Ok I know a lot of us who do old work find a lot of stuff that makes us shake our heads in disbelief or even holler out "Holy S--t!" in the presense of the homeowner but what do you do when you happen upon improper and dangerous work that was just done by the guy before you? Here's what I mean. A regular customer wants a motion light installed on the back porch (high dollar home). There's a handy box 5 feet away that was just installed by a reputable roll up shade intaller with the switches in another box. Shook my head at the 4 motor cords jammed into a romex connector which didn't have a locknut on it so the whole mess was falling out of the handy box, where it was all spliced into two more cords which were fed thru the 1/2" emt which was connected to the handy box with a compression COUPLING and to the switch box (exposed to weather) with a set screw connector. The "Holy S--t" part came when I opened the switch box to find ALL THE NEUTRALS SWITCHED!!!. There was even a switch for a pond pump in the neutral line!
Add to this all the grounding wires had been cut back and unused in each box! Of course I fixed it all before I used the circuit for the light, but I am wondering if I should report this to the registrar. Maybe they aren't even supposed to be wiring their shades themselves. This kind of thing really annoys me, especially when these kinds of installers have the notion that "wiring is simple" and "why pay an electrician?". And of course the homeowner will agree with them. What would you do?

Same thought here. I think we should report them to AHJ.
Similar story here. Client asks me to wire her garage for power. I said $$$. then she did not agree. then after 6 months i get a call from her that the inspector does not pass my garage because the electrical is not upto code. She asks me to get it up to code and get it passed. When i arrive H%%y S**t. the place looks like crap and guess what i found in the panel. the business card of the person who did it.

John Doe
123-456-7890
"we do window shutters, flat screen TV installation and cable."

What kind of crap is this. I think the inspector has not seen the inside of the panel yet so i am going to inform the inspector about the panel and how it is done.

Edward

So what do you do if these atrocities are an everyday affair, and there is no AHJ?

Trust me, you could easily 'Rant' yourself right outta business folks, because nobody is going to back you up!

If i wear blinders on the job, i come by it honestly, because the doctrine of doing so is daily practice by the NFPA, IAEI, OSHA (et all unfunded mandates)

The only time to complain is IF you have an AHJ that will take effective action. If you have no AHJ or one with little backup or intrest in getting rid of these cheesy jerks, it is a waste of time to complain. If you do not know how your AHJ will react to a complaint, try it once. If the result is action then keep it up, if the result is beaurocratic bull then do not waste your time.
We will never get rid of fly by niters with more regulation, more rules, more code or anything else but strong actions by AHJ. Those action must include large enough fines and jail time for those whose junk work place people at risk of fire or electrocution. Any thing short of those type of actions just make the AHJ an accomplice of the fly by niters.

I say, its my job to do what I'm supposed to do, neatly, safely and up to code. Its not my job to do code enforcement. Frustration certainly arises when you see some of the crap thats done out there but what can you do. I fix what I can within the bounds of the job and note on the invoice what I see thats wrong if I believe it could cause a problem down the road that I could get blamed for.

Put your compliants to the AHJ in writing. Too many times I have listened to an AHJ on the stand swear that "No one brought it to my attention". If it's in writing, action must be taken in some form, even denial.
Rowdy

Good news boys, here in Michigan where I am the AHJ, I do pay very close attention to complaints from by homeowners and contractors.
I work along a bordering state that does not require licensing for electrician and I do run into these guys coming into the area working for homeowners that do not know the code or their work is very poor taking advantage of the homeowner. To tell the truth, I thrive on catching these fly by nighters, and I do prosecute them.
The local contractors know this, and most back me on this since it does help their workload down the road.
Doug

What if you took a camera and snapped a couple of photos of the wiring and especially the business card of the person who performed said work (and all other components) prior to touching any of it yourself? Then you write a simple, short report to document the conditions and you potentially could share said report with a) AHJ, b) Homeowner, c) local regulatory body, and/or d) Fire Dept or similar.

At a minimum, a good business practice would be to keep a record of the 'before' condition and an 'after' photo when your own work is done (in case someone else modifies your work after you're gone, too).

If said property (or other property with the same character's work) is ever involved in a spark-related crisis, you have some valuable information that helps clarify what work was done and the manner in which it was done and you'd probably be an over-achiever in the eyes of a claims adjuster.

I got a call to replace a service cable between the UG meter and the panel. I start to loosen the lugs after killing the power. The folding allen wrench doesn't budge the lug, so I get a 1/2" ratchet. It still doesn't move. The lug screw is cross threaded and has never placed any pressure on the wire. The wire on the other lug only extended about 3/16" into the lug. This is 4/0 AL on a 200 amp main breaker.

Will post photos later.

last night i got a call to check a light
fixture that had fell. when i got there i
found a 4" 4 bulb wrap fixture that was on the floor. the electrician who had installed it used only the little self screwing drywall anchors. the ones that you can screw in with a phillips screwdriver. i could not believe that anyone would think that 2 of those would support a light fixture.

gee, seems to me any of these problems could originate at that big orange place...

I work in ontario and see all kinds of electrical work. The best was last week in a new plant. I was called in because a motor was not working. The motor had failed and blow the fuses and melted the wires. But the best was the 600 volt 60 ft long overhead buss laying on the floor. The forman saw smoke from the machine and tried to shut the power off by pulling the ropes tied to the overhead buss plug and the whole line crashed on the floor. There was not one local disconnect on any machine and a lot of machines were connected to power without starters or fusing. The installation was done by a michigan company and inspected. Inspection stickers were on some machines and a lot of the new equipment was not csa certified. I called the inspector about the job and asked if the could come out and look at the site. The inspector did show and got very upset about me taking pictures and went to the owner of the company. I was asked to turn over film to them and leave the property. I have worked in the trade for 30 years and have worked with a lot of great companys both canadian and american and never see work like this before or been treated like this by a company or inspector. I think i am done and will take a long vacation and think about retiring.

sudsy52,

I think something like your story should be forwarded to the local newspapers and even the authorities. You'd have to hit me on the head before I'd give them my film. Private property or not.

I do not really know about the rest of Canada but in British Columbia we are required by law to report any electrical hazards .


Division 4 -- Incident Reports and Investigations

Reporting incidents
36 (1) As soon as practicable after an incident occurs, the person in charge of the regulated product or regulated work, the owner of the regulated product and any other person specified by regulation are responsible for reporting the incident, in accordance with the regulations, to the appropriate safety manager.

(2) A person must not remove, disturb or interfere with anything in, on or about the place where the incident occurred except for the following:

(a) as is necessary to rescue a person, to prevent personal injury or death or to protect property;

(b) in accordance with the regulations;

(c) in accordance with the directions of a safety officer or safety manager.

Investigating incidents
37 (1) Whether or not the incident was reported, a safety officer may investigate an incident.

(2) A provincial safety manager may appoint persons to assist in the investigation of an incident.

(3) A person appointed under subsection (2), for the purposes of assisting in the investigation,

(a) has all the powers of a safety officer under section 18 (1) (c) to (n) and (2), and

(b) must report on the investigation to the provincial safety manager who appointed the person


[This message has been edited by dougwells (edited 11-16-2003).]

Like all of you, I've seen a fair amount of WTF?'s out there - including the loose 14awg in the wall to power the bathroom wall fixture.

As far as compliance with the NEC, I'll offer this.

When I first started doing electrical work, It was under the license for a "handyman" service... of course. I did more that hang pictures. Evry once in a while, I'd get the "does it have to be done that way" or "could we do it cheaper" questions. I'd explain the code to people, and tell them that:

a) It's for your safety

b) when you go to sell the house, you don't want to have to obtain a variance or fix the non-compliant stuff later

c) as a handyman, I'm charging a heck of a lot less per hour than a licensed electrician does. Quite trying to cheap me

d)If I was licensed, I'd be expected to "do it to code". As a pirate, I sure as he(( will do it to code, since it's one less hting that they can bust me for if I get pegged for running wire

e)I don't want my jobs coming back to bite me in the *, and have you (the homeowner) cry ignorance and blame me when your stuff burns, due to your insistence on substandard materials and installation methods.

I ran all the work for a co-worker who finished in his basement. When he had the place inspected, the AHJ told me "Yeah, we know you're doing the wirework - but you're doing better work than some 20 year licensed guys - they're still following the 1964 Code!"

Got my ticket a few years later - now I just tell 'em "if you don't want me to follow the Code, hire somebody else" 8D

[This message has been edited by DougW (edited 11-17-2003).]