We do anything?

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growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
I wonder what kind of license he holds?


They probably have a business license that allows them to do maintenance/handyman type work.

What they actually do is a whole different story.

It's easy to get a business license in most areas and not that much checking as to what it's used for.
 

qcroanoke

Sometimes I don't know if I'm the boxer or the bag
Location
Roanoke, VA.
Occupation
Sorta retired........
The card did say they would do anything that didn't require a permit. :grin:
 

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
I would send that info right over to the inspections department and hope they nail his butt to the wall. :)

I suspect he does not have a license.
 

cowboyjwc

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Simi Valley, CA
That card wouldn't do me a lick of good. If he doesn't have a permit, I do not have any authority to enter any property he is working on.

You could send it to the contarctors board.
 
It really sounds like just another handyman service. There is certainly a place for a Jack-of-all-trades in the scheme of things. I would go with the business license idea also.

Let's all be honest- you don't need a thorough understanding and schooling in pertinent codes to replace a lighting or plumbing fixture. Obviously the trouble starts with the bath or kitchen remodels that will fly under the radar but on the surface I don't find the ad that offensive.

But cowboy brings up another interesting issue. I was approached a few months ago by a HO that had a handyman snowball her into performing a pile of work that should have been permitted but wasn't because the handyman wasn't licensed to do the work. Problems occured. The local AHJ didn't really care for some reason and I contacted the State Electrical Board to find out if there was anything she could do and they responded in a similiar manner. Because they were not licensed, they did not have jurisdiction.

So that kind of tells me if I let my license lapse I can do all sorts of crazy things and as long as nothing burns down I'm immune. But if I keep my license current and do the same crazy things I risk losing my license. Which brings us to the top of this paragraph. Not a perfect system.

(I apologize if this was a bit of a threadjack)
 

quinn77

Senior Member
Let's all be honest- you don't need a thorough understanding and schooling in pertinent codes to replace a lighting or plumbing fixture.

i have to disagree. in some cases its a no brainer...however, I know of a handyman who installed a cieling fan...3 days later the house burned to the ground...he had clipped the ground wire in the NM...and installed the bracket straight to the rafter with wood screws. Fire Marshall deemed the cause was incorrect install. contractor disappeared...homeowner lost all.
 
That is a tragic story for the family involved and we can only hope that nobody or pets were injured. But it doesn't disprove my point.

I didn't assert that any monkey with opposable thumbs can do electrical work. My point was only that you don't need a decade of experience to figure out a simple R&R. Granted there are situations that look simple on the surface and turn complicated quickly once you dive into them. But by and large I have met plenty of handymen and even HOs that are completely capable of replacing a fixture and know when to call in a professional when things aren't as they seem. There will always be cretins who will spit anything together and have the attitude of "it works doesn't it?" But my original point that you don't need to be a licensed electrical contractor to replace a fixture still holds.

I have done plenty of plumbing work in my house and don't feel bad about it. And tile work. And some light carpentry. I have hired a handyman to do some small drywall jobs and other miscellaneous tasks. All without tragic results.
 

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
I know of a handyman who installed a cieling fan...3 days later the house burned to the ground...he had clipped the ground wire in the NM...and installed the bracket straight to the rafter with wood screws. Fire Marshall deemed the cause was incorrect install. contractor disappeared...homeowner lost all.


Was this guy running a licensed handyman service or was it just some jerk that the homeowner hired to get a ceiling fan installed cheap? There is a real difference. If they gave some guy $50 cash to install a ceiling fan then it would be considered casual labor and the same as the homeowner installing the fan themselves.

If they paid a handyman service that was licensed and insured to do the work they would have been covered by liability insurance the same way as hiring any other contractor.

Even in the handyman business there are legitimate contractors and jack legs.
 

stevenje

Senior Member
Location
Yachats Oregon
But my original point that you don't need to be a licensed electrical contractor to replace a fixture still holds.

The trouble is this isn't the extent of what they do. We all know that there can be many problems associated with even a simple fixture change out. Will the handyman have the experience to recognize the potential problems that either he creates or are pre-existing? Probably not.

It would be interesting to see how many handymen could tell you what year code cycle we are currently under. Better yet how many even own a current code book let alone have a basic understanding of it. Nobody dies from a bad drywall patch. I wish they would stick to what they know and leave the electrical to the professionals.
 

satcom

Senior Member
ishium 80439;12239101 But my original point that you don't need to be a licensed electrical contractor to replace a fixture still holds. [/QUOTE said:
If you are the homeowner you can change all the fixtures you please, but if your doing it for money, in someones home, you might consider having lability and comp insurances in place.

Who in their right mind, would let anyone in their home to to do any work, that was not fully insured?
 

readydave8

re member
Location
Clarkesville, Georgia
Occupation
electrician
I'm constantly amazed at the simple stuff homeowners and handymen and electricans mess up. It seems like it shouldn't be that hard to install a receptacle or light fixture or even a paddle fan correctly, and yet it is.

One big one is no boxes especially coach lites mounted to siding with drywall screws. And no connector on bare grounds, just twisted together. This isn't highly technical obscure rules we're talking about.
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
One big one is no boxes especially coach lites mounted to siding with drywall screws.
Or mounted on brick walls without boxes.

"Why is it so expensive to just replace that light? The old one worked without a box!"

And no connector on bare grounds, just twisted together.
They think wirenuts are merely screw-on insulation.
 

Teaspoon

Senior Member
Location
Camden,Tn.
I agree It is amazing what home owners will do.
I had a customer a while back that had changed a Single pole switch,in Master bd.Rm. bath.when he was finished. the bd.rm. light would not work.
He told me I took the wires off and put them back just the way they came off.
when i removed the switch in question, the first thing I saw was a black wire on the ground screw.Luckly it was a switch leg he grounded.
 
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