AvTek Pulsar Installation PIREP (or "Why I'm Not an A&P")

Mike Spera wrote:
... Probably the funniest of the "Bubba fixes" was from when
the house was built. Two sinks 3 feet apart in the big bath.....
had at least 30 elbows and a dozen couplings for the water
lines between them. Total piping run for both hot and cold was about 7
feet.

Got a photo of that? I'd love to see it.

O.K. I have a good one. The doorbell mounted high on a soffit overhead
in the kitchen. What could they POSSIBLY screw up?

When I tore down the drywall (ALL 4 LAYERS - the DIP****S just kept
piling it on for the backsplash) I found the wiring for the doorbell.

It was an old 110v system. They used zip cord (brown 18 gauge lamp cord)
STAPLED TO THE 2X4 stud. It was wired into one of the legs to the
electric stove. Big lug with electrical tape around it. This was on a 50
amp circuit breaker. Remember that lamp cord is rated for 8 amps or so.

I found the doorbell shorted, the zipcord completely devoid of the
insulation because the short had cooked it off, and the remaining
strands of wire burned/buried into the scorched and blackened 2X4. I
have no idea how this did not start a fire.

I also found a "new" outlet some bubba installed. 2 pieces of insulated
wire strung between the drywall and studs, around and inside corner to
the new outlet. Real nice.

Finally the topper. They turned the former laundry room into a bathroom,
complete with shower. For an exhaust fan, they plastered in the wrong
sized unit into a big hole high up on a wall (2+ inches of plaster
oozing out the back). Now, the $6000 punchline. Since it was too much
trouble to run the vent hose properly (through a roof vent), they simply
left it hanging IN THE DROP CEILING COLD AIR RETURN. The warm wet air
from the bathroom was being pumped into this drop ceiling where it went
straight into the roof insulation and finally the roof decking. 80+
sheets of rotted decking (an additional $6k for the roof) because Bubba
Jackass did not have the brains to know that you NEVER run a bathroom
vent ANYWHERE but out of the house, preferably out the roof.

What have you guys seen? Don't limit this to your house, this is an
aviation group. I'm sure we have some real winners in the airplane
category...


Can't wait
Mike

What have you guys seen? Don't limit this to your house, this is an
aviation group.

Ha! In 5 years of remodeling at the hotel we have found...

- "Emergency" lighting that had no battery backup
- "Fire alarms" that did nothing. Pull 'em all you want...
- Plumbing that was apparently soldered by my daughter, when she was 8
years old
- Drywall that was GLUED over old drywall
- Balconies painted with sand paint. Walk on 'em and track sand paint
EVERYWHERE throughout the hotel suites.
- No flashing on ANY exterior boards. None, so that the water can
pool on top of every board, and migrate into the buildings...
- Popcorn ceilings applied over un-primered drywall, so that over time
(and with humidity) it simply falls off in sheets
- Unwrapped air conditioning cold water lines that dripped
condensation onto drywall ceilings throughout the hotel, ruining
dozens of sheets of drywall and all the drop ceilings.
- "Window" air conditioners that were "plumbed" with ducting into
other rooms (in multi-bedroom suites) in order to provide cooling to
multiple rooms without buying multiple air conditioners
- Exterior lights that were wired into an individual suite's bathroom
GFI circuit
- Exterior lights that were not wired into ANY circuit with a breaker
on it
- A giant hole in the concrete floor (of a first floor room) that was
filled with sand and covered with an old rug
- 300 pound fire doors held up with 1" screws in the hinges

I could go on, and on, and on. It is just astounding what some
people will do to save a buck that will ultimately cost $100 down the
road...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:
What have you guys seen? Don't limit this to your house, this is an
aviation group.

Ha! In 5 years of remodeling at the hotel we have found...
{SNIP}

I could go on, and on, and on. It is just astounding what some
people will do to save a buck that will ultimately cost $100 down the
road...

But it didn't cost THEM $100 down the road it cost YOU $100 down the road.

But it didn't cost THEM $100 down the road it cost YOU $100 down the road.

True, in these instances -- but it's an ongoing thing. The hotel has
been here since 1980, and I've seen enough to know that this
"pennywise-but-pound-foolish" approach to maintenance was endemic
throughout its history.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Mike Spera wrote:
O.K. I have a good one. The doorbell mounted high on a soffit overhead
in the kitchen. What could they POSSIBLY screw up?

When I tore down the drywall (ALL 4 LAYERS - the DIP****S just kept
piling it on for the backsplash) I found the wiring for the doorbell.

It was an old 110v system. They used zip cord (brown 18 gauge lamp cord)
STAPLED TO THE 2X4 stud. It was wired into one of the legs to the
electric stove. Big lug with electrical tape around it. This was on a 50
amp circuit breaker. Remember that lamp cord is rated for 8 amps or so.

I found the doorbell shorted, the zipcord completely devoid of the
insulation because the short had cooked it off, and the remaining
strands of wire burned/buried into the scorched and blackened 2X4. I
have no idea how this did not start a fire.

I also found a "new" outlet some bubba installed. 2 pieces of insulated
wire strung between the drywall and studs, around and inside corner to
the new outlet. Real nice.

Finally the topper. They turned the former laundry room into a bathroom,
complete with shower. For an exhaust fan, they plastered in the wrong
sized unit into a big hole high up on a wall (2+ inches of plaster
oozing out the back). Now, the $6000 punchline. Since it was too much
trouble to run the vent hose properly (through a roof vent), they simply
left it hanging IN THE DROP CEILING COLD AIR RETURN. The warm wet air
from the bathroom was being pumped into this drop ceiling where it went
straight into the roof insulation and finally the roof decking. 80+
sheets of rotted decking (an additional $6k for the roof) because Bubba
Jackass did not have the brains to know that you NEVER run a bathroom
vent ANYWHERE but out of the house, preferably out the roof.

What have you guys seen? Don't limit this to your house, this is an
aviation group. I'm sure we have some real winners in the airplane
category...


Can't wait
Mike
We took out a DG that had a piece of masking tape that said "$5" on it.
Does that count? BTW the system had NO filters, at all.

Margy

Wish I did Jon. At the time I was putting in 12+ hours a day at work
besides the 2.5 hours of
commute time, and at the same time staying one step ahead of the EMT's
and going to the
hospital. I had about 10 minuets of coherent time a day with the
contractor.

Craig C.