# We've all been to jobs like this.......



## Speedy Petey

......but this is one of the worst I've ever seen.


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## trentonmakes

Wow....just wow

Texting and Driving


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## Wiresmith

wow. thanks alot for posting and if your the one that made the video.


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## The_Modifier

Thanks, I will surely sleep well tonight.


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## Bgoss7788

Crazy stuff.. but unfortunately in today's world people don't care or take pride in their work.. I guess it's a mystery you can do proper professional work and make money at the same time lol


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## frenchelectrican

That is worst than sour coconuts .,,

I have fair share of bad workmanship over here too so it is no stranger to see it.


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## B-Nabs

I shudder every time I see a truck from one of those full service (read: jack of all trades, master of none) contractors for this very reason. 

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk


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## chicken steve

I've been to a lot of these the HO has passed....~CS~


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## hardworkingstiff

What's the problem, it's been working fine?


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## Southeast Power

The person should have posted the name of the city the work was done.
Its just the GC ripping off the Home owner.

We see quite a bit of this kind of work down here, nothing surprises me anymore. 
Interesting thing, all of that stuff would work just find for many years.
That GC is doing that kind of work all over town, the lady that made that video only saw one of their jobs.


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## sbrn33

That is as bad as I have seen. Definitely worth the watch. That GC needs to be sued and all the drywall needs to come down. The inspection dept needs to have their feet held to the fire also.


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## RePhase277

As long as the paint job is smooth and the book case looks good and the lights come on when the switch is flipped, nobody cares.

I guarantee that if the cabinets came out looking like the electrical in the attic, all kinds of hell would have been raised.


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## sbrn33

RePhase277 said:


> As long as the paint job is smooth and the book case looks good and the lights come on when the switch is flipped, nobody cares.
> 
> I guarantee that if the cabinets came out looking like the electrical in the attic, all kinds of hell would have been raised.


Be honest, you didn't watch that until I told you to.


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## RePhase277

sbrn33 said:


> Be honest, you didn't watch that until I told you to.


I'll have you know, sir, that I was likely the first one to watch it. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and look at ET, then hit refresh and there it was at 4:43 AM, my time. So :tt2:


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## LasVegasJDub86

Holy sh*# ) !!!!


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## drewsserviceco

The ground wire sticking backwards out of the connector reminds me of some old work I've run across. It must've been a brief time period where the 16 awg ground came out but the old timers didn't know what to do with it (or didn't see the point) and would either cut it off flush with the jacket or tuck it backwards out of the connector and wrap it around the Romex connector screw. 

That's just another one of those mysteries of old work, "how much extra time did it take to do it this way instead of the "right" way?"


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## HackWork

drewsserviceco said:


> The ground wire sticking backwards out of the connector reminds me of some old work I've run across. It must've been a brief time period where the 16 awg ground came out but the old timers didn't know what to do with it (or didn't see the point) and would either cut it off flush with the jacket or tuck it backwards out of the connector and wrap it around the Romex connector screw.
> 
> That's just another one of those mysteries of old work, "how much extra time did it take to do it this way instead of the "right" way?"


I often see that smaller ground wire going back out of the connector like you said, and then attached to the outside of the box with a screw driven from the outside in near the front. The part of the screw that sticks into the box stops larger devices from fitting into the metal box, so you have to cut or file it to install a GFCI.


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## drewsserviceco

HackWork said:


> I often see that smaller ground wire going back out of the connector like you said, and then attached to the outside of the box with a screw driven from the outside in near the front. The part of the screw that sticks into the box stops larger devices from fitting into the metal box, so you have to cut or file it to install a GFCI.



Yuck. Thankfully the old timers around me were to lazy for that nonsense.


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## MechanicalDVR

drewsserviceco said:


> The ground wire sticking backwards out of the connector reminds me of some old work I've run across. It must've been a brief time period where the 16 awg ground came out but the old timers didn't know what to do with it (or didn't see the point) and would either cut it off flush with the jacket or tuck it backwards out of the connector and wrap it around the Romex connector screw.
> 
> That's just another one of those mysteries of old work, "how much extra time did it take to do it this way instead of the "right" way?"


I've also seen the wire wrapped around the jacket of the romex and then clamped in the connector.


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## GeneC

I have seen the ground clamped with the romex also, maybe they think like old BX they would wrap the ground around jacket in the old days. That was some serious deplorable work. I hope there is some restitution.


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## hardworkingstiff

If that was AC cable, the proper termination is to bend the small al wire back onto the sheath.

See page 18 of this document.

https://www.northcoastelectric.com/ASSETS/DOCUMENTS/CMS/EN/MCCableMC_12-2_PRB.pdf


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## flyboy




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## adamclark52

I overthink if I tightened a ground screw in a panel enough and if the branch grounds are stripped enough. Sometimes I'll open the panel five times to notice that I did it fine the first time.

I wish I had just a bit of this...ignorance...so I'd at least know that what I did was fine, be able to close the panel and be able to move on with my life the first time I closed it.


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## adamclark52

Also, is that plug in the wooden cabinet not even in any box or any kind?


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## sparkiez

adamclark52 said:


> Also, is that plug in the wooden cabinet not even in any box or any kind?


It has been a week, but since no one replied, there is a *chance* that the plug in the cabinet has a box there, but it is sitting back behind the cabinet. In this instance you use a spark ring to surround the plug and, in effect, "extend" a non metallic box and keep it covered with a flame resistant material.

I have seen lots of jobs as bad or worse than this as well done by a guy that actually claimed he was an electrician.

I sure know that I don't want a gynecologist performing my heart surgery.


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## Simpson Electric

I actually worked on this job. It was my uncle’s job AFTER the “rewire”. He received a call to troubleshoot an inoperable light and then peeled layers off the onion...

I have more details on the job should anyone be interested.


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## sparkiez

Simpson Electric said:


> I actually worked on this job. It was my uncle’s job AFTER the “rewire”. He received a call to troubleshoot an inoperable light and then peeled layers off the onion...
> 
> I have more details on the job should anyone be interested.


Of course we are.


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## Simpson Electric

What would you like to know?


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## Max C.

Simpson Electric said:


> What would you like to know?


Everything...


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## Simpson Electric

Max C. said:


> Everything...


I would be typing all night. It’s a story worth telling but I don’t want to go through the whole thing. 

In short: My uncle got this job as a service call after the rewire. They were long term clients that had a GC do the wiring. Uncle saw the mess, documented it and went to battle with everybody. It really is a long story so if you want details you need to specify what part of the story you want.


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## Majewski

Man that video is some bs huh? Inspectors should be removed/retrained for that, gc should lose his license.... The mixture of old and new and recycled **** in that video was laughable....


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## Simpson Electric

Majewski said:


> Man that video is some bs huh? Inspectors should be removed/retrained for that, gc should lose his license.... The mixture of old and new and recycled **** in that video was laughable....


I 100% agree BUT that inspector is now Chief Building Inspector and the GC is busier than ever. Now THAT is laughable huh?


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## macmikeman

Simpson Electric said:


> I would be typing all night. It’s a story worth telling but I don’t want to go through the whole thing.
> 
> In short: My uncle got this job as a service call after the rewire. They were long term clients that had a GC do the wiring. Uncle saw the mess, documented it and went to battle with everybody. It really is a long story so if you want details *you need to specify what part of the story you want.*



Just the part about the Russian circus contortionist and the three midgets will be fine...........


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## macmikeman

adamclark52 said:


> I overthink if I tightened a ground screw in a panel enough and if the branch grounds are stripped enough. Sometimes I'll open the panel five times to notice that I did it fine the first time.
> 
> I wish I had just a bit of this...ignorance...so I'd at least know that what I did was fine, be able to close the panel and be able to move on with my life the first time I closed it.



Two options. Selfie video yourself tightening screws at connections in panels.
Or make a check list to go thru each time and check off the tasks you completed properly right when you do them. If you have an issue you need to learn how to overcome it some way or another. I had a problem with very tiny kayaks and how I overcame that issue was to hoist it up on ropes in my garage and never to come down from there ever again......


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## Majewski

And how come there isn't any mention of an electrical inspector?


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## Simpson Electric

Majewski said:


> And how come there isn't any mention of an electrical inspector?


Opposed to a building inspection?


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## Simpson Electric

Majewski said:


> And how come there isn't any mention of an electrical inspector?


Sorry, I didn’t read that right. The building inspectors here inspect everything. I know in some cities including San Francisco there are specialized inspectors for the specific trades but in this case there was no electrical inspector just a building inspector. There in lies part of the issue.


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## Signal1

What a mess.


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## Max C.

Has anybody else noticed that a lot of hacks seem to like the color yellow


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## Max C.

Simpson Electric said:


> I would be typing all night. It’s a story worth telling but I don’t want to go through the whole thing.
> 
> In short: My uncle got this job as a service call after the rewire. They were long term clients that had a GC do the wiring. Uncle saw the mess, documented it and went to battle with everybody. It really is a long story so if you want details you need to specify what part of the story you want.


 I guess the most pressing question is why your uncle was unable to complete the rewire. By the way, no pressure, Simpson


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## Simpson Electric

Max C. said:


> Simpson Electric said:
> 
> 
> 
> I would be typing all night. It’s a story worth telling but I don’t want to go through the whole thing.
> 
> In short: My uncle got this job as a service call after the rewire. They were long term clients that had a GC do the wiring. Uncle saw the mess, documented it and went to battle with everybody. It really is a long story so if you want details you need to specify what part of the story you want.
> 
> 
> 
> I guess the most pressing question is why your uncle was unable to complete the rewire. By the way, no pressure, Simpson
Click to expand...

I can't divulge that information out of respect for my uncle. The only thing I can tell you is that it was becoming legal. The whole thing was a $h!& storm.


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## Signal1

Simpson Electric said:


> I can't divulge that information out of respect for my uncle. The only thing I can tell you is that it was becoming legal. The whole thing was a $h!& storm.


Sounds like your uncle tried to do the right thing, and got hosed in the process.


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## Simpson Electric

Signal1 said:


> Simpson Electric said:
> 
> 
> 
> I can't divulge that information out of respect for my uncle. The only thing I can tell you is that it was becoming legal. The whole thing was a $h!& storm.
> 
> 
> 
> Sounds like your uncle tried to do the right thing, and got hosed in the process.
Click to expand...

Of course he wanted the work and did try to do right by the customer. What really got to him though was the incompetence of the GC and the city. He didn't get in any legal trouble if that's what you're implying.


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## Signal1

Simpson Electric said:


> Of course he wanted the work and did try to do right by the customer. What really got to him though was the incompetence of the GC and the city. He didn't get in any legal trouble if that's what you're implying.


No I was thinking financial wise, or at least a huge waste of time, which I guess is the same thing.


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## Simpson Electric

Signal1 said:


> Simpson Electric said:
> 
> 
> 
> Of course he wanted the work and did try to do right by the customer. What really got to him though was the incompetence of the GC and the city. He didn't get in any legal trouble if that's what you're implying.
> 
> 
> 
> No I was thinking financial wise, or at least a huge waste of time, which I guess is the same thing.
Click to expand...

He did unfortunately invest hours into that job he will never get back. We did get paid for our portion of the repair work though which was a good chunk of change.


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## Switched

That is par for the course all over San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties..... For 6 years all I did was pretty much follow GC's and EC's around and fix all their mistakes and short cuts. 

The contractors are attempting to capture as much profit as they can by just hiring unqualified people and passing them off as professionals. 

Unfortunately, a lot of EC's are doing the same, especially on the service end. They advertise how great they are, charge up the bum, and then turn a guy loose with a years experience at best.


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## Simpson Electric

Switched said:


> That is par for the course all over San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties..... For 6 years all I did was pretty much follow GC's and EC's around and fix all their mistakes and short cuts.
> 
> The contractors are attempting to capture as much profit as they can by just hiring unqualified people and passing them off as professionals.
> 
> Unfortunately, a lot of EC's are doing the same, especially on the service end. They advertise how great they are, charge up the bum, and then turn a guy loose with a years experience at best.


Absolutely. This work is my bread and butter. I finished 3 at the end of 2017. 

1 done by a "GC" with no permits. $45,000. Had to rewire the entire house. It was that bad. GC disappeared and the homeowner had to pay...

Second one was more like my uncle's job here but more appalling if you can believe it. A licensed GC actually brought in a licensed EC with permits, plans the whole nine. This guy **** all over this place. I should post some photos. Literally everything he touched was unsafe. The reason I think it was worse is that the contractors involved all knew what they were doing. They pulled permits for a limited portion of the work and tricked the inspectors and homeowners. There was obvious malicious intent. The homeowner called me to take a look at the work as he had suspicions that the work wasn't done right (he pulled open a trim plate and saw k & t wiring.). I confirmed his suspicions after requesting that all of the insulation be removed from the attic. What a disaster. The GC insisted the work was fine and tried to push the homeowner and I around like we were idiots. He ate his words, hard. I checked records and only about 25% of the electrical work was permitted. I had the city out and the inspector just shook his head. He issued a Notice of Corrections form and listed the violations. I took photos of everything. The GC has paid us over $35k to rewire after the homeowner threatened to sue him.


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## cbrooks

Wow


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## telsa

Simpson Electric said:


> Absolutely. This work is my bread and butter. I finished 3 at the end of 2017.
> 
> 1 done by a "GC" with no permits. $45,000. Had to rewire the entire house. It was that bad. GC disappeared and the homeowner had to pay...
> 
> Second one was more like my uncle's job here but more appalling if you can believe it. A licensed GC actually brought in a licensed EC with permits, plans the whole nine. This guy **** all over this place. I should post some photos. Literally everything he touched was unsafe. The reason I think it was worse is that the contractors involved all knew what they were doing. They pulled permits for a limited portion of the work and tricked the inspectors and homeowners. There was obvious malicious intent. The homeowner called me to take a look at the work as he had suspicions that the work wasn't done right (he pulled open a trim plate and saw k & t wiring.). I confirmed his suspicions after requesting that all of the insulation be removed from the attic. What a disaster. The GC insisted the work was fine and tried to push the homeowner and I around like we were idiots. He ate his words, hard. I checked records and only about 25% of the electrical work was permitted. I had the city out and the inspector just shook his head. He issued a Notice of Corrections form and listed the violations. I took photos of everything. The GC has paid us over $35k to rewire after the homeowner threatened to sue him.


No good deed should go unpunished.


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## mitch65

We sent an apprentice to show the inspector a job we had done, the inspector filled in the tag in his truck and got the apprentice to go put it on the panel, inspector never left his truck... This was a guy that had never seen our work before.


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## Simpson Electric

mitch65 said:


> We sent an apprentice to show the inspector a job we had done, the inspector filled in the tag in his truck and got the apprentice to go put it on the panel, inspector never left his truck... This was a guy that had never seen our work before.


Yep. Had that happen a couple times. I hate that. Especially when you make sure everything is perfect. 

The same inspector that inspected the OP job in the video inspected a job of mine recently. He literally RAN up to the job, stickered the panel and ran back to his car. Total inspection was less than 30 seconds.


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## adamclark52

mitch65 said:


> We sent an apprentice to show the inspector a job we had done, the inspector filled in the tag in his truck and got the apprentice to go put it on the panel, inspector never left his truck... This was a guy that had never seen our work before.





Simpson Electric said:


> Yep. Had that happen a couple times. I hate that. Especially when you make sure everything is perfect.
> 
> The same inspector that inspected the OP job in the video inspected a job of mine recently. He literally RAN up to the job, stickered the panel and ran back to his car. Total inspection was less than 30 seconds.


I've been applying for jobs as an inspector. For one my body is broken down and it would be a good next step for me.

But even moreso I just want an interview with them so *I* can ask them some questions.

Where does their job end? I've had inspectors on jobs doing wall rough-in and final inspections. But how do they know that there isn't a 12x12 box with no cover and twenty wires hanging out of it in the drop ceiling above where they're standing? How do they know that a guy only ran 1/2" conduit in the ceiling and pulled fifteen #12 wires through it? Or that they didn't run #14 wire for branch circuits in a commercial job (which I don't think you're supposed to do in Ontario, I know I never have)?

I just really want to know where their responsibility stops? Because if I was an inspector I wouldn't want to pass anything unless I was one hundred percent sure it was all legit, because aren't there a lot more ramifications on them passing a **** job and something bad happening than there are on contractors?


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## mitch65

adamclark52 said:


> I've been applying for jobs as an inspector. For one my body is broken down and it would be a good next step for me.
> 
> But even moreso I just want an interview with them so *I* can ask them some questions.
> 
> Where does their job end? I've had inspectors on jobs doing wall rough-in and final inspections. But how do they know that there isn't a 12x12 box with no cover and twenty wires hanging out of it in the drop ceiling above where they're standing? How do they know that a guy only ran 1/2" conduit in the ceiling and pulled fifteen #12 wires through it? Or that they didn't run #14 wire for branch circuits in a commercial job (which I don't think you're supposed to do in Ontario, I know I never have)?
> 
> I just really want to know where their responsibility stops? Because if I was an inspector I wouldn't want to pass anything unless I was one hundred percent sure it was all legit, because aren't there a lot more ramifications on them passing a **** job and something bad happening than there are on contractors?


Inspectors a$$es are well covered. Somewhere in the fine print on their report it says that they are only verifying that the work they saw appears to comply with existing code. In the end it will all fall on the insurance company of the guy that took the permit out and his employees that didn't follow the rules.


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## mitch65

Simpson Electric said:


> Yep. Had that happen a couple times. I hate that. Especially when you make sure everything is perfect.
> 
> The same inspector that inspected the OP job in the video inspected a job of mine recently. He literally RAN up to the job, stickered the panel and ran back to his car. Total inspection was less than 30 seconds.


The inspector we dealt with on that job did eventually get fired after electricians complained to his boss that he wasn't doing his job. How bad does an inspector have to be to get fired on complaints of the inspected that he is too lax?


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## overfused123

I feel bad for new owners being taken advantage of from MO, LARRY and Curly. its very easy to hide , not show your work when you don't want to. one, not wiring it till after the rough in. burying junction boxes under insulation. really, not knowing WTF your doing.........but you got the light to work!!!!. the true problem is not the workings(you peanuts, you get monkeys), its the home owners not vetting there contractors and the contractor NGAS about qualified electricians working for them. and some(not all) inspectors walking in testing one GFCI outlets and passing a 1800 sq ft addition and walking out, that's why we find some much of this garage wiring and bad practices. I give my employees two tests if they want to work for me, and its all about the code book how to look up an article and common sense things like 3-ways and fours ways. there no pass or fail, it shows me what thaey dony know.... now i know what there worth. Most do good on the practical stuff, all are weak on NEC CODE. its up to us to train every employee and office staff too(not everyone knows how to answer i phone properly). Sorry I'm long winded, it easy to shake your head and laugh at these fire hazards and absurd mistakes, but you may be living in one of these places......so check your smokes detectors ASAP


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## overfused123

i should proof read first...sorry


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