Currently reading:
weirdest site experiences

Discuss weirdest site experiences in the UK Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

R

RyanCheetham

I thought it might be fun to hear some of your stories but I will kick it off with my story...

The last couple weeks I have been doing another lived in rewire, this was a hoarders house so the worst rewire I've done so far. Anyway the rewire goes perfect and I come in on the Saturday to complete all tests and energise the board. I show up at 9am as agreed only to be met outside by the homeowner to tell me that his mother in law died in her sleep that night (she stayed at the house). So I offer to postpone the test and they said no life must go on. So I agree and continue, comes to testing end of line on the downstairs light circuit which happened to be her room. But the corpse was still in there! I am not squeamish or anything like that but I was far from comfortable about the situation!
 
I thought it might be fun to hear some of your stories but I will kick it off with my story...

The last couple weeks I have been doing another lived in rewire, this was a hoarders house so the worst rewire I've done so far. Anyway the rewire goes perfect and I come in on the Saturday to complete all tests and energise the board. I show up at 9am as agreed only to be met outside by the homeowner to tell me that his mother in law died in her sleep that night (she stayed at the house). So I offer to postpone the test and they said no life must go on. So I agree and continue, comes to testing end of line on the downstairs light circuit which happened to be her room. But the corpse was still in there! I am not squeamish or anything like that but I was far from comfortable about the situation!

i know exactly what you mean, i once did some work at a funeral directors there was like 5 dead bodies in the room with me. i am the same not normally squeamish but i felt really weird.
 
So I agree and continue, comes to testing end of line on the downstairs light circuit which happened to be her room. But the corpse was still in there! I am not squeamish or anything like that but I was far from comfortable about the situation!


Now that would be a "limitation" on the cert for me lol. You could almost say that this is extreme dead testing!!!! I'll get my coat.....



Posh restaurant and the food waste machine is blocked. Plumber there to work on the pipes, I'm there to kill power, make safe and get it back up and running. Once the plumber had finished it was time to connect it back up and turn on. Motor kicked in and a lot of loud sucking noises then BANG!!! It spat out all of the food waste up in the air, all over the walls and ceiling then all over me! I was covered in 24 hour rotten food from peoples plates, it stank. Dripping wet from stagnant oil and water, bits of fish hanging from my glasses, pasta and meat on my shoulders, I looked a proper mess.

Plumber, manager and the two kitchen porter lads were laughing their heads off. I had to take my t-shirt off and put it in the bin there and then. They let me use their shower in the staff changing room and gave me a staff t-shirt to go home in. Next time I'll let the plumber push the start button :rofl:
 
I've done this too, I rewired the workshop ; if that is the correct definition.
I was called in the room where they prepared the coffins and asked if I wanted tea and a sarnie with them . They were using the coffin they were preparing as a temporary table.
 
Last edited:
Back in the early 70s I was one of the sparks on a council site rewiring the houses, 2 sparks and 2 apprentices, 1 spark and apprentice per house, unless the house was a tip. The older sparks was in charge and he booked when we were to start, anyway this particular place was a right mess, you could smell it from outside so it was a case of all 4 of us in, bish bash bosh in and out soon as.
Moving beds, whats underneath? used ladies things all mingy, used men's things full up, I'm sure you get the picture, how some people live, a right pig sty, glad I got out of that racket.
 
Now that would be a "limitation" on the cert for me lol. You could almost say that this is extreme dead testing!!!! I'll get my coat.....



Posh restaurant and the food waste machine is blocked. Plumber there to work on the pipes, I'm there to kill power, make safe and get it back up and running. Once the plumber had finished it was time to connect it back up and turn on. Motor kicked in and a lot of loud sucking noises then BANG!!! It spat out all of the food waste up in the air, all over the walls and ceiling then all over me! I was covered in 24 hour rotten food from peoples plates, it stank. Dripping wet from stagnant oil and water, bits of fish hanging from my glasses, pasta and meat on my shoulders, I looked a proper mess.

Plumber, manager and the two kitchen porter lads were laughing their heads off. I had to take my t-shirt off and put it in the bin there and then. They let me use their shower in the staff changing room and gave me a staff t-shirt to go home in. Next time I'll let the plumber push the start button :rofl:
lol time to get a phase rotation tester, my fluke has it built in
 
lol time to get a phase rotation tester, my fluke has it built in

It wasn't a phase rotation problem, it was the pocket of trapped air in the newly cleaned 6" waste pipe forcing air up into the hopper and basin full of rotting food. Once the blades started to turn it opened the "plug hole" and the air forced it's way through basin exploding the water, oil, fish, pasta, stale bread, crab and oyster shells all over me pmsl. Never eaten sea food since.
 
One of mine was on a ship - that counts as a a work site doesn't it?

I was commissioning some deck machinery, winches, for which we had supplied the DC drives.
Part of the final test was lifting a test load off the dock side. It was 25 tonnes.
OK. I heard the winch running and the drive ammeter was displaying armature current. But the load wasn't moving. I went below decks and saw the winch turning and puling rope in. What the h*ll is happening here?

It confused me for a while. But, after a little while, it became obvious what was happening. The vessel was listing to port. The winch was pulling the ship over. Eventually, at about 18 degrees, the load was raised.
 
Working in a Government building in OSLO, built on an ancient grave yard apparently, got all the usual, it's haunted, watch out for the hooded lady, any way had to work weekend when the office was empty, picked the keys up from one of the office staff, only about an hours work but it had to be done out of hours.
How the imagination can take over, working away minding my own business, and this bloke walks by, never said a word just walks by, finished work, packs up takes the key back and said to the young lady "some bloke is still in the office better check later " I said "no can't be anyone there are you sure?" she said "are you sure?" " yep honest" there was not a record of anyone going in to the office. da da da ooooooooer ghosties, make your own mind up, I never went back on my own again, got called all sorts but nobody else would go in on thier own.
 
Working in a Government building in OSLO, built on an ancient grave yard apparently, got all the usual, it's haunted, watch out for the hooded lady, any way had to work weekend when the office was empty, picked the keys up from one of the office staff, only about an hours work but it had to be done out of hours.
How the imagination can take over, working away minding my own business, and this bloke walks by, never said a word just walks by, finished work, packs up takes the key back and said to the young lady "some bloke is still in the office better check later " I said "no can't be anyone there are you sure?" she said "are you sure?" " yep honest" there was not a record of anyone going in to the office. da da da ooooooooer ghosties, make your own mind up, I never went back on my own again, got called all sorts but nobody else would go in on thier own.
we work a lot in hospitals and that kind of thing happens a lot, lagger was working away and hears someone say "how are you doing young man" he answers and then turns around and no one is there

he was in a rooftop plantroom with a badly fited steeldoor, no one else in there and the door hadnt been opened. we do quite often hear things when your not expecting it and don't know where it has come from
 
Not in the same league, but a couple of years ago working on a Cowlin site, the dry liners gang was being run by a keen amateur boxer. He organised a fight on the third floor (still open plan), brought the gloves and set out the ring. The fight was between two of his bickering labourers and EVERYBODY attended, right up to the site manager. Can't see that happening now!
 
Same job as my post about the filthy house, one of the houses the tenant was, shall we say a bit the other way and had his boyfriend living with him, couple of decent blokes, but what made me smile was when the brought us a brew, all china cups and serviettes, who will be Mother he said, had to turn away to smile, nice cuppa though.
 
Got me started now, I did my apprenticeship for a small contractor in Bath, and as you may or may not know Bath has some beautiful Georgian buildings, the sort of work we were involved with was repairing the electrics in some these houses, along with other normal jobs.
I must have been about 18 and was sent on my first solo job, replace a door bell I think, anyway these house had dirty great big front doors (Adams Family style) got there knocked the door and I could hear the owner hobbling along the corridor, door opened with lots of creaking and there stood the spit image of Boris Karloff (he of the early horror movies) scared the brown stuff out of me, needless to say fastest repair I ever did. Oh by the way Bath trounced Leicester yesterday just in case you're interested.
 
During my apprenticeship I was doing some work in house and the customer pointed to a door and said don't go in that room. Any way the customer went out and my gaffer told me to open the door and take a look. As an eager apprentice I obliged opened the door to find a load of birds freely flying around, bird cr@p everywhere, twigs hanging of the curtain rail.
 
Again on my apprenticeship. We was doing the electrics on an extension and my gaffer told me to go switch some of the circuits off. Went in to the room where the DB was, it was low level in the far corner off the room. I crouched down found the circuits I wanted,knocked them off and then went to stand up when I heard a dog growl behind me, any way needless to say I stayed down on the deck turned round and the biggest Rottweiler I've ever seen was standing there staring at me :uhoh2:. I gave it a couple of strokes then went to stand up again, dog was having none of it and started growling again and gave me a tap with its paw, every time I tried the same thing happened. Ended up comando crawling over to the door and stood up and bolted out the door at the 1st given opportunity. I didn't tell the gaffer what had happened and let him go and switch the circuits back on, the story repeated itself but with him instead lol:teeth_smile:
 
Not a site experience, but just the other day, I stumbled upon a a massive pink real looking vibrator and lots of lube next to this birds bed whilst going round the house with my meter when doing a cu change, she was out at the time so naturally I gave it a good sniff... Just kidding I didn't sniff it!
 
Not a site experience, but just the other day, I stumbled upon a a massive pink real looking vibrator and lots of lube next to this birds bed whilst going round the house with my meter when doing a cu change, she was out at the time so naturally I gave it a good sniff... Just kidding I didn't sniff it!

maybe it was her way of calling it on? Lol :teeth_smile:
 
maybe not weird, but once did this rewire for a widow ( about 70). 1st day there, lifted the bedroom carpet to get the boards up, and it was literally underlaid with loads of ÂŁ10 and ÂŁ20 notes between the carpet and the underlay. must have been 5K+. fetched the old dear up to see, and she said " so that's where the old sod hid all his cash" ( meaning her late departed). she then said. " that's it. i'mm off th spain next month , and here's ÂŁ100 of it for you, for being honest".
 
Not a site experience, but just the other day, I stumbled upon a a massive pink real looking vibrator and lots of lube next to this birds bed whilst going round the house with my meter when doing a cu change, she was out at the time so naturally I gave it a good sniff... Just kidding I didn't sniff it!

I bet you did give it a sniff lol. :tongue:
 

Reply to weirdest site experiences in the UK Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Electrician Courses Green Electrical Goods PCB Way Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Pushfit Wire Connectors Electric Underfloor Heating Electrician Courses
These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then CLICK HERE and post a thread with who you are, and we'll send you some stats etc
This website was designed, optimised and is hosted by untold.media Operating under the name Untold Media since 2001.
Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock