ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Sympathy for the Devil

A single-family home does not need an inspection in my state. Add to this that 1/2 of what's up here are camps and trailers. I am always getting calls by weekend warriors who have done part of the job, and wish me to do the remainder. Many times , the part they have done is not up to code, and i have to be the bad guy and tell them i'd need to redo this or that. I have had to stand my ground under fire in said circumstances, and lost some jobs along the way not that i care about those losses. I do not wish to be liable for any DYI's boo-boo's, and my sympathy for such arrangements has grown thin over time. How should i mitigate these deals?

Sparky,

I would say that you have to stand your ground. Try and come to an agreement on the phone before you go there. You have to protect yourself and will not continue work that you find is against code or unsafe. If something is wrong, will they let you fix it? If not, forget them.

I have a question.
Say an Electrician is called in to a situation where an area of the Structure was wired, or Re-wired and everything is closed up and finished except for the cables left dangling in front of the Panel. (They usually say that they are afraid of Electric or something similar ???) All he can do (within reason) is test the ends of the cable for shorts, do some spotchecks by removing covers, and a polarity check afterwards.

What is his Liability if he terminates the wires to breakers?

Bill

been there, done that, have'nt lost my T-shirt yet. i usually open up what i can for a look-see, but much is simply a 'gut' feeling as to how the 'installer' comes across to me.
would a bill w/disclaimer be appropriate?

I always turned down these jobs over the phone. In my case it was usually necessary to pull a permit. I always said that since I or someone working for me did not install the wiring, I could not let my liability insurance stand for the work. If I billed only for the work I did and the house burned down due to a branch circuit I did not put in the insurance company would wonder how I wired a whole house or addition for the price I charged. They would probably smell something fishy and cancel me. If I was detailed on the invoice and excluded the other work, I may be still liable, without benefit of insuranc company assistance, because I was the only knowledgeable person involved.