Tiling/ trade blunders and accidents

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I've got a good one for you.....

Started a bathroom refurb in May last year, started knocking the old tiles off the walls when I felt a sharp pain and couldnt see for a few seconds. Put my hand up to my left eye and there was a bit of bleeding so got my brother to get some kitchen roll and went for a sit down in the garage.
After about ten minutes the bleeding stopped but was still having trouble seeing, so ask my brother to get the eye wash out of the van so I could get back on with the job. "Lets have a look first" he said......

eye pic 1.jpg


"Think you better get to A&E"

A chunk of tile had hit the side of my nose and sliced through the eyeball (no wonder I couldnt see!!)

So here's what happened next in numbers.......

Half a day in A&E then transfered to specialist eye centre in Birmingham
3 examinations over 4 hours
4pm checked in on ward for operations
6:30pm into surgery to try and save eye
7 stiches to eyeball to put it back together
10:30 pm out of surgery back on ward
11:30 surgeon comes to tell me op went well but unsure if i'll get any useful vision back
10:30 next morning go for exam - some useful vision has remained
5pm check out - on way home
11 sets of eyedrops per day meant pupil fully dialated (had to wear sunglasses indoors)
9 weeks off work / couldnt drive

I have to wear glasses now as left eye vision is very blurry as eyeball is rugby ball shaped now because of the way they had to repair the eyeball

All because I thought I'd get the safety glasses out of the van next time I went out......

Very lucky really - it could have been a lot worse!!
 
You never know when an accident is imminent. When these big tiles came in a few years ago I had to cut a diagonal for a pitched ceiling. Scored the cut on my biggest cutter from corner to middle and corner to middle, instead of tapping with my hammer on the back, I broke it along the scribe line over my knee. All was well until I realised the point had gone straight into my stomach!! Not very far about an inch but enough to ruin a good logo shirt and for my Son to run squeamishly. Bit of gaffa tape and we were good to go.
 
Being a tight-wad I kept some off-cuts of Butech trim in the back of my van.
One was upended in a bucket and it was a 45 degree cut - like the barbed head of a mini harpoon.
Reaching (fumbling) for a trowel I felt a pain in my forearm and when I lifted it out of the bucket I had a 12" length of trim dangling. The barb meant it ripped on the way out and I bled like a stuck pig (whatever that means!) The scar shows it was right next to a big vein.
No offcuts in my van now.
 
Could have been my extra midriff that took the majority of the tile!
I have a couple of hernia issues and if nothing else this thread has highlighted, one area of lump is very near the point of tile entry. May have been further than I thought. Reminded me of that scene from Total Recall.
 
Big bit of thin porc cut down to 1000x1000 had a little spur sticking out on the corner. Spinning it round on the workbench i heard a little zip when it passed my arm. Didn't feel a thing but a lot of blood. The labourer was a little unsteady after taping me up.
 
I've got a good one for you.....

Started a bathroom refurb in May last year, started knocking the old tiles off the walls when I felt a sharp pain and couldnt see for a few seconds. Put my hand up to my left eye and there was a bit of bleeding so got my brother to get some kitchen roll and went for a sit down in the garage.
After about ten minutes the bleeding stopped but was still having trouble seeing, so ask my brother to get the eye wash out of the van so I could get back on with the job. "Lets have a look first" he said......

View attachment 84202

"Think you better get to A&E"

A chunk of tile had hit the side of my nose and sliced through the eyeball (no wonder I couldnt see!!)

So here's what happened next in numbers.......

Half a day in A&E then transfered to specialist eye centre in Birmingham
3 examinations over 4 hours
4pm checked in on ward for operations
6:30pm into surgery to try and save eye
7 stiches to eyeball to put it back together
10:30 pm out of surgery back on ward
11:30 surgeon comes to tell me op went well but unsure if i'll get any useful vision back
10:30 next morning go for exam - some useful vision has remained
5pm check out - on way home
11 sets of eyedrops per day meant pupil fully dialated (had to wear sunglasses indoors)
9 weeks off work / couldnt drive

I have to wear glasses now as left eye vision is very blurry as eyeball is rugby ball shaped now because of the way they had to repair the eyeball

All because I thought I'd get the safety glasses out of the van next time I went out......

Very lucky really - it could have been a lot worse!!

Bloody hell.....I'm wearing safety glasses from now on...


I never bother with them. If I do they sit on top of the head! But after reading this. I'll defo wear them now.
 
Some of these made me think of the time I thought I'd turn the entrance hall to an upstairs flat into a swimming pool. Was knocking off some blown plaster to make good before skimming and found out what had caused it to blow. A pipe buried in it with a buried compression joint. So as the pipe hit my bulster! The water was unreal. The guy turned his stop **** off and it carried on gushing. Plumber called who could not cap it as we'd squash the pipe to stem the flow, plumber couldn't turn the outside stop **** either so 1 hour later waterboard came and turned it off. Turned out there was a split in the mains under the floor that fed the attached shop, after the flats stop ****. There was that much water I nearly drowned bailing out!!!
 
Don't buy cheap safety glasses. You won't wear them.
Trust me: buy a decent set of anti-scratch, anti-fog Bolle or Uvex with a soft pouch you can clip on your pants.
If they're nice to wear, comfy and look ok, you'll wear them.
 
couple of years ago, first job of the day, fit 900 x 900 shower tray, went in a treat second job, tile walls with 600 x 600 porc, no worries, couple of hours later walking in with the last cut to top corner, caught my foot on the dust sheets, tile came flying out of my hand, corner first bang center of the tray, bounced, chipped a tile on the bottom row then bounced back and outand put a big scratch across the back of the tray, i sprained my wrist and gave myself a black eye on a bucket on the way down couldnt beleive it, the customer was a legend about it if im honest, because he was standing in the hall saw the whole thing, after i had stopped swearing and he had stop wetting himself with laughter, we had a cuppa and *** and a chuckle about it together. cost me a bit of time and a new tray but it was spetaculaly clumsy distructive 3 seconds
 
I had a blunder last week whilst putting 1,400 screws in a floor, chewed up two finger tips, nasty. Right down the side of the nail with the pz2 bit at full speed on two seperate fingers!
I've had loads of small slices from cut porcelain, nothing like some of them beauty's on here tho
 
I put a screw through a Wedi board, clean through a pipe. (i put the pipe there!) just before xmas on a job i didn't want to do. Only found it after shower was in use because it was a pipe from the mixer to a hand wand.
Now the section of pipe is on my dashboard as a reminder of my stupidity.
 
Talking of safety glasses, a good friend of mine, a kitchen fitter, was using a router. One of the screws was missing the anti-vibration spring, that he was "always meaning to replace". The screw vibrated out, fell onto the spindle, went straight through his prescription glasses into the eye. He sadly lost his eye.
 
Theres always something on every job, even if you've thought to yourself"this is going well" that's the start of it.
Started a kitchen floor yesterday, on first look all seemed fine, left the front door open while I got my gear in, this in turn kicked the central heating on, one of the rads in the kitchen starts dripping, goes to nip it up with an adjustable and obviously over tightened it and the HOT water starts pouring out, managed to get a bowl under it, had to then find the drain off valve, cut down the customers garden hose and drain the system...customer comes home " yeah I noticed that was dripping last night" ffs!! Wonder what today will bring!
 
Theres always something on every job, even if you've thought to yourself"this is going well" that's the start of it.
Started a kitchen floor yesterday, on first look all seemed fine, left the front door open while I got my gear in, this in turn kicked the central heating on, one of the rads in the kitchen starts dripping, goes to nip it up with an adjustable and obviously over tightened it and the HOT water starts pouring out, managed to get a bowl under it, had to then find the drain off valve, cut down the customers garden hose and drain the system...customer comes home " yeah I noticed that was dripping last night" ffs!! Wonder what today will bring!
didn't know you are a multi tradesperson😉
 
Don't touch heating and plumbing! I know you were doing a good turn Andy but you could end up liable!
I'd have turned off the heating and thrown a towel down. Not my problem Guv!
 

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Tiling/ trade blunders and accidents
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