Where to start
i am not bad at all this DIY, but have made some howlers and managed to find some cowboy work in my friends house.

1. Nailed into central heating. After 13 days of hard work renovating old house, sunday 4pm comes and i was laying new floor boards. Nail into pipes, water everywhere and had to empty central heating and turn off the water. i was filthy, had no hot or cold water and had to get monday off work to spend £3 on a 25mm straight join. And spend the night absolutely filthy.
2. About a week later, slipped on joist and put foot though ceiling. Old nail head ripped up inside of thigh and thankfully only cuts through jeans. Wife laughs. I did not. Very very grumpy.
3. Re-hung a kitchen cupboard after builders had done such a bad job it fell off the wall. New position was marked. Small hole drilled from front room wall to kitchen to show position of joist. On other side, i put first screw in and BANG! sparks. I screwed into a ring main. There was only a second hole 5cm from the last that i had not put there, and i had used that.

Grrrrrr.

Then my wife mate nearly killed me - and herself. I was asked to go look at a washing machine that kept turning itself off. As i pulled it out (oo-er mrs) it started to spark. "f*ck". Then i realise its the socket arcing. mmmm. i decide then and there to do nothing. It was basically getting no power because it was shorting to the back of the machine.
I had a scout round and - no fuse box. mmmm. So i asked, and she said she didn't have one! mmmm. Yep. she was right. The power came in from next door and she had no meter or fusebox.
There was also a light bulb that kept blowing if you used a certain socket it the front room. Yes - it was connected to the lighting ring and any decent load would blow the front room bulb.

Friggin nightmare.
( bazza van der trance , ooh baby baby, baby baby. Get up on this., Mon 7 Apr 2008, 16:47, Reply)