Starting on 12-07-09 pipes started breaking from the low temps. I worked 18 days straight 12 hours a day taking Christmas day off. 8 hours a day since. We did 47 WDR jobs in 18 days some small but most larger than average since overhead pipe breaks were common with ceilings falling etc. One job was a 2500 SF 2 story 150 year old home with lath and plaster walls and ceilings. A beautifully restored home just ruined. A huge restoration project for a company our size. We did 3 complete packouts and had extra subcontractors doing installs, painting, insulation and sheetrock. We did all this with 3 trucks, 3 guys in the field, 1 office person and me doing the paperwork, inspections and schlepping equipment around. I swear that equipment is a lot heavier than 20 years ago! The systems I had put in place to document and track jobs worked perfectly. My people worked 12 hours a day 6 days a week. They are awesome!!! Some people hugged me and one cussed me. It was a great run and I am tired. Looking forward to my vacation in February! Sad to see all of my little reliable electric friends coming back to the shop.
The deep freeze of aught 9
- Thread starter Askal
- Start date
Mikey P
Administrator
I want to be AL when I grow up.
topnotchman
Member
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2008
- Messages
- 228
I couldn't imagine handling that many jobs at once. I had a difficult time handling 6 water damages at once. Its all worth it in the end!
First Mikey: Never grow up, just keep pushing the envelope and having fun (like what you are doing now). Second did I make any money? Pretty sure I'm ok on that. This is the big deal I have been waiting for and building up my equipment for 10 years. Been thinking about storm chasing but not sure if I have the equipment in place for it. I will ask those successful at it in the first part of the year.
Al
Al
RIP IT
Member
It certainly raises the stress levels when that sort of workload gets dropped in your lap. You soon find out how well your systems REALLY work when it happens.
My biggest hit of jobs was in June 2006 when Newcastle was smashed with storms.
I along with two contractors drove for 12 hours to sleep in a motel that had two foot of water go through it the night before.
Woke at 5 am to find the other guys vans and fully laden trailers bogged cause they parked them on the grass when we arrived at 1am. I left mine parked on the bitumen and had to tow them out then start on 110 flooded homes that mostly had 3 different layers of flooring that had to be ripped up and dumped after moving any furniture. Didnt need airmovers on most of them as they were were blackwater damaged. The three of us had a labourer each and for the first three days I would do the file notes after work getting to sleep at 1am then get up at 5 and go again.
From the fourth day I put on an extra labourer and stayed in the office doing the file notes as the guys phoned them through as they finished each job. Getting 7 hours sleep is SO much better than 4.
We completed all 110 jobs in seven days then drove back home to collapse.
I didn't really make a huge amount of money ( around $14000 profit for the week ) out of those jobs ( considering the pain ) but since then the same insurance company has sent me over 900 jobs where the little blue soldiers have done all the hard work and made the $ a lot easier.
My biggest hit of jobs was in June 2006 when Newcastle was smashed with storms.
I along with two contractors drove for 12 hours to sleep in a motel that had two foot of water go through it the night before.
Woke at 5 am to find the other guys vans and fully laden trailers bogged cause they parked them on the grass when we arrived at 1am. I left mine parked on the bitumen and had to tow them out then start on 110 flooded homes that mostly had 3 different layers of flooring that had to be ripped up and dumped after moving any furniture. Didnt need airmovers on most of them as they were were blackwater damaged. The three of us had a labourer each and for the first three days I would do the file notes after work getting to sleep at 1am then get up at 5 and go again.
From the fourth day I put on an extra labourer and stayed in the office doing the file notes as the guys phoned them through as they finished each job. Getting 7 hours sleep is SO much better than 4.
We completed all 110 jobs in seven days then drove back home to collapse.
I didn't really make a huge amount of money ( around $14000 profit for the week ) out of those jobs ( considering the pain ) but since then the same insurance company has sent me over 900 jobs where the little blue soldiers have done all the hard work and made the $ a lot easier.
Desk Jockey
Member
That's awesome Al!
That took some commitment from your people to pull that many off with so few. You should be proud of them, nice work! 8)
That took some commitment from your people to pull that many off with so few. You should be proud of them, nice work! 8)
Chris: You sure got me beat in the hours dept. and that sounds like butt busting labor. The first week I pushed a little hard, caught a cold. After the first week I went home after 12 hours every day to sleep. The stress factor was what made me so fatigued.
Al
Al
harryhides
Member
We had the flood of the century to deal with in 1997, we dealt with over 120 of a few thousand flooded homes. It was no fun and very stressful.
We had a lake of approximately 100 miles long by 20 miles wide heading our way.
A little history and pictures of what this river has done.
http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgu...ood+of+the+century,+manitoba&gbv=2&hl=en&sa=G
Here is a pretty neat simulation of what could happen here if we had not recently expanded our floodway - the largest single man made item in North America - visible from space.
http://www.floodwayauthority.mb.ca/simulationVids/floodwayBoth_300k.mov
We had a lake of approximately 100 miles long by 20 miles wide heading our way.
A little history and pictures of what this river has done.
http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgu...ood+of+the+century,+manitoba&gbv=2&hl=en&sa=G
Here is a pretty neat simulation of what could happen here if we had not recently expanded our floodway - the largest single man made item in North America - visible from space.
http://www.floodwayauthority.mb.ca/simulationVids/floodwayBoth_300k.mov
RIP IT
Member
Al, I will NEVER and CAN NEVER work that hard again. Having the physical stress AND the mental stress is too much. Trying to do it all will kill ya. If that situation ever arises again I will load up on the labour hire and just keep tabs on the office stuff. Having the guys send the job info through after each job meant things went like clockwork and everything got done right and at a sensible hour of the day. We were amazed at what we got through and at the end of the week organised to meet up at a cafe for lunch. One of the guys was running 30 minutes late but before he arrived we got told politely that we weren't allowed to sleep at the tables. Had some incredible stories from that week ranging between 3 foot of mud and water going through an 80 year old womans home who just had to show one of my contractors her vibrator collection ( in front of her husband ), the BIG black one was her favourite... apparently.... his words, to using some hand made chocolate truffels and hot chocolate to console a hysterical woman who had half a room of wet carpet ( her mother passed away in the house the week before ). At the end of the day this is very satisfying work.
