Hello,
I am new to this forumn. I will be building a new home this year and I have a question about electrical work. I was wondering if it is common for an owner/builder to assist in the electrical work in order to save money. I would feel comfortable installing boxes, pulling wire, installing fixtures, etc. Does anyone have advice about how to approach an electrician with this type of option?
Thanks,
Speedy
Replies
Welcome to Bt, first off.
to assist in the electrical work in order to save money. I would feel comfortable installing boxes, pulling wire, installing fixtures, etc. Does anyone have advice about how to approach an electrician with this type of option?
You have hit the nail araound about the head in the question. If you hire an electrical contractor, part of that contract would be his being comfortable with your "help" as his helper. The electrican's helper, who may be working to earn his journeyman license is likely to be less comfortable with the deal. Unless it's a big enough company that he, the helper, is still working, just on another project. Now, a company of that size may have policies--relating to their liability on the job--that prohibt non-employees from performing billable work.
Can you hire an electrician to inspect and do the final "bits"? Maybe, you'll likely have to ask. You'll likely need a very complete set of electrical drawings, too. Mind you, you are not saving any of the "expensive" hours of labor on the job. In fact, you are adding to them, as the electrican is going to (or should want to) inspect every circuit and every fitting. He'll most likely have to, either for code, or for license compliance (which he might not, with a trusted helper).
I'm "comfortable" with electrical work, too--but, I've started treating it like break work on a car, the money spent is earned in peace-of-mind.
Now, some electricians might (and only just might) let you split the work into rough-in and finish. With the rough-in defined as gettin all the circuits in, the boxes pigtailed appropriately, the panel in and wired, leaving only the hanging of the actual fixtures. Might be, that could happen. Could be your jurisdiction would not allow it--mine wouldn't (you are not the HO on new construction until issuance of the CoO, which you won't get w/o being green-tagged thru-n-thru--catch 22).
I am building a house now as an owner/builder. There are no code/inspection issues in my area with my doing all the work. I have made an agreement to pay an electrical contractor to consult with me hourly. I will pay him to review designs and my work as well as help pull and install #8+ wire.
I spent some time with him to determine that his approach to quality and his personality was compatible with mine. It was important that we had a good rapport so he could tell me when I am off in the weeds more strongly than a sub would normally want to tell a client. I have electrical/electronics background in the Navy and in manufacturing.
Speedy,
You need to know what is required be inspected. The power company, in most instances, will not provide a drop to a meter stack/service panel that does not have an inspector approval. While it is perfectly legal in most areas for HO to perform any work on their own home, sometime the inspectors can be real difficult on work by "amateurs".
I gutted rebuilt most of my home. During this process I relocated the service entrance and upgraded the service panel to a modern and common type. For this I hired a professional. The remainder of the work was done by my wife and me. I asked the electrician that put in the new service exactly what your asking, "Can I save some mone by doing some and paying you to do the rest?" The guy trusted me, had seen my work and knew I was competent, but still the short answer is "Not really".
By the time you buy all of the material that you will need (at retail) and spend your time, which may of may not be worth $$$/hr, add the general hassle of learning some of what you need to do as you go and then getting it inspected, et al, and you'll find the balance in favor of paying a contractor.
when I build my house I did 100% of electrical. bought everything at Lowes and Hd. It pass and was happy. I did built my shop. my new foreman dad owned a electrical supply house in the next town over. I bought the shop supply from him, he undercut Lowe by half and better quality. I ask him how come of the saving. He claimed I had to be a licence contractor to get the saving. So no, you cannot save by doing it yourself.
Welcome!
Good comments so far.
I'm an electrical contractor and have done several collaborative projects. They can be very rewarding for everyone involved. Keep in mind that:
1. doing the boxing, drilling, and pulling the cable will take more time and require more hard labor than you expect
2. to save any money, you'll have to spend a lot of your time to learn the Code requirements, and you need to be ready to spend money for the contractor to teach you both when to exceed the Code, and trade conventions (for instance, tips for routing cable to keep it from being damaged, and how to set up three-way switching in his customary way, so that he can trim it out efficiently).
3. you'll have to take full responsibility for the work you do. Even a close visual inspection by the EC may not detect a problem, and once the wiring is covered up with sheetrock, it gets expensive to find and fix. That is, if the problem is immediately apparent (see next point).
4. there can be problems that take time or certain conditions to manifest themselves, and so it might be hard to find an EC who would warrantee the work on a collaboration. Even if things work O.K. when the house is powered up, problems may happen later.
For instance, an over-driven cable staple might cause a GFI breaker to trip, but only when the rel. humidity is high. Is it reasonable to expect the EC to troubleshoot (much less repair) the problem as a warrantee item? Having the EC do the whole job means he or she is responsible for having the shole electrical system working right. FYI, in California, that means two years warrantee on labor and materials, and ten years for latent defects.
5. you probably won't save as much money as you might think you will. This depends partly on how much effort you put into learning the basics, so that the EC doesn't have to take you from a zero state of knowledge. It also depends on how careful you are in executing the work. No mistakes means less time and effort on the ECs part, and time is money.
I've had owner-builder clients that were very competent, and a pleasure to work with. It was a win-win. So a successful collaboration is do-able. And there's been a disaster or two...
As far as finding an electrical contractor who would be willing to partner with you, try contacting the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity. There may be an EC who works with volunteers to wire Habitat houses. That's the type of guy you want--one who doesn't mind teaching the skills.
Good luck.
Cliff
Speedy,
Get a copy of Rex Cauldwell's book 'Wiring a house'. It is a great book and can help give you a good understanding of the work you are thinking of doing. The more knowledgeable you are about wiring when you propose your idea to an electrician, the more likely they are to consider it. The other thing this book will do is give you a good understanding of the difference between wiring your house to meet minimums of code and wiring it 'beyond code'.
Regards,
Dennis