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RicodJour RicodJour is offline
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Default Wow those drinks go so fast!

On Apr 7, 2:16 pm, wrote:
I have hired a team of electrician (3 of them) to do some re-wiring of
the house I am working on. They are 50% completion and I have been
furnishing all the materials.

Something that bothers me.

I hooked up a fridge and told them to help themselves, I asked them
what they like and everyone seems to like Arizona ice tea or
Gatorade. So I stock the fridge full with those drinks.

Problem, at the end of the day I go around and between the three of
them it is not unusual that I found 15 or more drink bottles. They
drink a lot? Noooooo... most of those are 80% full. So they worked
in the kitchen, went and got a drink, took three sips, leave it
sitting on a half framed wall, 30 minutes later he moves up into the
attic to pull some wire, goes to the fridge and pull out a new cold
drink, carries it into the attic, took three sips and sat it down in
the attic...so at the end of the day they went through half a dozen
16oz drinks but only drank a little out of each.

Same thing with materials. I got them a box of EMT couplings, 50 of
them, three days later they needed more, ok another 50, then another
50, I started to wonder, that is 150 EMT couplings, they have not laid
that much pipes. I walked around and round up everything and yes I
have 3 boxes of couplings, almost 90% full in each of them, so they
forgot where they left something and ordered new. Same thing with
wire nuts, connectors, MC connectors, reducing washers, switch plates,
outlets etc...just seemed to be misplaced.

Now I am not worried too much about these materials, compared to the
labor it's insignificant, but is that an indication that they may be
sloppy and absent minded in the wiring as well?


Surfeit does not make people happy. It makes them wasteful. Bob
Allison has it right with the big jug of Gatorade. Give them three
plastic cups and use a Sharpie marker to put their initials on each
cup. It's a little late in the game to switch, and you might be
shooting yourself in the foot by doing so, so maybe you should just
stock that fridge with three or four bottles per man.

Electricians should be able to estimate their material needs to within
10%. You should have done a takeoff before starting the job and had
the estimated amount of materials on the job with a bit over for the
unforeseen. In reality, you're probably not saving much money at all
by buying the materials. The electricians will have an account with
their local supply house and will pay no more than you pay at a big
box store, probably less, and they'll get the same or better
materials.

Those additional materials will start disappearing. Ask them for a
list of what they'll need to finish the job and then give them that
and only that. You're living at the house, right? So if they run out
they can just ask you for additional.

R