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PRACTICES
Tell my why you became a plumbing contractor – Gus Basch
By
Gus Basch – edited by David Smith
This month we have a fascinating read courtesy of Cape Town resident Gus Basch of GusPlumb , Drains & Leak Detection ; who has kindly shared the story of his long and distinguished plumbing career with us , we hope you will enjoy reading it as much as we did .
After exiting the army I was clueless as to what now . I bobbed through December until I was offered an apprenticeship with Parkview Plumbing at the start of the new year in 1980 . As was the norm then , one started in construction , new builds , my most memorable being the Rosebank Hotel in Rosebank near Johannesburg . I worked with galvanised piping , cutting and threading – in addition to plugging the waste pipes so that the sparkies would not be able to insert stones and rubble . I learned quickly to measure twice and cut once on the multi-story building up with the threader on the ground floor . Everything just seemed A-OK . I liked what I was doing . It was physically hard work but satisfying .
After 40-odd years the memory fades , I remember people but not faces nor names but that which was taught remains crystal clear even if some of the art taught is now relegated to history . Afrikaans was the go-to , sometimes even Fanagolo . Although some of my mentors never qualified , they taught me to do lead caulking and a myriad of additional how-tos .
Many small sites in the Strydom Park Industrial region later I was given my first maintenance task amongst many and will be the first to admit that thank heavens someone else was footing my school fees ! I was responsible for two sites over the road from each other . One was done and dusted , the other was a nightmare site . Foremen came and went and each one was as bad as the next . Poor Joe – a printing company , the name has stuck in my head ever since . One day I was instructed to report to head office . Very little information provided but they told me to go home for a family emergency . On the third day of compassionate leave due to my late fathers ' untimely death , I got bored and decided to rather return to work . Bad idea . Decided at 09h00 , went by Head Office and was instructed to assist with a large new contract site setup in City Deep . At 10h30 arriving on site , I had huge problems . The Foreman was one of those that thought shouting at people was intimidating . All was good until he screamed that he didn ' t care why I had only arrived at 10h30 . He suddenly cared plenty and in turn , I understood fully how I had just fired myself . In hindsight , no matter how wrong , it was the best thing I ever did for myself . I remained undaunted , I had a forever of life left in the kitty .
Losing my job had me meet my late wife , the best thing that ever happened to me . The World was our oyster , so we travelled around Zululand and Cape Town . Petrol was still cheap . Good memories .
I was eventually informed of a new intake for the Fire and Emergency Services who required replacements as some had fallen off the bus for whatever reason . After permanent force , I was negative about the idea at first but bills needed to be paid and we had to eat so I applied for an interview . The interview was short and sweet . I was immediately offered the post by the Chief Fire Officer and on being asked when I was available
Gus Basch of GusPlumb , Drains & Leak Detection .
to start I replied , “ Now .” Dressed – minus the tie – I proceeded to the drill yard , puked in front of all and sundry , washed off under a tap , and introduced myself . Lunchtime and king stingers with a tennis ball was the start of a journey of journeys . An awakening .
At the time and for many of the ensuing years , I was so engrossed with the physicality and all the courses with tests or exams that I failed to appreciate how the study of fire engineering compliments that of plumbing . Building construction , hydraulics , pumps and primers , fire and domestic water reticulation . Sprinkler systems . Working at height . Breathing apparatus ( which opened the world of scuba diving ). Confined space entry . Management courses . NOSA Safety Representative . NOSA Safety Supervisor . Risk assessment . I could carry on and on and on . For some , the goal was a T7 Technicon qualification , for others an Associate Degree from the South African Fire Services Institute . Part and parcel was the study of First Aid from basic to advanced , via the then Ambulance Colleges or Technicon , which for some was all they wanted . The promotions came and the courses trickled to those that required annual re-certification ; I battled to find the next level . I was getting bored and had time on my hands .
Working shifts offered me either 24-hrs or 48-hrs of free time . Plumbing favours for a neighbour or a friend of a friend here and there complimented my meagre salary . An advert here or there had me rocking – growth was limited by my ability to fit work into hours off and by my capacity . This was 1987 .
The bug had bitten so I flipped my life and resigned as a full-time member , remaining rather as a part-timer . I decided it was time for me to take the
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