Electrical responsibilities

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markebner

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Ewing NJ
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contractor
Where can we find and what are the responsibilities of a electrical contractor dealing with problems/violations in a existing situations?
 
These violations have nothing to do with the work being performed by the electrical contractor?
 
Just make sure you document everything. Paper trails are your defense if something happens.
 
infinity said:
These violations have nothing to do with the work being performed by the electrical contractor?
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That is correct. Lets just say it is a Federal Pacific Main service panel and we decide to use a tap box on the exterior to make connections for a power production source
 
After performing a compliant and safe job, I think your only responsibility to the client is to objectively identify an existing unsafe or non-compliant condition in the job area. By 'objectively', I mean don't use any scare words or imply that something is going to burst into flames the moment you leave; some unsafe conditions have been there for years and haven't changed.

(Responsibility to yourself is to keep copies of the documentation.)
 
zbang said:
After performing a compliant and safe job, I think your only responsibility to the client is to objectively identify an existing unsafe or non-compliant condition in the job area. By 'objectively', I mean don't use any scare words or imply that something is going to burst into flames the moment you leave; some unsafe conditions have been there for years and haven't changed.

(Responsibility to yourself is to keep copies of the documentation.)
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"(Responsibility to yourself is to keep copies of the documentation.)"

And pictures....lots of pictures, downloaded at the office, captioned, printed, and stored in the clients folder.
 
I don't think you have any obligation at all in most cases and it may well be better not to be creating all kinds of evidence that can get used against you in court. Getting idiotic legal advice from random people on the internet who are not legal experts is almost guaranteed to make things worse if something does happen.

If there is a signigicant issue that comes up, such as a suspect panelboard, imo, your best bet is to send the customer a written offer to correct it so they can turn it down if they so choose. Do not be making a huge deal over it. It is not your choice to make as to whether it gets fixed or not. It is up to the customer to make this choice.

What bothers me in this particular example is someone knew about the FP panelboard up front and didn't resolve this problem up front. Probably because they wanted a nice profitable adder. I think contractors that do thus kind of thing ought to have their licenses lifted
 
petersonra said:
I don't think you have any obligation at all in most cases and it may well be better not to be creating all kinds of evidence that can get used against you in court. Getting idiotic legal advice from random people on the internet who are not legal experts is almost guaranteed to make things worse if something does happen.

If there is a signigicant issue that comes up, such as a suspect panelboard, imo, your best bet is to send the customer a written offer to correct it so they can turn it down if they so choose. Do not be making a huge deal over it. It is not your choice to make as to whether it gets fixed or not. It is up to the customer to make this choice.

What bothers me in this particular example is someone knew about the FP panelboard up front and didn't resolve this problem up front. Probably because they wanted a nice profitable adder. I think contractors that do thus kind of thing ought to have their licenses lifted
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Very Good, Thank you. I do as much as we can for our clients but sometimes the ideal measure for the client is too costly
 
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zbang said:
After performing a compliant and safe job, I think your only responsibility to the client is to objectively identify an existing unsafe or non-compliant condition in the job area. By 'objectively', I mean don't use any scare words or imply that something is going to burst into flames the moment you leave; some unsafe conditions have been there for years and haven't changed.

(Responsibility to yourself is to keep copies of the documentation.)
Click to expand...
Very Good, Thank you. I do as much as I can for my clients but sometimes the ideal measure for the client is too costly
 
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zbang said:
Pictures are part of the doc, and with cell-phone cameras there's not excuse not to take some.
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You need to document everything you did as part of your job. You do not need to document what you did not touch, otherwise where do you stop?
If you feel you need to do more, follow the ideas of home inspectors and make it clear your inspection was cursory and and does not purport to show all potential issues. Stick to NEC violations and actual CPSC recalls.
 
markebner said:
That is correct. Lets just say it is a Federal Pacific Main service panel and we decide to use a tap box on the exterior to make connections for a power production source
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Are you worried about the ahj giving you a hard time because of the FPE panel
 
What were you there for when issues were discovered?

Difference between troubleshooting an item or two that isn't working, replacing obviously damaged items and trying to add new circuits to something that has problems to begin with.

Either case you probably should at least mention the problem when you see one like that though. Owner's may have no clue anything is wrong or suspect to having issues.
 
If the scope of work is extensive enough, local building regulations may require bringing everything in the building up to current code.
And even if they do not, you run the risk of the inspector not wanting to pass your work while the rest remains uncorrected. You can probably win in those cases, but it can still be a hassle.
Similarly, in the worst case, POCO may not reconnect if they know about serious problems.
Totally separate from liability issues once your part of the work is approved.
 
Here the inspector basically can only look at the scope of work that was on the permit.

They do however have authority to condemn something they feel is extremely hazardous, which can include ordering POCO disconnection if necessary until the problem is corrected.

Tying on a new circuit to something that was questionable to begin with... probably a case by case situation. Adding a single branch circuit to a dwelling isn't something that requires permit and inspection though so lots of additions to questionable installations can and do occur there.

Non dwelling is supposed to need a permit for just about any "install" but people do still get away with doing minor additions.
 
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