Some workers in desperation do desperate things.  And usually the desperate thing turns out to be, well, dumb.

One of the larger jobs I was on was a build of a thirteen story building.  As the electricians were finishing up our trim-out of the job, the carpet layers arrived.

I had made a habit of cleaning up behind me as I worked, so there weren’t many issues on my end with tools and debris lying about.  However others had not been so careful.

The carpet layers said that they wouldn’t do any clean up because, in their words, “That’s not our Job.”

There were many rooms that after being carpeted, had small lumps under the carpet.

That will wear out a carpet much faster.  And of course a worn out carpet will need replacement quicker.

It reminded me of a story I heard about a couple of carpet layers doing a job.  As they finished up and were leaving, one of the carpet layers couldn’t find his cigarettes.  As he looked about he saw a small lump in the carpet near the middle of the floor.

Taking his hammer he went over and pounded the lump flat.  Then as he was leaving the door, he saw his cigarettes on a window sill near the door.  He picked them up and put them in his pocket, but stood wondering what had been under the carpet.

About that time the lady of the house came hurrying up and asked them in an anxious voice if they had seen her parakeet.  It had gotten out of it’s cage and was nowhere to be found.

Smoking can be hazardous to your health.

And to the health of little birds.

For awhile, in order to make a living, I worked out of town.  Over a period of a couple years, I worked part time in Seattle.  I couldn’t afford to move there, so I stayed with our daughter and son-in-law and drove home every weekend.

This practice gave me a wide variety of experience.

Heavy fog was the most challenging condition I encountered.  For instance, at times I would follow a set of tail lights through the night, in the fog, on the freeway.  One time I followed a car right off of the freeway.  Then I had to figure out how to get back on the freeway and find another set of tail lights to follow.

Another type of experience was accidents.

One time my wife and I were driving home from Seattle when we observed a huge cloud of dust.  When we reached the location of the dust cloud, we saw that a car had gone off of the freeway and rolled.  The lady who had been driving the vehicle was standing by the edge of the road hugging a passerby.

I immediately thought of all kinds of back stories that could have lead to this eventuality.  However since the lady had help and we would have been holding up traffic, we continued on without stopping.

Seventy-five years of driving makes me appreciate the song that says; “It’s a jungle out there.”  (Even if I’m not OCD)

I have travelled by airline to get to some jobs.  Air travel is said to be the safest way to travel, but I don’t feel it.

For one thing, it is difficult to stop by the side of the road and visit with someone when you travel via plane.

Or to visit a roadside attraction.

In operating my own business, I became very competitive – well competitive for me.

If I was on the road, tending to business, and passing by a job site, I would wonder to myself; “Why didn’t they let me bid on it?”  Sometimes I would stop and leave a business card.  (Of late, the boys have put together a list of pros and cons for hiring AdenBecks to do their wiring.  They send it with bids or leave it in doorways where there is a project happening.  The last listing under the “Cons” of the home owner doing it himself is; “Being electrocuted is a bad thing.”)

One time I was working on a house when a fellow came inside to talk to me.  He was building a house up the road from where I was working and wanted to know how much I charged per hour.  He was quite disgusted with his contractor and was ready to fire him.

I gave him my business card and told him to call me anytime and I would come by and give him a price.

I never heard from him again.  Perhaps he made up with his contractor.  Or maybe he used my hourly rate as a negotiation tool.  Who knows?

One gentleman would get my price regularly, …. then do the work himself.  He would use my price to calculate his general contract, and do the work I had priced for him.  I don’t know how he handled the electrical inspection.

About that time I began to realize that electrical inspectors were our allies.  Over time the electrical code has become more stringent and non- electricians or contractors without an electrical license are no longer allowed to do the electrical work.

Now-a-days an electrical inspector has to pass the same tests as an electrical contractor.  It evens the playing field.

Even today, though, we still encounter some individuals that want to do their own wiring.  It is allowed if it is for their Own Residence.  They still need to take out a permit and have it inspected.

Sometimes an individual will do their own wiring on their “own residence” and in less than 2 years they will flip the home.  When the Washington State electrical inspection department catches them, there is a fine attached.

All in all, there are some good laws, and some that aren’t so good.