On Wed, 19 Dec 2007 07:40:47 -0800, The Ranger wrote:
AZ Nomad wrote in message
...
[snip]
If you know what you're doing, then pull a permit, do
the work yourself, and let the city do the inspection.
They're going to anyway.

That's what I did and it worked out better than I thought. The
inspectors (there were three in the dept.) checked my progress
throughout my remodel and each found minor areas that needed
attention. It saved me several thousand in labor _and_ a bottle of
Kay-yoa and a few rolls of Rolaids.

Good luck with it.

I had a house in the 90's that had the feed into the electrical panel burn
out after about 5 months of ownership. One of the 220 feeds was loose and
the resistance caused it to get hot enough to take out the terminal.

Called an electrician and he told me that because of a "flat roof" over the
rear patio under wire from telephone pole, the pole for the incoming wire had to be
raised 6 feet. He said that the ground at the panel had to be made to
plumbing and that he'd have to run a wire around the garage to the water feed
for the house. And of course, a new panel. $3500.

Then I remembered about a home warranty that came with the house. Called
them and they sent an electrician who replaced the panel, and who drove in a
new ground rod in the ground outside behind the panel. The bill he submitted
was about $750. Inspectors came and liked the job. Said the ground was
perfect. Didn't say anything about the wire feed pole.

Electricians are in the same group as plumbers, garage door repairmen, and
car mechanics. Most are OK; but there are some bad ones out there who selfishly
try to get away with anything they can. There are also whole companies that have
policies equal to the worst of them. Do any of those garage door repair
companies starting with the letter A use the same company for a whole two
years? I have a hunch that they reincorporate on a yearly basis to avoid
warranty claims.