Electrician hourly rates

[ET1742]

I think you may have missed the point.

No, they didn't get a permit. Are you saying a permit is required even if an electrician replaces an outlet or light switch, or does any other small amount of repair work in a private residence?

This was the first and only electrical contractor I called. And, yes, I was glad they answered the phone when I called, glad the owner understood what I needed to have done, and glad they said they could send someone out that day or the next morning at the latest even though it wasn't an emergency or rush job. When the kid arrived to do the work at 3:30 PM, he said it would take at least 2 or 3 hours, so he couldn't do it that day because he would be there until 6 PM. Instead, he said he'll write up a work order and come back and do it the next day. All of that took 20 or 25 minutes. The job itself took him just under 40 minutes -- start to finish. So, my thinking was simply that I thought he was coming out to do the work on the first day and if he had done it when he showed up as expected it would have taken him from 3:30 to somewhere between 4:10 and 4:30. If he then said the cost was $200 plus materials (22 feet of 220 wire), say $225, I would have thought that was fine. It would have meant that he showed up, he did the work, his charge was reasonable enough, and I could count on calling the same company again and again.

As far as, "Be happy you found someone just to give you a price, let alone come out and do the job", I was glad about that part, but I don't think I should feel thrilled about it simply because there is an electrical contractor out there who is willing to do a small job for a homeowner. Maybe we should make it easier in New Jersey for people to become licensed electricians. Then there would be more of them and I wouldn't have to feel so privileged that a licensed electrician was willing to give me a price and do a job. Maybe there should be 3 types of electrician licenses -- a licensed residential electrician (Level 1), a licensed commercial and residential electrician (Level 2), and a licensed electrical contractor (Level 3).

[chuckster]

Yes! They needed a permit for this job, just call your local Muncipal Construction Official and ask him, (this will cost you nothing). I agree with you that the state should have "level 1,2,3" licensing, since any romex jockey can wire a high rise building with the license thay have now. Just for peace of mind, (I feel you got a fair price for the job), just go price copper wire at Home Cheapo, then call a few electrical contractors "out of the book" and see if they return calls. Your job is done, it works, and you paid a fair price, You are a lucky man! Just check out

if you want to see "jobs gone bad".

ET1742 wrote:

[Tom Horne, Electrician]

not DIY. Somehow there has a law been passed that an work on a circuit over 12 volts must be done by a licensed electrician. Thus generating more income for more permits.

it's amazing what you can learn).

accountant should be able to show it as a capital improvement and cut down your taxes.

ringtone = 45AC)

Bob Open circuit line voltage; i.e. talk battery; on analog Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) is forty eight volts DC. Ringing current is ninety volts, twenty hertz, AC.

There is not one jurisdiction in the US that requires permits for the public utilities to install telephone wiring because the work is regulated by your states public utilities commission; which is known by many different names from state to state.

[The Other Funk]

Thanks Tom. You are right that the ring tone is 90 V. Some how I remembered it wrong. In a certain boro that will remain unnamed, I was told explictly that I could not do my own telephone or satelite TV. The building inspector doesn't work weekends but I do. The "law" that prohibits DIY wiring is a state law. Thats why I wondered about the telco. My last job required wiring a lot more then 12V and I don't have a license. We used to laugh about it. Bob

-- Coffee worth staying up for - NY Times

[ET1742]

I just checked out your website. Now I understand why you think I should feel so lucky about how my job turned out!

You have a lot of good evidence shown in the pictures. Any chance you considered filing a small claims lawsuit to recover some or all of your money? Small Claims doesn't cost much to file, you have good evidence that you could show the judge, and probably the worst that could happen is that you lose the case and lose the small filing fee. I don't know the maximum covered by Small Claims in Pennsylvania (or wherever you are), but even if it's more than what you paid for the garage you can usually sue there anyway and just accept the maximum as full settlement.

I especially like Number 5 of your list of tips. I learned a long time ago to NEVER give an up front deposit (unless it's something like $100 good faith deposit with the contract signing). If it's a short job, I pay in full in person on the day it is done. If it's a bigger job, I pay progress payments if necessary, but always significantly less than what the worth would be for what was done so far. I don't pay for their materials up front but have been willing to order the materials in my name, delivered to me, and paid by me, so I have and own the materials from the get-go. On a larger job (2 houses, $65,000 worth of work) I downloaded/bought a standard AIA (American Institute of Architects) contract form which we prepared and signed before doing any work. That worked like a charm during the project when the contract tried a bunch of tricks.

One thing I learned is that once someone gives a contractor a 50% deposit, the contractor already has his total profit in his hand before doing any work. So he/she has no incentive to come out and do the job since all of the rest of the money is going to go to materials and workers. Instead, the contractor focuses his time either going out and getting more deposits, or on doing jobs that won't pay him until he's done.

P.S. The garage you had built looks a lot like the "forts" and "clubhouses" we used to build out of scrap wood when we were 10-12 year-old kids.