What A Mess.

not2late

I tore out a customers cabinets last Friday. Planned to install the new ones on Monday. House is less than 5 years old. Cabinet layout staying the same. 42" uppers instead of the original 30" uppers. He wanted to paint over the weekend. He also planned to have an electrician rough in for undercabinet lights and also a light over the sink where one didn't exist.

He had a guy that came highly recommended from a friend. Customer said that he checked him out with the BBB and also with the Registrar of Contractors. No complaints or actions against him. Not a Craigslist flake. Supposedly.

I went back today (Tuesday). Gave him an extra day because of the electrical. All the leads for the undercabinet lights (5) are wired into the kitchen receptacles. The same for the sink light. Big holes around each of the existing receptacle boxes. At least an inch and a half on the three open sides. Looks like they were punched in with a hammer. Hammer holes on both sides of all the studs he came across where he had to pass through them. The new box for the sink light has such a large hole cut for it that even an oversize coverplate won't cover the gaps

So now the customer is looking at getting all this drywall repaired and he has an illegal installation besides.

This guy is licensed. His business card has a valid ROC number. The customer (stupidly) went ahead and paid him. ($280). 3 hours of work.

What do I do with this mess? It was not my electrician and my contract clearly states that no electrical work is being done by me. Do I go ahead and install? The customer knows what the electrician did is not to code. Its also a hack job. No attempt made to minimize any wall damage.

nywoodwizard

Maybe its not your problem but it certainly does not sound like the electricians problem either. Sometimes holes need to be made,they don't patch them ,just make them. You just need to charge for the needed repairs and move on

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Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.

Bubbles

You have any pics. Which part of the country are you? I would like to make 280 dollars for 3 hrs too! Looks like you guys had a misunderstanding but I agree with previous to charge for the patchwork.

JohnJ0906

Under $94 an hour? Including materials?

Got what was paid for.

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John from Baltimore
"One Day at a Time"
All replies based on the 2008 NEC

Speedy Petey

Uhhh....yeah, I agree.

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Celtic

Did the EC take a permit out ?

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Magnettica

Violation of 210.52 (B)(2) No other outlets

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nywoodwizard

Sounds like he used a little wire and a box, material cost must of been minimal. Why the "he got what he paid for"? Besides possible butchering.
Didn't sound like that much work, he must of made 70-75 an hour for himself. A real poor mans wage you think ? Thats potentialy 140,000 a year.

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Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.

Celtic

Yup...and would be revealed in a heartbeat by a competent inspector IF a permit was issued.

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Speedy Petey

Are you f-ing kidding me???? Are you a real contractor yourself???
You sound like every uninformed non-tradesperson I have ever heard when pricing is the topic. They think we put that $280 right in our pockets and run down to the Lotto machine or OTB.

Do you have ANY clue what it takes to run a legitimate business? Do you know what overhead is?

Ask me what my gross sales are then ask me what I net in my pocket. They are two DRASTICALLY different numbers sir.

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Speedy Petey

Don't get me wrong. The guy in the OP's post is certainly a hack, but the post I replied to above is unbelievable.

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thom

You might check your state law, but generally,

If you are an expert in your field (licensed contractor) or hold yourself out to be one

And

If you recommended someone to do something that is within your perceived field of expertise

And

If someone relied on your recommendation

And

If that reliance was in vain and said reliance created an economic loss to the individual to whom you made the recommendation

You can be held personally liable for the economic loss. When you recommend someone or some company, you do so at your own peril.

Celtic

Agreed.

At ANY price - it's hack work.

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kcsparky31

We have spent thousands of dollars on different type of media advertising. All of which never paid off. Our company would have died along with new construction if it had not been for craigslist. I update our ad about once a week and usually get enough work for the following week. We also get about 50 hits on our website every time I update. We now have a very large customer base and we are starting to work off of referrals alone. I know there are some shady people on that site, but with free advertising, to me its the best thing since sliced bread.

I came across this website tonight, it is interesting to read about how different things are done around the different parts of the country.

Magnettica

Welcome to the board, kcsparky!

Just for arguments sake... if the under cabinet lights are hardwired, can they still be considered "outlets"?

Outlet: A point on the wiring system at wich current is taken to supply utilization equipment.

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nywoodwizard

Settle down there tough guy , i'm not a 16 year old boy shivering in his sneakers. It was just a question, don't like the question ,then move on and take your insults with you. I've been self employed for over 20 years, i think i have all the clues. You seam very emotional, watch alot of Oprah ?

"A sharp tongue is no indication of a keen mind."

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Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.

Celtic

We all love a good argument

If they are hardwired...yes they are outlets.

...and where it's headed...

So if I simply use some plug in model, no violation of 210.52(b)?

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Celtic

That goes both ways...

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frenchsparky

what i wrote underlined that is automatic red flag here any good electricians will know this very well.

second underline this what really bother me is very poor workmanship and also a telltale that he did not put a antinailing plate on it.
[ i do not know what or how he string the wire in there if drilled with drywall punched both side of each stud IMO that sloppy work ]

Merci, Marc

Speedy Petey

No, that's OK. I'll stick around here and read your posts. It's actually entertaining.
a) I never said I was tough.
b) I never said you were 16, or shivering.



If you have all the clues then why did you make a comment such as:Like I said, it sounds like a customer questioning our pricing, thinking we just stuff the money in our pocket.

I could understand your comments if the OP said he got some handyman working out of an old pickup truck, but he DID say the guy was a legit electrical contractor.
$90 an hour INCLUDING materials is a pretty damn cheap rate for a legit contractor. Hell, you're on LI, you should know this.

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