Just a quick note on "construction".....

If you are doing plunge cuts into sawdust and glue composite molding with a skill saw that has a dull blade in a space that has a fire alarm tied into the adjoining stores and the condos above your working space...... heed this warning as told to my "friend" by the fire department: "you should really cover the smoke detector while doing construction. Get a new blade. This place smells."

The last piece. "My friend" was so close. The condo folks seemed nice though?

Seriously... things that I know... and you should know if you help a friend doing light construction:

• Know whether or not you can disable the fire alarm through your electrical panel (generally you can't)
• There will be a central panel for the building - know where this is (I did not know that this mattered, but I should have; we had tonnes of alarms at 90O).
• When your neighbors talk about sprinklers going off and wrecking their "X" thousands of dollars of goods... tell them to relax (sprinklers are heat activated - no flames? no problem).
• Call the fire department to let them know that there really isn't a fire. No reason to get priority over someone who actually matters (dumb construction guy should always take back seat to "there is a fire in my house" guy).
• Only fire people can make the loudest alarm on the face of the planet stop being the loudest alarm on the face of the planet by waving their magic wand at the central panel (you might be tempted to forget the stated rule above).
• Smile to the crowd of displaced condo folks. Try to stop kids from crying if possible.
• When cocky 25 year old fireman points out the one gap in the recently put down laminant flooring and smiles.... punch him in the arm and call him a jerk. Laugh.... he lays flooring for a moonlighting gig... and is a jerk.
  
• When the business owner you are helping comes back from shopping trip - smile... its not your problem any more.