goldstar
Senior Member
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
Ever have one of those days when you and your customer mis-communicate and it just keeps getting worse as the day goes on ? I visited a new customer (a referral from another customer) yeaterday and, as luck would have it, it was about 50 miles away from my home base. She was a charming Russian woman who spoke English fairly well but with a thick accent. Her home was worth about $2 mil. The first thing she shows me is her great room where I found (4) 4" round metal boxes attached to the floor, blue tape around the edges, blank covers on 3 of them and the 4th had a keyless fixture on top. The floors were T & G oak and newly finished. Here's how the conversation went :
She : I want to get rid of these ugly boxes and make them flush to the floor
Me : Do you want me to cut electrical boxes into the floor and install receptacles ?
She : Yes
Me : Is the basement open ?
She : No, it's finished
In fact, everything in her house was completely finished with no easy access to any electrical wiring. She also wanted under-cabinet lighting in her kitchen where the entire backsplash was tiled right up to the cabinet that had no reveal. She didn't want to see any hanging cords either
The next thing she shows me is an onyx bathroom sink basin and counter-top and wanted lighting underneath the countertop to show the beauty of the onyx. So, I,m thinking rope lighting (possibly). The next thing she shows me (while we're still in the bathroom) is a cut sheet of some obscure recessed lighting her daughter down-loaded from the internet and said that's what she wanted to use. I said I would have to think on that and we proceeded back to the great room. She asked whether I could do the work in the great room today and I said I would.
So, I proceeded to get my tools and jig saw and began cutting into the floor. The floor finishers didn't even have the sense to unscrew and lift the boxes - they stained and sealed around them. She stood over me the entire time asking me what it would look like. I pointed to the wall and said that it would look exactly like the receptacle in the wall but with different colored devices and plates to her liking (I repeated this at least 4 times). After I completed the first one (thinking I hit a home run) I moved onto the second when suddenly I hear:
"How is the light going to look "?
I said "What light "?
She said "The ones I showed you that my daughter down-loaded from the internet".
Of course my face turned red because I have never nor would I have mounted a recessed fixture in a floor wiith the light shining up. But, on the outside chance that I'm way off base here does anyone know of a fixture that can be used for this purpose (mind you this has to be a retro-fit type fixture that is IC rated). The flooring is approx 1 1/4" thick. In cutting the flooring you would be taking a big chance that you might hit a ceiling rafter in the basement below.
I probably won't be going back to do the work as we also had a dispute about payment but I'd still like to know if something like this exists.
Thanks,
Phil
She : I want to get rid of these ugly boxes and make them flush to the floor
Me : Do you want me to cut electrical boxes into the floor and install receptacles ?
She : Yes
Me : Is the basement open ?
She : No, it's finished
In fact, everything in her house was completely finished with no easy access to any electrical wiring. She also wanted under-cabinet lighting in her kitchen where the entire backsplash was tiled right up to the cabinet that had no reveal. She didn't want to see any hanging cords either
The next thing she shows me is an onyx bathroom sink basin and counter-top and wanted lighting underneath the countertop to show the beauty of the onyx. So, I,m thinking rope lighting (possibly). The next thing she shows me (while we're still in the bathroom) is a cut sheet of some obscure recessed lighting her daughter down-loaded from the internet and said that's what she wanted to use. I said I would have to think on that and we proceeded back to the great room. She asked whether I could do the work in the great room today and I said I would.
So, I proceeded to get my tools and jig saw and began cutting into the floor. The floor finishers didn't even have the sense to unscrew and lift the boxes - they stained and sealed around them. She stood over me the entire time asking me what it would look like. I pointed to the wall and said that it would look exactly like the receptacle in the wall but with different colored devices and plates to her liking (I repeated this at least 4 times). After I completed the first one (thinking I hit a home run) I moved onto the second when suddenly I hear:
"How is the light going to look "?
I said "What light "?
She said "The ones I showed you that my daughter down-loaded from the internet".
Of course my face turned red because I have never nor would I have mounted a recessed fixture in a floor wiith the light shining up. But, on the outside chance that I'm way off base here does anyone know of a fixture that can be used for this purpose (mind you this has to be a retro-fit type fixture that is IC rated). The flooring is approx 1 1/4" thick. In cutting the flooring you would be taking a big chance that you might hit a ceiling rafter in the basement below.
I probably won't be going back to do the work as we also had a dispute about payment but I'd still like to know if something like this exists.
Thanks,
Phil
