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Undertoad · 08-25-2009, 12:52 PM

It's funny because I kind of thought, if I had to do it over again, HVAC. At first I thought electrician, because I've always liked hardware and circuits. But then I realized, in HVAC you have to know pretty much everything: electrical, mechanical, all kinds of construction, a little plumbing even. It has to be valuable.

So the other day I had AC trouble, and the guy who runs his own HVAC business came out. And I asked him about how it must be hard to do HVAC, because you have to know everything. Yeah, he said, it's impossible to find good people. Tells me a story.

At one point he was working with a guy, trying to run a pipe from the basement to the first floor. He wasn't exactly sure where he'd wind up when drilling through the basement ceiling, but he made the very best measurements he could, and put an X on the ceiling where he thought it should go. Then he told his assistant: I'm not sure where the hole will be, but I'll walk up to the first floor, you drill on the X, and I'll watch for the drill coming through.

So he goes up and watches the spot where he thinks it will land, and he hears the drill going... but he never sees anything. He goes back down to his assistant to find out WTF, and the guy has drilled the hole about a foot and a half away from where the X is marked.

Asks him what the hell, and the guy just shrugs... I thought that would be a better spot...

08-25-2009, 12:52 PM	#111
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	It's funny because I kind of thought, if I had to do it over again, HVAC. At first I thought electrician, because I've always liked hardware and circuits. But then I realized, in HVAC you have to know pretty much everything: electrical, mechanical, all kinds of construction, a little plumbing even. It has to be valuable. So the other day I had AC trouble, and the guy who runs his own HVAC business came out. And I asked him about how it must be hard to do HVAC, because you have to know everything. Yeah, he said, it's impossible to find good people. Tells me a story. At one point he was working with a guy, trying to run a pipe from the basement to the first floor. He wasn't exactly sure where he'd wind up when drilling through the basement ceiling, but he made the very best measurements he could, and put an X on the ceiling where he thought it should go. Then he told his assistant: I'm not sure where the hole will be, but I'll walk up to the first floor, you drill on the X, and I'll watch for the drill coming through. So he goes up and watches the spot where he thinks it will land, and he hears the drill going... but he never sees anything. He goes back down to his assistant to find out WTF, and the guy has drilled the hole about a foot and a half away from where the X is marked. Asks him what the hell, and the guy just shrugs... I thought that would be a better spot...