We are in the process of renovating our house and are currently having more or less trouble with the electrician.
We got a quote from one of the largest electrical contractors in the area for a complete rewiring of the electrical system and were quite impressed at first. However, a week after the work started, the situation looks very different...
- An electrician came who has just recently completed his apprenticeship
- He prefers chatting with the other tradesmen instead of actually getting work done
- He laughs at the 3-week schedule and says he needs to see when and what he can accomplish
- Every single socket outlet still needs to be discussed with us again, even though we marked everything with marker paint
- He doesn’t mark the chases, but just cuts straight into the wall (and it looks exactly like that!)
- Cable conduits apparently cannot be installed inside the wall due to the structural stability (11.5cm (4.5 inches) bricks), which was previously agreed differently
...
After 3 days, we had enough and called in the manager.
He inspected the work and said everything was within tolerance.
Marking the chases beforehand would take more time and was not part of the scope of work. (Is this a joke or???)
After that, things improved slightly and the electrician managed to get a bit more done each day.
Today, I noticed that the light switches in the rooms are not all at the same height and the sockets (those black inner trims) have all been installed crooked.
Sockets were originally agreed to be below the light switches but are now located near the floor.
Also, the preparation for the ceiling lamp is not centered in the room.
And it goes on...
Is this really all still within the tolerance range??
We got a quote from one of the largest electrical contractors in the area for a complete rewiring of the electrical system and were quite impressed at first. However, a week after the work started, the situation looks very different...
- An electrician came who has just recently completed his apprenticeship
- He prefers chatting with the other tradesmen instead of actually getting work done
- He laughs at the 3-week schedule and says he needs to see when and what he can accomplish
- Every single socket outlet still needs to be discussed with us again, even though we marked everything with marker paint
- He doesn’t mark the chases, but just cuts straight into the wall (and it looks exactly like that!)
- Cable conduits apparently cannot be installed inside the wall due to the structural stability (11.5cm (4.5 inches) bricks), which was previously agreed differently
...
After 3 days, we had enough and called in the manager.
He inspected the work and said everything was within tolerance.
Marking the chases beforehand would take more time and was not part of the scope of work. (Is this a joke or???)
After that, things improved slightly and the electrician managed to get a bit more done each day.
Today, I noticed that the light switches in the rooms are not all at the same height and the sockets (those black inner trims) have all been installed crooked.
Sockets were originally agreed to be below the light switches but are now located near the floor.
Also, the preparation for the ceiling lamp is not centered in the room.
And it goes on...
Is this really all still within the tolerance range??
I have no idea how the tolerance range is regulated legally, and we are probably really spoiled by our craftsmen – but what you describe definitely wouldn’t be acceptable to me. I wouldn’t want to pay for it like that. Now you have to weigh how quickly and at what price you can get another company... Are you under time pressure? If not, I would look for someone else.
I’d say, if the grooves were just misaligned, that would still be acceptable since you would fill those in anyway. But not being able to install switches and sockets flush with each other, or placing ceiling outlets with more than 15cm (6 inches) deviation from the plan, is unacceptable.
I’m a bit shocked – as far as I know, the chases or conduits are usually installed straight. Otherwise, later on, it becomes practically impossible to estimate where the lines run, and you have to worry every time you drill a hole for a cabinet, etc. And marking out would incur additional costs? Umm… what kind of company or manager is that?
I would urgently advise having another serious talk with the manager and making it clear to him that THIS is not good workmanship and that you would like to stop the work. In my opinion, he should be glad that he’s not being asked to restore the original condition and even pay compensation – but unfortunately, that probably won’t be accepted. It’s really a shame. Such incompetence should be banned.
I would urgently advise having another serious talk with the manager and making it clear to him that THIS is not good workmanship and that you would like to stop the work. In my opinion, he should be glad that he’s not being asked to restore the original condition and even pay compensation – but unfortunately, that probably won’t be accepted. It’s really a shame. Such incompetence should be banned.
F
fach1werk21 Jan 2019 19:49Hello Laynne,
I don’t think this is acceptable. You can usually make adjustments afterward if, for example, the dining table light fixture is positioned right over the table, the bathroom light cable is exactly above the bathroom cabinet, or the dishwasher outlet is near the dishwasher, and so on. We had issues like that before, and it definitely shouldn’t be like this.
Normally, the drawings showing where and how things are installed are part of the contract, so the installations must be where you specified them. With the uneven chases, I can see that it’s impossible to drill anywhere near them without first using a metal detector to find where the cable is winding.
I would involve the head of the local trade association. You can pay him for the time if he needs to inspect the work. The electricians consider themselves the top professionals in construction trades, but this really puts the crown on it in a negative way. The company owner should deploy his rough-handed worker in a less harmful way.
Best regards, Gabriele
I don’t think this is acceptable. You can usually make adjustments afterward if, for example, the dining table light fixture is positioned right over the table, the bathroom light cable is exactly above the bathroom cabinet, or the dishwasher outlet is near the dishwasher, and so on. We had issues like that before, and it definitely shouldn’t be like this.
Normally, the drawings showing where and how things are installed are part of the contract, so the installations must be where you specified them. With the uneven chases, I can see that it’s impossible to drill anywhere near them without first using a metal detector to find where the cable is winding.
I would involve the head of the local trade association. You can pay him for the time if he needs to inspect the work. The electricians consider themselves the top professionals in construction trades, but this really puts the crown on it in a negative way. The company owner should deploy his rough-handed worker in a less harmful way.
Best regards, Gabriele
