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The week from hell with a seized guide rail on the 14th floor

Last Tuesday, I got called to a building downtown where the car was shaking like crazy on every stop. Turns out someone had dropped a chunk of concrete down the shaft and it wedged the guide rail bracket on floor 14. Took me and my partner three full days to chip it out and realign the rail because the bolts were rusted solid. Anyone else ever deal with debris getting dumped in the hoistway by careless construction crews?
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2 Comments
marymorgan
You'd think they'd have a tarp or something, right? After a couple of those jobs I started keeping a few cans of penetrating oil and a battery impact gun in the truck just for seized bolts. Have to really soak them the night before and let it sit. And for the concrete, a small demolition hammer with a flat chisel bit works wonders if you can get it in there without damaging the rail. That rusted bolt mess is the real killer though, makes a three day job out of something that should take one.
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oliver523
oliver5235d ago
Right? You'd think we'd learn after the first time. Here I am with my fifth trip to the hardware store for more penetrating oil because I forgot to buy it the last four times. My truck is basically a rolling tool graveyard at this point, but hey, at least I'm consistent at being unprepared.
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