Sprinkler Head Protector Professional!

A bit of Nostalgia

Have you ever done some building project, that, once accomplished, you feel a sense of pride in a job well done?  Something that is not in your routine nor considered a skill that you have?  So, you want to show it off and point out the superb craftsmanship.  But, it was something like putting insulation underneath your house where you discovered why it is called a "crawl space".  You went into places that claustrophobia lurked.  But, wearing the appropriate protective gear, you persevered, cutting, taping, and stapling until the entire underbelly of your house was effectively insulated.  But, you can't really show it off like you might point to an ornate armoire you built from scratch.  "Say! Wanna crawl underneath the house and look at the cool insulation I just installed?"

All that to say this:  We are closing in on finishing the building of our new volleyball facility designed for personalized training, coaching education, and other cool stuff we are contemplating.  Of course, real craftsmen are doing the real work.  But, I am doing some stuff to save money.  Yesterday was my day to shine; to demonstrate my versatility in the construction field.

The facility is in a warehouse building that, over the years, has been used for a variety of businesses.  We have worked on it so it will look like and function as a volleyball teaching studio. Or, as USA Women’s Head Coach calls it:  A volleyball boutique. As we discovered the wonderful world of codes and permitting the space requires an overhead sprinkler system in the unlikely event of a conflagration.  I worried over the potential of an errant volleyball hitting one of the sprinkler heads and unleashing a torrent rivaling the deluge that cascades over Snoqualmie Falls during the spring melt.

I decided that I needed "sprinkler protectors" - little cages encasing the sprinkler heads without inhibiting the H2O required in case of a fire.  If I had the job done it would have cost $22 a head, installed. Well now. There are 100 sprinkler heads.  At $22 a head that would be . . . enough for me to get some quality soap and a good shower if one of those unprotected heads exploded.  The actual cages cost a mere $2 a head.  So, I decided to put them on my self.  100 of them.  That is one-hundred. 

I begged the electrician who was doing all the wiring if I could borrow his Genie Scissor Lift and head for the ceiling.  He said it was no problem as he was going to ply his trade at ground level for the day.  After a quick lesson on driving the thing, off I went and spent the day 25 feet in the air dodging pipes, and fitting cages - carefully - over the sprinklers.  I also discovered that there was an accumulation of decades of dust on the various pipes so I decided to clean those off since flying volleyballs will likely start dust storms in the upper reaches.

I didn't receive too many accolades from the electrician, general contractor, the painters and the plumbers who were working. I believed I deserved some serious recognition for my craftsmanship.  Further, I got semi-good at negotiating the lift around piles of lumber, light fixtures, tool bins, and other strewn-about building materials.  I wanted to show off my new skills but nobody watched.  Despite being older than all of them, I was a rookie. A rookie! At my age! But, that felt sort of good, too.

But, alas, it is one of those projects that is difficult to show people.

However, when you come and visit, check out the cool "sprinkler protectors".  I will have some binoculars so you can get a closer look at these beauties.  100 of them. The Scissor Lift will be gone so I won't be able to give rafter tours but, I will be more than happy to regale you with tales of this new found skill.

I love a new challenge no matter how mundane it may be.  It was satisfying in an odd sort of way.  As the years have rolled along and we continue to do our best providing a quality experience for young people learning the great sport of volleyball, I occasionally look up to my sprinkler head protectors and smile to myself how the whole thing continues to be a challenge and satisfying.

I like to tell the players:  “You can’t put time in a bank for future use.  Invest it today.”  Learning how to put up sprinkler protectors. . , or learning volleyball. Don’t wait!  Do it now.