Tiling/ trade blunders and accidents

[On one]

Those dust sheets do catch fire rather easily.


I had a Bedford Rascal van in my earlier years. On my way to a job, on a hot day. Both front windows open......and 2 small windows in back open.

Me having a smoke on my way home.......flicked my butt out of the window, (or so I thought) and carried on. 10 mins later I had passing motorists beeping me. I couldn't work out why. Until I glanced into my 1 and only functional wing mirror. My large dust sheet had been smouldering away, kicking out rather a lot of smoke, which was being dragged out of the back windows. I thought the smell was coming from the fields. (Lot of stubble burning going on)

God knows wot it looked like from behind, I imagine peeps thought I was on fire.

This is the same van I had to pee into.........but that's another story.

Well.....it's work related. :mad2:

On a similar note I know of someone who flicked their used tab end out of a train carriage window...........it blew down the side of the train....and re entered the train via another open window down the carriage and landed on someones lap!!!!

 

[On one]

Just had one tonight!!!! I have been painting the house today and took the cast iron downpipes off to make painting the house and painting the downpipes easier. When the missus got back from work tonight I said don't let the water out of the bath because the downpipes weren't dry enough to refit.........forgetting that I had just had a shower!!!!!! the result being Cornish cream masonary paint being washed off the wall onto the decking...doh!

 

[Qwerty]

Went and drilled my finger today. The drill bit was red hot so cauterized it instantly. Doughnut!!!

 

[Old Mod]

That's dead centre Geoff! Well done!
Hope that was more luck than judgement haha
Plonker!

 

[Spud]

Kicked over buckets of water , stepped off hop ups straight into the adhesive , worst one was Knocking over a bottle of meths onto a 3 thousand pounds carpet when I was an apprentice how I didn't get sacked for that one I don't know

 

[Old Mod]

Actually posted a small incident a few weeks ago that happened to me with a chopsaw. The shape of the piece of wood I was trying to cut wouldn't enable the guard to lift as the blade started cutting so I held it up manually which meant my arm had to hold the wood across/underneath the blade. As it started cutting it grabbed the wood and took my arm in a bit and also the blade down onto my arm!!! New blade meant it was a lovely clean cut and it's healed lovely.


View attachment 54545

Holy crap John!
That was a lucky escape!!

 

[Italy]

 

[Andy Allen]

You sure that's tiling related ^^^^

 

[WetSaw]

 

[Andy Allen]

LOL ^^^^^^

 

[Old Mod]

My god!
I haven't heard that for 37yrs! Hahaha
Last time I heard that it was 1979 on board HMS Ark Royal haha

 

[Italy]

You sure that's tiling related ^^^^

strange is not it? it only happens when I ANDYSDAYS
you andy you are handy......

 

[padtheplumber]

I've got a good one for you.....

Started a bathroom refurb in May last year, started knocking the old tiles off the walls when I felt a sharp pain and couldnt see for a few seconds. Put my hand up to my left eye and there was a bit of bleeding so got my brother to get some kitchen roll and went for a sit down in the garage.
After about ten minutes the bleeding stopped but was still having trouble seeing, so ask my brother to get the eye wash out of the van so I could get back on with the job. "Lets have a look first" he said......

"Think you better get to A&E"

A chunk of tile had hit the side of my nose and sliced through the eyeball (no wonder I couldnt see!!)

So here's what happened next in numbers.......

Half a day in A&E then transfered to specialist eye centre in Birmingham
3 examinations over 4 hours
4pm checked in on ward for operations
6:30pm into surgery to try and save eye
7 stiches to eyeball to put it back together
10:30 pm out of surgery back on ward
11:30 surgeon comes to tell me op went well but unsure if i'll get any useful vision back
10:30 next morning go for exam - some useful vision has remained
5pm check out - on way home
11 sets of eyedrops per day meant pupil fully dialated (had to wear sunglasses indoors)
9 weeks off work / couldnt drive

I have to wear glasses now as left eye vision is very blurry as eyeball is rugby ball shaped now because of the way they had to repair the eyeball

All because I thought I'd get the safety glasses out of the van next time I went out......

Very lucky really - it could have been a lot worse!!

 

[Andy Allen]

Bloody hell.....I'm wearing safety glasses from now on...

 

[One Day]

The best warning I've seen yet for safety glasses! Really relieved you kept your eye too!

 

[Time's Ran Out]

You never know when an accident is imminent. When these big tiles came in a few years ago I had to cut a diagonal for a pitched ceiling. Scored the cut on my biggest cutter from corner to middle and corner to middle, instead of tapping with my hammer on the back, I broke it along the scribe line over my knee. All was well until I realised the point had gone straight into my stomach!! Not very far about an inch but enough to ruin a good logo shirt and for my Son to run squeamishly. Bit of gaffa tape and we were good to go.

 

[Bathfix Bob]

Jesus the both pad the plumber and timeless John!

Right i'm wearing safety glass all the time now, even in bed.

John, an inch is far enough! Just in the fat was it? I'm not saying your fat.

 

[One Day]

Being a tight-wad I kept some off-cuts of Butech trim in the back of my van.
One was upended in a bucket and it was a 45 degree cut - like the barbed head of a mini harpoon.
Reaching (fumbling) for a trowel I felt a pain in my forearm and when I lifted it out of the bucket I had a 12" length of trim dangling. The barb meant it ripped on the way out and I bled like a stuck pig (whatever that means!) The scar shows it was right next to a big vein.
No offcuts in my van now.

 

[Andy Allen]

Jesus the both pad the plumber and timeless John!

Right i'm wearing safety glass all the time now, even in bed.

John, an inch is far enough! Just in the fat was it? I'm not saying your fat.

I'm saying nothing...

 

[Time's Ran Out]

Could have been my extra midriff that took the majority of the tile!
I have a couple of hernia issues and if nothing else this thread has highlighted, one area of lump is very near the point of tile entry. May have been further than I thought. Reminded me of that scene from Total Recall.

 

[hmtiling]

Big bit of thin porc cut down to 1000x1000 had a little spur sticking out on the corner. Spinning it round on the workbench i heard a little zip when it passed my arm. Didn't feel a thing but a lot of blood. The labourer was a little unsteady after taping me up.

 

[hmtiling]

Big bit of thin porc cut down to 1000x1000 had a little spur sticking out on the corner. Spinning it round on the workbench i heard a little zip when it passed my arm. Didn't feel a thing but a lot of blood. The labourer was a little unsteady after taping me up.

 

[J Sid]

View attachment 84211

did one like that with a angle grinder with a broken blade while cutting a tile on my leg, slipped and ended with a 40mm slice and nearly down to the bone on my thigh. No pain and no blood. No waiting in A&E

 

[Wishiwasatoptiler]

I've got a good one for you.....

Started a bathroom refurb in May last year, started knocking the old tiles off the walls when I felt a sharp pain and couldnt see for a few seconds. Put my hand up to my left eye and there was a bit of bleeding so got my brother to get some kitchen roll and went for a sit down in the garage.
After about ten minutes the bleeding stopped but was still having trouble seeing, so ask my brother to get the eye wash out of the van so I could get back on with the job. "Lets have a look first" he said......

View attachment 84202

"Think you better get to A&E"

A chunk of tile had hit the side of my nose and sliced through the eyeball (no wonder I couldnt see!!)

So here's what happened next in numbers.......

Half a day in A&E then transfered to specialist eye centre in Birmingham
3 examinations over 4 hours
4pm checked in on ward for operations
6:30pm into surgery to try and save eye
7 stiches to eyeball to put it back together
10:30 pm out of surgery back on ward
11:30 surgeon comes to tell me op went well but unsure if i'll get any useful vision back
10:30 next morning go for exam - some useful vision has remained
5pm check out - on way home
11 sets of eyedrops per day meant pupil fully dialated (had to wear sunglasses indoors)
9 weeks off work / couldnt drive

I have to wear glasses now as left eye vision is very blurry as eyeball is rugby ball shaped now because of the way they had to repair the eyeball

All because I thought I'd get the safety glasses out of the van next time I went out......

Very lucky really - it could have been a lot worse!!

Bloody hell.....I'm wearing safety glasses from now on...

I never bother with them. If I do they sit on top of the head! But after reading this. I'll defo wear them now.

 

[Wishiwasatoptiler]

Some of these made me think of the time I thought I'd turn the entrance hall to an upstairs flat into a swimming pool. Was knocking off some blown plaster to make good before skimming and found out what had caused it to blow. A pipe buried in it with a buried compression joint. So as the pipe hit my bulster! The water was unreal. The guy turned his stop **** off and it carried on gushing. Plumber called who could not cap it as we'd squash the pipe to stem the flow, plumber couldn't turn the outside stop **** either so 1 hour later waterboard came and turned it off. Turned out there was a split in the mains under the floor that fed the attached shop, after the flats stop ****. There was that much water I nearly drowned bailing out!!!