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copperdave

hi everyone
I am posting this in frustration of bloody electricians, i am getting to the stage that i won't work when they are in the vicinity. was on a job the other day and electrician went absolutely daft on my pipe run - said it was going to interfere with his wire run this happens almost every time - i was first so my run rules is what i say, they then pig back to customer saying the plumber is going to cost you money - I can't win. Other runs the clients have come to me saying the electrician said this and that and it has to be re-routed. Yesterday i drilled joists from A to b of my run and the bloody sparky said "Thanks mate you saved me the job, hope you were not putting pipes in there" , this spark was an arse as he had client laughing at a joke, went something like this "what do you call an electrician with his brain removed? A PLUMBER". the last straw was this morning, fitting a shower (like for like) and the electrician (in front of customer) said " how do you know that cable is fine and rated correctly, you could be causing a time bomb" - i then overheard him speaking to client saying 'you gotta watch these '**** monkeys' the industry overcharges and under delivers"

I have been doing this for 1 years now and still to meet an electrician without attitude, ego and a ssense of humour.

anyone have the same issues or am i just rubbing these guys up the wrong way.
 
Chill Winston.....just chop a wire in a corner where you are not working and see how funny he thinks he is when he cant point the finger at you ,but its cost him an hour of his valuable time finding it........i get on quite well with our sparks and don't get the "i'm better than you" attitude so consider myself lucky. Oh and don't let him see you sniggering .
 
Ive drilled joists before, only to find wires through them on my return. Electrician wasnt impressed with all his cut wire on the floor. I didnt even pull it out, just went between each joist and cut the lot.

Customers are bright enough to realise that its far easier to route cables so pipes take priority.

Failing that its a quiet word in his ear, phrases like bell, pipe slice and castration are involved.
 
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Ive drilled joists before, only to find wires through them on my return. Electrician wasnt impressed with all his cut wire on the floor. I didnt even pull it out, just went between each joist and cut the lot.

Customers are bright enough to realise that its far easier to route cables so pipes take priority.

Failing that its a quiet word in his ear, phrases like bell, pipe slice and castration are involved.


Spot on....snip snip don't do it again!!
 
The other good one is screw the boards back down when your done, gives them something to do for a couple of extra mins.
 
I've said before I actually have a rare breed. A sparky who understands heating wiring and is a mate who enjoys a pint
 
firstly if your inside the joist drill zone/notch zone you can put your pipe where you like, if the sparks needs a space for a reason like spot light position or extract run then he/she needs to inform you before hand as your not a mind reader. ive yet to meet a sparks who understands drill zones and can run a cable route in a straight line tho.

as for atitiude its not being a sparks, its being a dix full stop. i would guess they would be the same whatever the trade.
 
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Years ago,( at least a couple of decades) when I was an apprentice, my boss sent me to a job to drill out joist for a heating install.

I spent 2 1/2 days drilling through hardwood joists. I finished the drilling at lunch time on a friday and thought I would pack it it and go home.

I came back on monday with all the piping to find the electrician had used all my holes to feed his cables through over the weekend.

I went to see the Foreman, almost crying and explained the situation.

He asked me for a hacksaw and proceeded to remove the cables for me.
He also took great delight in informing the electrician of what had taken place, leaving out the part that he cut and removed the cables.

The days that followed were very interesting!
 
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If memory servers: sparks must drill through joist at least 50mm from top of joist. Can you not drill, let's say, 45mm from top of joist and if sparks says the same again, tell him, "Sorry my friend, but your regs clearly stipulate 50mm from top of joist for cable run."
Just a thought.
If I'm right that is.
 
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Notching is 1/8 of joist depth. Drilling is on the centreline of joist and is 1/4 of joist depth with 3 diameters spacing.
0.07 - 0.25 of span for notching.
0.25-0.4 for drilling.
 
hi everyone
I am posting this in frustration of bloody electricians, i am getting to the stage that i won't work when they are in the vicinity. was on a job the other day and electrician went absolutely daft on my pipe run - said it was going to interfere with his wire run this happens almost every time - i was first so my run rules is what i say, they then pig back to customer saying the plumber is going to cost you money - I can't win. Other runs the clients have come to me saying the electrician said this and that and it has to be re-routed. Yesterday i drilled joists from A to b of my run and the bloody sparky said "Thanks mate you saved me the job, hope you were not putting pipes in there" , this spark was an arse as he had client laughing at a joke, went something like this "what do you call an electrician with his brain removed? A PLUMBER". the last straw was this morning, fitting a shower (like for like) and the electrician (in front of customer) said " how do you know that cable is fine and rated correctly, you could be causing a time bomb" - i then overheard him speaking to client saying 'you gotta watch these '**** monkeys' the industry overcharges and under delivers"

I have been doing this for 1 years now and still to meet an electrician without attitude, ego and a ssense of humour.

anyone have the same issues or am i just rubbing these guys up the wrong way.

As someone who is qualified in both trades the pipe runs should take priority imo. Cables are 100x easier to run around a building that pipes are.

He sounds like an idiot tbh!
 
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Ok, I'm sparky and I always prefer to work after the plumber has done his bit! This works OK until the plumber doesn't turn up and I have to run my cables. lol
 
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I make you right for getting frustrated, the job is hard enough as it is without some numpty belittling you in front of the customer!
As with some of the others I am lucky to get on with the sparks I work alongside, but I have had my fare share of run ins with others!
Best to be thick skinned and keep the dark thoughts to yourself until the job is done........as they say electricity and water don't mix!
 
What you should do is straighten things out as soon as he appears on the job in front of builders customers or whoever else is in earshot.
If it gets to the stage of dark thoughts (if he is a bit thick of hearing) wait until he goes to the van then follow him and subsequently put him in his place where there are no witnesses.
There can only be one winner in these situations. Make sure it is you :wink:
 
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Never really had a problem with sparks before yeah they never clear up after themselves and they are all a bit up their own behinds.

I had one used to moan about is running pipes where he wanted to run his cables until he installed his own heating system then he changed his mind and was quite pleasant.

Another said jokingly what would you do if I used your holes for my cables and I said give you a lot of scrap cable!

And I also got my own back for all the times sparkies never cleaned up after them selves as I had loads of cylinders to change whilst they required the flat I never once tidied up after myself and they did mention it. I told them it's about time you did some tidying up they laughed.
 
Depends on your sparky. Knew a mines electrician who was the biggest bodge merchant around, kept the choc block firms in business! :asshole:
Have another firm on a big job in a theatre who we work with a lot, client keeps changing ceiling details and we have to keep shifting vents and ductwork to suit. Sparkys very good with changes and keeps checking with us that we're not going to clash. Would like more like them.
 
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I tend to clear up as I go, long time back before I ran away fm site work, the spark and his ape were taking the **** every time I cleared up my and their mess to fit a boiler/cyl etc. they werent so chuffed and jokey when they discovered all the site shyte on their front seats, loose and messy when it came to going home time. Me, I was already long gone, and the mobile was full of abuse that night 🙂
 
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