Yes.... in FL we all got screwed.. Home owners and honest workers... To this day, thousands work without license and 10,000 work without skill...... 😨 scary
I'm a project engineer by profession (15 years) ME by education. I work with a ton of contractors and have seen just about every flyby night and replicable contractor out there. When working on my place, I write up exactly what I want done, area by area. I will take pictures/sketch-up and add comments to ensure the contractors know exactly what I want completed. Have I gotten screwed, yes both professionally and at home. It happens, even to those that have experience. I have now watched about 4 of your videos. I really like your style. Your down to earth. You really bring education in to every video. You really do a great job! Please keep your content coming.
Just clarifying a comment made at the end of the video when talking about licensing that some jurisdictions to require continuing education to maintain an electrical license. In TX, we have to show proof of CE every year in order to renew our license.
Another reason that some contractors can bid so low is because they are sending unlicensed guys to your house. They pay those guys half of what a real electrician demands! Great video, keep em coming!!!!!!
@@charleshill7184 well kinda, at least in Colorado, apprentice should be signed up with state, not just a helper. Apprentice cant work in your home or business without sup.
@@jeremiahnewsom7775 Have you checked the definition of "supervision"? WV legally defines it as ""Supervise or Supervision" -- means the drafting, coordinating and direction of the design, layout and load calculations of electrical systems. It is the intent of the word "supervise or supervision" that electrical design, layout and calculations be done by a Master Electrician. Supervision does not require that a master electricial to physically present with a journeyman electrician during the electrical work. Assistant/helper electricians shall be supervised by a Master or Journeyman electrician." And in May of this year did away with "apprentice" and changed all references to "helper" in State Code. Also bumped Master down to 2 years experience and Journeyman down to 1 -- plus tests. Things are getting desperate for skilled trades over here.
Joel keep knocking it out of the park. I just love the professionalism and the great advice you offer electricians. Never go down the easy and less professional route.
You'll probably hear stories about "This customer" that insisted on metal junction boxes and separate ground wires in addition to grounds in the Romex, even with metal conduit.
12k for a rewire. I never bid remodels at piece rate. I bid the material that way. Then I charge per day or hour for the work. Just never know what you could run into, with remodels. Last one I did, I kid you not.... Had 4 types of insulation in the attic, all working together..... Customer tried to rewire some, but just cut and hacked out lines. Which made me have to fully trouble shoot the switch boxes. If I did that job at piece rate, Id be at a huge loss.
Even with a handyman or other, owner builder permits are fine. No honest worker will mind being inspected. If the electrical work is light and owner wants to keep costs down, the owner builder permit can save hundreds, and still get inspected and finalized. At one time I had more than 40 business licenses in SoCal, of which costs were passed on to the customer in that city along with the permit fees and my time waiting in line in each city, and share that info with customers so they can make the decision, and yes itemize my estimates and invoices.
we have had a 200 amp put into the house we moved into 2 years ago. It was uncool that the panel was hung at an angle and there reason was they used the holes from the old panel. it is in the basement but I thought it was unprofessional. All the wiring was done well. Since then we have had a 2nd contractor come in and inspect what we paid for. They just were not happy that the panel is 1/2 in slope.
That first statement is very very true! I just quit a place with 4 trucks absolutely no markings! Researched the guy turns out to be unlicensed (he’s using someone Else’s) He’s a convicted federal felon and he’s never been an electrician ever! Billed out over $30k for him in a month he paid me $3300.00 and the things he had me do to customers was criminal! I really should have looked into him sooner!
For large industrial work, we have plant engineers, plus our license, bond, liability on record, plus whomever in local gubmint who wants to inspect. For commercial construction, the GCs have everything and inspectors for each phase. For certain types of military, telecom, clearance related stuff, they basically trust us, as long as we are observed and checked by their guy. In such cases I've always exceeded their expectations, to get on a nice report, and also not to irritate them in any way. Those are the last guys on Earth you want to disappoint.
As for the advertising or lettering of vehicles. It doesn't constant to fraud or non-professional electrician. I am a professional electrician for 40 years. In my own business for the last 20. My town doesn't allow commercial vehicles or see condo association where I live also doesn't allow commercial vehicles. I'm a one-man shop and I work out of my van. Series not one customer I have that can tell you I'm a cheat or fraud. So not all contractors that don't have lettering on their trucks fall into that category.
I had my house re piped 2 months ago,. When finished the plumber asked if the inspector can swing by the next day. The inspector didn't do much and said these guys do good work. When my dad hired an electrician to replace the panel at my aunt's house the electrician did the work hot. As a home owner (not an electrician) I did my own panel. I failed to get a pre inspection so I ended up doing more work then planned but I did pass inspection. I also spend two days in the dark because my coworker (lineman) disconnected my power so the utility didn't have a disconnect record. 😬
I liked this video and I think you answered it but I want to be clear. So I am going to have an electrician come to my home and put in a receptacle for EV charging and I will purchase what receptable he suggests because he is an approved electrician(hopefully Tesla does a good job checking him) but do each electrician that comes to the house have to have a licensed or does he/she work under a license for their electric company(I understand there are some electricians in training that might not be licensed yet and they will have their work checked by licensed electricians. So are each electrician licensed, or do they all work under a license owned by the electrical company, like Jefferson Electric in your case)? If they give a license # I should be able to check some online site to see who the owner of the license i# is they give and the scope of work, they can perform?
I had a couple of items I'd been wanting to get done for months. Adding a remote control receiver to a ceiling fan and adding an outlet into a closet for charging a cordless vacuum. I could not get any electrician in the area to do the work because the job was too small and/or they were booked out for months. I finally found someone who could come out and I know I got overcharged. I paid close to $900 for the two things to be done, but they were done correctly, they cleaned up after themselves (there were two people) and they did put their sticker in the panel for permit verification on the extra outlet.
Small jobs of any type can be brutal to get done at a decent price. I had some minor roof damage after a big windstorm came through. Needed about a 20x20 section of room re shingled... Finding a contractor who was even interested in doing such a small job was difficult enough, but even then finding one that wasn't going to charge almost 1/2 the price of a whole replacement was impossible. Ended up learning a little roofing and doing it myself for a couple hundred bucks. Well it isn't leaking yet at least. I know why contractors don't like doing small jobs, but man does it suck when you need such work done.
Yep. All trades HATE small jobs, unless you know them or are family. The first Electrician I worked for would WAY over bid small jobs on purpose. Telling me later the reasons why. Including distance to job, time on job, how far ahead we where booked, the job won't pay or just simply "I don't want to do it".
I hired an electrician that lowballed his job of rewiring a knob&tube wired house. After completing around 40-50% of the job asked for another 100% over his original bid. We went back and forth, I told him that he could continue the job if he gave me a written work order with a line-by-line description of what he was going to do, with the final cost of the job. His written work order stated: Joe's Electric will do everything discussed for another $3,500. That was his written estimate; ONE line for a complete house rewire. I didn't let him back into my house. Although two months later he did come to my door and wouldn't leave until the cops kicked him out, and they filed a restraining order against him.
Good pointers on most of what you Said in the video. However... My state requires 8 hours per year continuing ed for masters lic. and 6 hour for contractors lic. So any active license holder has at least limited refresher ed. More than can be said about your doctors, nurses, pilots. •Kicked around doing logos on my vans and decided against it on the advice of my insurance guy. He showed me some stats on the increased thefts and lawsuits involved in logo bedazzled work trucks vs. non bedazzled. It was multiple times higher. •Being a smaller company all my work is repeat/recommended by friends,family, neighbors, associates. Advertising is a thing of the past for me. My reputation precedes me, although to be fair it's taken a decade to get to that point.
I Recently I had an electrician wire an electric hot water heater. After he left I realized he did not install a GFCI circuit breaker, nor did he pull a permit. I just pulled a permit to wire an above ground pool. The inspector and electric parts wholesaler have been great with helping me get what is needed to pass the inspection. I will let you know when I pass!
Would like to add that when you are making a payment, you should ask the contractor to give you a "waiver of lein" document. Otherwise, he can go to the county clerk and file a "lein" on your property and you will not be able to sell it until it is paid.
No personal experience as I've always gone DIY or consulted with my uncle who worked as an electrician for years. He's now retired but still knows his stuff.
My house rewiring (years ago) was made without doing the proper quote… result: the “professional” had a complete misunderstanding of the scope and his electrical knowledge was quite outdated (what was a surprise, since he worked as comercial/industrial electrician), treating ground and neutral as the same thing just because the neutral is grounded at the meter-box, so the house end up completely wired with green cables for neutral and no ground (aka worst than before).
I don’t think this person was a commercial or Industrial Electrician… I work as an Industrial and Commercial Electrician… I NEVER mix colors of green and white. NEVER!! They are completely different things. Most likely this guy was a “Maintance Electrician” … learn on the job…. No license.
I do excellent work, I have an old trailblazer that I use... so the branding thing is not always true. I refuse to go into debt for a new vehicle in my first years of business... also, untuck that damn shirt lol
It could be argued, that people go out and buy NEW truck (for appearance) then have to REALLY chase down LOTS of jobs to pay for that appearance. I believe in QUALITY jobs, not QUANTITY and a fair price, not a gouging price to pay for my 'appearance ' .
I think you use the words "Electrician" and Electrical Contractor" to describe the same thing. They are not. In Oregon, you can be an "Electrician" and not an "Electrical Contractor" And vice versa. Most Electricians work for an Electrical Contractor, and are usually Journeyman Electricians. Some are Supervising(Master) Electricians. Very few are Electrical Contractors. Home owners in Oregon are allowed to do Electrical work on their own home, but they must still get a permit and have their work inspected. I think most States allow that. All individual electrical licenses in Oregon require Continuing Education. Thanks, Russ from Oregon
My mother had a SUPPOSEDLY licensed Electrician put in an outside Sub box. He DID run a ground but it was LONG like 75 feet and the first place was to the GAS line. That's right he terminated it twice. It was later replaced more competently to a proper clad in-the-ground stake with only a 7 ft run to it. And code was checked before having this done. It is odd that the same electrician later added a ground fault socket to a distant wall for heating unit that required it and he then used a stake to ground this socket. I am surprised he couldn't find a gas line to ground this one too.
⚠️ Electrical ⚡️ Contractors are NOT a Scam…. Exception ~~> When the electrician is a Pregnant Male 🫃. Ha! Seriously… great videos and great channel. Thanks from a retired & old as dirt (& Retired) electrician. Let’s Go Brandon…. FJB !
hello,we are looking for partners to make promotion on our 4K security camera system. Do you have a plan to install one and show to your viewers. if so,we can sponsor one to you. Any interested in such sponsorshp？i had DM you in ins and waiting for you reply,thanks.
Yes.... in FL we all got screwed..
Home owners and honest workers...
To this day, thousands work without license and 10,000 work without skill...... 😨 scary
I'm a project engineer by profession (15 years) ME by education. I work with a ton of contractors and have seen just about every flyby night and replicable contractor out there. When working on my place, I write up exactly what I want done, area by area. I will take pictures/sketch-up and add comments to ensure the contractors know exactly what I want completed. Have I gotten screwed, yes both professionally and at home. It happens, even to those that have experience.
I have now watched about 4 of your videos. I really like your style. Your down to earth. You really bring education in to every video. You really do a great job! Please keep your content coming.
Just clarifying a comment made at the end of the video when talking about licensing that some jurisdictions to require continuing education to maintain an electrical license. In TX, we have to show proof of CE every year in order to renew our license.
you have become a great watch for me and my husband since we saw you on Stud Pack. You really give some great advice and teaching.
Church Point?
thanks for the advice.
Another reason that some contractors can bid so low is because they are sending unlicensed guys to your house. They pay those guys half of what a real electrician demands! Great video, keep em coming!!!!!!
Aren't those called "Apprentices"? 😁
@@charleshill7184 well kinda, at least in Colorado, apprentice should be signed up with state, not just a helper. Apprentice cant work in your home or business without sup.
@@jeremiahnewsom7775 Have you checked the definition of "supervision"? WV legally defines it as ""Supervise or Supervision" -- means the drafting, coordinating and direction of the design, layout and load calculations of electrical systems. It is the intent of the word "supervise or supervision" that electrical design, layout and calculations be done by a Master Electrician. Supervision does not require that a master electricial to physically present with a journeyman electrician during the electrical work. Assistant/helper electricians shall be supervised by a Master or Journeyman electrician."
And in May of this year did away with "apprentice" and changed all references to "helper" in State Code. Also bumped Master down to 2 years experience and Journeyman down to 1 -- plus tests. Things are getting desperate for skilled trades over here.
“If you wanna save money, pay full price.“
Awesome video. I’d like to see,”Is my customer just a con artist” too for small business owners😀
00:01 Yes, one of the first things that raises my suspicions is when a guy shows up in an unmarked truck.
Joel keep knocking it out of the park. I just love the professionalism and the great advice you offer electricians. Never go down the easy and less professional route.
You'll probably hear stories about "This customer" that insisted on metal junction boxes and separate ground wires in addition to grounds in the Romex, even with metal conduit.
A very awesome video. You are very professional.
Electrical licensing in the state of Maryland requires continuing Education credits.
Great info and video.
12k for a rewire. I never bid remodels at piece rate. I bid the material that way. Then I charge per day or hour for the work. Just never know what you could run into, with remodels. Last one I did, I kid you not.... Had 4 types of insulation in the attic, all working together..... Customer tried to rewire some, but just cut and hacked out lines. Which made me have to fully trouble shoot the switch boxes. If I did that job at piece rate, Id be at a huge loss.
In Colorado you need 24hrs of continuing education to renew your license. I think they started this in 2014.
Hey Joel did do a video on the big rewire at the electctical engineers house?
This one? ua-cam.com/video/VHgPeK_h4Wk/v-deo.html
Even with a handyman or other, owner builder permits are fine. No honest worker will mind being inspected. If the electrical work is light and owner wants to keep costs down, the owner builder permit can save hundreds, and still get inspected and finalized. At one time I had more than 40 business licenses in SoCal, of which costs were passed on to the customer in that city along with the permit fees and my time waiting in line in each city, and share that info with customers so they can make the decision, and yes itemize my estimates and invoices.
we have had a 200 amp put into the house we moved into 2 years ago. It was uncool that the panel was hung at an angle and there reason was they used the holes from the old panel. it is in the basement but I thought it was unprofessional. All the wiring was done well. Since then we have had a 2nd contractor come in and inspect what we paid for. They just were not happy that the panel is 1/2 in slope.
Agreed! Beauty matters.
Check that they have pulled the permit. That can be an expensive item that they want to pocket the money for.
A roofer I contacted refused to give references because of privacy issues!
😬😶
I love how organized your workbench is.
Hey, that looks like my work bench!
That first statement is very very true! I just quit a place with 4 trucks absolutely no markings! Researched the guy turns out to be unlicensed (he’s using someone Else’s) He’s a convicted federal felon and he’s never been an electrician ever! Billed out over $30k for him in a month he paid me $3300.00 and the things he had me do to customers was criminal! I really should have looked into him sooner!
$12k for a partial rewire!?
In Minnesota, we have an online database anyone can access to lookup a contractor or business and see if they are licensed to do work in this state.
same in michigan. LARA website
A lot of these petty local regulations are pushed by the established players in a trade in order to keep up-in-coming little guys out of 'their' turf.
For large industrial work, we have plant engineers, plus our license, bond, liability on record, plus whomever in local gubmint who wants to inspect. For commercial construction, the GCs have everything and inspectors for each phase. For certain types of military, telecom, clearance related stuff, they basically trust us, as long as we are observed and checked by their guy. In such cases I've always exceeded their expectations, to get on a nice report, and also not to irritate them in any way. Those are the last guys on Earth you want to disappoint.
As for the advertising or lettering of vehicles. It doesn't constant to fraud or non-professional electrician. I am a professional electrician for 40 years. In my own business for the last 20. My town doesn't allow commercial vehicles or see condo association where I live also doesn't allow commercial vehicles. I'm a one-man shop and I work out of my van. Series not one customer I have that can tell you I'm a cheat or fraud. So not all contractors that don't have lettering on their trucks fall into that category.
I had my house re piped 2 months ago,. When finished the plumber asked if the inspector can swing by the next day. The inspector didn't do much and said these guys do good work. When my dad hired an electrician to replace the panel at my aunt's house the electrician did the work hot. As a home owner (not an electrician) I did my own panel. I failed to get a pre inspection so I ended up doing more work then planned but I did pass inspection. I also spend two days in the dark because my coworker (lineman) disconnected my power so the utility didn't have a disconnect record. 😬
So you put your friends job at jeopardy just to work on your panel instead of having a pro electrician do it
I check Google and next door to see which tradesman my neighbors are recommending or avoiding
I liked this video and I think you answered it but I want to be clear. So I am going to have an electrician come to my home and put in a receptacle for EV charging and I will purchase what receptable he suggests because he is an approved electrician(hopefully Tesla does a good job checking him) but do each electrician that comes to the house have to have a licensed or does he/she work under a license for their electric company(I understand there are some electricians in training that might not be licensed yet and they will have their work checked by licensed electricians. So are each electrician licensed, or do they all work under a license owned by the electrical company, like Jefferson Electric in your case)? If they give a license # I should be able to check some online site to see who the owner of the license i# is they give and the scope of work, they can perform?
I had a couple of items I'd been wanting to get done for months. Adding a remote control receiver to a ceiling fan and adding an outlet into a closet for charging a cordless vacuum. I could not get any electrician in the area to do the work because the job was too small and/or they were booked out for months. I finally found someone who could come out and I know I got overcharged. I paid close to $900 for the two things to be done, but they were done correctly, they cleaned up after themselves (there were two people) and they did put their sticker in the panel for permit verification on the extra outlet.
Small jobs of any type can be brutal to get done at a decent price. I had some minor roof damage after a big windstorm came through. Needed about a 20x20 section of room re shingled... Finding a contractor who was even interested in doing such a small job was difficult enough, but even then finding one that wasn't going to charge almost 1/2 the price of a whole replacement was impossible. Ended up learning a little roofing and doing it myself for a couple hundred bucks. Well it isn't leaking yet at least.
I know why contractors don't like doing small jobs, but man does it suck when you need such work done.
Yep. All trades HATE small jobs, unless you know them or are family. The first Electrician I worked for would WAY over bid small jobs on purpose. Telling me later the reasons why. Including distance to job, time on job, how far ahead we where booked, the job won't pay or just simply "I don't want to do it".
Good. Stuff man
I hired an electrician that lowballed his job of rewiring a knob&tube wired house. After completing around 40-50% of the job asked for another 100% over his original bid. We went back and forth, I told him that he could continue the job if he gave me a written work order with a line-by-line description of what he was going to do, with the final cost of the job. His written work order stated: Joe's Electric will do everything discussed for another $3,500. That was his written estimate; ONE line for a complete house rewire.
I didn't let him back into my house. Although two months later he did come to my door and wouldn't leave until the cops kicked him out, and they filed a restraining order against him.
lol tell the whole story, how much material was left inside your house that you wouldnt let him take
I haven't put an logos on my truck..... Mainly because of the cost.
But I think that makes sense though.
Good pointers on most of what you Said in the video. However...
My state requires 8 hours per year continuing ed for masters lic. and 6 hour for contractors lic. So any active license holder has at least limited refresher ed. More than can be said about your doctors, nurses, pilots.
•Kicked around doing logos on my vans and decided against it on the advice of my insurance guy. He showed me some stats on the increased thefts and lawsuits involved in logo bedazzled work trucks vs. non bedazzled. It was multiple times higher.
•Being a smaller company all my work is repeat/recommended by friends,family, neighbors, associates. Advertising is a thing of the past for me. My reputation precedes me, although to be fair it's taken a decade to get to that point.
I Recently I had an electrician wire an electric hot water heater. After he left I realized he did not install a GFCI circuit breaker, nor did he pull a permit. I just pulled a permit to wire an above ground pool. The inspector and electric parts wholesaler have been great with helping me get what is needed to pass the inspection. I will let you know when I pass!
Not sure where you are, but in MI. you would not need a GFCI breaker
You need a permit to wire a water heater?
@@stephen1193 if someone else is doing it, yes
Would like to add that when you are making a payment, you should ask the contractor to give you a "waiver of lein" document. Otherwise, he can go to the county clerk and file a "lein" on your property and you will not be able to sell it until it is paid.
Actually continuing education is required Every 3 yearsif you want to maintain your license At least in Oregon I know that
In MI. it is every new code cycle. We are still on 2017. so will not have to reup until we adopt 2023
No personal experience as I've always gone DIY or consulted with my uncle who worked as an electrician for years. He's now retired but still knows his stuff.
My house rewiring (years ago) was made without doing the proper quote… result: the “professional” had a complete misunderstanding of the scope and his electrical knowledge was quite outdated (what was a surprise, since he worked as comercial/industrial electrician), treating ground and neutral as the same thing just because the neutral is grounded at the meter-box, so the house end up completely wired with green cables for neutral and no ground (aka worst than before).
I don’t think this person was a commercial or Industrial Electrician… I work as an Industrial and Commercial Electrician… I NEVER mix colors of green and white. NEVER!! They are completely different things. Most likely this guy was a “Maintance Electrician” … learn on the job…. No license.
@@VadimDrevenchuk groundED vs. groundING :D
I add to the so organized workbench.............Please practice what you preach.
I do excellent work, I have an old trailblazer that I use... so the branding thing is not always true. I refuse to go into debt for a new vehicle in my first years of business... also, untuck that damn shirt lol
It could be argued, that people go out and buy NEW truck (for appearance) then have to REALLY chase down LOTS of jobs to pay for that appearance. I believe in QUALITY jobs, not QUANTITY and a fair price, not a gouging price to pay for my 'appearance ' .
Great info!!!
Or the contractor is paying his guys as 1099 and not paying employment tax and worker comp
I think you use the words "Electrician" and Electrical Contractor" to describe the same thing. They are not. In Oregon, you can be an "Electrician" and not an "Electrical Contractor" And vice versa. Most Electricians work for an Electrical Contractor, and are usually Journeyman Electricians. Some are Supervising(Master) Electricians. Very few are Electrical Contractors. Home owners in Oregon are allowed to do Electrical work on their own home, but they must still get a permit and have their work inspected. I think most States allow that. All individual electrical licenses in Oregon require Continuing Education. Thanks, Russ from Oregon
My mother had a SUPPOSEDLY licensed Electrician put in an outside Sub box. He DID run a ground but it was LONG like 75 feet and the first place was to the GAS line. That's right he terminated it twice. It was later replaced more competently to a proper clad in-the-ground stake with only a 7 ft run to it. And code was checked before having this done. It is odd that the same electrician later added a ground fault socket to a distant wall for heating unit that required it and he then used a stake to ground this socket. I am surprised he couldn't find a gas line to ground this one too.
You can have a qualifier pull a permit for you.
I believe so.
Lol 😂 Who is this guy you’re just as big as a hustler as anybody
⚠️ Electrical ⚡️ Contractors are NOT a Scam….
Exception ~~> When the electrician is a Pregnant Male 🫃.
Ha!
Seriously… great videos and great channel. Thanks from a retired & old as dirt (& Retired) electrician.
Let’s Go Brandon…. FJB !
hello,we are looking for partners to make promotion on our 4K security camera system. Do you have a plan to install one and show to your viewers. if so,we can sponsor one to you. Any interested in such sponsorshp？i had DM you in ins and waiting for you reply,thanks.
@@ElectricProAcademy You're too nice