Grrrr...electricians

[<marierdj]

[Joe Bemier]

Must have been a Democrat

[RonB]

Every hear the term "Independent Contractor"?

Now you know.

RonB

[Henry St.Pierre]

"Mike Marlow" wrote in news:eb576$4571e0eb$452895ad$ [e-mail]:

Are there two Mike Marlows :)? Regards, Hank

[Mike Marlow]

????

[resrfglc]

If you haven't gotten too far along, install a 2-2.5" PVC Conduit between your house (existing Breaker Box) and up into the shop walls (or to slab so as to come up into shop wall) and frame out above for a sub-panel electrical box.

Add a sixty-amp Breaker to your main panel and run three #6 and a #10 Bare Ground out there after the inspection is done.

Since its a SHOP/GARAGE, you can pass without putting in Drywall or wall sheathing on interior. Then, after approval, make "modifications" and improvements that do not require permitting or inspection (e.g. adding insulation to walls, covering with plywood and drywall).

But, before that, run your wiring and try to stay at 12-3 or heavier (I run #10 for all my power tool outlets) and install plenty of outlets.

For lighting, I suggest installing cheap shop lights (< $9 at Home Depot/Lowes/Wal-Mart) buy installing Duplex outlets in the ceiling and splitting them so that the ones on the LEFT are switched and the others are constant. Run a three-way switch at each entrance (I have one on either side of the garage door and another at the Man Door so I can switch on all the lighting from ay entry point I choose).

I also do this with the Wall mounted duplex outlets with the one on TOP switched and the bottom constantly on. This allows me to leave battery chargers and power supplies plugged in without necessarily letting them suck power 24/7. My compressor is also controlled by the three-way switches (wife hates when it "goes off" at 2AM - and I hate having to go into the shop to stop it at that hour!)

X-10.com has some 20AMP and30AMP 110 and 220VAC Controllers that ca be useful (especially if integrated into the initial planning).

I Double-gang my Duplex wall outlets and set a pair one every four feet about the perimeter of the shop. Also ran TV Cable and Phone outlets

Wife here, must go now.

[Puckdropper]

"resrfglc" wrote in news:peYeh.1571$LL4.1514@trnddc04:

*snip*

*snip*

An advantage to having two outlets (one for the light and one free) is that you can hang an extension cord down from the outlet and plug your tool in there. This will allow you to move all around the workspace without the cord getting in the way.

Puckdropper

[resrfglc]

Yep, tha's why only one outlet is swiched.

[Burgy]

Mostly, electricians are like restaurants. When you drive by a restaurant with no cars in the lot, you don't want to eat there. If you find an electrician that isn't in demand , you don't want him wiring your house....

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[Pop`]

Burgy wrote: ...

Actually, it does work that way. A busy electrician doesn't indicate a good electrician. The guys with good skill sets will size up the information and just walk away after giving their reasons. They're also sometimes quite happy to hear what the other guys quoted and what for. They never speak bad of their competition, but know how to offer honest information when it's necessary as to why they're a better choice than the other guy. There's no disclosure agreement for this stuff, and it helps them out, too. An extra minute or so goes a long ways to getting the "next" call, or even a reference to a friend, associate, whoever. In other words, they're good at practicing supportive attitudes.

Usually what will happen is one of the guys, if not both,

That's good IMO because it's the type of person you do NOT want to hear from. Take it as a sign of luck.

Think of it

That's silly; if an electrician has that thin a skin, I don't want him anyway.

No. It would make both of

No, it's a fact of life. I usually let it be known up front when I'm looking for estimates, and that's what I ask for; an estimate. That way they can get the hell out of my way right away; I don't need that kind of person to work for me. It should be expected that a person is going to get estimates from other sources. IF it's not expected, you've found a pretty arrogant contractor there. I'm quite grateful when a guy tells me he's not crazy about taking my job because ... and besides, he's only there because I asked for an estimate. If he can't give me that, then HE wasted HIS time! I'm also not shy about asking for references; I seldom check them, but have done so on occasion. Most will be happy to give you the names or addresses of a few places they've worked in the area; very handy for roofers, porches, siding, etc etc.

Besides, it's irrelevant IMO.

That's cute: He's going to cut his own throat by recommending the worst guy in town? There's always a "next time" coming, so it'd be foolish to do so. And no one wants a foolish person like that workign for them; they are liars, the worst of them all.

You should be happy that he told you up front.

You sound like you are or were or are close to contractor/s, or are making this all up as you go along. Your stated observations are interesting in that they point out some of my pet peeves and whether an electrician is any good or not. The subjects of your comments are more the types of people I wouldn't contract with, actually.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shameless spamming via signature without a qualification isn 't appreciated either. Whatever "to date" means, that isn't many spams. Perhaps you should get a paid account and get rid of that message. Or stop using them.

Regards,

Pop`

[RicodJour]

Hey Pop. You excised almost everything from Burgy's post except for the very last bit at the end. Since you commented primarily on what I had written, allow me to reply.

A busy electrician is more likely to indicate a good electrician than one that's sitting around, no? I don't see how skill sets enter into the picture of whether or not the electrician appreciates the irony of running into a competitor or not. Are all highly skilled people happy-go-lucky? No. They run the usual gamut of personality types.

BTW, I wasn't commenting on the work backlog. I was commenting on the electricians running into each other at the job site and whether that was intentional or not.

How are they hearing what the other guy quoted? Are you telling them? Then the question becomes, is the contractor buying what you're selling? If a potential customer tells me about how someone else priced the job, it means exactly nothing to me. Why should it? I don't know if the guy bid the same thing, don't know if he made a mistake one way or the other, don't know if the owner is fudging just a wee bit to hopefully elicit a better price.

More importantly, do you really think that an electrician has no clue what other electricians are charging?

If it's a losing cause from the get go, they're never going to get a job or recommendation, it's just wasted time. I agree that if you're in a service business it pays great dividends to have a good reputation. That includes being friendly.

I'm from the old school. When I hire an electrician, I want someone who is good at being an electrician. I'm not looking to hire a friend so I have someone to chat with. It's business. If the guy is friendly, well, that's a bonus.

See above.

It's good to be up front about it.

Again, what does arrogance have to do with it? If the guy thinks he's god, and does the work like he is, I don't care about the attitude. If the guy is a boob, and can't back up the words/attitude, well, that's another story.

Yes - in your opinion. Does it color your opinion if the contractor doesn't necessarily agree with your opinion of what _his_ feelings should be? It seems to me that there's a certain attitude and arrogance on your part as well.

Unless someone knows that the guy he's "recommending" is a hack, how could they know? Is it a dirty trick? Yep. He's foisting off one pain in the ass to another pain in the ass.

I knew a flooring contractor who would give a written estimate to the owner. He had gotten sick of people "stealing" jobs from him. Owners shopping to save $50 and giving the lowball contractor the benefit of his work. So he came up with a way to deal with it. He'd write up his estimates with all of the dimensions 2' short. He knew it, was ready and willing to do the job at the price he quoted. He'd gotten angry calls from owners who were majorly pissed that the other contractor's carpet arrived for installation and it was all 2' short! It may have not been funny to the owner or the lowball contractor, but that's what you get when you steal someone's work and don't even bother to take the time to double check the dimensions.

I'm not sure I follow you. I have an opinion different than yours so I must be making stuff up? That makes no sense. It's really very simple. It's a two way street. You play nice with me, be upfront and allow me to be me instead of some theoretical ideal contractor, and I'll be upfront, play nice and let you be you. If my numbers work with your budget, and my schedule works with yours, then we'd have a deal. If not, well at least we were honest and accommodating. What more is there to life?

You'd have to take that up with the poster who's responsible for it. His name can be located at the top of this post.

R

[Puckdropper]

"Pop`" wrote in news:y3_fh.3869$LL4.108@trnddc04:

Looks like too little insulation is bad for both electricity and electricians!

Puckdropper