That's not a temp splice. It's permanent.
I doubt either the GC or HO are going to pony up the dough to retrench it.
Bill this service call.
- Thread starter 480sparky
- Start date
- Status
That's not a temp splice. It's permanent.
I doubt either the GC or HO are going to pony up the dough to retrench it.
jmsbrush
Senior Member
- Location
- Central Florida
Well I think they need to, Sparky, Just for the fact, now its a liability, You did the work and you did the repair, It's at such a low depth that someone could come in there with a shovel or lawn tools and a death could happen.
Who are they going to look at?
You did the repair, so they know that you knew about the depth even though thats not how you originaly did it. Protect yourself!
Cow
Senior Member
- Location
- Eastern Oregon
- Occupation
- Electrician
It's a feeder cable.
I would, and have done the same thing. Repair it, mention to the customer the shallow depth needs to be taken care of and move on. I'm sure many don't agree with this though...
boboelectric
Senior Member
- Location
- Eighty Four,Pa.15330
I didn't see any marking tape.
'Cause it got ripped up when it was dug up by the skidloader(s).
Fulthrotl
~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
- Occupation
- E
the man does have a point.... :-/
the only thing covering your butt at this point is 2" of topsoil, right?
i can assure you (based on actual experience) that in the event of a
*serious* (paramedics and police serious) incident, the first thing out of the
property owners mouth, as he hands your business card to the detective,
will be: "here is the name of my electrician, who worked on it, and
said everything was fine".
in this instance, i (along with everyone including the pizza delivery guy)
got sued for $2.5 million each. in this case, for something i didn't even
work on, a year and a half after i didn't work on it.
based on my experience, if i was unable to make the homeowner see
the danger in this situation, i'd do a very difficult thing, and explain that
i had to report it to code enforcement, to protect myself, not becuase
i want to make money fixing it.
and then i'd report it to the AHJ's code enforcement person, with
photos and all.... it might cost me a customer, and it might save a life.
it's a hard call to do, tho.
randy
zbang
Senior Member
- Location
- Roughly 5346 miles from Earls Court
But did they call anyway? If they didn't have anyone out for locations, it doesn't usually matter whose utilities were dug up, it's still the digger's problem. There's that whole due diligence thing.
"We didn't think there was anything down there!"
"Too bad, there was."
I'd just bill the HO and let them argue it out with whoever else they want.
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
How can 480sparky, or any of us, be held responsible for someone else's stupidity after we leave? I know we now live in an upside down country gone completely mad, but there is only so much we can and should be held responsible for.
ptonsparky
Tom
- Occupation
- EC - retired
$1500 to home owner with orange barrier fencing and warning stay out signs all over the place. Written estimate to bury service again in conduit when conditions permit.
In my 35 plus years, I have to agree with you, we are professionals, and it is our duty to inform the property owners of dangerous conditions, and recommend the proper actions.
If that job causes injury or even a death, the EC that was there last, will forever remember his lack of action, electrical work carries a big burden of responsibility, just try to skirt the rules once, and you may pay forever.
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
The sky is falling..the sky is falling!!
The fact remains that if something goes wrong everyone involved is going to get sued whether they had anything to do with it or not. We live in society ruled by lawyers and not common sense, and I refuse to live in bondage to that kind of fear.
Then by all means, tromp right on out there, dig it down to a proper depth, and send the HO the bill......
ohm
Senior Member
- Location
- Birmingham, AL
Great call. You did it right the first time...others messed it up and didn't cover their butts by calling One Call or stopping when they hit the tape.
All you can do is do it right again by trenching down to 24" and laying tape. Bill the HO he can either get it out of the skidder or his HO insurance.
PCN
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
If it were me, I would bill the HO, document everything. When you invoice the HO give a detailed explanation written on your invoice of your concerns and what you recommend to correct the issues.
If he tries to sue you he'll have to produce that invoice to prove you did the work.
If he's a landscaper it should be easy enough for him to have a few loads of dirt hauled in to get the proper coverage.
If he tries to sue you he'll have to produce that invoice to prove you did the work.
If he's a landscaper it should be easy enough for him to have a few loads of dirt hauled in to get the proper coverage.
LarryFine
Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
- Location
- Henrico County, VA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
Okay, I give up. :-?
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Lawyers don't look for liability as much as they look for liability insurance. No sense suing someone who can't pay.
My experience has been that "temporary" work remains much longer than intended. Years ago everyone was doing patchwork & telling the inspectors "It's Temporary!". If I recall correctly the NEC changed to spell out that temporary installations were to be close to normal permanent installations.
Now I'll look at something like that damaged feeder & quote the full repair including trenching for proper cover. If they don't like the price, I walk away. Then I'm not liable for it.
Having done the repair & having a full repair not approved I might contact a utility or AHJ, or send a certified warning letter (mentioning danger of death)to the HO & GC.
Greg Swartz
Senior Member
- Location
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
I agree, it is our responsibility. We are the professionals... experts in our field... and if there is even a hint of something going wrong with that line again, who is now liable? Not the HO... Not the GC... but the electrician who did the repair.
And if it did not get re-buried to correct depth, is is not the HO or GC's fault. They just paid to get the wire fixed... It was up to the electrician to know how to fix it.
I'll bet they can play dumb... really well!
Greg Swartz
Senior Member
- Location
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
Oh, and by the way... I'd charge whoever called me.
How that person pays the bill is not up to me... nor is it even my business. If they get the GC to pay, then all the better to them. We just got the call, and we plan to do the best repair job that can be done.
Greg
How that person pays the bill is not up to me... nor is it even my business. If they get the GC to pay, then all the better to them. We just got the call, and we plan to do the best repair job that can be done.
Greg
Fulthrotl
~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
- Occupation
- E
yeah, chicken little did publish before her research was complete.
and i agree with everything you've said. absolutely everything.
it is astounding what can be accomplished when you are free of fear.
with that being said......
there are consequences to everything we do, and don't do.
attorney's will sue everyone they can, just to shake the tree,
looking for money. that's a given.
the problem is, if i am the last sparky to put my hands on it, and
someone is maimed or killed, it's like musical chairs, and i'm left
standing.
the last thing i want to hear is my voice explaining to the district
attorney and the grand jury why i left a cable that is supposed
to be 24" deep 2" deep in topsoil..... and the homeowners 8 year
old was playing in a puddle....
it's not oops. it's manslaughter. and fear has nothing to do with it.
randy
- Status