After a long day, one of my helpers (6 years with me) stepped off the plywood in an attic of a new house and stuck his foot through the sheet rock. He was not injured thankfully. This is not the first time this has happend and I always try to do this type of work instead of taking the risk that one of my employees might fall or damage a house that is 99% complete... but Murphy's Law always prevails. What would you do. The employee offered to pay for the damage. Would you let him pay?

[This message has been edited by arseegee (edited 04-03-2002).]

rub some sheetrock on his nose, make him stand in corner,, then fix it and move on,, be glad nobody got hurt..

I would pay for it myself. It's the cost of doing business. The dividend in employee moral should make up for it!

arseegee, I had this happen to me also. I had it fixed, we chided the guy that day and life went on. The guy I had did a better job though, he knocked a piece out that was 16" wide and 5'6" long. He fell off the ceiling joist and through the ceiling. He wasn't hurt but it took us a few minutes to regain our composure,ROTFLMAO,and help him out of the attic through the hole.

c'mon brother i'm surprised you even asked the question. You need to take care of your guys. No questions...

I have always paid for any damage caused by my guys. And will for this too. This is this guys second trip through a ceiling and I am much more concerned about his well being than a piece of sheet rock. He was just adamant about paying for it. He let himself down more than me.

[This message has been edited by arseegee (edited 04-03-2002).]

We usually strip 'em down naked, paint their gentials blue, and make 'em walk naked backwards with a wirenut between their 6u++ cheeks across the entire job at lunch time. If that doesn't do the trick, just roll up a newspaper, and bop 'em across the nose.
I've seen much worse.

Bopological Regards,
Doc

arseegee,
I would say, pat the employee on the back for offering to pay for the repair- and tell him how much you appreciate his integrity. It is refreshing to see someone that can say "I am sorry, can I fix it".
Tiff

I tend to agree with everyone here but, second time through? Is this going to be a regular event?

Perhaps some walkboards or additional walkboards in these areas may help prevent this occurance again. The last project I worked on had an electrical field superintendant who said "S*** happens, and you can't stop it".
Now on with life.

I witnessed a journeyman put his foot through a ceiling, and I vowed to try my best to never let that happen to me...

So far it hasn't...

Take your time in an attic, use the mountain-climber and cavers rule of moving one limb at a time, test your stepping places before you put all your weight on it.

I'm glad I don't work in Houston....
The Watt Doctor IS tuff!

well it could be worse..
My brother's helper went through with both feet, his fall was impeded by the 2x6 inbettween
Said individual has not, to my knowledge, pursued the trade since....

Just leave the poor guy alone.
If he's worked for you as a "helper" for 6 yrs, and is offering to pay for this little mistake, you better just count your blessings. Fix it and carry on.
I went berserk once and beat the ceiling out of a finishedkitchen. I was in the attic above(exhale to pass between the roof rafters and the joists, and I'm claustro).
It took 1/2 hr. to get to where I was, about a minute to get out.
(Yes, I patched the ceiling, but my boss paid me for the time to fix it.)

sonds like yo got a good employe there. fix it & go on>

WattDoc, I don't know how I missed your post the last time, but that is too funny!

Doc, I think you're on to something. All I need to know is this.... yellow, red or blue wirenut?

[This message has been edited by arseegee (edited 04-05-2002).]