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#64899 04/20/06 11:25 PM
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,923
Likes: 32
G
Member
My favorite builder wrapped up 104 houses this year. In the post mortem they looked at the problems they had to call the trades back on the most
I was interested in the electrical.

#1. 3 and 4 way switch problems.

#2. Improper mechanical mounting, luminaires or fans loose/falling.

#3. Dead outlets, usually one in a kitchen Knee wall or the under cabinet receptacles for the DW/disposal.

#4 low voltage wiring.

When I asked, "fire and smoke" was rare, usually a miswired dryer receptacle for some reason and there were no fires that were not contained by the boxes.

Considering, in the same 104 houses they had over a dozen floods (mold mitigation etc) from the plumbers and had to fix a number of structural problems I think the electrical <safety> system works.


Greg Fretwell
#64900 04/21/06 07:39 PM
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 2,876
E
e57 Offline
Member
Thats a house every 3 days! Maybe thats the problem... Guys moving to fast to QC the work?


Mark Heller
"Well - I oughta....." -Jackie Gleason
#64901 04/21/06 08:51 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,044
Tom Offline
Member
I can definitely understand the 3 way/ 4 way switch problems, especially if one guy (or worse, 2 guys roughing in the same circuit) is roughing in and someone else is trimming out.

The rest of it just looks like workmanship issues, especially #2.

Considering how cut-throat residential wiring can be in some areas, QC can be a real problem. It would be nice to see some numbers attached to those deficiencies to see how it stacks up against my callback experiance.

Tom


Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.
#64902 04/21/06 09:20 PM
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 806
Member
Quote
there were no fires that were not contained by the boxes.

!!!!! Care to elaborate on that?

I'm hard pressed to think of a situation where the OCPD wouldn't trip in time to prevent a fire even if contained by the boxes.

When I worked with an EC in Central Cali doing phase two of our apt. complex (What a great job that was, get up at 8:45, walk out my door and across the drive to the jobsite by 9am) we did over 150 units in four months with no "fires" of any kind. Did have some miscues, though. Mainly 3 way and kitchen knee wall circuit issues.


Stupid should be painful.
#64903 04/22/06 01:42 AM
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,923
Likes: 32
G
Member
By fires, I mean any time there was arcs and sparks.


Greg Fretwell
#64904 04/22/06 01:54 AM
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,923
Likes: 32
G
Member
I actually got involved in some of the loose luminaire issues. I tend to blame the manufacturer.
They have one in particular that I am not sure how even gets listed. It is a 4' horizontal pipe with 5 lamp holders, glass globes and it mounts in a standard octagon or pancake box in the center.
The pancake is the worst. The hickey screws bottom out before they seat. In any case it is a 2' of lever on two 8-32 screws.


Greg Fretwell
#64905 04/22/06 02:25 PM
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 687
A
Member
They sound like apprentance type of mistakes. Could it be not enough if any journymen on the job? Maybe in such a cut throat market there is no time to test outlets, phone lines, or 3 ways?

With mounting the lights maybe they were using those metric screws instead of 8/32's. I've worked for some places that you would have to pull teeth for a pack of 2" 8/32s.

How many homes with arks and sparks out of 100 does the builder and EC concider accepectable? Same with lights or fans falling down.

Gets me a bit angery when some have so much work because they a way too cheap and in return they do a bad job.


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