Comical Typos
Typos, misprints and spelling errors in construction documents can be comical... if not downright hilarious... and sometimes even invigorating after hours of spec proof reading!
Here are just a few funny typos (of many) our review team has discovered in construction documents and specs.
Widow vs. Window
If the contractors followed the specs on this one, they might find themselves on the fatal end of a gavel.
We can see the scenario now, perhaps the painters scaffolding can be used… to drop the widow from… after all, the specs include “hanging the widow” as part of the instructions. To add to the confusion, the widow could scream out, “But I was framed!”
Luckily, not all spec typos are carried out; most contractors have better sense than that.
Project Tea vs. Project Team
Project tea - are they in charge of brewing the tea and making the crust less sandwiches?
Imagine a construction crew in charge of a tea party. Would they brew the tea with a blow torch and cut the crust off the bread with a circular saw? Would they substitute the fine china with Styrofoam and the silver with plastic sporks?
Pete's Cock
We found Pete’s cock in some specs we reviewed; we suspected he did not mean to leave it there, so we circled it in red ink, to help him easily find it later if he wanted it back (we imagine he might).
We couldn't imagine this being anything other than a typo. We weren’t sure if the intended word was “petcock” (a small valve used to control the flow of liquid or gas) or “pete’s plug” (another type of piping accessory).
Spoc vs. Spec
Beam me up, Scottie! The drawings tell me to refer to "the spoc" for additional information... I've got to chat with Mr. Spock right away.
"Ye fool... it's the Spec yer to refer to!"
Steal Beam vs. Steel Beam
Stealing beams is a tough business. Got to get them before they start holding up buildings! The typo shown in this drawing suggests that the theft of beams is acceptable and even appears to command the contractor to perform such nefarious deeds. In fact, the “plan” will give you instructions on how to steal beams!
Subnersible vs. Submersible Pump
Subnersible pump… ? The imagination can run rampant. In our group, a wild imagination is a dangerous thing. The “nersible” part sounds like “nursing”… and well, there are two main ways to think of nursing. First, the care of sick people, and second, the way babies get their milk. And a pump used for either purpose sounds really bad in a construction arena! Even worse, what’s the “sub” got to do with it?!
I don’t know what it is about pumps… but they sure do seem to generate a lot of funny typos. See also Circulating Pimp and Booter Pump.
Lover vs. Louver
This typo was actually one of ours, it was a typo in our review report regarding a louver discrepancy between the mechanical and exterior architectural elevations. Good thing our in-house editor caught this mistype before we sent it out!
Although lovers may be more exciting than louvers, they probably would be far less enjoyable installed in your building’s exterior wall!
Steel Bean vs. Steel Beam
Steel beans could be used to make a bean dip that would definitely cause you to chip a tooth... but they are not the traditional material used for the structural support of a building.
Circulating Pimp vs. Circulating Pump
One night while working late, we received a call from one of our review team members who was laughing hysterically... "You'll never believe this! I found a circulating pimp in the project (a dormitory)! Do you think he's wandering around looking for his pipe?" Of course, by then we were all were busting up laughing!
This typo sparked a cartoon.
Booter Pump vs. Booster Pump
Perhaps the booter pump was designed to boot out circulating pimps!