Electrics

[poliphilo]

Ailz sourced an electrician from the internet

We took him on a guided tour of everything that wasn't working right.

He looked bemused.

He said he couldn't give us a fixed price for the job, but would charge an hourly rate.

I asked him what the hourly rate would be; he didn't know.

He said he'd ring the following day; he didn't.

So we're collecting standard lights that can be plugged into the sockets that still work. Who needs ceiling lights anyway? Carl says that in twenty years time we'll be sitting in a heap of ruins under a polythene sheet. 

Comments

[brttvns.livejournal.com]

Always get a fixed price if possible! Granted some jobs will throw up the unexpected after you have started, but the experienced tradesman should know this and account for it. If he does not even know his hourly rate - make sure he stays well away.
Find someone else. The best tradesmen rarely need to advertise and word-of-mouth is the best recommendation, so ask around.

Cheers

[halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com]

My brother (who is a licensed electrician in this country) says he's be more than happy to come over and fix everything for FREE. You just need to pay his airfare and buy the parts.

Now, seriously. PLEASE get someone to do the work for you. If the insulation on the wires melted, you've got some hot spots - fires, just waiting to happen. Yes, the overhead lights don't matter, but the fact that you've got sockets that don't work matters a great deal.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

What halfmoon_mollie said. You've got fires waiting to happen. My dad also had electrician certification (although he ended up working in the sheet metal trade as back then that was union and paid more and he was also a certified sheet metal mechanic). He used to say that overhead lights were a waste of time and energy except in shops and offices but that non-working sockets were hazardous indeed.

[craftyailz.livejournal.com]

We've now got all the sockets working fine. The lights don't even blow when they're turned on usually. They wait until they've all been turned off and we're in bed and then you hear the bang.

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

Worried about you two....I wish SOMEONE could diagnose and fix it.

[kinderheldin.livejournal.com]

My kitchen ceiling light has stopped functioning. I'm tired of it and its moods. So, I got battery operated "moon" lights:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=120781

:)

I've had the same reaction as you.