- Location
- Illinois
- Occupation
- retired electrician
Re: ug pedestal in frost
Don
Yes...I get paid by the hour.
Don
ug pedestal in frost
- Thread starter divo2500
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Re: ug pedestal in frost
Imagine there are areas of the country where certains work rules are structured and followed I can appreciate and respect that , but in other areas of this country the opposite is true,
If your told to do some digging thats what you will do, this is only normal procedure...
If there is a hole that needs to be cored through a wall to run a conduit, of course we do it, that would only be normal and nothing would be said about it......
Things like this are expected of a electrician here and in a lot of areas throughout the states.
Now if you ask a electrician in these parts to hang some curtains or some other task that would be intended to degrade him chances are you would be laying on the floor looking up at him and wondering why you ask such foolish things.
Not everyone lives in the home of the world famous red soxs.
Imagine there are areas of the country where certains work rules are structured and followed I can appreciate and respect that , but in other areas of this country the opposite is true,
If your told to do some digging thats what you will do, this is only normal procedure...
If there is a hole that needs to be cored through a wall to run a conduit, of course we do it, that would only be normal and nothing would be said about it......
Things like this are expected of a electrician here and in a lot of areas throughout the states.
Now if you ask a electrician in these parts to hang some curtains or some other task that would be intended to degrade him chances are you would be laying on the floor looking up at him and wondering why you ask such foolish things.
Not everyone lives in the home of the world famous red soxs.
electricmanscott
Senior Member
- Location
- Boston, MA
Re: ug pedestal in frost
Now drop and give me 20!
- Location
- Massachusetts
Re: ug pedestal in frost
It is not good use of company resources to have a $35 per hour guy working a shovel.
I also agree with drg, it all depends on what is common in your area.
For the company I work for this is really what it comes down to, cost. While the customer and the GC try to get our price reduced we negotiate out the work that is not directly electrical.
So do I, but I will still have plenty to do without taking away the labors work.
It is not good use of company resources to have a $35 per hour guy working a shovel.
- Location
- Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
- Occupation
- Service Manager
Re: ug pedestal in frost
That's why the $35 guy turns to the $10 guy and says, "Dig that hole, loser."
I agree with drg, that was well put.
Depending on the scale of a project, we will bid trenching jobs for us to sub-out a excavator, but generally trenching is done for us. Our prices (which I seldom see) probably are prohibitive for us to take on much of the digging, because frequently we get the job but not the excavating. Running a ditch witch is fun now and then.
I've talked to a guy who didn't do much actual electrical, mostly dug trenches and maybe bent a little pipe here and there. He got his time in for his journeyman, took a class, passed the test, and was rewarded with a raise and a shovel. Think he was told to dig a 150' trench, or something like that.
Digging little holes is par for the course, but a 150' trench? Fuhgetaboutit. They actually paid the guy $20, $22 an hour to dig. Insanity. Not that he knew his way around a wire nut, but jeez. Why pay a journeyman who isn't one, to dig trenches for a zillion times the cost of renting equipment? Either the guy was pulling my leg, or there's gonna be an EC panhandling in a year or two...
If I personally were told to hand dig a 150' trench for no apparent good reason, I would view that as my walking papers.
[ January 13, 2005, 07:17 AM: Message edited by: georgestolz ]
That's why the $35 guy turns to the $10 guy and says, "Dig that hole, loser."
I agree with drg, that was well put.
Depending on the scale of a project, we will bid trenching jobs for us to sub-out a excavator, but generally trenching is done for us. Our prices (which I seldom see) probably are prohibitive for us to take on much of the digging, because frequently we get the job but not the excavating. Running a ditch witch is fun now and then.
I've talked to a guy who didn't do much actual electrical, mostly dug trenches and maybe bent a little pipe here and there. He got his time in for his journeyman, took a class, passed the test, and was rewarded with a raise and a shovel. Think he was told to dig a 150' trench, or something like that.
Digging little holes is par for the course, but a 150' trench? Fuhgetaboutit. They actually paid the guy $20, $22 an hour to dig. Insanity. Not that he knew his way around a wire nut, but jeez. Why pay a journeyman who isn't one, to dig trenches for a zillion times the cost of renting equipment? Either the guy was pulling my leg, or there's gonna be an EC panhandling in a year or two...
If I personally were told to hand dig a 150' trench for no apparent good reason, I would view that as my walking papers.
[ January 13, 2005, 07:17 AM: Message edited by: georgestolz ]
petersonra
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern illinois
- Occupation
- engineer
Re: ug pedestal in frost
a few years ago I hired a local plumbing contractor to run gas out to my garage so I could have heat out there.
they brought in a temp from a local temp service to dig the trench from the house to the garage. thats the way they quote them. the guy that came out said its much cheaper then paying plumber's wages for trench digging, plus the plumbers don't want to do it.
it took the two plumbers 3-4 hours to get the gas line run from where it started out the basement wall and into the trench. by then the temp had already dug his trench and had left with 4 hours pay for 2-3 hours work.
the plumbers told me he was headed to another site to dig another trench when he left my house.
not my idea of a career, but apparently this guy was their trench digger, and they kept him pretty busy. don't know why they did not just hire him on. maybe cause its a union shop and their is no classification for a shoveler.
a few years ago I hired a local plumbing contractor to run gas out to my garage so I could have heat out there.
they brought in a temp from a local temp service to dig the trench from the house to the garage. thats the way they quote them. the guy that came out said its much cheaper then paying plumber's wages for trench digging, plus the plumbers don't want to do it.
it took the two plumbers 3-4 hours to get the gas line run from where it started out the basement wall and into the trench. by then the temp had already dug his trench and had left with 4 hours pay for 2-3 hours work.
the plumbers told me he was headed to another site to dig another trench when he left my house.
not my idea of a career, but apparently this guy was their trench digger, and they kept him pretty busy. don't know why they did not just hire him on. maybe cause its a union shop and their is no classification for a shoveler.
shocker3218
Senior Member
Re: ug pedestal in frost
I've never asked carpenters to drill my holes, but for a while I did work for a contractor that used wood studs with holes pre-drilled in them. It sure did speed up the rough-in process. Only had to drill about 10% of the holes I needed.
I've never asked carpenters to drill my holes, but for a while I did work for a contractor that used wood studs with holes pre-drilled in them. It sure did speed up the rough-in process. Only had to drill about 10% of the holes I needed.
- Location
- Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
- Occupation
- Service Manager
Re: ug pedestal in frost
[ January 13, 2005, 11:38 PM: Message edited by: georgestolz ]
[ January 13, 2005, 11:38 PM: Message edited by: georgestolz ]
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