Construction Blunders

What Went Wrong?

There are so many phases in building something that it's easy for something to go horribly wrong, from the planning stage (not so bad, as long as someone is on the ball and catches it before it gets worse) to the finishing of a project.

Construction Blunders

The more people are involved, the more blunders can occur.  This is why it's a good idea to have one person who signs off on everything, before any action is taken, so that there can be accountability.

Some of the construction blunders we've had to deal with on our projects (in no particular order);

  • Site preparation for the mudroom addition entailed getting a small excavator in to dig the big foot footings.  The operator didn't see the garden hose that was hooked up to the hot water heater in the house, pulled on it with the thumb, and tore the entire fitting off the hot water heater.  It took over 2 years to rectify the issue so we could drain the hot water heater for maintenance.

And then, there's the worst blunder of all; one that causes an accident and sends someone to the hospital.  This one was all because the old fish netting that prevents birds from flying into the window was removed to put the window trim on the outside.

After two bird strikes, the executive order was given to put the netting back up, so Mike, ever the good employee, ran to do my bidding. 

After setting up the ladder, locating the stapler, and getting the netting ready, he went to climb up to staple it in place.  Oops, the ladder was not securely hooked in place and folded up, bucking Mike off onto the ground. 

A visit to the Emergency Room for x-rays and pain meds later, we finally got the netting back in place, without using the ladder.

The victim of a construction blunderThe victim of a construction blunder

Other blunders on our construction projects include;

  •  Not measuring properly, and installing a roof on the woodshed addition that hangs over too far, making it difficult to add fascia and a gutter, should we wish to do so.

  • installing the 20 gallon hot water tank underneath the kitchen counter, making it impossible to install an anode rod, which we need now as the hot water smells like rotten eggs.

There will be other slight miscalculations and mishaps,n I'm sure.  The trick with any is to learn from them, so as not to do the same thing again.  It's hard to foresee some of them, but safety is paramount with any building project.

Above all, don't let the thought of these kind of construction blunders deter you from taking on the challenge of improving your dwelling or homestead.  Think carefully before you stumble into it, and make a plan.



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