# Emergency Call, Wife says, your lathe is running, I can’t stop it!!



## Janderso (Apr 28, 2019)

The scene,
I’m in my trailer at Richard King’s scraping class, last day.
I just woke up and made some coffee. The cell phone buzzes. Message, Emergency, call my right away. It’s from my wife.
I think, my kids? My Mother? My wife?
Jeff, your lathe is running! Say again? Your lathe is running and I can’t stop it!
Ok, I say to myself. 
Hit the red button, which one? There are two. The one on the right.... nope.
Ok, on the wall next to it, there is a disconnect lever, push it down. It is down?
Ah, ok, go over to the sub- panel. What’s a sub-panel.
Over by the man door, side door, make sure the breakers are all off. They are off!
Pause......
I say Glenda, that’s impossible.
She says, oh wait it’s the garage door.
The garage door is running??
You mean the garage door motor is running?
Yes. Ok, try the button
She screams, NO, NO!
She says the sprinkler exploded on the garage door and all your tools are getting wet.
I say, go over to the sprinkler panel, you know, where I showed how to turn to auto? Turn to OFF
It’s not working, give it a few seconds. 
Ok it stopped.
Whew, the sprinklers came on at their normal time. We had some workers over yesterday. They must have broken a sprinkler in the lawn.
Glenda, I say, all will be ok. Go over the tools with a towel and don’t worry about the floor.
I’ll be home this afternoon.
That’s how my day started.


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## jwmay (Apr 28, 2019)

Well my wife and I both loved that story. I hope all is well on your return!


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## kb58 (Apr 28, 2019)

Janderso said:


> The scene,
> I’m in my trailer at Richard King’s scraping class, last day.
> I just woke up and made some coffee. The cell phone buzzes. Message, Emergency, call my right away. It’s from my wife.
> I think, my kids? My Mother? My wife?
> ...


I've received similar calls regarding our fish pond. "There's water shooting out of a pipe ."
"Which one and where?"
"A white one"
"Where?"
"Near the pond"
"No, where exactly?"
"I don't know"

Ugh...


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## markba633csi (Apr 28, 2019)

So the sound of water sounded like a motor running?  How did the tools get wet? Was it getting around the edge of the door?
I imagine you guys are still a little on edge since the fire 
Mark


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## benmychree (Apr 28, 2019)

Jeff, I did not laugh out loud, but ------


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## Tom1948 (Apr 28, 2019)

Guy calls home. Is the power back on? Daughter answers,( now she is a college graduate) I dont know dad but the AC is running.


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## Reddinr (Apr 28, 2019)

Funny!  Glad it turned out OK.  I think we've all had those calls!  It rung a bell for me anyway.  Luckily I have one of the smart ones.  Once we get past the initial panic, the rest of the remote troubleshooting goes well.  One thing that helps us is to label everything.  "MAIN PANEL", "GENERATOR DISCONNECT" and so on.  The "where's waldo" part of the process goes much faster with labels.


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## Karl_T (Apr 28, 2019)

years ago, my son called in a panic and said, "I was working on my car in the garage and it caught on fire.  The fire extinguisher did not put it out. What should I do??"

"call 911"

Karl


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## Tom1948 (Apr 28, 2019)

I was out in town with a friend. His son called and said dad, I want to change oil in my motorcycle. How much does it take? Friend replies " It takes 4 quarts theirs some on the shelf." Son says all I see are gallons. This kid is 20 years old. True story. I bet he knows how to measure out 2 grams of pot.


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## stupoty (Apr 28, 2019)

Tom1948 said:


> I was out in town with a friend. His son called and said dad, I want to change oil in my motorcycle. How much does it take? Friend replies " It takes 4 quarts theirs some on the shelf." Son says all I see are gallons. This kid is 20 years old. True story. I bet he knows how to measure out 2 grams of pot.



I got messed up by the units CWT once , took me ages to figure out "hundred weight" (which according to google is 112lbs), I had heard is used but never seen it written.

(It's a pulley block with a rating of 0.4 CWT by the way.)

Stu


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## Janderso (Apr 29, 2019)

Got home safe, spent an hour or two cleaning up the surface rust and getting the water out of the compound/cross slide.
A 1/2" pvc pipe was bent over pointing at the garage door. The sprinkler head was busted off. We had a 1/2" stream of water directed at my garage shop.
All is well, thank goodness.


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## DiscoDan (Apr 29, 2019)

Damn, you just can't catch a break.... I'm glad to hear it wasn't worse.


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## RJSakowski (Apr 29, 2019)

As I realize that I most likely won't outlive the 30 yr. warranty on my roof and my wife will be left to deal with any issues that arise, I began writing a comprehensive user manual for the house.  Electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and COM. 

With lighting being essentially 100% LED and half of it being custom, even if professionals were called in, they would spend a good deal of time scratching their heads and then probably recommend pulling it out.  Attached to the list is spreadsheet which identifies the fifty plus circuit breakers in three panels by circuit, along with a reverse search list. 

The paint colors for each room, along with the manufacturer and mix codes are listed as well.  For rooms that have been remodeled, stud locations are given.

We have a custom HVAC system with dual heat options.  Ductwork has a dual configuration based on option selected.  The wood burning furnace has its own special needs, such as maintenance of the furnace and flue.  A project for this year will be to install a mini-split heat pump to the attic electronics workshop which will add yet another layer of complexity.

We have a private well and a septic system so info on these systems and a detailed description of operation is given.  The water supply system includes the pressure tank, water softener, and water heater, along with the various shutoff valves.  The septic system has a pumped drainfield so information on the pump and the fault sensor circuitry is given.  

The COM system includes voice and DSL, WiFi, Ethernet cabling, and rooftop TV antenna with amplifier and distribution systems. 

The bonus is that with my failing memory, I find the manual useful as well.

Now, if I can just remember where I put it.


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## Janderso (Apr 29, 2019)

That is very thoughtful of you.
We moved into a, new to us, 20 year old house. The sellers were kind enough to leave us all their warranty and owners manuals for the appliances and other devices. The sprinkler system and the LED lighting in the cabinets are a mystery.
The other thing that has me baffled, the rafters in the garage has a sheet metal barrier between the rafter and the sheet rock. I can't figure out what or why it's there.
Good for you to make an attempt to clarify your changes and additions you made over the years.


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## jwmay (Apr 30, 2019)

My comprehensive “if I go before you” plan is a little less detailed. It’s just one page. It has an auction house phone number, a realtors phone number, and a pamphlet entitled “Travel the world on 5 dollars a day.”


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## RobertHaas (Apr 30, 2019)

My wife told me this one;

I was down at my dads shop where I was the office manager. The fire Extinguisher company was on site doing their annual service where they inspect and replace all the extinguishers in the shop. (We have a 5 year expiration on all extinguishers) I remembered the extinguisher at my house needs to be serviced as well. I call my older sister and this is how the call went.

"Deedra?, This is Lisa, you know the extinguisher under the sink?, 

Deedra responds "yea"

I replied in an  excited voice;" Grab it and bring it to the shop, HURRY!" and hang up.

You can imagine the panic in my big sister that was growing by the second as she feverishly dialed 911 and sent the fire department down to our dads shop.


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## vtcnc (May 1, 2019)

Janderso said:


> Got home safe, spent an hour or two cleaning up the surface rust and getting the water out of the compound/cross slide.
> A 1/2" pvc pipe was bent over pointing at the garage door. The sprinkler head was busted off. We had a 1/2" stream of water directed at my garage shop.
> All is well, thank goodness.


We need a facepalm emoji.


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## Cadillac (May 1, 2019)

Janderso said:


> The other thing that has me baffled, the rafters in the garage has a sheet metal barrier between the rafter and the sheet rock. I can't figure out what or why it's there.
> Good for you to make an attempt to clarify your changes and additions you made over the years.



I would think its for fire ratings. Is your garage attached? For my local code a garage attached or within 10' of a home must be dry walled with 5/8" not the standard 1/2. And that's for a 45min fire rating. Probably makes reception a challenge?


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## Janderso (May 2, 2019)

I never thought of that. Sheet metal between the sheet rock and the insulation and studs?? Hmm.
 I tell you one thing, these homes are insulated. When we cut into the stucco to run conduit for the sub-panel, we found a foil strip, 1 1/2" of styrofoam insulation then the plywood shear then the pink glass insulation in the walls.


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## Dabbler (May 2, 2019)

Janderso, it sounds like a refit:  Whenever I add insulation to a house, I add it to the outside of the sheathing - it's far cheaper, and easier to get airtight!


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## Janderso (May 2, 2019)

Maybe I didn't explain it right. From the outside moving in, stucco, wire, foil wrapped stryofoam, moisture wrap, plywood then the pink glass stuff.
Dabbler, you are in Canada right? I like to watch those home improvement shows. There was one called Holmes on Homes.
The spray foam looks incredible. Talk about a good product!!


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## Cadillac (May 2, 2019)

Jeff the wall construction sounds about right except leaving out the tar paper barrier. Holmes on homes is the best he shows the way it would be done in his own house, straight up. My cable company knocked off that channel so I have to binge watch here and there on a cracked fire-stick.


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## Dabbler (May 2, 2019)

Yeah, Canada... My neighbour just spray foamed 1/2 of his house as part of his rebuild $5000, but the walls are now airtight...  A friend of mine worked with him once before he bacame famous.  He fired Mike on the second day on the job, or so he says.


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## Janderso (May 3, 2019)

I assumed the foam was expensive. That has to be at least double compared to the panther glass insulation.


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## Dabbler (May 3, 2019)

If you look at total job price, the need for structure for fibreglas, etc, plain white styro or foil-backed styro is much cheaper to install.  It is only feasible during siding replacement, however.  Otherwise it is cheaper to take down the drywall and insulate from the inside.


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## FarmDad (May 7, 2019)

My " after I am gone " plan for the wife is pretty simple   as she is my helper on projects and can take care of most of the systems  so its just a paragraph in my will that states ........


DO NOT sell the guns and machine tools for what I told you i paid for them .


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## Janderso (May 7, 2019)

That;s funny


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