Grab the awkwardness and own it. Hang up fast, laugh it off later. Bell kept going after tons of failed experiments, so our screw-ups are nothing. His stubbornness is why we even have phones to misdial with. Shows how one person sticking with it changes everything for the rest of us.

Was it a silicone sealant instead of one made for wet areas? I made that same call on a crawl space job and got burned. Now I always check the product label for waterproofing ratings. For concrete cracks, I pack in hydraulic cement first, then coat it with a flexible sealant. That double layer keeps water from working its way back in. It costs a bit more upfront but saves so much headache later.

Those Cummins gears misalign, shredding seals in hours.