Just to vent

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electricman2

electricman2

Senior Member
Location
North Carolina
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
Guess I am posting this just to vent. Got a call the other day from a HO wanting a circuit run for a dishwasher he was installing as part of a kitchen renovation. Got to the house and went into the kitchen and what did I see? Everything had been completed, new floors, cabinets, marble countertops, everything. Dishwasher is installed and plumbed up! Not only that but the plumber left no slack in the water connection or drain hose! I explain that this would have been easier thus cheaper if he had called me first. Doesn?t anyone know that when starting a remodel, the electrician should be the first one to call, not the last. Oh well, it?s his money.
 
electricmanscott

electricmanscott

Senior Member
Location
Boston, MA
No big deal. Put a receptacle under the sink, slap a cord on the dishwasher, collect your check and move on.

I do get where you are coming from though. But to defend the ho's, they have no concept of how things are done and in what order they should be completed.
 
Rewire

Rewire

Senior Member
Location
Lake of the Ozarks
had a homeowner wantyed a cicuit ran for a ceiling fan in a vaulted ceiling he told me he wished he had of thoght about it two weeks earlyer when they had the roof torn off.
 
480sparky

480sparky

Senior Member
Location
Iowegia
Would you rather start a thread complaining about how slow things are and how you can't make any money?

It's work, ain't it?
 
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ishium 80439

Senior Member
Location
Denver foothills via the Horn of Africa
It's frustrating but not surprising. I can't count the number of jobs I've done over the years where the HO figures he can run the show and that GC's just sit back and collect a check for doing nothing (I'm talking about good GC's). Invariably the job takes longer, costs more and is of lesser quality. It really has to do w/ ignorance in the true definition of the word. They just simply don't know how things go together.
 
P

Podagrower

Member
Location
Central Fl
One of the first jobs I looked at was a homeowner special. They wanted a quote to rewire, becouse the original 50 year old electrical system had only two wire romex, no grounds.
They had already patched the plaster walls, and retextured them. They were just putting the finishing touches on the paint job.
I didn't get the job, becouse just like the previous 4 electricians, I told them ther would be quite a lot of wall damage. Single story, no basement, flat roof.
 
W

wireguru

Senior Member
all the homeowners care about is the asthetics, then once they get it all looking how they want, then they call in plumbers and electricians to make it all work.
 
brantmacga

brantmacga

Señor Member
Location
Georgia
Occupation
Former Child
no need to be frustrated. like you said, its their money; and now you get some extra billable time. i'd be ecstatic.
 
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ishium 80439

Senior Member
Location
Denver foothills via the Horn of Africa
I recently bid a ground up custom for an HO acting as GC. He told me I was 3x the price of the next bid he got. I was talking w/ the excavator on the job and he told me this story that I chuckled at.

The HO, being ever thrifty, found the lumber pack out of state for cheap. He arranged for the trucks to arrive at the same time as a crane. Crane operator was from "down the hill" which means he is used to wide open spaces and relatively level ground. The crane operator didn't think to ask about the conditions and the HO didn't think to tell him. He looked at the site, turned around and left. Now the HO has to pay standby fees for the semi's. HO finds a couple guys and a Lull to offload the trucks. There was essentially a strip carved out of the woods for lumber storage. The Lull guys were interested in getting the job done fast. They offloaded the 1st floor pack 1st and put it way in the back. Than they put the 2nd floor pack in front of that. The 3rd floor pack they put in the foundation. How happy do you think the framers are going to be?

I've said it before, that people get paid to do what they do for a reason. A good GC is invaluable. This guy is tripping over dollars to pick up dimes.
 
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