Panic over - the house isn't burning down afterall...

Tools down; I've just got to share this with you.

I'm in the process of fitting an inline fan to some existing flexile inside a ceiling. I've opted to cut a hole in the floor above to lower the fan in and as we've got 22mm tongue and groove chipboard flooring I figured it'd be a good to excuse to finally buy an oscillating multi-tool.

So there I am showing the wife how this thing cuts like a hot knife through butter and makes neat cuts, even into the corners, a doddle... Only what I didn't realise was that my vacuum cleaner was not only taking the sawdust away but also wisps of smoke too.

When I stopped for a breather I noticed some wisps of smoke drifting throug h my small inspection hole that I'd drilled and, having looked through it, saw the tell-tale orange flickering of a fire under the floor!

So off I run to fetch the fire extinguisher whilst, bizarrely, my mind was jumping between wondering how much mess it's going to make and how convenie nt it was that I'd drilled an extinguisher nozzle sized hole.

When I got back upstairs the smoke had stopped yet the flickering inside th e small hole was still there... only then did I realise that it probably wa sn't a fire afterall but rather that the sun had come out and was shining i ntermittently through the gravity flaps of the external wall vent and illum inating the inside of the ducting and in turn the space under the floor in a 'flickering flames' style that even the best electric fire manufacturer w ould be jealous of.

Sure enough once I'd finished cutting the hole (trading admiration for the tool for a bit more speed) I looked in to find barely any sawdust afterall and certainly no signs of fire.

Time for a cup of tea I think... and of course a confession on uk.d-i-y.

Mathew

Reply to
Mathew Newton
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I looked in to find barely any sawdust afterall and certainly no signs of fire.

And why is it that when I'm drilling a hole somewhere where I'm nervous about hidden cables there's always a very loud bang, caused by something irrelevant happening by chance at that precise moment? It always scares me shitless. Last time it was next door's kid taking pot shots at my crows, the little bastard.

Bill

Reply to
Bill Wright

I know the feeling, last week the kettle auto switch off failed to work so I filled it with cold and gave it a 2nd chance, just in case it was sticking, which it appears that it was as it has worked fine ever since.

Any way while my back was turned I heard a very loud "CRACK", the sort that you get when something electrical blows. Scared me half to death, I turned around and kettle was just starting to boil and behaving itself. Next to it was a small whiteboard that my wife uses for her shopping list. It had fallen forwards and flat onto the work surface, if the BBC sound effects guys ever want a source of loud electrical crack sounds I have the perfect device :-)

Reply to
Bill

I think you are not allowed to discharge firearms within a certain distance of a public area or road. Maybe you need to call the cops and give him a quick lesson! Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

Unthinkable in a rural village to complain about the kids shooting at the wildlife.

Bill

Reply to
Bill Wright

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