Had a customer in a new build who insisted on running all the alarm wire himself before I got there

This was last month in a big subdivision going up on the west side of town. Guy was super proud, said he saved a bunch of money and ran the 22/4 for all the doors and windows himself. When I opened the panel, my heart sank. He used the wrong gauge, didn't label a single wire, and had everything twisted together in a giant bundle. I had to spend two extra hours just tracing and re-terminating. He watched me the whole time and finally said, 'I guess there's more to it than just pushing wire through a hole, huh?' I just nodded. It was a good lesson for him, but it threw my whole day off. Ever have a homeowner try to do the 'easy' part of your prep work and just make a huge mess for you to fix?

3 comments

3 Comments

wyatt8511mo ago

Got a guy who ran his own speaker wire once. It was all stapled right through the jacket, had to replace like half of it.

phoenixp651mo ago

Man, the real cost there is the lost time you can't bill for. That guy paid for a clean install but bought himself a two hour detective fee instead. It's like what happened to @wyatt851, where the fix took longer than the actual job. The worst part is they never seem to factor in the sheer frustration of untangling a puzzle they created.

torres.leo8d ago

But isn't that detective work just part of the job sometimes? I kinda enjoy figuring out those weird puzzles, makes the day more interesting.