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| Subject - time to wire house | |
| david |
we seem not to be able to wire houses in the time that the builders need them done.we use a two man team.using more people on tend to make mistakes that cost us time on the finish |
| lctrc789 | I think that most builders think we are supermen sometimes, they want them done in a day in some cases (depending on the sq.ft. of home of course) With the new codes and grounding codes and so many new appliances that should be on seperate circuits, there is certainly a lot more work then there used to be. Then you have the homeowners in some cases that want to add things or perhaps you have suggestions to improve something, this all takes time. What is the best thing to do is to do it right to avoid mistakes HASTE MAKES WASTE and if you have several guys doing the same house it can create problems for sure. How many men 2 per homes? How big is the house? Do they have a lot of eccentric lighting, outdoorlighting? Many things to look at as to why it takes longer then the builder suggest. |
| david | PAT THE HOUSES ARE 2500/3000 SQ FEET THERE ABOUT 15/20 RECESSED FIXURES FINISH BASEMENTS THERE IS ALWAYS FRAMING, HEATING,PLUMBING TO BE DONE BEFORE WE CAN FINISH, WITH CHANGES IN THE ELECTRICAL TOO |
| Mike Delaney | That sounds like a classic track home builder to me. Everyone is scheduled the same day, roofers, siders, plumbers, and tin benders. I use to wire Melody Homes, and they would want 3 roughs a week, move your boxes and wire from one house to the next, didn't need a plan, just start boxing and drilling, it was fun, do house down one side of the street and back the other...its a young mans sport, I still enjoy busting out those little houses now and again. But I would rather stick with semi-custom, custom. |
| Electricman | David, I do exactly the same job you describe. I am the foreman of all the custom homes that our company wires. The houses we do are anywhere from 1000 sqft to 5000 sqft. I also primarily use a 2 man team sometimes 3-4 if my employer can free up some manpower. Its almost a catch 22 using more guys because of the reasons you mentioned (more mistakes, code violations) its awful tough to keep an eye on those who have less expierience and knowlege than yourself if you are rushed. I have been given some unbielievable time lines myself, on getting things done, which in turn have led to some mighty long days.I agree with Pat, builders often dont relize how long a competent electrical installation takes. I have been blessed though for the custom builder that I work for is almost always willing to give you that extra day here and there if you really need it. Usually my partner and I can rough in up to 3500 sqft homes in 3 days, but I feel your pain brother for I have worked for contrators who insisted upon 1 day rough ins on 2800 sqft homes. |
| side-cut1 | I agree with everyone on this one. The tract home builders in my area sometimes think that we are magicians not electricians. We have been getting 1200 to 1500 sq. ft. ranch style homes done in one day with a 2 man crew, depending on the extras involved. Most of the 2 story homes we do take anywhere from 2 to 3 1/2 days. The homes have gotten bigger and what used to be an option in the houses has now become standard. As mentioned by all, the builders don't truly understand how important it is not to just fly through an installation,only leads to problems and headaches in the future. |
| lctrc789 | I started out doing new homes in 1978 and got out of that in 1983 and I know what you mean. They want you to rush through them and it is easy to forget and make mistakes. I do wire a few homes with my small res. business that I have with my two sons doing work. I don't let them hurry me and you are right it is a young mans game. Many Homeowners I deal with I sit down with them and explain extras as far as lighting, fans, outdoor lighting, extra circuits, recpts. and anyhting else from cable to telephone jacks. I also give them ideas on many of these so I am not stuck down the road with extras after it is to late. Many builders want just the minimum and that is part of the problem, they do not consider the homeowners at all. I still say take your time do it right so you don't have to go back and tear out drywall or add something later. good luck |
| Mike Delaney | I still get excited roughing houses..sound weird? I like to go fast, but still do a nice enough job, so at the end of the day I can admire the work. Does anyone take pictures? |
| JimmyDee | I know a contractor from Grand Rapids, Michigan that not only takes pictures, he takes a movie of all the boxes, wires, runs etc. so if there is a problem, he has an idea of where it might of gone wrong. He talks as he is taking the movie about the job. When the house is finished and a respectable amount of time has passed, he re-records over the old tape. Claims this practice has saved him many times in the past. The other thing I learned from him was, taking a flo orange spray can and putting a spot on the floor by the wall directly under the wall boxes. Also under each can light and light opening. Drywallers sometimes cover a box and this make it clear where the boxes should be and save a ton of time looking for them. This has saved me several times on one job. Jim |
| Mike Delaney | JimmyDee, I think marking the floor is a GREAT idea! I recently got a digital camera, I plan on taking pictures of each house and burning them on CD, and possibly selling them to the future homeowners. I've looked on the net for wiring pictures of multi-million dollar homes and stuff...but no luck finding anything cool. |
| JimmyDee | I like the CD idea. It is fast, cheap and with a 250 gig hard drive, you could store a ton of houses and or commercial jobs on it. Any future problems, you have a record of the work. I think that is a great idea. You could also record a voice description and save that as a wav file if you felt the need. Jim |