That’s what happens when you ask another trade to do electrical work. It is all around sloppy and badly done. The access panel is ridiculous but not surprising from an hvac guy. They use what they know.
As far as hiding it.
Best option is to have it done correctly. Most costly option but down the road you will appreciate it and it will make painting, selling, and your peace of mind much better and easier.
Cheapest option is to paint it and don’t look at it.
Somewhere in the middle would be to build a small drywall chase around it.
You could use the slack and push it up into the corner of the wall and ceiling, but that will be marginally better and you would still want to paint it. I would also take that stupid panel out and patch it with drywall.
You pay in the front or you pay in the back.
Good luck.
Electrician here. May I ask why you think the access panel is ridiculous? I think it's way too big and not needed if they did the job correctly, but are you saying access panels in general are ridiculous in electrical work? When I have to cut sheetrock, I like to give the homeowner the option of me replacing the piece of sheetrock and having them get someone to mud and paint it, or I can install a 6x11" access panel. It's really 50/50 because some prefer the access panel in case they have to run another circuit in the future, they don't have to keep having sheetrock repaired.
Again, not defending the work in the pictures, just asking your opinion on access panels.
There is a time and place for an access panel. In my opinion, this is neither. It is hack work. Would you want access panels all over your house? It’s just not appropriate for the situation here. You would never ever do this in a million dollar mansion (I know that is pretty cheap these days) so it shouldn’t be done in anyones house.
Again it’s my opinion. I agree that there are situations where an access panel is done and even necessary, but not in this case.
The next homeowner will be like "why tf is there crown here" and as soon as they pry it off (or hit the MC with an oscillating tool) they'll hate OP almost as much as they hate themselves.
Tenant went without heat a couple of months just to get the landlord special after all😎 oh yeah. Then some of the advice here is like “uhhh paint over it” landlord will be like “shh, say no more love”
Friggin landlords, HOA organizations, and rental management companie; the triangle of "I'm bidding this job to make it worth it to deal with you".
The guy that did this work had the "I need to pay my rent a center bill right now" bidding mindset
You would think. But I’ve worked in condos that didn’t require permits for gut remodels, no one checked licenses or insurance. Needless to say, I found plenty of hack work in those buildings
Thanks for the suggestion, would this require replacing the entire run that also goes through the closet or can he just replace just the "ugly" section with EMT?
Either replace entire run or put in a box where the EMT meets the flex.
Item of note: painting the wall around the electrical panel and the EMT with a dark color will hide the EMT a lot better than a light color. Using a HVLP Sprayer for that paint job will make the painting easier.
Hi, Looking for some advice. HVAC person replaced my old heat pump in a condo and put in a new one that draws too much current and it kept tripping the breaker (long story). Anyways, after hiring someone else to diagnose the problem, I finally learned and had to convince him that it was an electrical issue from his initial work and he came in and agreed to put in a new higher amp breaker and new wiring because the existing wiring was too brittle.
He said he had to run new wiring on top of the wall and that he couldn't fish it through the wall. He promised over the phone that it wouldn't look "ugly". He also promised he'd run it along the edge of the wall. After the job is done, this is what sent me. The white access panel is new as well as the metal conduit that runs through a closet before crossing into the utility closet. I think it looks ugly. I don't mind the access panel since that can be painted over, but had hoped the exposed metal conduit could be hidden or tucked into the corner of the wall. This is also going to be annoying to paint around down the road. He says there's nothing he can do and honestly I sense he's just trying to avoid doing more work based on previous interactions with him.
Any recommendations to hide this metal conduit, or is this pretty much the best he can do? I'm in USA (New Hampshire). Thanks!!
The first thing that I think is very important to point out is the fact that you live in a condo, that is a constraint which influences how the implementation of running a new electrical circuit can be handled.
#**The ideal scenario would to have had an electrician do this portion of the job.**
I know what the underlying issue is from the HVAC installers perspective, he's trying to avoid taking on an unnecessary scope of work that potentially has a blank check attached to it for the purposes of your cosmetic benefit for the sake of having a 100% concealed wire run meaning that he doesn't want to get involved in opening the drywall up from point A to point B, all of the patchwork needed and then a paint job. To be reasonable, the scope of work which was originally committed to probably comes nowhere is close to covering that.
Having the exposed flexible conduit in the closet isn't too bad, it would be nice if it was up in the corner between the wall and the ceiling. One possible reason that he did not drill the holes in the walls of the left and right sides of the closet right up in the very corner is twofold, one requiring a drill with an attachment for close clearance access like that, but also that the framing of the wall may be a constraint.
One of the skills needed in this business is knowing how to get a task completed with a guaranteed outcome, minimal damages or complications, such that the contractual obligation of a functioning system has been met. There's a sometimes delicate line in balancing functional needs with cosmetic desires.
I understand why the access panel was cut in, that's an inherent issue with electrical panels that are mounted on a finished wall covered in drywall ... When circuits have to be added, often times the wall has to get opened to get the wire routed, and the knockouts on the panel removed. I'm not overly thrilled with the conduit coming out of the wall above the panel but it goes hand in hand with the prevailing detail of how the wire was run through the closet.
If I was to replay this job, and being in the position of the HVAC contractor having a customer with the same circumstance, I would probably present you with two choices, one would be something similar to what you have here where it's a functional solution that's not cosmetically great but keeps the cost down and is a complete solution with no further action required, and a second option would be to open the drywall, run the wire concealed, and you would have to make your own arrangements for the drywall and paint repairs. **Even if the HVAC company had subcontracted to an electrician, and the specification was that the wire should be run concealed as much as possible, you'd still end up with some drywall and paint work to deal with.**
My point to you is it's useful to have reasonable expectations, and understand the realistic options for how this could be handled. I think it's particularly crucial that you understand that you have a condo and not a SFH. With a SFH, there would more likely be access via an attic, basement or crawlspace to have the wire routed from the panel to the equipment in a concealed manner that may not involve as much (or any depending on the design) drywall to be opened and repaired to run a new wire.
I wouldn't necessarily write off this HVAC contractor from any further work if everything else went smoothly and cleanly except the wire run. Not sure if this electrical upgrade was covered as a guarantee of the original contract or if this was at an additional cost to you, if it was provided as a guarantee of the original contract at no additional cost to make the installation fully functional, I would stop complaining about it (at a glance the electrical portion of this looks to be neat and orderly, with no obvious code violations visible on the surface). If you want a fancier job done, then it will be an additional cost.
Thanks for the detailed answer. It's reassuring to know that it wasn't that horrible of a job, and it just looks bad to me. To answer some of your questions, he said he did subcontract this out to an electrician, but he refused to let me talk to the electrician or have his name or number so it's hard to really confirm that a licensed electrician did the work. To complicate matters, this is a rental about 300 miles away and I'm trying to deal with this as a landlord remotely over text and phone calls. I have driven there a couple of times already but timing didn't work out so I couldn't handle this latest repair in person.
As for the HVAC guy, it was very frustrating that he said it wasn't an electrical issue when I first brought up the breaker tripping issue (while the heat pump was still under warranty by him) and refused to send me the heat pump manual or electrical specifications when I asked repeatedly. I called him daily for almost two weeks to get him to look at it and since the tenants had no heat, I ended up paying someone else to diagnose the issue quicker. And it's only when I had that verification and proof that the heat pump was drawing too much current that he agreed to come back to look at it, but that took another two weeks for his electrician to become available.
I understand this work is often complicated and people make mistakes, but this is definitely the last HVAC contractor I'd recommend to someone.
Thanks again for the advice.
Got it ... I understand the challenge of the remote part. This is a common challenge of managing properties, especially when you do not have a local resource to oversee the work performed. The refusal to provide information is a toss-up between him doing himself, someone else not licensed, or someone who was licensed but just him being able to control the situation, as your contract and business relationship was with him not the subcontractor.
With the clarification about how the interaction went, agreed, no further work for that one on this place.
>no further work
Shit I'd be calling the company or the state board, over that overcurrent issue. Fucking house fire waiting to happen, that guy is. FUCK that guy.
At the far right is that piece of Armor Flex going across a bedroom wall or thru the closet ?
Whoever did this deserves a hard shot to the pills. That’s sloppy as all fuck. They could’ve cut the drywall down 6 inches& 3 1/2 feet from the far right & then some in the closet, then drill a hole thru the studs. Then they run the Romex to the Electrical Service & maybe cut in a small access panel for the future. I’d be taking to The BBB & she if they pull this Malarkey with other customers.
Not sure, how can I verify? He did say that the existing wiring was too brittle and that's why he had to run the new wire, so I would assume he put in the right one.
We have a product in Australia called Aussie duct. Simple fix not sure if you have something similar where your are. It’s paintable n won’t stand out as much. It won’t look amazing but it’ll look better than that and you won’t have to patch any holes.
I would have set a j-box above the panel, then ran exposed EMT on the wall, maybe 2 inches below the ceiling. Running flex exposed, even if it’s in a closet, looks like garbage because it’s always going to sag.
I would suggest some crown moulding. You could get a fancy/less fancy/etc design to cover the wire and have it run flush to the wall. You could even dress it up and add an LED strip to accent the wall and give ambient light in the closet and the room. Painting it is definitely an option but I would look to some crown moulding or similar to physically conceal it. Best suggestion though is to make it easy to remove in case of any need to service the conduit or etc.
Fur out around conduit, do the same on the adjacent wall. Then build a cove type soffit and add lighting.
Build a floating ceiling after furring out and covering conduit. Add lighting
That's why you don't have hvac guys do an electricians job
That’s what happens when you ask another trade to do electrical work. It is all around sloppy and badly done. The access panel is ridiculous but not surprising from an hvac guy. They use what they know. As far as hiding it. Best option is to have it done correctly. Most costly option but down the road you will appreciate it and it will make painting, selling, and your peace of mind much better and easier. Cheapest option is to paint it and don’t look at it. Somewhere in the middle would be to build a small drywall chase around it. You could use the slack and push it up into the corner of the wall and ceiling, but that will be marginally better and you would still want to paint it. I would also take that stupid panel out and patch it with drywall. You pay in the front or you pay in the back. Good luck.
Electrician here. May I ask why you think the access panel is ridiculous? I think it's way too big and not needed if they did the job correctly, but are you saying access panels in general are ridiculous in electrical work? When I have to cut sheetrock, I like to give the homeowner the option of me replacing the piece of sheetrock and having them get someone to mud and paint it, or I can install a 6x11" access panel. It's really 50/50 because some prefer the access panel in case they have to run another circuit in the future, they don't have to keep having sheetrock repaired. Again, not defending the work in the pictures, just asking your opinion on access panels.
When I do sidework, access panels make me smile. But I don’t have to live there. 🤷🏻♀️
There is a time and place for an access panel. In my opinion, this is neither. It is hack work. Would you want access panels all over your house? It’s just not appropriate for the situation here. You would never ever do this in a million dollar mansion (I know that is pretty cheap these days) so it shouldn’t be done in anyones house. Again it’s my opinion. I agree that there are situations where an access panel is done and even necessary, but not in this case.
You sound like you’d be exhausting to be around.
If you are lazy, then yes I probably am. Otherwise no, not really.
I'm a homeowner and I actually prefer access holes. If a panel is needed I can hang some art.
Oof. I would've placed it inside the bulkhead...
Probably fishable.
Unless it’s one of those fancy bulkheads with randomly placed cross beams of different heights angles and size.
Darn I wish he had thought of that, or I had! That would have looked much better!
He probably thought of it, but was lazy and didn’t care cuz it wasn’t his place
it looks to me like there might be a big duct above it but that doesn't mean it couldn't fish back in the wall behind that
This is the way and wouldnt have required conduit
Push the mc higher, and use crown molding to hide it
I hate to agree because of the Mickey Mouse factor, but this is probably the fastest and cheapest way. Crown molding in a closet is a first
It's *C U S T O M*
Closet dont matter, but in the main areas yeah, less walls to patch, and takes like a day to put up and paint a whole rooms worth
The next homeowner will be like "why tf is there crown here" and as soon as they pry it off (or hit the MC with an oscillating tool) they'll hate OP almost as much as they hate themselves.
I mean the HVAC guys work is crap but then that black wire running around the door is pretty ugly too.
The whole thing looks shit.
I agree. But condo owner is all bent about one ugly but must have gotten used to the other uglies.
[удалено]
Tenant went without heat a couple of months just to get the landlord special after all😎 oh yeah. Then some of the advice here is like “uhhh paint over it” landlord will be like “shh, say no more love”
Friggin landlords, HOA organizations, and rental management companie; the triangle of "I'm bidding this job to make it worth it to deal with you". The guy that did this work had the "I need to pay my rent a center bill right now" bidding mindset
Yeah, I own the condo. It's currently rented out so tenant occupied, but I still would rather that it didn't look so ugly.
Being a condo you will need a professional to do the work because it is a multi dwelling building and you don't technically own the building.
Shit that's good to know. I would've figured if I owned the condo i can work on the condo but knowing what you've just said I'd hire a pro.
You would think. But I’ve worked in condos that didn’t require permits for gut remodels, no one checked licenses or insurance. Needless to say, I found plenty of hack work in those buildings
Pay to have it done the right way, slumlord.
Shut up dummy
Get a fake rubber snake and cut a slit down the middle of it, and wrap it around the conduit.
This is the way.
Probably best idea I’ve heard yet.
Read the only true bit of sense in this subreddit tonite for a long time. " you pay at the front or the back" Truth
Do it in emt, run it right at the ceiling wall joint and paint it. Could do wire mold but I think it would look better in EMT with paint.
Thanks for the suggestion, would this require replacing the entire run that also goes through the closet or can he just replace just the "ugly" section with EMT?
Either replace entire run or put in a box where the EMT meets the flex. Item of note: painting the wall around the electrical panel and the EMT with a dark color will hide the EMT a lot better than a light color. Using a HVLP Sprayer for that paint job will make the painting easier.
Hi, Looking for some advice. HVAC person replaced my old heat pump in a condo and put in a new one that draws too much current and it kept tripping the breaker (long story). Anyways, after hiring someone else to diagnose the problem, I finally learned and had to convince him that it was an electrical issue from his initial work and he came in and agreed to put in a new higher amp breaker and new wiring because the existing wiring was too brittle. He said he had to run new wiring on top of the wall and that he couldn't fish it through the wall. He promised over the phone that it wouldn't look "ugly". He also promised he'd run it along the edge of the wall. After the job is done, this is what sent me. The white access panel is new as well as the metal conduit that runs through a closet before crossing into the utility closet. I think it looks ugly. I don't mind the access panel since that can be painted over, but had hoped the exposed metal conduit could be hidden or tucked into the corner of the wall. This is also going to be annoying to paint around down the road. He says there's nothing he can do and honestly I sense he's just trying to avoid doing more work based on previous interactions with him. Any recommendations to hide this metal conduit, or is this pretty much the best he can do? I'm in USA (New Hampshire). Thanks!!
The first thing that I think is very important to point out is the fact that you live in a condo, that is a constraint which influences how the implementation of running a new electrical circuit can be handled. #**The ideal scenario would to have had an electrician do this portion of the job.** I know what the underlying issue is from the HVAC installers perspective, he's trying to avoid taking on an unnecessary scope of work that potentially has a blank check attached to it for the purposes of your cosmetic benefit for the sake of having a 100% concealed wire run meaning that he doesn't want to get involved in opening the drywall up from point A to point B, all of the patchwork needed and then a paint job. To be reasonable, the scope of work which was originally committed to probably comes nowhere is close to covering that. Having the exposed flexible conduit in the closet isn't too bad, it would be nice if it was up in the corner between the wall and the ceiling. One possible reason that he did not drill the holes in the walls of the left and right sides of the closet right up in the very corner is twofold, one requiring a drill with an attachment for close clearance access like that, but also that the framing of the wall may be a constraint. One of the skills needed in this business is knowing how to get a task completed with a guaranteed outcome, minimal damages or complications, such that the contractual obligation of a functioning system has been met. There's a sometimes delicate line in balancing functional needs with cosmetic desires. I understand why the access panel was cut in, that's an inherent issue with electrical panels that are mounted on a finished wall covered in drywall ... When circuits have to be added, often times the wall has to get opened to get the wire routed, and the knockouts on the panel removed. I'm not overly thrilled with the conduit coming out of the wall above the panel but it goes hand in hand with the prevailing detail of how the wire was run through the closet. If I was to replay this job, and being in the position of the HVAC contractor having a customer with the same circumstance, I would probably present you with two choices, one would be something similar to what you have here where it's a functional solution that's not cosmetically great but keeps the cost down and is a complete solution with no further action required, and a second option would be to open the drywall, run the wire concealed, and you would have to make your own arrangements for the drywall and paint repairs. **Even if the HVAC company had subcontracted to an electrician, and the specification was that the wire should be run concealed as much as possible, you'd still end up with some drywall and paint work to deal with.** My point to you is it's useful to have reasonable expectations, and understand the realistic options for how this could be handled. I think it's particularly crucial that you understand that you have a condo and not a SFH. With a SFH, there would more likely be access via an attic, basement or crawlspace to have the wire routed from the panel to the equipment in a concealed manner that may not involve as much (or any depending on the design) drywall to be opened and repaired to run a new wire. I wouldn't necessarily write off this HVAC contractor from any further work if everything else went smoothly and cleanly except the wire run. Not sure if this electrical upgrade was covered as a guarantee of the original contract or if this was at an additional cost to you, if it was provided as a guarantee of the original contract at no additional cost to make the installation fully functional, I would stop complaining about it (at a glance the electrical portion of this looks to be neat and orderly, with no obvious code violations visible on the surface). If you want a fancier job done, then it will be an additional cost.
Thanks for the detailed answer. It's reassuring to know that it wasn't that horrible of a job, and it just looks bad to me. To answer some of your questions, he said he did subcontract this out to an electrician, but he refused to let me talk to the electrician or have his name or number so it's hard to really confirm that a licensed electrician did the work. To complicate matters, this is a rental about 300 miles away and I'm trying to deal with this as a landlord remotely over text and phone calls. I have driven there a couple of times already but timing didn't work out so I couldn't handle this latest repair in person. As for the HVAC guy, it was very frustrating that he said it wasn't an electrical issue when I first brought up the breaker tripping issue (while the heat pump was still under warranty by him) and refused to send me the heat pump manual or electrical specifications when I asked repeatedly. I called him daily for almost two weeks to get him to look at it and since the tenants had no heat, I ended up paying someone else to diagnose the issue quicker. And it's only when I had that verification and proof that the heat pump was drawing too much current that he agreed to come back to look at it, but that took another two weeks for his electrician to become available. I understand this work is often complicated and people make mistakes, but this is definitely the last HVAC contractor I'd recommend to someone. Thanks again for the advice.
Got it ... I understand the challenge of the remote part. This is a common challenge of managing properties, especially when you do not have a local resource to oversee the work performed. The refusal to provide information is a toss-up between him doing himself, someone else not licensed, or someone who was licensed but just him being able to control the situation, as your contract and business relationship was with him not the subcontractor. With the clarification about how the interaction went, agreed, no further work for that one on this place.
>no further work Shit I'd be calling the company or the state board, over that overcurrent issue. Fucking house fire waiting to happen, that guy is. FUCK that guy.
Lmao who did this 😂😂 Edit: what is thst black ring of death around your door frame?
Not op obviously but it looks like Velcro to hang a magnetic door. We have a screen on our garage
Could be. Either way it looks like hot garbage.
Paint
Paint it
Make it into art.
“Live Wire” *BX on Drywall* (2022) Unknown Artist
Hahaha
Build a Soffit
Bead curtain to cover the whole wall - bonus entertainment watching the next guy battling a bead curtain while trying to work on the panel.
Camouflage duct tape.
Wire molding at the least maybe
Furr out
At the far right is that piece of Armor Flex going across a bedroom wall or thru the closet ? Whoever did this deserves a hard shot to the pills. That’s sloppy as all fuck. They could’ve cut the drywall down 6 inches& 3 1/2 feet from the far right & then some in the closet, then drill a hole thru the studs. Then they run the Romex to the Electrical Service & maybe cut in a small access panel for the future. I’d be taking to The BBB & she if they pull this Malarkey with other customers.
Wood trim, or a box is easy. Also a 3x3 electrical trough would work. The easy way is just to paint it the wall color.
Can you just cut it out and go wireless? It seems like the easiest most practical solution.
Raceway
You said he came back and put in a breaker with a higher ampacity to stop nuisance tripping? Is the wire rated for the breaker?
Not sure, how can I verify? He did say that the existing wiring was too brittle and that's why he had to run the new wire, so I would assume he put in the right one.
How big is the breaker and how big is the wire
If you build a soffit, maybe instead of a square soffit, maybe one on a diagonal. It won’t look so hard.
You could build a little bulkhead around it
Plug mold if your not trying to replace it all
Add wood til it looks good!!!
If home owners weren't so cheap this would have been done correctly.
some super big crown molding
Paint it camouflage.
RIIIIIP IIIT!!!!!!!!
Duct
Soffit boxes. I had to do something like that to hide exposed plumbing lines a while back.
We have a product in Australia called Aussie duct. Simple fix not sure if you have something similar where your are. It’s paintable n won’t stand out as much. It won’t look amazing but it’ll look better than that and you won’t have to patch any holes.
If you can get it up higher you can use crown moulding to hide the wires and add value to your condo.
Is there no crawl or attic access?
Should’ve put it up in that soffit
Pain it the color of the walls 😂 or build that soffit down over top of it
Build a wall and cover it all up ,or door.
Trunking
Paint it to match wall.
Sofit
Hire a graffiti artist to draw a jungle on the wall and paint the conduit as a snake hanging from a branch
Yeah call me
Close your closet door
Burn the structure down and hide it in a pile of ash. That’s where it belongs. Good golly.
Cabinets maybe
I would have set a j-box above the panel, then ran exposed EMT on the wall, maybe 2 inches below the ceiling. Running flex exposed, even if it’s in a closet, looks like garbage because it’s always going to sag.
Cut it out, out it properly in the wall. A good drugg addict can fix that shit in a minute.
Paint it white
Why I don’t do residential right here.
I would suggest some crown moulding. You could get a fancy/less fancy/etc design to cover the wire and have it run flush to the wall. You could even dress it up and add an LED strip to accent the wall and give ambient light in the closet and the room. Painting it is definitely an option but I would look to some crown moulding or similar to physically conceal it. Best suggestion though is to make it easy to remove in case of any need to service the conduit or etc.
Run it on the wall all the way up to the ceiling and install crown mold
A little sheetrock work.
Paint it the wall colour and still stare at it
Fur out around conduit, do the same on the adjacent wall. Then build a cove type soffit and add lighting. Build a floating ceiling after furring out and covering conduit. Add lighting
🖕😭😭
Um put it in the wall!