Vent: 4 hour job turned into a 3 day ordeal over one corroded valve

Last month in Galveston, we went down for what should've been a simple valve swap on an intake pipe. Figured we'd be out by lunch. But the bolts were so corroded from salt buildup that two of them snapped off flush with the flange. Tried every trick I knew, impact gun, heat, even tried welding a nut onto one. That took a whole day just to get one out. Had to call a machine shop to drill out the other one. Between the tide windows and waiting on parts, the job ate three days total. My dive partner kept saying "this is why I charge by the day, not the job." Has anyone else run into a simple fix that turned into a multi-day battle? How do you prep for that on the estimate side?

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mark4913d ago

Blame it on the tide windows all you want, but that valve was clearly plotting against you from day one. Next time just bring a bigger hammer and a longer estimate.