Tracking a $20M Install: Disaster Strikes
By Mark Sipe
Crew working on concrete pours put the conduits "to death" by driving stakes through four of the pipes.

I wanted to share our latest calamity, something out of the vampire diaries.

The crew working on the concrete pours seemed to have thought my conduits were a teenage vampire heart throb and decided to “put them to death” with a stake in the heart.

Luckily for me the electrician, Darryl Gregory of Canyon Creek Electric, caught it and did some quick repairs while trying to keep ahead of the cement truck. You’ll notice from the pictures that we didn’t spare the pipes in the ground, you just can’t have too many.



When they pushed the upper level of pipes aside, they drove stakes through four of my pipes in multiple locations that were another eight inches down. If that wasn’t enough, they tried to fill one end of the conduits with dirt. I was more than a little mad at what looks like a reckless laborer with a sledge hammer and too many stakes.

Repairs were made and tested and, to everyone’s satisfaction, the project continues. Having good relationships with all the subcontractors can save your reputation and the job.

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