My one man band plumber takes his time figures the best way with least cutting and is super neat…
my electrican… one man band… makes everyones work look like crap because he can’t drill a hole without huge tearout and nothing lines up… i know it doesn’t really matter since it all gets covered but it looks like hell… this is the same guy that loves the detail that we put into everything even stuff you can’t see… just look’n at his work makes me sick… just not my style…
someone tell me it just doesn’t matter…
p
Replies
I GOT A GRIPE ABOUT ELECTRIANS TOO. quit running all your conduit down my footing, the weight of the bldg is there. its not a hole for you and compact your dirt.
It's one guy compared with another, not one trade with another. Somebody just re-discovered an old thread about an ultra-meticulous electrician, and there are lots of gripes here about plumbers who hack up the framing.
That being said, though, romex sure bends easier than pipe. So for the electrician to make holes line up just isn't as important as it is for the plumber. To the extent that it takes more time, and time is money, being neater than necessary isn't cost effective.
-- J.S.
Just my opinion but I just might look for a new sparky. The first fundamental in wiring is "protect the wire". If everything looks like a mess i'd wonder what care was used in pulling the wire through all those misaligned holes.
When I wire a house i'm ultra-anal and will usually get compliments from the inspector.
To me behind the wall systems are the most important things and should be carefully installed. Consider ten years from now when the HO wants a new whatever run through the walls. If its messy in there it'll be harder to do and possibly put the wires at risk.
Have you talked to him and your lack of satisfaction?
If not, it would be a good start.
Worst case, find a new sparky.
I saw this after he was gone for the day... I will talk to him and i'll even have my labor drill holes for him if thats whats needed...
he was use'n a holehog with a 18" x 1" bit and he's not but 5'5" and 120lbs so he might need a smaller drill....
I never rush anyone if they are doing good work i might slow em down just by me stop'n and watch'n "how it's done"
btw... there is no way to slow tis guy down anyway.... short of kill'n him
he's done work for me before and his panels look exactly how you'd want any panel to look... neat and with order...
might just be the wood thing throw'n him
my thoughts are... if ur a drywall guy you kinda spot where & how stuff & run'n and adjust your nailing.... with this guy you better just glue your drywall..
I'm not anal... i'm not anal...i'm not anal.... ..nope no help :)
thanks guy
p
I'm not anal... i'm not anal...i'm not anal.... ..nope no help :)
that'd be anal-litic...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000816UIC/sr=1-4/qid=1155176590/ref=sr_1_4/103-6354285-1272601?ie=UTF8&s=hi
could give him one of those as a gift and ask him to use it
edit, screw that, buy it for yourself and let him use it on your jobs ;)
Edited 8/9/2006 10:26 pm ET by CAGIV
nice tool.... thanks
p
If he is to close to the edge of the stud face, he should be failing the rough in inspections. His initial speed is lost if he has to go back and add nailing plates and then pay for another inspection.
As far as hitting wires with trim nails,... something is not right there. Wire routes are wrong if they are that close to or through the areas of trim details. Did you give him a full set of prints?
If he doesn't know all of the details of your plans, how can he plan his wire routes to avoid creating problems for the dw and trim guys? The same thing hold true for the plumber and HVAC guys.
Dave
I'll bet a lot of it is them using old drill bits forever with no sharpening.My sparky was drilling a few holes and they were pretty sloppy - totally due to a dulled bit.JT
If he used a hole hawg and a shorter bit (6") he could hold the drill bit at a right angle to the stud (if they are on 16" centers) and easily drill all the studs in a straight line. That is how I do it. Straight holes make pulling romex much faster. Angleing the drill bit on every stud results in lots of friction when pulling. I work behind a framer that does remodeling and he likes studs less than 16" on center. Almnost no drill motor/bit combination can drill a 90 degree hole in his stud bays.That laser gidget in another thread would just slow the process by many multiples having to scrw it to every stud. It's intended use is long runs like plate to plate in a wall. Romex doesn't need that much precision even to look good. Also a 5/8" or 3/4" bit instead of 1" will get you away from using so many nail plates, although I use lots of them, way more than necessay by code.Frank DuVal You can never make something foolproof because fools are so ingenious.
"That laser gidget in another thread would just slow the process by many multiples having to scrw it to every stud."Doesn't need to move it. Drill the first stud and install it. Then drill the 2nd where the laser is.Then, unless you got it way off, it should shine through to the next stud.But you are right you don't need that accurate.For ceiling floor in a basement I take a marker and walk from A to B marking the joist as I go.
I have used one of those cheap pocket levels with laser tip to do this when I put a run of pvc conduit in to be able to run some signal lines. Cost about $10 at the junk tool store. Keep it near the computer to play with the cats the rest of the time.
Keep it near the computer to play with the cats the rest of the time.
We use a laser pointer for one of our dogs.
I'll bet he can't get up the wall as high as you cats, but he can really rock a couch backwards, when he hits it at mach 1.
To much fun.
Dave
thanks for all you guys input... pretty universal to expect good orderly work
i got in early today.. redrilled his holes repulled his mc cable and remounted most of his boxes...
he got there and came to find me with....
"man i just knew you'd find something wrong with how i ran that unit"
I smothered him with praise....
"dude... i've seen your work.. I watched you set the main service with 21 meters and how you made sure everything was perfect... like they were going to shoot a catalog picture page from it... I just figured you had alot on your mind and it was hot ... so i redid it the way I thought you'd want to see it done"
he said that was the nicest reem'n he'd ever got....
anyway I think he got the point....
thanks for the input.... and i wasn't blast'n Plumbers it was just a title to the post...
I understand it's person to person thing... not a trade to trade thing
I don't think you can ever get a slob to do nice work.... guys who do good work can get sloppy in any trade...
in my late teens there was a pretty good bust going on in texas... which made it good pick'n for buy'n lease turn in cars... so i'd go with a dealer friend of mine and we'd each buy a few cars each trip.... something I'll always remember him telling me about cars that applies to about everything... "no matter how hard you try... you can't put a shine on a turd"
p
but what are you going to do with the old holes.
i was going to list em on ebay... call some of them C holes, some B holes... the rest were just going to be A-holes
p
lol
> I work behind a framer that does remodeling and he likes studs less than 16" on center.
Probably not the rockers' favorite framer.... ;-)
-- J.S.
"he was use'n a holehog with a 18" x 1" bit and he's not but 5'5" and 120lbs so he might need a smaller drill...."if that thing ever binds up, he's in for a ride! LOL
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
LOL the picture i had was when kids put play'n cards in their bike spokes... guess i should keep a camcorder around might win a grand for the vid....
p
Unfortunately, looks do matter. Even if it gets covered up and makes no difference structurally or functionally, we all know clients that can't tell wire from pipe, but will notice and worry over holes, stray nails, and gaps.
What bugs me is how an electrican will run wire through anything and everything just to save a few feet of wire or a few steps and it looks like crap, not to mention it's hard for the finish carps to know where the wires are since they aren't consistant.
I think it does matter .
Money matters too .
I figgure hes cheap or he would be history.
Why else would he still be there ?
We have one just like him and hes cheap and very fast .
Tim
I just ran into another one of my gripes today...why can't some sheetrocker's take all their crap with them instead of dumping it into empty wall cavities and making it more difficult, down the road, for any alterations to be performed until it's cleaned out? All of it, the plumber, the electrician and sheetrocker do it cause they're experiencing short bursts of LAZY A-- ATTITUDE!
it's cost cutting item all the way around..Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Um well uh er ok ok I'm biased I can't answer this one <g>
"can you cross your legs were short a nail" Pontius Pilate
I agree with your sentiments completely, but haven't seen one trade better than the others, just individual attitude. Guys who work clean do it because that just how they do it. And it's not just plumbers or electricians, it's everyone.
The thing that gets me is how one guy treats another guy's work. The plumber (or sparky) can be meticulous about his work, but will happily move, damage, or just generally mess up the work of whoever came before him.
SHG
For every complex problem, there is a solution that is clear, simple, and wrong.
-H.L. Mencken
You have slobs in all trades, if it looks like a shack worker did it more than likely there is something wrong with the hook-up. Tell people working for you that you have standards and if they don't comply they can do it over and pay for any damage that they cause. You have to get hostile!. Luck.