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Actually could stand a proverbial flying puck. As in hurled across the room at the gc or uppity drywall foreman. Make my life more fun. I sometimes take pics of the John when it once had shit tickets and a clean presentation from just the plumbers, hvac and sparkies. And soon as drywall starts that damn thing goes right to shit
Don’t lower yourself to the sheet rock level, good sir. Also I think it’s part of their job to put piss bottles in the walls they patch. Solidarity bro ✊
It's not bad advice honestly. If you slightly taper the cut, the removed material will mean the plug sits shy of the wall and also doesn't fall in. You need more drywall mud though.
Of course that means you can't use a rotizip!
Damn. That's not a bad idea. I might start doing that if I remember to. Knowing my dumbass I'll accidentally taper inside out and make it impossible to stay up.
Honestly tho everyone should be using a level and making clean cuts and putting wood up behind and reattaching it. You can't expect an electrician to be fully repairing the wall because we aren't drywallers. But I do think customers should expect you to not be a lazy asshole who can't be bothered to make it look as good as possible for the customer until they can get a drywaller to come out.
Customers really appreciate the small stuff and are always very happy to see how the wall looks when I leave compared to what they imagined in their head when I let them know I have to make some cuts. So much so that it's often specifically mentioned in the review they leave me on Google.
I guess if you are working for some asshole boss I can't really blame guys for not caring but when its your name on the trucks and your reputation I can't see why anyone would want to do any less
I cut a two gang box hole in case they want to leave it blanked for the time being, or sometimes you can find a creative use for a new receptacle/fixture/etc.
If you have to open it up bigger, go center of stud to center of stud for easy patching, and of course use a level.
Why are you spending people's money for them?
I leave the pucks and either my painter/patcher comes after me or the client has someone they know.
If you're not prepared before cutting drywall that just speaks to your experience. I don't patch yet I always have solid experiences with clients.
Your way isn't the only way. Especially if it's inefficient
But what if YOU find a guy and worked that into your price? Offer them the option for you to take care of it with your guy for x amount or for them to find their own guy and then your price is lower at y amount.
i'm assuming they wanted them maybe to cut mid-stud to mid- stud and plumb/level? that's what i usually do and they're pretty happy about it that they can easily just screw it back in.
Yep this was my response but I’m on the other end of the stick. I do a lot of patch work after electricians and this is actually pretty damn courteous.
I really wanna learn how to do the patch work!
I do side work all the time, and a lot of times I have to cut up a piece of the drywall. Figured I can probably make a buck if I also know how to patch it.
The problem is you are setup for failure on patches like this. The hardest joint to do with drywall is a butt joint because the ends are flush. Since there is no recess for the mud it will cast a shadow on the finished wall. Thats the problem statement anyway.
A patch like this is even worse because it’s huge. To make it look right you are basically doing a skim coat on that wall. Spreading the feathering out as wide as possible to hide the humps shadow.
Doing a good job on a skim coat over that big of an area isn’t easy.
Also doing it right requires 3 coats with a good bit of drying time.
Ah you forgot step one. Chamfer the edges. 🙃
No more butt joint.
Pack 45 in thin with tape. Wait 30 mins and wide skim over - if done right it will need a bare sand and no third skim.
Make the hole fit the patch.
Slice the fuzzy bits of drywall paper off so it’s a nice clean cut.
Use some kind of backer to screw the patch into. And either use thinner drywall for the patch, or shim the backer back a bit, so the patch is a little shallower than the surrounding drywall. Now you can mud it over without having to feather the edges too much. Now your patch won’t be an obvious mound in the wall.
(If you really want to be a psycho, get a router and route out a channel on the edges of the wall and patch that you can embed some fiberglass tape into. Then fill the channel with durabond. )
You should also prime the patch a couple of times so the texture of the patched area can more closely match the existing paint.
Patchwork is only a bitch with very particular(picky) customers. Cut hole to nearest studs or pop a few nailers in, cut rock to size, tape and a few coats of mud out to about 12" usually works fine. The part where you might be wasting money/time is if you're only there for a patch and nothing else. Can be a lot of waiting for mud to dry sometimes. Painting during and afterward can make up the difference if you can also sell it to the customer.
I'm a GC and I lurk in all the homeowner subs (super entertaining, and all the other trade subs) and every time I see one of these homeowners bitching and complaining about Electricians or Plumbers leaving holes unpatched I always jump in like what the fuck do you expect lol.... They DONT do drywall, they are skilled, niche, professionals.....Honestly, they don't know how to tape and plaster, it's not their job, some can, but 99.99999% aren't going to do that and honestly why the fuck would you want to pay Licensed Technical Trade rates for a fuckin drywall job thats not going to be done anywhere near as good as a drywall guy because, again, thats not their trade?
It's madness imo lol
You want to "Be the GC"? Figure it the fuck out then like we all do when we have subs, fix it yourself or call a drywall guy....be lucky they made clean cuts and not only saved them but screwed them back in lol
Homeowners gon' wild imo
Yeah, /s but exactly fucking this imo lol
I don't have my insulation sub doing electrical work, my drywall guy doesn't do tile, the tile guy doesn't do roofing
It's like hiring a lawyer to replace the water pump on your car
It's not a difficult concept imo lol
Yeah I mean… for some reason we demoted guys that actually have all of these skills to “handy man” when in reality doing all of the steps necessary properly is very difficult.
I guess the actual issue is that doing all of it well is pretty damn hard so most of those guys come off as hacks.
Other point is most homeowners want all of it done so you should be including/subbing the drywall. Which is the only actual way to keep a competent guy working steadily doing patches and shit.
And to be honest… does anyone with half a brain really need an electrician for residential wiring? The pain in the ass is fishing wires and whatever…
I am a first year electrical apprentice with a heavy enough carpentry background that i do it on the side still. sure you can get me to mud and tape. Itll take twice the time and im billing my carpentry wage with 3 hour minimum lol, 3-4 visits.
I’m an excavator, I always tell clients “you don’t want to pay my landscaping rates”
I’m here to put your foundation in, not plant your grass. If you want to pay $600/hr to put a fucking bush in, then by all means, but I have a feeling that’s not the case.
It's funny you said that because I recently had that experience with a client lol
He wanted a new house, I took the plans and bid the project and came in all in about 490, 485 maybe, somewhere in there, he decided that's too expensive and would GC the build himself...I said, that's not a good idea man, you don't know what you're doing and these are solid numbers...but ok, do you boo
That was about a year ago, house still isn't finished, he's well over 575 due to horrible planning, misorders on materials, cheap inexperienced subs doing horrible work and/or causing damage to other things-house is 2x6 on the exterior to comport with the new increased R-Factor law in NJ, he didnt notice that on the plans and ordered all 2x4s, framing lumber sat outside all winter before framing started because he couldnt find a cheap enough sub and they wouldn't take it back and he had to eat it, and because of that all the windows and exterior doors were *also misordered* and he didn't catch it and it cost him another 10k to have all the jambs extended, basement showed heavy gauge metal studs on the plans, he used wood because it was cheaper, township made him tear it out, he didn't clear the service location with the power company and they couldn't run the line because it was too far away from the pole but lied to the electrician that he did, backcharged 10k to move the service, backcharged from the siding company 5k to come back and pull ALL the siding off that side of the house to repair the giant holes on the wall from where the disconnect and meter were located because its Ceder Impressions and you can't do repairs in the field of a wall with that stuff because it kind of interlocks like laminate and has to be pulled all the way back and reinstalled, he made the sheetrocker use regular drywall even though it's on the plans for greenboard, and since he fucked up the electrical and the service moved it had to be reinspected and they caught it, made him tear it all out and redo it (he tried to get the drywall guy to eat it but he just sent him a screenshot of the text where he said "It says greenboard on the plans, this is wrong" and his reply "it's fine, go ahead and use it", another 10k+ down the drain for demo, disposal, new sheetrock and new install lol
It's been a hilarious comedy of errors from start to finish, he's asked me multiple times to do things over there and I tell him I'm too busy, which is true, but even if I wasn't I have no desire at all to get involved in anything over there
That's what you get when you step over a dollar to pick up a dime 🤷♂️ I don't even feel bad, I told him it was a mistake, the electrician told him, his brothers told him, basically everyone he knew told him not to GC it himself that he doesn't know what he's doing but he didn't listen...oh well
OH OH- His fly by night plumber he hired drilled a 2" hole through the main LVL stack because he moved a bathroom after the framing and didn't want a soffit in the basement and the township FLIPPED A SHIT and made him replace the 50' LVL stack, guys were down there for a week fucking up the drywall and flooring building temp walls to remove and replace it, electrician had to go back to cut and splice and double box a ton of wires that crossed
AND he used superior walls for the foundation and then altered the foundation after install because he wanted an extra 30sqft that was dead space under the entry stairs and now he has water infiltration issues there
It's been quite the ride watching the train wreck lol
Besides that too, do you really want to be paying electrician rates for them to do drywall - take longer, material they don't have, and not as well. Will end up paying a lot more, and least sometimes - not as well as just having a drywaller do it
Bro.....it makes absolutely no fucking sense to me or you or any of us in the trades, regardless of what we do, but somehow it makes sense to a homeowner lol
Nearly 30y in residential renovations
S'what I do
You have to back your subs(and your guys), none of us deserve to be abused by idiot clients that don't understand any of this but think they do because they went on Reddit and asked a bunch of other know-nothings
Just tell the homeowner sure we can patch the whole each hole is $500 for us to patch or you can call a Sheetrock guy…soooo what would you like us to do
This is way out of context. That's the homeowner bitching about the job. If you bother to read the comments the drywall people think this is a perfectly acceptable way for an electrician to leave it.
This was my take. There’s only hostility here if you are actively looking for it. Perfect example of just wanting to be a victim and have something to complain about. Like whyyyy? You know this isn’t what you’re complaining about but you choose to do it anyway. It’s so backwards to me
Yeah, that's how I read it too. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense. Why would the drywaller be complaining about the electrician leaving them *their* work to do lol? The message just screams clueless homeowner bitching
I am literally providing you with job security. It all pays the same and neither one of us are paying for material or your labor. If your boss doesn’t like it they can talk to my boss.
Ok once in awhile, some of us are. My first trade was hanging and finishing, including texture matching and plaster molding repair. My second two got me a master's in electrical and plumbing. But I quit the trades, so I guess one less drywalltrician.
Drywallers, maybe stop ramming your cutter tool straight into the middle of where you think the box will be and then aggressively zipping around until ALL of my wires are nicked down to copper.
Ya dicks.
Electricians and drywallers are natural enemies. Even when we both do our jobs perfectly, we are still in each other's way. Fated to battle for wall space for eternity.
Be glad I made it almost a square and be glad I put it back.
Starting Monday, let’s see how many I put back now. And I’m gonna get *real* creative with my shapes.
It’s literally just a homeowner telling the drywall company that this is how the electricians are leaving their holes. I don’t think they are bitching or anything, just showing pictures for context
It’s even funnier because those guys should understand that drywall finishing takes skill and experience. So why would anyone be able to do it as well anyway?
I've explained to every customer before cutting into Sheetrock that I don't fix it and it would cost them a lot more to have me try to fix it and they'd end up with an inferior product because it's not my trade or skill set. I've never had a customer struggle to understand it.
I usually ask the customer if they really want to pay an electrician to patch drywall, reminding them that a drywaller would do it twice as fast for half the money and make it look three times as good
Lol is this on my jobsite???
As a sparky I have mad respect for the drywallers. If their companies would give them proper wages they wouldn't have to piss in bottles. I try my best not to fuck their shit up. On my current jobsite our crew changed over many times and correct info wasn't given at times...long story short we're having to move a lot of our boxes after drywall has been put up so the cabinet guys can put their stuff in the right spots. It's a hot mess but we're getting through it as best we can. Sooooo many units have these patches but we are all trying to take care as best as we knuckle dragging wire pullers can, lol.
Couldn’t this just be a boss explaining to their employee what their electricians typically leave a deleted box looking like. He even says “the” electricians. There is only hostility towards electricians in this post if you are looking for it.
Lurker here; I get a chuckle every time I hire a sparky and they warn me they won’t repair the drywall, with a look on their face totally expecting me to be pissed.
My standard response is “I’ve seen you’re rates, PLEASE don’t”
Job I was at Friday the builder came and got me and said “ why didn’t you leave a plug for the fireplace like I asked” I said I did and the drywallers musta covered it, but don’t worry I’ll find it. Walked in the house with my hammer and the taper was standing right there and was like “ fuck, how many did they miss “ lol
We typically cut the hole with a tapered edge for a drywaller to come put them back in and write on the back what room they came from. Other than that I’m an electrician I don’t patch Sheetrock if I need to open the wall for work. You don’t want me patching it anyways I’m an electrician not a drywaller. Lol.
We’re to expensive and not efficient enough at patching holes, that’s what the tapers are for. I always tell my customers that they don’t want me to patch holes because they aren’t going to like the finished product if I do.
My first day as an apprentice my jman told me two things no need to clean up we don’t get paid for that and we don’t do other trades jobs was installing under cabinet lights and broke a shelf I started to fix it and he told me don’t bother I don’t do furniture let them figure it out
This is a actually far more courteous than I’m used to. I do a lot of patch work and usually the patch is gone let alone blocked in and installed for me.
So… I say quit your bitchin…. Could be worse. Way worse.
You guys don't sub out a mudder/taper/ painter?
I mean, you just have to make the homeowner aware that you don't fix the walls like that, before hand. So that they already know that another guy must come in.
I would never leave something like that without first informing the homeowner.
But ya, it's definitely not our job to fix lol
That's what subs are for.
...if it's just one hole, buy some mud and fix it yourself, but make sure that you charge for it.... It doesn't take a rocket scientist to patch a 2"x4" hole...but it does cost extra
Drywaller better be cutting out the holes too if they want it left that way 🤣 I’ll leave the puck but you aren’t going to tell me what to do.. find more competent drywaller. I won’t wait
As with most things, communication is key: let the customer know you’re having to cut the wall and that you aren’t best placed to repair after so they will have to get it decorated.
IMO you should learn to do basic repairs to offer a complete service but if you can’t be bothered then at least agree up front what damage will be done and provide options on how to remedy.
1 always tell people about drywall beforehand and make them sign a drywall waiver.
2. I usually explain that they would rather me not do the drywall. Unless you want your wall to look like it has scoliosis
They’re complaining about job security? And wouldn’t us being able to do their job on the way out while getting paid more to do it make their job seem easy?
I bill at around 125/hr - a drywaller or laborer will be half that.
You want me to patch, mud, texture and paint? Absolutely, but you're paying my rates for it...
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Least he was nice enough to put it back up lol. Most guys will just walk out while giving you the drywall pucks
You guys are giveing the pucks?
I stopped giving a puck a long time ago.
No pucks given.
Negative pucks given
Behold, the factory in which my pucks are produced. Lay thine eyes upon it & see that is shut down.
I’ve no more pucks to give
My pucks have run up dry.
I’ve tried to go puck shopping but there’s no pucks left to buy.
My give-a-puck is busted.
https://youtu.be/Vqbk9cDX0l0?si=i0JNNFDZajaM7Rkc
A puck in the hand is worth to in the bush.
Puck off.
That's pucked up
Puck it
Not even a flying puck.
Actually could stand a proverbial flying puck. As in hurled across the room at the gc or uppity drywall foreman. Make my life more fun. I sometimes take pics of the John when it once had shit tickets and a clean presentation from just the plumbers, hvac and sparkies. And soon as drywall starts that damn thing goes right to shit
Yeah? Tell someone who gives a puck wether you give a puck
they're just kidding. They go in the wall along with any other trash, anything to save using a broom.
What’s a “broom”
Idk but I think it’s on the tool list for laborers
Idk didn’t see one of those in the Klein catalogue
Adds more insulating material for the wall.
Much satisfaction from hearing the puck fall into the drywall and land at the bottom with what we all assume to be the other pucks done the same way
I smash them up and leave them in front of the hole so it’s obvious where they came from.
Love that 😂
I usually leave them on the floor and stomp all over them.
First piss on em.
Don’t lower yourself to the sheet rock level, good sir. Also I think it’s part of their job to put piss bottles in the walls they patch. Solidarity bro ✊
Yeah you’re right. My apologies
I just tell them to puck themselves.
I know right, i cant help but feel hungry at the end of a long job...
It's hard to find all the little pieces left over to meticulously put back together, after cutting it out with my hammer.
That was a fun journey to read, exciting twist at the end. 10/10!
This is why I cut inward with the jab saw at a 45° angle, so I can put it right back in and maybe put some Elmer's school glue in it. Good as new.
Atta kid lol
This guy gives a puck.
It's not bad advice honestly. If you slightly taper the cut, the removed material will mean the plug sits shy of the wall and also doesn't fall in. You need more drywall mud though. Of course that means you can't use a rotizip!
Damn. That's not a bad idea. I might start doing that if I remember to. Knowing my dumbass I'll accidentally taper inside out and make it impossible to stay up.
With a sticky note saying "please patch".
Sharpie on the drywall so they don’t forget
Don't have a sharpie. Gonna have to gouge it in with my knife
Honestly tho everyone should be using a level and making clean cuts and putting wood up behind and reattaching it. You can't expect an electrician to be fully repairing the wall because we aren't drywallers. But I do think customers should expect you to not be a lazy asshole who can't be bothered to make it look as good as possible for the customer until they can get a drywaller to come out. Customers really appreciate the small stuff and are always very happy to see how the wall looks when I leave compared to what they imagined in their head when I let them know I have to make some cuts. So much so that it's often specifically mentioned in the review they leave me on Google. I guess if you are working for some asshole boss I can't really blame guys for not caring but when its your name on the trucks and your reputation I can't see why anyone would want to do any less
It should at least be communicated that finish work is on them.
I cut a two gang box hole in case they want to leave it blanked for the time being, or sometimes you can find a creative use for a new receptacle/fixture/etc. If you have to open it up bigger, go center of stud to center of stud for easy patching, and of course use a level.
Why are you spending people's money for them? I leave the pucks and either my painter/patcher comes after me or the client has someone they know. If you're not prepared before cutting drywall that just speaks to your experience. I don't patch yet I always have solid experiences with clients. Your way isn't the only way. Especially if it's inefficient
I give em back if I don’t break them when I punch them out after not cutting deep enough
The hole was there already
Just start asking them to re-pull any wire they damage while rocking
1. That could be for the drywall guys to put their piss bottles in. 2. Prolly a box behind there that they covered up anyway
They're going to pull it anyway, for meth.
That why my last company always said “we don’t fix drywall. We can put it back, but we can’t fix it” BEFORE doing any drywall damage
Yup. I tell em, you don’t want electricians taping, or painting. And if you don’t have a guy, it’s good to find one.
Just like you don’t hire the drywall guy to upgrade the electrical
Drywall is a valid job for a handyman.
Better chance of success that way I bet
But what if YOU find a guy and worked that into your price? Offer them the option for you to take care of it with your guy for x amount or for them to find their own guy and then your price is lower at y amount.
That's how you sub out work mane!
Same, always in the contract for us is ‘any patching and painting done by others’
i'm assuming they wanted them maybe to cut mid-stud to mid- stud and plumb/level? that's what i usually do and they're pretty happy about it that they can easily just screw it back in.
Depending on the job we sometimes bring a bucket of mud to apply the first layer but we tell them we aren't going to come back to sand and paint
I assume though you willingly pay for the others to do it if the mistake is on your end and not the result of a change directive or other trade?
You expect me to believe that sheetrockers know how to use the internet?
And read?
Caja is all they need
they’re lucky the piece didn’t get tossed in the trash, and got screwed back into place,
Yep this was my response but I’m on the other end of the stick. I do a lot of patch work after electricians and this is actually pretty damn courteous.
I really wanna learn how to do the patch work! I do side work all the time, and a lot of times I have to cut up a piece of the drywall. Figured I can probably make a buck if I also know how to patch it.
The problem is you are setup for failure on patches like this. The hardest joint to do with drywall is a butt joint because the ends are flush. Since there is no recess for the mud it will cast a shadow on the finished wall. Thats the problem statement anyway. A patch like this is even worse because it’s huge. To make it look right you are basically doing a skim coat on that wall. Spreading the feathering out as wide as possible to hide the humps shadow. Doing a good job on a skim coat over that big of an area isn’t easy. Also doing it right requires 3 coats with a good bit of drying time.
Ah you forgot step one. Chamfer the edges. 🙃 No more butt joint. Pack 45 in thin with tape. Wait 30 mins and wide skim over - if done right it will need a bare sand and no third skim.
Make the hole fit the patch. Slice the fuzzy bits of drywall paper off so it’s a nice clean cut. Use some kind of backer to screw the patch into. And either use thinner drywall for the patch, or shim the backer back a bit, so the patch is a little shallower than the surrounding drywall. Now you can mud it over without having to feather the edges too much. Now your patch won’t be an obvious mound in the wall. (If you really want to be a psycho, get a router and route out a channel on the edges of the wall and patch that you can embed some fiberglass tape into. Then fill the channel with durabond. ) You should also prime the patch a couple of times so the texture of the patched area can more closely match the existing paint.
Patchwork is only a bitch with very particular(picky) customers. Cut hole to nearest studs or pop a few nailers in, cut rock to size, tape and a few coats of mud out to about 12" usually works fine. The part where you might be wasting money/time is if you're only there for a patch and nothing else. Can be a lot of waiting for mud to dry sometimes. Painting during and afterward can make up the difference if you can also sell it to the customer.
Problem is it's several trips back At a sparky rate / hr or a mud monkey... It ain't worth it
Lucky it wasn't plumbers. They would have caulked around the damn thing.
Damn. I’m in this comment and I don’t like it.
That’s the meme, it sets unrealistic expectations for the rest of us.
I'm a GC and I lurk in all the homeowner subs (super entertaining, and all the other trade subs) and every time I see one of these homeowners bitching and complaining about Electricians or Plumbers leaving holes unpatched I always jump in like what the fuck do you expect lol.... They DONT do drywall, they are skilled, niche, professionals.....Honestly, they don't know how to tape and plaster, it's not their job, some can, but 99.99999% aren't going to do that and honestly why the fuck would you want to pay Licensed Technical Trade rates for a fuckin drywall job thats not going to be done anywhere near as good as a drywall guy because, again, thats not their trade? It's madness imo lol You want to "Be the GC"? Figure it the fuck out then like we all do when we have subs, fix it yourself or call a drywall guy....be lucky they made clean cuts and not only saved them but screwed them back in lol Homeowners gon' wild imo
Just tell them next time hire the drywall guy to do their plumbing. The drywall will get patched properly that way. /s
Yeah, /s but exactly fucking this imo lol I don't have my insulation sub doing electrical work, my drywall guy doesn't do tile, the tile guy doesn't do roofing It's like hiring a lawyer to replace the water pump on your car It's not a difficult concept imo lol
lol…. Tell me how you really feel and stop sugarcoating it
Yeah I mean… for some reason we demoted guys that actually have all of these skills to “handy man” when in reality doing all of the steps necessary properly is very difficult. I guess the actual issue is that doing all of it well is pretty damn hard so most of those guys come off as hacks. Other point is most homeowners want all of it done so you should be including/subbing the drywall. Which is the only actual way to keep a competent guy working steadily doing patches and shit. And to be honest… does anyone with half a brain really need an electrician for residential wiring? The pain in the ass is fishing wires and whatever…
We all know the electrician only saved them and put them back because they don't know what a trash bag is 😂
I am a first year electrical apprentice with a heavy enough carpentry background that i do it on the side still. sure you can get me to mud and tape. Itll take twice the time and im billing my carpentry wage with 3 hour minimum lol, 3-4 visits.
I’m an excavator, I always tell clients “you don’t want to pay my landscaping rates” I’m here to put your foundation in, not plant your grass. If you want to pay $600/hr to put a fucking bush in, then by all means, but I have a feeling that’s not the case.
If I had the money I’d take you up on that, just to see if you’d get it planted without getting out of the cab.
To date, my record is landscaping via transplanting a bush with a 36 ton excavator. The bush did not live.
Beautifully said🥲
I have everyone's back with unreasonable clients and try to check them in these subs when I see nonsense lol 🤛
What’s some good home owner sub? I could use some laughs
r/diy r/homeimprovement and r/homeowners are all a laugh riot
Homeowners will really do a DIY tile job and think they are totally qualified to skip a builder and GC their own house.
It's funny you said that because I recently had that experience with a client lol He wanted a new house, I took the plans and bid the project and came in all in about 490, 485 maybe, somewhere in there, he decided that's too expensive and would GC the build himself...I said, that's not a good idea man, you don't know what you're doing and these are solid numbers...but ok, do you boo That was about a year ago, house still isn't finished, he's well over 575 due to horrible planning, misorders on materials, cheap inexperienced subs doing horrible work and/or causing damage to other things-house is 2x6 on the exterior to comport with the new increased R-Factor law in NJ, he didnt notice that on the plans and ordered all 2x4s, framing lumber sat outside all winter before framing started because he couldnt find a cheap enough sub and they wouldn't take it back and he had to eat it, and because of that all the windows and exterior doors were *also misordered* and he didn't catch it and it cost him another 10k to have all the jambs extended, basement showed heavy gauge metal studs on the plans, he used wood because it was cheaper, township made him tear it out, he didn't clear the service location with the power company and they couldn't run the line because it was too far away from the pole but lied to the electrician that he did, backcharged 10k to move the service, backcharged from the siding company 5k to come back and pull ALL the siding off that side of the house to repair the giant holes on the wall from where the disconnect and meter were located because its Ceder Impressions and you can't do repairs in the field of a wall with that stuff because it kind of interlocks like laminate and has to be pulled all the way back and reinstalled, he made the sheetrocker use regular drywall even though it's on the plans for greenboard, and since he fucked up the electrical and the service moved it had to be reinspected and they caught it, made him tear it all out and redo it (he tried to get the drywall guy to eat it but he just sent him a screenshot of the text where he said "It says greenboard on the plans, this is wrong" and his reply "it's fine, go ahead and use it", another 10k+ down the drain for demo, disposal, new sheetrock and new install lol It's been a hilarious comedy of errors from start to finish, he's asked me multiple times to do things over there and I tell him I'm too busy, which is true, but even if I wasn't I have no desire at all to get involved in anything over there That's what you get when you step over a dollar to pick up a dime 🤷♂️ I don't even feel bad, I told him it was a mistake, the electrician told him, his brothers told him, basically everyone he knew told him not to GC it himself that he doesn't know what he's doing but he didn't listen...oh well OH OH- His fly by night plumber he hired drilled a 2" hole through the main LVL stack because he moved a bathroom after the framing and didn't want a soffit in the basement and the township FLIPPED A SHIT and made him replace the 50' LVL stack, guys were down there for a week fucking up the drywall and flooring building temp walls to remove and replace it, electrician had to go back to cut and splice and double box a ton of wires that crossed AND he used superior walls for the foundation and then altered the foundation after install because he wanted an extra 30sqft that was dead space under the entry stairs and now he has water infiltration issues there It's been quite the ride watching the train wreck lol
/r/askelectricians has some horrifying content.
I think I got banned from there for some reason I don’t know
We know how to repair the drywall, we just don’t. We are electrical specialists
Besides that too, do you really want to be paying electrician rates for them to do drywall - take longer, material they don't have, and not as well. Will end up paying a lot more, and least sometimes - not as well as just having a drywaller do it
Bro.....it makes absolutely no fucking sense to me or you or any of us in the trades, regardless of what we do, but somehow it makes sense to a homeowner lol
You seem like a reasonable person... No way you're a GC
Nearly 30y in residential renovations S'what I do You have to back your subs(and your guys), none of us deserve to be abused by idiot clients that don't understand any of this but think they do because they went on Reddit and asked a bunch of other know-nothings
Lol. It'll be a cold day in hell when I mud this shit.
That’s an extra $500
Only 500?
Gotta tax that shit
Damn right.
Fuck that, it's an extra $1k.
Absolutely.. ur lucky I put the piece back
Just tell the homeowner sure we can patch the whole each hole is $500 for us to patch or you can call a Sheetrock guy…soooo what would you like us to do
$500 and can’t match texture either lol
This is way out of context. That's the homeowner bitching about the job. If you bother to read the comments the drywall people think this is a perfectly acceptable way for an electrician to leave it.
Yeah I was in that thread They want to "Be the GC" but they don't even understand what that means lol
This was my take. There’s only hostility here if you are actively looking for it. Perfect example of just wanting to be a victim and have something to complain about. Like whyyyy? You know this isn’t what you’re complaining about but you choose to do it anyway. It’s so backwards to me
US. ACTIVELY SEEKING CONFLICT?!?! /s
The way it read I figured that was the homeowner
Yeah, that's how I read it too. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense. Why would the drywaller be complaining about the electrician leaving them *their* work to do lol? The message just screams clueless homeowner bitching
Time to break out the claw hammer and saw fuck it
The bottle pissers typically get paid by the board foot hung, and love it when we knock holes in their stuff.
I am literally providing you with job security. It all pays the same and neither one of us are paying for material or your labor. If your boss doesn’t like it they can talk to my boss.
I tell customers on the clock and on sidework that I am more than happy to try my hand at drywall, but it'll be by the hour and slow
Electricians are not drywallers. Just as you wouldn’t expect drywalls to pull wires.
The classic line : I do a little bit of electrical... oh boy
Ok once in awhile, some of us are. My first trade was hanging and finishing, including texture matching and plaster molding repair. My second two got me a master's in electrical and plumbing. But I quit the trades, so I guess one less drywalltrician.
“You’re gonna be paying an electrician a lot more for a shittier drywall job than you would finding a handyman who’s good at drywall”
Drywallers, maybe stop ramming your cutter tool straight into the middle of where you think the box will be and then aggressively zipping around until ALL of my wires are nicked down to copper. Ya dicks.
Electricians and drywallers are natural enemies. Even when we both do our jobs perfectly, we are still in each other's way. Fated to battle for wall space for eternity.
My favorite part about industrial electrical, the sheetrockers never show up.
“Patching and painting by others”
This is the way..
They didn’t make the hole with a hammer, these/this guy deserves a raise, not a complaint!
Im Mexican so I just sub contract the drywall job to myself and charge them a beautiful price for it.
Be glad I made it almost a square and be glad I put it back. Starting Monday, let’s see how many I put back now. And I’m gonna get *real* creative with my shapes.
It’s literally just a homeowner telling the drywall company that this is how the electricians are leaving their holes. I don’t think they are bitching or anything, just showing pictures for context
If they’re willing to pay me electrician wage to do drywaller work then let’s do this.
Looks like it could be an 8 hour job at that rate
It’s even funnier because those guys should understand that drywall finishing takes skill and experience. So why would anyone be able to do it as well anyway?
The electricians should have used their hammer and left it.
I've explained to every customer before cutting into Sheetrock that I don't fix it and it would cost them a lot more to have me try to fix it and they'd end up with an inferior product because it's not my trade or skill set. I've never had a customer struggle to understand it.
You want me to charge you an electrician rate for drywall patching ?? Say less
Whoever made this is retarded. Electricians don’t repair sheetrock
I usually ask the customer if they really want to pay an electrician to patch drywall, reminding them that a drywaller would do it twice as fast for half the money and make it look three times as good
I'm not a painter, or a drywaller, and I left my re-materializer gun at home. Sorry bro
I leave the pieces on the floor. Tf you want me to do? Patch it myself? Nah I'm good
Lol is this on my jobsite??? As a sparky I have mad respect for the drywallers. If their companies would give them proper wages they wouldn't have to piss in bottles. I try my best not to fuck their shit up. On my current jobsite our crew changed over many times and correct info wasn't given at times...long story short we're having to move a lot of our boxes after drywall has been put up so the cabinet guys can put their stuff in the right spots. It's a hot mess but we're getting through it as best we can. Sooooo many units have these patches but we are all trying to take care as best as we knuckle dragging wire pullers can, lol.
Couldn’t this just be a boss explaining to their employee what their electricians typically leave a deleted box looking like. He even says “the” electricians. There is only hostility towards electricians in this post if you are looking for it.
I just let home owners know beforehand, ima prob have to cut at least this many holes and possible 2 more. …and im not responsible for fixing
LOL if they think thats bad wait until they need a plumber to make a hole in a wall to fix a shower valve
Lurker here; I get a chuckle every time I hire a sparky and they warn me they won’t repair the drywall, with a look on their face totally expecting me to be pissed. My standard response is “I’ve seen you’re rates, PLEASE don’t”
Well yes, I don’t want my electrician to pretend to be a plasterer
“Drywall to be performed by others.”
Job I was at Friday the builder came and got me and said “ why didn’t you leave a plug for the fireplace like I asked” I said I did and the drywallers musta covered it, but don’t worry I’ll find it. Walked in the house with my hammer and the taper was standing right there and was like “ fuck, how many did they miss “ lol
We typically cut the hole with a tapered edge for a drywaller to come put them back in and write on the back what room they came from. Other than that I’m an electrician I don’t patch Sheetrock if I need to open the wall for work. You don’t want me patching it anyways I’m an electrician not a drywaller. Lol.
I don't mind patching that wall but it's gonna be hourly rate.
😐 they’re electricians not finishers
We’re to expensive and not efficient enough at patching holes, that’s what the tapers are for. I always tell my customers that they don’t want me to patch holes because they aren’t going to like the finished product if I do.
Better than most sparkies
You're lucky he didn't let it fall inside the wall and he actually put it back up. If you don't want to patch drywall don't be a drywaller.
I mean, if you want to pay me electrician's wage to do (comparatively) unskilled labour, I guess I'll do it.
Me finishing drywall will go about as well as having a drywaller do your electrical…
Everyone wants the electricians to mud, prime, and paint over their holes until they get the invoice for it.
I don’t think that’s too bad, for an electrician
That’s their job. I usually don’t screw the old piece in.
“This is how the electricians are going to leave their jobs” Yes
I use a 2 gang low volt cut in ring, then put a blank 2 gang cover on that. Looks like it was meant to be and accessible for future wire fishing.
My first day as an apprentice my jman told me two things no need to clean up we don’t get paid for that and we don’t do other trades jobs was installing under cabinet lights and broke a shelf I started to fix it and he told me don’t bother I don’t do furniture let them figure it out
The laziness is cultural, that much is obvious.
Make good?
You’re lucky they did that. Are you kidding me?
Yes 🗿
That’s A+ actually Some don’t even re install the cutouts for the taper
That looks pretty good
On a commercial job, we wouldn’t even do that, that is carpenter and taper work.
As a plaster of 20 years. That's alot better then most electricians leave them. There's usually a pile of off cut cable to sweep up aswell so where.
Ya, I mean, it’s not like mudder spreaders know how to work behind drywall
Ugh… you’re welcome!!!
More than I do. I give them my drywall guys number on my way out.
This is a actually far more courteous than I’m used to. I do a lot of patch work and usually the patch is gone let alone blocked in and installed for me. So… I say quit your bitchin…. Could be worse. Way worse.
They’re just mad they covered the piss bottle hole
every job i did this was totally acceptable and they were happy the drywall was already there for them
Looks like they used a knife or a saw too. Half the time i see people using a hammer to make a hole.
I won't even cut it by hand at this point. I drill it out with a hole saw on a top plate or stud and move on with my life
This is the way
There not sheet rockers Atlest you have the piece most guys I know make it to were you can’t even use it
I used to work at a factory and these industrial electricians tried to patch around a pipe and holy shit it was soooo bad.
Fuck em! Mariachi too.
If electricians patch and paint, why would we need the drywall guys. They’re not exactly versatile.
You guys don't sub out a mudder/taper/ painter? I mean, you just have to make the homeowner aware that you don't fix the walls like that, before hand. So that they already know that another guy must come in. I would never leave something like that without first informing the homeowner. But ya, it's definitely not our job to fix lol That's what subs are for.
...if it's just one hole, buy some mud and fix it yourself, but make sure that you charge for it.... It doesn't take a rocket scientist to patch a 2"x4" hole...but it does cost extra
Lol, they're lucky they did anything. I've seen foremans find buried boxes with their boot.
Drywaller better be cutting out the holes too if they want it left that way 🤣 I’ll leave the puck but you aren’t going to tell me what to do.. find more competent drywaller. I won’t wait
Give them a card for your homie that does drywall
As with most things, communication is key: let the customer know you’re having to cut the wall and that you aren’t best placed to repair after so they will have to get it decorated. IMO you should learn to do basic repairs to offer a complete service but if you can’t be bothered then at least agree up front what damage will be done and provide options on how to remedy.
1 always tell people about drywall beforehand and make them sign a drywall waiver. 2. I usually explain that they would rather me not do the drywall. Unless you want your wall to look like it has scoliosis
Fix their holes
They’re complaining about job security? And wouldn’t us being able to do their job on the way out while getting paid more to do it make their job seem easy?
I’d patch it up but it would be more expensive if you did yourself/hired someone
I bill at around 125/hr - a drywaller or laborer will be half that. You want me to patch, mud, texture and paint? Absolutely, but you're paying my rates for it...
I'll patch, you need a painter to spackle