Has anyone ever seen a trade leave a literal trap for the next guy?

That "Swiss cheese" stud isn't a mistake; you're looking at clear-cut **sabotage**. Orange PEX usally signifies fire protection lines, and nobody accidentally peppers a stud right next to utility runs unless they’re trying to leave a headache for the next trade. If someone was just missing a mark, you'd see a couple of stray holes, not a pattern that looks like a firing squad took a turn at the wood. As for the drywall bite, that stud is functionally useless now. When the boarders come through, thier screws are going to hit those existing holes and either spin out or pull the sheet out of alignment. It ruins the structural integrity of the backing, and you’re likely going to see cracks in the tape joints later because the drywall isn't acutally secured. You're going to have to sister that stud or replace it entirely before the board goes up, wich is exactly the kind of extra work these guys want to cause.

I’ve seen this kind of petty nonsense play out on high-rises and residential builds alike. It usually starts with a trade war where one crew thinks another moved their boxes or blocked their run. I once saw a guy park a forklift on a three-hundred-foot wire pull just because he was mad at the electricians. It’s miserable, unprofessional behavior that eats into everyone's margin and kills the schedule. You need to document this and get the site super involved immediately. Check the daily logs to see who was working in that zone over the last forty-eight hours. If it's a sub, they shoud be back-charged for the materials and the labor to fix it. If you let this kind of stuff slide, it sends a message that the site is a free-for-all, and the quality will just keep tanking from here.

That sounds like a nightmare for anyone just trying to learn the ropes. I figured stuff was just messy sometimes, but I didn't realize guys whould actualy try to cause failures on purpose. If the wood is that chewed up, is there any chance a drywall screw could slip off and puncture those orange lines? I've seen metal plates used in some spots—shoud those be over every stud where there's pipe nearby, or is that only for certain codes?

To answer the bit about the plates—yeah, if those lines are within 1.25 inches of the face, code requires kick plates. But if the stud is already shredded, there’s nowhere for the plate to even grab. The orange paint is the real tell. usally, that’s for flagging "must-fix" spots, but if it’s sprayed like graffiti, someone is sending a message. I’ve seen guys do that when a draw is late or a sub-contractor is getting squeezed on their quote. It’s usually a sign that the crew is about to walk or they’ve already mentally checked out. Check your payment schedule; spite like that usually has a paper trail.