My former customer bet on Las Vegas Electricians and Lost.
One of my former customers who left me when I was diagnosed with colon cancer daughter was building a Custom Home in Washington County and asked if I could Install all the low voltage wiring Burglar, fire, phone cable TV internet etc.
He also asked if I could add a couple receptacles etc. and do the Finnish off work on the rest of the electrical power wiring her friends from Las Vegas ,who are electricians did for her while they were here visiting family. They were up for making some extra money and since my customer has a wholesale account with a local supplier she would be able to save about $4500.00 over the cost of using the builders electrician.Sure I said no problem if these were licensed electricians from Las Vegas the work should be the same except for couple grounding issues we do different here from there. I also told her if her friends needed questions answered as to specific codes for Allegheny Power territory for her friends to call me and I could answer them.
My customer’s friends came in and the 2 of them spent 3 days getting the house wired up and ready for inspection. They never called me as they apparently got their answers from the builder. I got on site to do the extras and get ready to do the low voltage work when just a simple inspection of the wiring I did before I started reveled major electrical code violations. The wiring workmanship to begin with was extremely poor the way they ran the wiring was extremely sloppy then when it came to centering wiring on 2x4 beams it was improperly done plus many other violations would have to be corrected. Before the Electrical inspector was called it took me nearly 2 days to make all the corrections delaying the general contractor. When my friend got hold of these so-called electricians who supposedly wire million dollar homes and casinos to scream at them . They assured me the work they did there was totally acceptable in Las Vegas. They did not see why I red tagged their work. I called the Las Vegas licensing dep’t to find out these 2 jokers have had there permits pulled several times for bad work. They were not surprised by what happened in Pa.
It came out even with the work I did to correct the situation that my customer still came out ahead money wise but had I not caught the problems would the inspector allow it to have pass most probably because the inspector in this area is known for easy inspections.Which is a dam shame.
I have seen several homes in this sub division that never should have been allowed passed and occupied. Homes which over time are guaranteed to have major electrical incidents and could lead to fires. By whichever sucker gets stuck with the home after they have been sold.
Once again this points out why the UCC codes just starting to be enforced will help prevent this nonsense.
There are too many contractors and township and 3rd Party Inspectors in this state that will install work any way they care to and pass any thing they care to.
The results are staggering when you see the amount of fire deaths and insurance payouts in this state compared to others. Which is why we pay such high insurance rates compared to other areas.
I have had a Fire Chief who reads my articles tell me he does not favor all the inspection stuff, rules etc. It just adds to the cost and is unnecessary. It should be a buyer beware situation. Which is fine but even educated consumers get burned when the person they hire to do the inspection does not do it right.
This is particularly true with high tech items that only the techs installing truly understand. I for one know for a fact in today’s world Buyer Beware is not enough when it comes to hiring some one.
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