It's Sunday night. I wanted to get this blog started. So I did.
I think I have learned a lot about electrical history, safety, construction and renovation over the years. I am starting this blog to pass some of that experience on, plus to record my adventures in electricity, client relations, contracting, and whatever else crosses my mind.
Did a service call Saturday morning. I have a way, from time to time, of letting my generous and compassionate side get in the way of my business operation. It was one of those times. The owner of this rental apartment lives in Oregon, and she rents to students. All of the information I had was the garbage disposal was not working. The folks who installed it came back and tested it. The unit definitely worked, the problem was in the electrical feed somewhere. Site unseen, I explained to the out-of-state owner, I could not come close to estimating the problem. It could be a 5 minute fix or a 4 hour search for a needle in a hay stack. There was simply too little information to go on until I saw it. So we agreed I would be authorized 1 hour of investigation time. After that, I needed to call the owner, tell her what I discovered thus far, and get further authorization to continue. OK, I get it. It is a rental property, and she is renting it out to make a profit. (Or at least not take a loss.) Cost control is vital. I totally get it. I don't blame them for not wanting to hand a stranger a blank check, so to speak. Not that a contractor would ever abuse such license. I completely understand. It's all good. I'll be there Saturday Morning, between 8:15 and 8:30. The landlord reminded me that 8:15 Chicago time was 6:15 West Coast time. I had that in my mind going in.
So long story short. The garbage disposal was wired with an extension cord that was plugged in behind the fridge, run loosely up into a switch that had been mounted on a piece of wood over the counter, looped back down loosely and run through a hole that was drilled in the side of the kitchen base cabinet. The extension cord was spliced loosely hanging in the air, orange wire nuts and all, below the sink in the cabinet. It then ran, no fittings, no conduit, no grounding, nothing-into the bottom of the garbage disposal. Bare wires, lamp cord, no ground, in a moist area with no GFCI protection, below the kitchen sink. In an apartment full of students.
It was 6:30 AM on the west coast. I made a decision not to call. I took the whole thing apart and re-did it in grounded, strapped, flexible metallic conduit as Chicago Electrical code, national electrical code, and common sense would dictate. I finished up at 11 AM. It was a nice day, what else was I gonna do on a Saturday morning? I did my good deed. The bill will go 1 hour as discussed, plus misc materials.
Like I said, I am not much of a shrewd business man sometimes.
