stomp on the floor if he saw the bit come up through the tiled kitchen floo, in which case the dummy would stop and realize he missed the interior of the wall.

Would you believe that when I arrived later >Well, I did something the other day that I haven't done in over 20 - 30 years. >

had left, I was able to go back and tar the hole. Embarrassing!!

Why wasn't the lead tech fired? After one bad hole he should have taken over on the drill. He essentially taught the other guy it's okay to keep missing the target and repeatedly cause damage in the process.

When I was training others, they didn't get to drill on high-dollar potential for mishaps. I let them make their mistakes on shitty houses that an extra hole or two could be repaired or unnoticed. That means no tile, or berber loop carpet above at first.

The new guy might still be salvageable, given proper training. In a case like that, I don't see where the trainee can be blamed. The guy on top should have stopped after the first hole and do some measuring and finish it off himself (and taken responsibility for the damage).

I admit I drilled a roof once, but the more exciting one was the time I drilled a sewer pipe.

Was standing in the basement looking for what I hit when somebody flushed a toilet. Made a pretty little fountain by the illumination of my mini Mag Light.

Fortunately ABS pipe is easy to fix.

I drilled through a coppe hot water heating pipe once.=20

The customer had one sliding glass door and had added another one about 10 = inches away with a small wall space inbetween. The first door already had a= wire to it and I figured, rather than running a new wire, I'd just drill t= hrough the short distance between the two doors and put them both on the sa= me z0ne. As I was drilling through, I felt some resistance and not followin= g my instinct ( because ..."who would EVER put a pipe THERE?) I just though= t I'd hit a nail.=20

My helper, doing something else in the basement yells up ..... Hey there's = water running down the wall where you're drilling!!!!=20

I was able to open the wall, cut the pipe and sweat a sleeve over it. The b= iggest concern was that the walls had just been wallpapered and the custome= r only had one piece left. It was just long and wide enough to fit in the n= arrow section between the doors. WHEW!

0 inches away with a small wall space inbetween. The first door already had= a wire to it and I figured, rather than running a new wire, I'd just drill= through the short distance between the two doors and put them both on the = same z0ne. As I was drilling through, I felt some resistance and not follow= ing my instinct ( because ..."who would EVER put a pipe THERE?) I just thou= ght I'd hit a nail.

s water running down the wall where you're drilling!!!!

biggest concern was that the walls had just been wallpapered and the custo= mer only had one piece left. It was just long and wide enough to fit in the= narrow section between the doors. WHEW!

RHC; My son did much the same thing early on when he was still learning the installation side of our business. He drilled through a toilet drain while drilling down to locate for a keypad install. The client flushed the toilet and he got a facefull !!!!!!

Luckily, the stack was exposed in the basement and I was able to fix the plastic easily with a special plastic repair bond. But after I stopped laughing at him, I told him..."hey, this gives new meaning to the expression when shit hits the fan"

Needless to say, he's been super paranoid about drilling ever since.....:))

in message

39;t done in over 20 - 30

rough the roof.

ovating so after

ole. Embarrassing!!

out 10 inches away with a small wall space inbetween. The first door alread= y had a wire to it and I figured, rather than running a new wire, I'd j= ust drill through the short distance between the two doors and put them bot= h on the same z0ne. As I was drilling through, I felt some resistance and n= ot following my instinct ( because ..."who would EVER put a pipe THERE= ?) I just thought I'd hit a nail.

here's water running down the wall where you're drilling!!!!

. The biggest concern was that the walls had just been wallpapered and the = customer only had one piece left. It was just long and wide enough to fit i= n the narrow section between the doors. WHEW!

That's what they call "experience" ...... Isn't it?

There's a name for that. It called the flagpole. It called that because it looks just like a flagpole when you see a d'versibit and extension sticking not so proudly through the roof.

Well, I did something the other day that I haven't done in over 20 - 30 years.

I was drilling a window up to the attic and drilled through the roof.

DAMN!!!!!

Fortunately it was an older ranch that someone was renovating so after everyone had left, I was able to go back and tar the hole. Embarrassing!!

Yup. That's what we always called them. It was always so matter-of-fact too... "Hey where is the bit?"... reply; "flagpole, asshole".

Yup. That's what we always called them. It was always so matter-of-fact too... "Hey where is the bit?"... reply; "flagpole, asshole".

strangely is

Whenever I've got a "trainee" with me I'll tell them to go and put their eye up against the hole I've just drilled to see if they can see the snake coming through.

Whenever I've got a "trainee" with me I'll tell them to go and put their eye up against the hole I've just drilled to see if they can see the snake coming through.

Most installs I never had attic rat. I got quite good at reversing the bit, flip it and put a loop of wire back up. I'd make it a goal to go into the attic *once*, and grab all of them at once (with a Grabbit).