The Electrician's Credo, part XXXIV
 

I swear, there must be a vow that all licensed electricians take before
setting out to work on their own. I believe it could be summed up thus:

XXXIV. Thou shalt never affix identifying labels to any
household breaker panels.

What is it with these guys? Yesterday I saw a new client, looked at
their panel in the garage to try to figure out which one the back-porch
light was on, and, sure 'nuf, not a SINGLE MARKING anywhere to disturb
the pristine beauty of the blank box.

I guess it just isn't macho enough to actually let the poor ******* who
owns the house know which breaker goes where.

(On the other hand, another client is the ultimate counter-example: both
of their breaker boxes have envelopes taped to their doors, inside of
which is a complete list of breakers and devices on each. But I suspect
that's because one of their sons did a lot of remodeling work for their
parents.)


--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute
conversation with the average voter.

- Attributed to Winston Churchill

The Electrician's Credo, part XXXIV
 

On Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:30:26 -0700, David Nebenzahl
wrote:

I swear, there must be a vow that all licensed electricians take before
setting out to work on their own. I believe it could be summed up thus:

XXXIV. Thou shalt never affix identifying labels to any
household breaker panels.

What is it with these guys? Yesterday I saw a new client, looked at
their panel in the garage to try to figure out which one the back-porch
light was on, and, sure 'nuf, not a SINGLE MARKING anywhere to disturb
the pristine beauty of the blank box.

I guess it just isn't macho enough to actually let the poor ******* who
owns the house know which breaker goes where.


Pull the cover off the panel, All the wires are marked in Spanish.

Translate that into English and mark / label the panel. Job well done!


(On the other hand, another client is the ultimate counter-example: both
of their breaker boxes have envelopes taped to their doors, inside of
which is a complete list of breakers and devices on each. But I suspect
that's because one of their sons did a lot of remodeling work for their
parents.)

The Electrician's Credo, part XXXIV
 

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
s.com...
I swear, there must be a vow that all licensed electricians take before
setting out to work on their own. I believe it could be summed up thus:

XXXIV. Thou shalt never affix identifying labels to any
household breaker panels.

What is it with these guys? Yesterday I saw a new client, looked at their
panel in the garage to try to figure out which one the back-porch light
was on, and, sure 'nuf, not a SINGLE MARKING anywhere to disturb the
pristine beauty of the blank box.

I guess it just isn't macho enough to actually let the poor ******* who
owns the house know which breaker goes where.

(On the other hand, another client is the ultimate counter-example: both
of their breaker boxes have envelopes taped to their doors, inside of
which is a complete list of breakers and devices on each. But I suspect
that's because one of their sons did a lot of remodeling work for their
parents.)


--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute
conversation with the average voter.

- Attributed to Winston Churchill

The NEC requires the panel to be labeled, but it's doubtful that any
electrician is going to make up charts showing each light and outlet in a
dwelling. Typically you'll get general labels like first floor lighting ,
bedroom outlets, etc.

The Electrician's Credo, part XXXIV
 

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
s.com...
I swear, there must be a vow that all licensed electricians take before
setting out to work on their own. I believe it could be summed up thus:

XXXIV. Thou shalt never affix identifying labels to any
household breaker panels.

What is it with these guys? Yesterday I saw a new client, looked at their
panel in the garage to try to figure out which one the back-porch light
was on, and, sure 'nuf, not a SINGLE MARKING anywhere to disturb the
pristine beauty of the blank box.

I guess it just isn't macho enough to actually let the poor ******* who
owns the house know which breaker goes where.

(On the other hand, another client is the ultimate counter-example: both
of their breaker boxes have envelopes taped to their doors, inside of
which is a complete list of breakers and devices on each. But I suspect
that's because one of their sons did a lot of remodeling work for their
parents.)


"The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of a low
price is forgotten"

The Electrician's Credo, part XXXIV
 

wrote:

On Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:17:11 -0400, "RBM" wrote:


"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
rs.com...
I swear, there must be a vow that all licensed electricians take before
setting out to work on their own. I believe it could be summed up thus:

XXXIV. Thou shalt never affix identifying labels to any
household breaker panels.

What is it with these guys? Yesterday I saw a new client, looked at their
panel in the garage to try to figure out which one the back-porch light
was on, and, sure 'nuf, not a SINGLE MARKING anywhere to disturb the
pristine beauty of the blank box.

I guess it just isn't macho enough to actually let the poor ******* who
owns the house know which breaker goes where.

(On the other hand, another client is the ultimate counter-example: both
of their breaker boxes have envelopes taped to their doors, inside of
which is a complete list of breakers and devices on each. But I suspect
that's because one of their sons did a lot of remodeling work for their
parents.)


--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute
conversation with the average voter.

- Attributed to Winston Churchill

The NEC requires the panel to be labeled, but it's doubtful that any
electrician is going to make up charts showing each light and outlet in a
dwelling. Typically you'll get general labels like first floor lighting ,
bedroom outlets, etc.


The electrician that wired my house made a computer printed label that
lists everything. Of course I was that electrician. I used a paint
program and made lines to look like the breakers, then filled in the
data.

Similar here, when I replaced my panel I mapped every circuit and made a
CAD print of the whole house with every fixture and receptacle marked
with circuit number. When you do the work yourself, you can take the
time to do every detail perfectly.

The Electrician's Credo, part XXXIV
 

"Pete C." wrote in message
t...

wrote:

On Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:17:11 -0400, "RBM" wrote:


"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
rs.com...
I swear, there must be a vow that all licensed electricians take before
setting out to work on their own. I believe it could be summed up thus:

XXXIV. Thou shalt never affix identifying labels to any
household breaker panels.

What is it with these guys? Yesterday I saw a new client, looked at
their
panel in the garage to try to figure out which one the back-porch
light
was on, and, sure 'nuf, not a SINGLE MARKING anywhere to disturb the
pristine beauty of the blank box.

I guess it just isn't macho enough to actually let the poor *******
who
owns the house know which breaker goes where.

(On the other hand, another client is the ultimate counter-example:
both
of their breaker boxes have envelopes taped to their doors, inside of
which is a complete list of breakers and devices on each. But I
suspect
that's because one of their sons did a lot of remodeling work for
their
parents.)


--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute
conversation with the average voter.

- Attributed to Winston Churchill

The NEC requires the panel to be labeled, but it's doubtful that any
electrician is going to make up charts showing each light and outlet in
a
dwelling. Typically you'll get general labels like first floor lighting
,
bedroom outlets, etc.


The electrician that wired my house made a computer printed label that
lists everything. Of course I was that electrician. I used a paint
program and made lines to look like the breakers, then filled in the
data.

Similar here, when I replaced my panel I mapped every circuit and made a
CAD print of the whole house with every fixture and receptacle marked
with circuit number. When you do the work yourself, you can take the
time to do every detail perfectly.

Agreed, and it certainly isn't rocket science to label a panel, but it can
get costly if you want a licensed electrician to do what you did. Just last
week a customer of mine had me map and label his service panels, which I did
using a table in MS Word. I only charged for my time on the job ringing out
the circuits and it cost over $400

The Electrician's Credo, part XXXIV
 

RBM wrote:

"Pete C." wrote in message
t...

wrote:

On Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:17:11 -0400, "RBM" wrote:


"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
rs.com...
I swear, there must be a vow that all licensed electricians take before
setting out to work on their own. I believe it could be summed up thus:

XXXIV. Thou shalt never affix identifying labels to any
household breaker panels.

What is it with these guys? Yesterday I saw a new client, looked at
their
panel in the garage to try to figure out which one the back-porch
light
was on, and, sure 'nuf, not a SINGLE MARKING anywhere to disturb the
pristine beauty of the blank box.

I guess it just isn't macho enough to actually let the poor *******
who
owns the house know which breaker goes where.

(On the other hand, another client is the ultimate counter-example:
both
of their breaker boxes have envelopes taped to their doors, inside of
which is a complete list of breakers and devices on each. But I
suspect
that's because one of their sons did a lot of remodeling work for
their
parents.)


--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute
conversation with the average voter.

- Attributed to Winston Churchill

The NEC requires the panel to be labeled, but it's doubtful that any
electrician is going to make up charts showing each light and outlet in
a
dwelling. Typically you'll get general labels like first floor lighting
,
bedroom outlets, etc.


The electrician that wired my house made a computer printed label that
lists everything. Of course I was that electrician. I used a paint
program and made lines to look like the breakers, then filled in the
data.

Similar here, when I replaced my panel I mapped every circuit and made a
CAD print of the whole house with every fixture and receptacle marked
with circuit number. When you do the work yourself, you can take the
time to do every detail perfectly.

Agreed, and it certainly isn't rocket science to label a panel, but it can
get costly if you want a licensed electrician to do what you did. Just last
week a customer of mine had me map and label his service panels, which I did
using a table in MS Word. I only charged for my time on the job ringing out
the circuits and it cost over $400

Yep, details cost money and most homeowners don't want to pay for
anything that isn't essential.

The Electrician's Credo, part XXXIV
 

"RBM" wrote in message

Agreed, and it certainly isn't rocket science to label a panel, but it can
get costly if you want a licensed electrician to do what you did. Just
last week a customer of mine had me map and label his service panels,
which I did using a table in MS Word. I only charged for my time on the
job ringing out the circuits and it cost over $400

Very time consuming, but code requires markings. We have been doing a LOT of
electrical in our shop over the past 6 months. We have about 15 panels to
finish the markings. Some new work (easy) and some old work.

The Electrician's Credo, part XXXIV
 

David Nebenzahl wrote:
I swear, there must be a vow that all licensed electricians take before
setting out to work on their own. I believe it could be summed up thus:

XXXIV. Thou shalt never affix identifying labels to any
household breaker panels.

What is it with these guys? Yesterday I saw a new client, looked at
their panel in the garage to try to figure out which one the back-porch
light was on, and, sure 'nuf, not a SINGLE MARKING anywhere to disturb
the pristine beauty of the blank box.

I guess it just isn't macho enough to actually let the poor ******* who
owns the house know which breaker goes where.

(On the other hand, another client is the ultimate counter-example: both
of their breaker boxes have envelopes taped to their doors, inside of
which is a complete list of breakers and devices on each. But I suspect
that's because one of their sons did a lot of remodeling work for their
parents.)


Perhaps I was fortunate in selecting an electrician, but a notebook
containing a complete listing, by subpanel and breaker showing each load
and its location was attached to the side of the switchboard (600 amp SB
type.) This has prove quite useful when making changes to balance the
load on my generator and place power factor correction capacitors.

I'm quite happy with the installation my electrician did.

Boden

The Electrician's Credo, part XXXIV
 

Boden wrote:

David Nebenzahl wrote:
I swear, there must be a vow that all licensed electricians take before
setting out to work on their own. I believe it could be summed up thus:

XXXIV. Thou shalt never affix identifying labels to any
household breaker panels.

What is it with these guys? Yesterday I saw a new client, looked at
their panel in the garage to try to figure out which one the back-porch
light was on, and, sure 'nuf, not a SINGLE MARKING anywhere to disturb
the pristine beauty of the blank box.

I guess it just isn't macho enough to actually let the poor ******* who
owns the house know which breaker goes where.

(On the other hand, another client is the ultimate counter-example: both
of their breaker boxes have envelopes taped to their doors, inside of
which is a complete list of breakers and devices on each. But I suspect
that's because one of their sons did a lot of remodeling work for their
parents.)


Perhaps I was fortunate in selecting an electrician, but a notebook
containing a complete listing, by subpanel and breaker showing each load
and its location was attached to the side of the switchboard (600 amp SB
type.) This has prove quite useful when making changes to balance the
load on my generator and place power factor correction capacitors.

I'm quite happy with the installation my electrician did.

Boden

The difference there is it's commercial work. Commercial is where there
can be more attention to detail since there is generally more budget to
do things properly. Residential is where the budget doesn't want to even
pay for the necessities, much less the extra details.

The Electrician's Credo, part XXXIV
 

Pete C. wrote:
Boden wrote:

David Nebenzahl wrote:

I swear, there must be a vow that all licensed electricians take before
setting out to work on their own. I believe it could be summed up thus:

XXXIV. Thou shalt never affix identifying labels to any
household breaker panels.

What is it with these guys? Yesterday I saw a new client, looked at
their panel in the garage to try to figure out which one the back-porch
light was on, and, sure 'nuf, not a SINGLE MARKING anywhere to disturb
the pristine beauty of the blank box.

I guess it just isn't macho enough to actually let the poor ******* who
owns the house know which breaker goes where.

(On the other hand, another client is the ultimate counter-example: both
of their breaker boxes have envelopes taped to their doors, inside of
which is a complete list of breakers and devices on each. But I suspect
that's because one of their sons did a lot of remodeling work for their
parents.)



Perhaps I was fortunate in selecting an electrician, but a notebook
containing a complete listing, by subpanel and breaker showing each load
and its location was attached to the side of the switchboard (600 amp SB
type.) This has prove quite useful when making changes to balance the
load on my generator and place power factor correction capacitors.

I'm quite happy with the installation my electrician did.

Boden


The difference there is it's commercial work. Commercial is where there
can be more attention to detail since there is generally more budget to
do things properly. Residential is where the budget doesn't want to even
pay for the necessities, much less the extra details.

This isn't commercial work,it's residential...located in the basement of
our home. Budget did matter. The job was competitively bid and I
watched the cost like a hawk. I think I just had an electrician that
cared about doing a good job.

Boden