What to consider?

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ram11379

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I am a small shop and do primarily residential electrical work. I have a customer who will not take no for an answer. In this case it's a compliment and not a pain. She is building a home in Madison, WI that is about 3 hrs away from my area. I initially declined the offer to bid, but she has offered double my standard rate plus to pay for lodging at nearest hotel. This makes it worth considering.

I do have my Wisconsin Residential Master License. My major concern is what issues will I run into that I may not be familiar with coming from a rural job area to a bigger city. There shouldn't be any city licenses required since the point of Wisconsin finally passing license requirements was to eliminate that. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
Madison- 94 square miles surrounded by reality.

I dont think you will have any major issues. Municipalities can no longer have ordinances that are different from the state code. I would check with Madison Gas and Electric though. They require a disconnect before the meter on some of there services, but I am not sure if it apples to residential.
 
packersparky said:
Madison- 94 square miles surrounded by reality.

I dont think you will have any major issues. Municipalities can no longer have ordinances that are different from the state code. I would check with Madison Gas and Electric though. They require a disconnect before the meter on some of there services, but I am not sure if it apples to residential.
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Yeah I will check with them before I start. I am used to Alliant and they are pretty strict on their rules. I also intend on contacting AHJ before I get going for a quick chat. Thanks for your input.
 
I find that guys tend to get connected to one wholesale house and then when they get out of their normal area they have a hard time getting material on the fly.
 
ram11379 said:
I am a small shop and do primarily residential electrical work. I have a customer who will not take no for an answer. In this case it's a compliment and not a pain. She is building a home in Madison, WI that is about 3 hrs away from my area. I initially declined the offer to bid, but she has offered double my standard rate plus to pay for lodging at nearest hotel. This makes it worth considering.

I do have my Wisconsin Residential Master License. My major concern is what issues will I run into that I may not be familiar with coming from a rural job area to a bigger city. There shouldn't be any city licenses required since the point of Wisconsin finally passing license requirements was to eliminate that. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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Interesting problem to have. Sounds like a bit of an opportunity and an accolade that you have such a loyal customer.

I don't know what your personal/family circumstances are or the extent of of the wiring job or how long you anticipate it will take - how long you will be away from home.

I'll tell you something of mine which somewhat parallels what you are now considering.
When I first started my job I was engaged as a development/commissioning engineer. However, it turned out that it was more commissioning and service. With a lot of travelling and time away from home. Sometimes a few days, sometimes weeks, now and again some months. It suited me - I was young, single, and no family ties. I enjoyed seeing places I'd not been to and probably wouldn't ever go to otherwise. And some I wouldn't want to go back to. But Madison seems pretty civilised - I only ever saw it in the snow......:)

But, and there had to be some.....
Hotel living can be a lonely experience if it lasts a significant length of time and it's just yourself on your project. And you can get a bit fed up just seeing the inside of the jobsite, the inside of your vehicle and the inside of a hotel. And not having home cooked food, not being there to deal with your mail, laundry.......practical things.

Life moves on. Getting married and having a young family took a bit of the shine off the globe trotting. You miss your family. That's why I commented on your personal/family circumstances. It might be something you would like to consider.

I'm sorry to have rambled on a bit.
 
Republic of Dane

Republic of Dane

May want to investigate supply houses and/or locations of big box stores for parts on the fly.
May want to call the Electrical Inspection office to ask any questions.
You are correct with Act 55 no additional city/ municipality requirements can be added.

Good luck!
 
Another thing to consider is if the supply houses in Madison are not associated with the supply houses you have been using, you won't have any type of preferred pricing. Especially if you don't have an account set up and you're just buying OTC with a CC. In my experience, they really bend you over when you do that. You'd be better off buying your material at Menards or Home Depot.

If it's just a house, you could bring it with you from your normal supply house.
 
Brotherforlife said:
You will be married to that job for the rest of your life.The sound of the phone ringing will haunt you also.

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What about warranty work? You get a phone call from the owner. "The living room lights don't work". ( Bad AFCI breaker)

Six hour round trip plus the warranty work time at $80 an hour is roughly $500 bucks. Don't forget to add in a number for fuel and wear and tear on the service truck. Let's call it $75. Now the whole day is shot. A couple of these call backs and you start thinking about changing your phone number.
 
Lots of different utility companies in southern / central WI, all with varying requirements. I've certainly learned my lesson the hard way, make sure you familiarize yourself with what they want.
 
You may want to call the AHJ to see if they have any special requirements along with where to obtain the permit and how to schedule inspections. As mentioned earlier, a conversation with the POCO would be a great idea. Is Wisconsin Public Service the utility in Madison?
 
I am also about 2 1/2 hours from Madison and a couple years ago a GC talked me into wiring a timber frame house down there abut two blocks from Govenors Island. It was a pain at first but once I found the local box stores over on the east side just off hwy 151 that helped. I would try and get all my supplies here in Manitowoc but there are times when you run out. Also, then AHJ was one of the most box ready type inspectors I have ever dealt with but he was fair. I think they, the building dept will need a copy of your Masters License and contractors card as well as a copy or insurance info. Like others have said, set up an meeting with the AHJ and go over all these concerns.
 
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