# The Gasman Cometh



## johnep (Apr 12, 2007)

I wanted a DAB and FM radio antenna which required a hole drilled though the kitchen wall near the boiler. I asked the fitter to check for pipes and he said did not believe in detectors and did not have one. They would just react to the nearby boiler. I offered my Ryobi stud and pipe detector but he refused. 
Five minutes later he asked me to turn off the gas. He had drilled through the pipe. This was on Friday. We had no gas over the weekend and I had to buy another fan heater. Monday morning the gasman did come and bypassed the holed pipe. 
Yesterday the fitter returned and the reception of DAB improved dramatically 
My wife likes Classic FM and DAB gives you all the info.

I negotiated a substantial discount.

What surprised me was that these 'professionals' did not have the tools I or my son have. The plumber had no vacuum to clean up the dust and hot soldered the pipe fittings, my son has an hydraulic crimper. (lives and works too far away to help).

I feel this ties in with the arguments over Kreg and dovetail jigs. In my view, a craftsman should be able to cut/join these by hand, but for speed and on cost grounds would use a jig for customers.
johnep


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## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

wow, glad it didn't ignite! (And I wonder if the guy believes in detectors now?)


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## bofa (Jul 17, 2010)

That's just plain stupid. Why be a cowboy when it can end up costing you money, make you look like a complete dumbass, lose future business, and most importantly, kill you? Any chance he said "Hey y'all, watch this!" before he began drilling?


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