# Nasty Yuck



## Plumber (Jan 18, 2009)

We did a sewer job Saturday, a quick 60' deal. Old clay pipe that wasn't sealed, just fitted together, so its been seeping for over 50 years. Nasty digging because the mud was really sludge. Miserable conditions.

While we were working on the far end, the tenants were using both toilets and water, so we had a small lake of sewage sitting at the stub. Cripes, it looked like an open septic. Never seen that and it did get me more than a little upset. The owner, a shrink, scooped the sewage into a garbage can while the crew and me discussed the easiest way to sue the tenants.

We got it done, but today the inspector called and in the smug way of all bureaucratic bas-tards, asked me where the c.o. was.

Dang. The owner even mentioned it, but we were to grossed out to hear him, so 5pm today, I'm installing a c.o.--took 10 minutes and 30.00--in a place that I was hoping never to see again.

Yuck. I didn't get enough for that one.


----------



## Dun' Right (Sep 27, 2010)

Momma said there would be days like this. 

I gave a guy up the road a bid (3,800) to replace his sewer. 

He had one of his church buddy's do it for 2,500. 

It would have been a 2 day job for me, but his church buddy showed up on a monday and dug it all up. He broke the sewer right at the house, put some fence up and left. He didn't show back up until the following monday, and the homeowner had been using his sewer the entire week. I went up there and took a peak, because I could smell it all the way down the street. 

I've seen some horrors that would make a maggot gag, but this was by far the worst sewage filled hole of nasty that I've ever layed my eyes on. 

I called the city inspector, and they condemned the house, and made them stay in a hotel, until they trucked the sewage and contaminated dirt out, hauled fill in, and replaced the sewer. 

Needless to say, his church buddy didn't pick up the bill, and the guy had over 10k in the sewer when it was over. 

Glad you got it done. Bet you won't forget this one for awhile. I put a cap on the sewer as soon as I cut the line by the house. I tell the homeowner not to use it, and if he does, he gets to pay for a pump truck to come catch the mess. 

Haven't had to do it yet, because I warn the customer every time, and so far they have listened. 

I don't play in poop. 

I actually had a customer call me to run her sewer the other day, and she had a nasty ass mess in her bathroom. Toilet over flowed, tub full, floor covered. 

I told her she would have to clean it up before I would even enter the bathroom, much less pull the toilet to run the sewer. 

I rescheduled for the next day, and charged her an extra hour for having to make 2 trips.


----------



## robwilliams (May 6, 2011)

Wow! Reading these two posts makes me think, I should have picked another trade! I have been in business 35 years and I haven't experienced anything like that yet. I guess I should consider meself lucky. :thumbup: However, with my luck, after posting this, my phone will probably ring today with a caca job similar to this on the other end. And, seeing as how I am broke right now, I will undoubtedly have to take the job.


----------



## RealLivePlumber (Jun 22, 2008)

It's only work and money......................:whistling2:


----------



## revenge (Jun 30, 2011)

What I do on sewer jobs like that before I start I turn water off to whole house go inside #lush toilets and tell them not to use any water stayed clean till this day


----------



## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

*I love the church budddies....*

the church buddies are the worst ....

I have tangled with them many times.... and they hate my guts for showing up to help out the homeowner ....

The scam goes something like this...
you boast to others in your "church" how good a handyman you are to get in with all the people at the church that got money.... so they wont call that expensive plumber cause they got a good christian man
that will do the work for grandma for half price....

 then they go out and totally destroy someones house..... :laughing: and that good christian man probably got most of the money up front from his stooge.... which will never be returned

so when that happens, that church buddy just packs up and moves down the road to the next church and does it all over again.......:laughing::laughing::yes::thumbup:

its a hard lesson learned...but a good one


----------



## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

Always tell my customers there is a $200.00 per flush charge. They always wait till you are hooking up the tap so you can hear it coming and are trying to decide can I get it in the hub or should I climb out of the hole.


----------



## Mississippiplum (Sep 30, 2011)

How can someone use their wc or lavs when they know someone is working on the dwv system, and when they see the results they could care less.


----------



## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

I'm with Revenge -- Water is turned off at the meter, house is drained down and all toilets are flushed before I even touch the existing side sewer.

I also douse the connection at the house with a gallon of bleach before I hook up the new line.

I don't chase brown trout for anybody.


----------



## express (Nov 22, 2008)

I take a moment and tape the toilet closed and shut off the main water supply


----------



## Plumber (Jan 18, 2009)

<sigh> Youse right, of course. Something about me and Saturday jobs that nothing goes right.


----------



## sikxsevn (Jun 23, 2009)

Widdershins said:


> I'm with Revenge -- Water is turned off at the meter, house is drained down and all toilets are flushed before I even touch the existing side sewer.
> 
> I also douse the connection at the house with a gallon of bleach before I hook up the new line.
> 
> I don't chase brown trout for anybody.


Nor do I. Turning the water off and flushing all the toilets prevents these kind of "accidents" from happening


----------



## Plumbus (Aug 4, 2008)

We even remove the key on the shut off valve. Learned that one the hard way.


----------



## Mississippiplum (Sep 30, 2011)

Plumbus said:


> We even remove the key on the shut off valve. Learned that one the hard way.


That ho must have had to shiot bad lol


----------



## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

Mississippiplum said:


> That ho must have had to shiot bad lol


Mostly they just don't care about the hardships they inflict upon you.

I had a HO standing on the stair landing buckling up his belt 2 minutes after he cut loose a few brown trout in a toilet he knew was out of commission about 20 years ago.

He didn't even try to make up an excuse. He just felt entitled to shiot on me and my crew.


----------



## Mr Sewer (Oct 3, 2011)

How come no one uses pipe burstung two hole system to replace pipe 
I like that smell its the smell of $$$$


----------



## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

Another day in paradise:laughing:


----------



## Mississippiplum (Sep 30, 2011)

Widdershins said:


> Mostly they just don't care about the hardships they inflict upon you.
> 
> I had a HO standing on the stair landing buckling up his belt 2 minutes after he cut loose a few brown trout in a toilet he knew was out of commission about 20 years ago.
> 
> He didn't even try to make up an excuse. He just felt entitled to shiot on me and my crew.


That's just wrong, I hope his "accident" was factored into the bill 

My boss makes it a point to factor stuff like that into the bill, luckily I haven't had to experience raw sewage flying at me........ Yet, lol


----------



## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

*piss in his living room*



Widdershins said:


> Mostly they just don't care about the hardships they inflict upon you.
> 
> I had a HO standing on the stair landing buckling up his belt 2 minutes after he cut loose a few brown trout in a toilet he knew was out of commission about 20 years ago.
> 
> He didn't even try to make up an excuse. He just felt entitled to shiot on me and my crew.


 
that would have been enough to start a fist fight .... especially if the fellow did it on purpose...........

I think the bill should have shot up a few hundred dollars for that... or it could have been scooped up 
and dropped in the middle of the living room


----------



## Plumbus (Aug 4, 2008)

Widdershins said:


> Mostly they just don't care about the hardships they inflict upon you.
> 
> I had a HO standing on the stair landing buckling up his belt 2 minutes after he cut loose a few brown trout in a toilet he knew was out of commission about 20 years ago.
> 
> He didn't even try to make up an excuse. He just felt entitled to shiot on me and my crew.


Though not vindictive by nature, a stunt like that might drive me to do something rash, like pouring a sack of ready mix into his street clean out (about a month after the job's done).


----------



## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

Mississippiplum said:


> That's just wrong, I hope his "accident" was factored into the bill
> 
> My boss makes it a point to factor stuff like that into the bill, luckily I haven't had to experience raw sewage flying at me........ Yet, lol


You will young jedi, you will.


----------



## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

DesertOkie said:


> You will young jedi, you will.
> <img src="http://www.plumbingzone.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=12039"/>


For sure...

Try standing thigh deep in it on a 12" main that you can't shut down to a 7 story hospital.

You haven't really lived till you have a turd wash past your finger tips...


----------



## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

Plumberman said:


> For sure...
> 
> Try standing thigh deep in it on a 12" main that you can't shut down to a 7 story hospital.
> 
> You haven't really lived till you have a turd wash past your finger tips...


 Sounds like me standing under the Pike Place Market waiting to snap in a wye 20 minutes after the bars closed about 30 years ago.

I might still have those clothes I burned if I'd waited 10 more minutes.


----------



## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

Widdershins said:


> Sounds like me standing under the Pike Place Market waiting to snap in a wye 20 minutes after the bars closed about 30 years ago.
> 
> I might still have those clothes I burned if I'd waited 10 more minutes.


I find myself getting into those predicaments all the time..

If its deep and it's nasty, my phone rings. I've made apprentices puke because I've grabbed a turd and examined to see what the menu provided... Gloved of course but its that added shock value I enjoy.


----------



## U666A (Dec 11, 2010)

Plumberman said:


> For sure...
> 
> Try standing thigh deep in it on any sidewalk in LA...
> 
> You haven't really lived till you have a turd wash past and try to abduct your first born...


Fixed it for ya!

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:


----------



## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

U666A said:


> Fixed it for ya!
> 
> :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:


We don't have side walks here silly Canadian..

We only have marsh to walk on!


----------



## U666A (Dec 11, 2010)

Plumberman said:


> We don't have side walks here silly Canadian..
> 
> We only have marsh to walk on!


Check SPM box, you bass ackwards southerner!


----------



## greenscoutII (Aug 27, 2008)

Yeah, HO's don't hear you and they don't care. I've experienced splashdown more times than I can count. One time, we were cutting in for a new men's room in a tenant finish. It was an older strip mall that didn't have individual shut offs for each unit. Anyway, the building's owner didn't want us to cut off the water since one of the businesses was a dog groomer, blah, blah, blah.......

So, I get the new line all run except for the final tie in. Now, the way I did it, I ended up cutting into a 4" CI line that was upstream from everything except for a liquor store. I had everything all laid out and ready to go. I had my 4X3 combi with two short stubs already glued in and Mission bands on. All I had to do was snap out the cast and plug it in.

Now, I told the apprentice to get out of the nasty crawler and go guard the crapper in the liquor store. "Give me 5 minutes!" I told him. Wait for me to call, but for the love of God, just don't let anybody use that bathroom........

Of course, he doesn't listen. There was no way to get out of the way:no: I heard it coming and didn't even have time to scream, NOOOOOOOOOO!

Got in the collar of my shirt, ruined my last pack of smokes, pretty much soaked me.........

So, the boss pulls up about 30 minutes later to see how it's going. He inquires as to why I'm not wearing a shirt and, by the way, where's the van? I tell him Jeff the apprentice is on his lunch buying me a new shirt and jeans........:yes:


----------



## pdxplumber (Nov 21, 2009)

I can count on one hand the days I finished up covered in poop. I realized that for some strange reason it all paid the same. $32 an hour to pick digested corn out of your hair or installing faucets and garbage disposals. Now I work for myself and jobs are priced accordingly. I don' t work in poop without getting PAID for it.


----------



## Plumbus (Aug 4, 2008)

My personal favorite was tying a 4" lateral into a 6" main in an alley. Upstream manhole, which I had to plug off to creat a relatively dry climate while splicing in a wye, was directly downstream from a Chinese restaurant. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, this restaurant didn't have a grease trap. That manhole was a giant barrel of Crisco. Setting the dynamiter plug wasn't too difficult and I was able to maneuver pretty well without scraping the walls, but trying to dodge the deluge after removing it didn't allow for careful avoidance. I looked like a sci fy creature when I resurfaced. Everyone present had a belly laugh over that one. I don't know what was worse the effluent or the grease. Dropped a dime on the restaurant with the Public Works Dept the next day. Cheap *******s!!!!


----------



## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Ahh a bunch of prima donna's we are...

You haven't seen anything....
How does $60 a month salary sound...


----------



## mtfallsmikey (Jan 11, 2010)

My worst?

Other than doing the mortuary sink drains in a local funeral home when I started helping Dad in the 60's, it had to be the trough drain line in the rear of a grocery store deli. The combined aroma of sour milk and rotting lunch meat was enough to make me barf, had to throw my uniform away. Drain was clogged with pieces of lunchmeeat, and the plastic wrapping from the lunch meat, someone threw them directly down the drain from the meat slicer.


----------



## AlbacoreShuffle (Aug 28, 2011)

Redwood said:


> Ahh a bunch of prima donna's we are...
> 
> You haven't seen anything....
> How does $60 a month salary sound...
> ...


OMG !!!
NO IFN way for any amount of money !


----------



## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

Try the pit under a grain silo, 15' deep 60'x60' 6' of rotting grain that had been accumulating for 3 yrs. We jetted the stuff loose and sucked it up with our pump truck. Ended up tossing belt, wallet, and rubber boots. The clothes got clean after about 12 double rinse washes. My wife made me move my pants off the porch to the fence for about a week before we even tried washing them.


----------



## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

Plumbus said:


> My personal favorite was tying a 4" lateral into a 6" main in an alley. Upstream manhole, which I had to plug off to creat a relatively dry climate while splicing in a wye, was directly downstream from a Chinese restaurant. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, this restaurant didn't have a grease trap. That manhole was a giant barrel of Crisco. Setting the dynamiter plug wasn't too difficult and I was able to maneuver pretty well without scraping the walls, but trying to dodge the deluge after removing it didn't allow for careful avoidance. I looked like a sci fy creature when I resurfaced. Everyone present had a belly laugh over that one. I don't know what was worse the effluent or the grease. Dropped a dime on the restaurant with the Public Works Dept the next day. Cheap *******s!!!!


 We learner the hard way to make sure the manholes were flowing before starting the tap. For a little guy my apprentice sure came outta that hole quick.


----------



## Nikolai (Dec 17, 2009)

mtfallsmikey said:


> My worst?
> 
> Other than doing the mortuary sink drains in a local funeral home when I started helping Dad in the 60's, it had to be the trough drain line in the rear of a grocery store deli. The combined aroma of sour milk and rotting lunch meat was enough to make me barf, had to throw my uniform away. Drain was clogged with pieces of lunchmeeat, and the plastic wrapping from the lunch meat, someone threw them directly down the drain from the meat slicer.


Poop doesn't bother me, rotten milk is far worse. This spring we had to remove a mop sink from a grocery store. It was probably 10 years old and for the entire time the employees had been using it to poor out sour milk. As you can imagine when we removed the sink the drain was completely rotted away and it was just a huge soggy hole of rotten milk and about a million littler spiders. I haven't puked on a job yet, but I came damn close that day.


----------

