# Met a electrician at Home Depot



## hbelectric (Oct 8, 2007)

So i'm in the Electrical section and this guy tells me about this commercial job and how much I would charge, so I throw him some #s. Only to find out, he wanted to know how much to charge his customer. WTF? 

He then tells me, is it ok to run a 220v 20amp circuit 200ft with 12-2 MC cable.
I explain, you will need to derate the wire every 100', then I find out the machine actually draws 20amps. So now i got this up to 2 pole 30 amp with #8 wire. His mind is pretty boggled at this point. So some where during this I ask him if he is a Electrician and he confirms , he is such.

As i'm leaving he catches me at the door and says, are you sure I can't use the 12-2 MC cable? I gave him the WTF look and I just turned and left.

I didn't see a business card in my wallet, but i was going to give it to him and tell him to call me and i'll come fix it for you.


----------



## genecarp (Mar 16, 2008)

What a f--in HACK. bet he had no lic or ins. G


----------



## AtlRemodeling (Jan 23, 2008)

He probably already ran the 12-2 cable and it was not working out so well. Trying to find some justification at HD. How many homeowners do you think he approached??


----------



## Bubbles (Sep 27, 2007)

*Paper*

Just a note: I know plenty of very good electrician's with years of experience that do very good work and charge very reasonable prices yet are not licensed or insured and I know plenty of company's licensed and insured that send out tech's with no experience or little and charge very high prices with unscrupulous sales tactics. One's technically legal and the other not. Which one do you really want in YOUR House??


----------



## Celtic (May 23, 2007)

Bubbles said:


> Which one do you really want in YOUR House??


The one that is legal.


Which one do you want at YOUR house?


----------



## mahlere (Aug 6, 2006)

Celtic said:


> The one that is legal.
> 
> 
> Which one do you want at YOUR house?


will you stop ruining perfectly good justified opinions with facts and reality...big meanie...


----------



## Celtic (May 23, 2007)

mahlere said:


> will you stop ruining perfectly good justified opinions with facts and reality...big meanie...


I'm sorry.

I shouldn't worry about minor things like insurance, liability, and other such legal ramifications.
In this day and age it's better to "Just Do It" at the lowest possible cost imaginable regardless of all that other superfluous information.


----------



## SonoranShocker (Oct 28, 2008)

Bubbles said:


> Just a note: I know plenty of very good electrician's with years of experience that do very good work and charge very reasonable prices yet are not licensed or insured and I know plenty of company's licensed and insured that send out tech's with no experience or little and charge very high prices with unscrupulous sales tactics. One's technically legal and the other not. Which one do you really want in YOUR House??


 
Well lets put it this way: You call the Licensed electrician in to do some work, he screws it up becuase he's book smart and knows how to take a test, but has had no practical application. His insurance/liability takes care of any damage and you now have the work done and the damage fixed. 
OR...
You call in the unlicensed guy who "knows everything", but he forgets to tighten a wirenut on a pigtail or something (trust me it can happen) and the whole place goes up in smoke. You call him for compensation and he says "oh well" and that is the end of it because he has no liability insurance, or anything else. Yeah you can sue him, and maybe you will win, but the judge will probably ask you "why didnt you hire a LICENSED electrician?" 
My point is experience or no experience, [email protected]# happens! I had to pay into a recovery fund, AND buy a bond AND pay for my licensing. But I am happier doing that then losing my ass.
So now Bubbles, I will step off my soapbox with the same question you posed to the forum "Which one do you really want in YOUR House??"


Man I'm outta breath!


----------



## Celtic (May 23, 2007)

Sonoran....read #*6* again :laughing:


----------



## SonoranShocker (Oct 28, 2008)

Celtic said:


> Sonoran....read #*6* again :laughing:


 
NO! I reject your reality and substitute my own!

When I am king, I will abolish all bureaucracy! Anyone who wants to work in the trades can and will be able to! No licensing required!

(And after all the buildings burn, flood or fall down, you can behead me like Louis the sixteenth, or do this---->:hang :clap:


----------



## Bubbles (Sep 27, 2007)

*Fire*

If someone house burns down...would'nt your homeowners insurance cover it? I have plenty of insurance and am bonded and licensed and all that...but what I'm saying is I'd rather have a guy in a rust bucket cockeyed truck thats been doing (any trade) it for a long time with tons of experience and ref's and no insurance, then someone in a nice shiny truck with boot covers, white teeth, and tons of insurance that calls me 20-30 min before they arrive for ANY trade or profession that's just me though. I got a couple guys who are master level electricians but couldn't grasp the business and/or test part of it. I feel bad for them in a way. There in there 60's and teach me alot all the time. There 20x more qualified then some journeymen guys I have. They just don't test well. I use them for the complicated stuff and the techs at @ $48hr to change light bulbs. Sorry, I'm just bitter about all these fluffy guys around here sending out techs to do high quality electric work. It's funny ...if you just put a lightening bolt and a smiling tech holding a baby it seems to get lots of business...


----------



## GregS (Oct 1, 2006)

Bubbles said:


> If someone house burns down...would'nt your homeowners insurance cover it?


Here they have been cracking down on a lot of that lately. Insurance companies will not pay for something that was not properly permitted and inspected.

Why would your insurance pay out for something that was done illegally when it could have just as easily been done legally?


----------



## Celtic (May 23, 2007)

Bubbles said:


> If someone house burns down...would'nt your homeowners insurance cover it?


...and the guy that burns down the house gets no negative repercussions?:blink:
Are you insane?

Let's imagine for a moment that you are actually insane, hire the trunk slammer, and his work reduces your home to a smoldering heap....

What exactly does your HO policy cover?
Complete rebuild costs?
Temporary housing/relocation costs?
Does it cover all the contents? At what value - current or prorated?
etc etc etc

Why would I [ as a HO ] want to bear all that weight?


----------



## Snow Man (Aug 18, 2008)

hbelectric said:


> So i'm in the Electrical section and this guy tells me about this commercial job and how much I would charge, so I throw him some #s. Only to find out, he wanted to know how much to charge his customer. WTF?
> 
> He then tells me, is it ok to run a 220v 20amp circuit 200ft with 12-2 MC cable.
> I explain, you will need to derate the wire every 100', then I find out the machine actually draws 20amps. So now i got this up to 2 pole 30 amp with #8 wire. His mind is pretty boggled at this point. So some where during this I ask him if he is a Electrician and he confirms , he is such.
> ...


 *Should have sent him to the plumbing isle for sprinkler heads too.:w00t::thumbsup:*


----------



## woodchuck2 (Feb 27, 2008)

I find it is easier to not offer advice due to liability. I do however offer to come look at the job and a free estimate.


----------



## Celtic (May 23, 2007)

woodchuck2 said:


> I do however offer to come look at the job and a free estimate.


You certainly are generous....free ride over, free estimate ~ maybe you'll get the job...maybe not....either way, your time has just been spent.
Why not toss a number at them right on the spot?


----------



## mahlere (Aug 6, 2006)

Celtic said:


> You certainly are generous....free ride over, free estimate ~ maybe you'll get the job...maybe not....either way, your time has just been spent.
> Why not toss a number at them right on the spot?


Celtic


----------



## Celtic (May 23, 2007)

Oh crap!

The voice of reason is back.

shhh:shutup:


----------



## hbelectric (Oct 8, 2007)

woodchuck2 said:


> I find it is easier to not offer advice due to liability.


Home Depot employees give out bad information all the time to customers, i never heard of them getting sued.


----------



## TrblShooter (Oct 28, 2008)

Free estimate??...I had to check the date of this post I thought it was from 1980 :laughing:

I read over my HO policy and it doesn't say anywhere about replacing lives, but I did read I'll get a pro-rated cost for everything I own...possibly even up to 60% (Even though most of my stuff would cost double to replace it today) :thumbsup:


----------



## woodchuck2 (Feb 27, 2008)

My way of doing business may be a waste of time/money to some but it has kept me busy. I probably get 90% of the work i give estimates for and i milk in the extra time i used for the estimate into the overall job cost. I rarely offer estimates on the spot without seeing the job, too many variables or unforeseen problems IMO.


----------



## acrwc10 (Dec 10, 2006)

TrblShooter said:


> Free estimate??...I had to check the date of this post I thought it was from 1980 :laughing:
> 
> I read over my HO policy and it doesn't say anywhere about replacing lives, but I did read I'll get a pro-rated cost for everything I own...possibly even up to 60% (Even though most of my stuff would cost double to replace it today) :thumbsup:


you can get a "replacement value" umbrella on your policy if you want one.


----------



## slowforthecones (Aug 24, 2008)

Home Depot...... illlegal alien workers.... bad advice.... those two go together don't they?


----------



## kbsparky (Oct 14, 2007)

hbelectric said:


> So i'm in the Electrical section and this guy tells me about this commercial job and how much I would charge, so I throw him some #s. Only to find out, he wanted to know how much to charge his customer. .....


Heard a good true story from a while ago :

A licensed contractor friend of mine kept getting beat out of jobs he bid on by a hundred dollars or so by the same competitor. He figured correctly that the GC was shopping his legit prices to this other slimeball, who didn't want to take the time and effort to figure his own pricing. "I'll do it for $100 less than xyz will..." that sort of thing.

So, my friend figured the next job at around $11,000 or so, and bid it at $5,000. Guess what? The other guy got the job for $4900! About ½-way thru the job, the other guy realized he had been had, but by now it was too late: He had to eat it at considerable loss. :clap:

The kicker here is the other slimeball had the nerve to call him up and complain about the lowball price!! Served him right. :furious:


----------



## slowforthecones (Aug 24, 2008)

Good job! I dislike it when hard working GC's get the shaft because some unlicensed or out right slimeball jerk does bids like that. Why I'm in the trade..at any point I'm paid up to minus 10%, I agressively collect a deposit and progress payments. Anytime I can walk away from a job and not loose anything except some reputation.


----------



## hbelectric (Oct 8, 2007)

kbsparky said:


> Heard a good true story from a while ago :
> 
> A licensed contractor friend of mine kept getting beat out of jobs he bid on by a hundred dollars or so by the same competitor. He figured correctly that the GC was shopping his legit prices to this other slimeball, who didn't want to take the time and effort to figure his own pricing. "I'll do it for $100 less than xyz will..." that sort of thing.
> 
> ...


Good stuff....Its actually so bizarre i'm not sure to believe.


----------

