# Awful crawlspaces



## canuck92 (Apr 1, 2016)

Shop told me theres a leak on a 3/4 heating line under the boiler should be right there....

Well this is how she went boys, crawl space was flooded out had two pumps going. I crawled ( more like swim ) from the front house access to under middle of the house. i was soaked and full of mudd right down to my socks an underwear.
I finnaly saw this gyser of a leak on a 1" galvanized heating line at the back of the house boxed in with support beams and 6" from beam to mudd closest i could get was 10 feet away.

So ill sum it up with this, changed 3 pairs of clothes, and ended up cutting a hole in his living room floor. Two dresser couplings to fix the problem but these lines were in bad shape and it would be a gut job to re pipe it.


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## Venomthirst (Jun 20, 2018)

good one... I have done my fair share of crawlspace jobs... usually Its swimming through sewage lol.. 



yet again good on ya for getting it done... what doesn't kill ya only makes you a better plumber


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

just wait till you get the repipe job...


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

nothing better than a crawl space full of sewage and a bunch of frozen pipes
to repair.... normally rental property and they aint got no money.

I do not miss those days.... 
and these days I pass them on to other guys


dont want it and I would rather stay home :biggrin:


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## canuck92 (Apr 1, 2016)

Master Mark said:


> nothing better than a crawl space full of sewage and a bunch of frozen pipes
> to repair.... normally rental property and they aint got no money.
> 
> I do not miss those days....
> ...


Atleast this one wasnt sewage. 1" heat line split an was running full tilt for 20 hours.


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## Logtec (Jun 3, 2018)

Sh1tty, but well done. 
I have a few clients with crawl spaces, one with a sewage ejectors and you have to crawl threw 25’ of sewage saturated sand, under beams, old pipes and cob webs, the tenants are always flushing stuff to jamb up the pump.


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## canuck92 (Apr 1, 2016)

Logtec said:


> Sh1tty, but well done.
> I have a few clients with crawl spaces, one with a sewage ejectors and you have to crawl threw 25’ of sewage saturated sand, under beams, old pipes and cob webs, the tenants are always flushing stuff to jamb up the pump.


If i can fit ill do it.
I just buy a roll of plstic wrap extra clothes if i now what im getting into.
Felt bad for this guy though hes like 85 years old in a walker probably on a fixed income an i took a circ saw to his living room...
Littlerly tried every possible way. Was there all day.
Cut some plywood an screwd his csrpet down to it untill we get someone there to fix it.


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## Logtec (Jun 3, 2018)

canuck92 said:


> Logtec said:
> 
> 
> > Sh1tty, but well done.
> ...


I hear that, I’ll lay down plastic and suit up, then into the abyss. 
My apprentice backs me up, he’s not at the point where I can send him in, but soon enough.


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## SchmitzPlumbing (May 5, 2014)

im not going in. i give out great referrals to the competition that i hate for those. crawl spaces and gypsie wagons, not happening.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

I pass on most crawl spaces too, first they don't want to pay and second they won't pay enough for me to get hurt on a rusty nail and I've seen some places only a 90 pound man would fit in a 8" crawl.

I had one guy this weekend wanting to replace a water heater in a 5" crawl space without any stairs. He almost cursed saying will anyone do this in the city!?!. I told him 2 times it was a NO and I wasn't going to get hurt. Instead this morning all I had to do is replace a tub cartridge and it took me 13 minutes from unpacking to repack the van.


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## jakewilcox (Sep 3, 2019)

When I was in service (long time ago) I would NOT crawl in a flooded crawl space. Didn’t matter what it was flooded with. Mind you, this was with my boss’ backing. I think at some point someone got sick from crawling through sewage under a house. 

I used to get mighty nice spiffs from Emergency Restoration Services. Do you guys use a company like that?


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

jakewilcox said:


> ............I used to get mighty nice spiffs from Emergency Restoration Services. Do you guys use a company like that?



Is a "spiff" a term for a cash kickback from a referral? 



Yes, we have a local cleanup/mold remediation company we refer customers too, occasionally we sub them out.






.


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## 89plumbum (May 14, 2011)

canuck92 said:


> If i can fit ill do it.
> I just buy a roll of plstic wrap extra clothes if i now what im getting into.
> Felt bad for this guy though hes like 85 years old in a walker probably on a fixed income an i took a circ saw to his living room...
> Littlerly tried every possible way. Was there all day.
> Cut some plywood an screwd his csrpet down to it untill we get someone there to fix it.


Bravo to you man! Hardworking and compassionate. That's rare these days.


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

Not a good picture of the crawl, had to remove this tub trap and lav line. There was room to move around, but I definitely wanted to drag the HVAC guy who install that furnace vent out into the street and put a bullet in his head! My back was screaming that night and the next day.....


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

jakewilcox said:


> When I was in service (long time ago) I would NOT crawl in a flooded crawl space. Didn’t matter what it was flooded with. Mind you, this was with my boss’ backing. I think at some point someone got sick from crawling through sewage under a house.
> 
> I used to get mighty nice spiffs from Emergency Restoration Services. Do you guys use a company like that?



You cant pay me enough to deal with them any more.....

Last summer I get a call from some old man that had been patching his cast drain line in his crawl space for 15 years... 

the cheap bastar/ put down a tarp over the sewage and had a sump pump that was pumping it out to the front drain culvert for years....

I go down into this hole to give him an estimate and its so tight to get into the hole I tell him we will have to enlarge the entrance to get the pipe down into the hole and he barks at me that he is not gonna pay for that and demands I cut the pipe into 5 foot sections to get down into his crap...:surprise: I should have just turned around and left...

that pretty much told me right then and there to get the hell out and go on down the road... I looked at his mess and left....fast.....

Then a few days later I get some sort of bug from smelling this stuff and it took a few days for it to pass.....

Tightwad calls me a week later wanting his estimate and I never returned the call.

I hope he still is shopping for the right guy to put up with him..


you can get pretty sick from inhaling that stuff


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## canuck92 (Apr 1, 2016)

Master Mark said:


> jakewilcox said:
> 
> 
> > When I was in service (long time ago) I would NOT crawl in a flooded crawl space. Didn’t matter what it was flooded with. Mind you, this was with my boss’ backing. I think at some point someone got sick from crawling through sewage under a house.
> ...


Last year i had a simmilar call. No issues with the customer but after 2 days of pumping and and properly geared up. I went in an realized every dwv fitting was siliconed together ! LOL couldnt belive it.
Half of the fittinsgs disconnected hanging by wire strings just dumping raw sewage in there.
The mudd was moving...it was sewer magots moving in the mud. It was fked. I tild them i want a raise lol


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## ironandfire (Oct 9, 2008)

Doesn't beat Canucks or any for that matter. It's a tight squeeze none the less.


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## ironandfire (Oct 9, 2008)

I can fit through a 12" x 12" access by the way.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

ironandfire said:


> I can fit through a 12" x 12" access by the way.



Its nothing to brag about, you know.....

it only means you get to do these nasty jobs when no one else working in the shop can fit.....:vs_laugh:


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

OpenSights said:


> Not a good picture of the crawl, had to remove this tub trap and lav line. There was room to move around, but I definitely wanted to drag the HVAC guy who install that furnace vent out into the street and put a bullet in his head! My back was screaming that night and the next day.....


Is that a wye installed very incorrectly being used as a drum trap? lolz


I mean, it's a good idea and I have done something similar with pvc for this painters sink but that right there is a very poor implementation.








.


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## jakewilcox (Sep 3, 2019)

skoronesa said:


> jakewilcox said:
> 
> 
> > ............I used to get mighty nice spiffs from Emergency Restoration Services. Do you guys use a company like that?
> ...




Exactly! I would get like $150 for referring them. They would go clean up and the floor of the crawl space. It wouldn’t be exactly dry but it would be full of benotnite clay chips (kitty litter) and as far as crawl spaces go, super clean and easy to work in. No cob webs and usually didn’t even stink. I actually liked those jobs


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## canuck92 (Apr 1, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> canuck92 said:
> 
> 
> > Been solding 2" copper in a small boiler room all day, iv been snot rocketing lugies all night lol
> ...


Its an aquired skill, the wife loves how it curles lol


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

skoronesa said:


> Is that a wye installed very incorrectly being used as a drum trap? lolz
> 
> 
> I mean, it's a good idea and I have done something similar with pvc for this painters sink but that right there is a very poor implementation.
> ...



Oh, that wasn’t the only “trap”! Because of all the 90°s and tees connecting them to the main, the lav “trap” was about 6” deep and 5’ long. The tub trap wasn’t just the wye, it continued another 2’.... 

I would’ve taken more pictures but all I wanted to get the F out of there. And I wasn’t able to catch all the water from the traps, so, even with tarps, I still got my pants and shirt soaked.


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