Help, I think I'm being ripped off - House -remodeling, decorating, construction, energy use, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, building, rooms - Page 4 - City-Data Forum

BigDGeek · 07-07-2009, 05:53 AM

I am still trying to get some electricians to give me some bids. I found out a co-worker of mine used to be a contractor and last worked as a contractor during the last recession and has a lot of experience with gas hot water heaters. He has offered to help me install the hot water heater and has done his own recently. So I am going to take him up on that. We went to my house and he had a look at what needed to be done and he instantly pointed out the same deficiencies with the hot water heater that my inspector did. He caught every code violation that was in the inspection report, so I think he really does know what he is talking about as opposed to the enthusiastic DIY-er who thinks they can do anything then throws their hands up halfway through the job and says "call a plumber."

You guys lost me with the electrical discussion way back there! Someone said something about aluminum...my house does not have aluminum wiring, it has copper wiring.

I asked my friend for a detailed estimate of the whopping price for the service panel and so far he has not provided one. If all that expense is really necessary then that is fine, but that is a lot of money and I am not going to just take anyone's word for it. Otherwise how do I know he didn't stick a wet finger in the air and thought "Yeah, $2k sounds about right."

One problem I am having with electricians is getting them to give me an estimate for free. (Am I expecting too much here?) Most of them seem to want $40-$70 just to drive over to my house. It makes even getting bids on the job kind of expensive. I am also having a bit of trouble getting them to return my phone calls. I have one coming over this morning, hopefully, and I will keep plugging away at them.

jimboburnsy · 07-07-2009, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Thank you Emmanuel! Unfortunately my house is in Richardson, not Dallas. I think Richardson requires permits for swapping an electrical service panel but not for more minor work like swapping outlets and light switches. I am not aware of any permit requirements for swapping hot water heaters.

I think its almost a foregone conclusion that an incorporated area will require a permit for any work that breaks a seal on a NG line.

escanlan · 07-07-2009, 07:49 AM

BigDGeek,

Being charged for estimates by Electricians is not an uncommon thing. Many will do the estimate for free in hopes of getting the work.

Here is a good site for municipal codes in one place, Municipal Code Corporation. The city listings for Texas are at Municode.com |Online Library. Many larger cities have their muniple codes online with this provider and you can view them for free.

In this case the City of Richardson WEB site has an online permit process which is located at Permit Choice (http://discovery.cor.gov/permits/index.jsp - broken link). It appears that Richardson does require a permit for a water heater replacement. You can verify this with the building department and their contacts are at Richardson TX: Building Inspection (http://www.cor.net/buildinginspection.aspx?id=554 - broken link).

I also apologize for the thread drift about the aluminum wiring. That was referring to the service entrance conductors from your streetside transformer to the electric meter, not inside the home. Aluminum cabling is still used at this point and there is nothing wrong with that. I used to install service entrances and unless requested, and paid for, we installed aluminum exclusively.

BigDGeek · 07-08-2009, 05:28 AM

OK, after receiving a couple of bids in person and a couple more over the phone I have decided to go with the original guy. The bids I received were all at least twice what he quoted me!!!!!!!!!

I discussed with the original guy exactly what was going to be done and he is going to do everything that they were going to do too. He is also throwing in 8 cat5e drops for free. I think I was probably mistaken and it was a good deal to begin with.

harry chickpea · 07-08-2009, 08:58 AM

"I think I was probably mistaken and it was a good deal to begin with."

I figured as much. When someone like this starts complaining about the price of supplies, there is a good chance they underestimated those costs themselves, and are merely trying to not have the job end up costing THEM money. That is why I suggested the breakout of costs.