My house, like many others built in the 1970s, has aluminum wiring. It’s a fire hazard, especially in structures built before the mid-1970s…say, in 1971, when mine was constructed. The reason it’s a fire hazard is that the copper connections on switches and outlets expand and contract at a different rate than does aluminum, and because the gauge of the aluminum wiring was often different from that of the copper found in, say, a light switch. That issue can be dealt with, but you need to know how.
To get someone who knows how, you really should hire a licensed electrician.
And here we get to the issue: my wonderful electrician of 32 years, Dave, has retired! He’s gone off to the golf course, leaving all his friends and customers behind. This I learned when one of the kitchen light switches shorted out and needed to be replaced.
The horror.
Dave neglected to call and tell anyone he was throwing in the towel. So after hearing the “This Number Is No Longer in Service” message, I went over to the electric supply company he’d clued me to and asked after his welfare — that’s where I heard he’s taken up golf — and got referrals to several substitutes.
The one guy they said was most Dave-like — that would be a good ole boy with a mellow personality, demonstrable competence, and obsessive honesty — is not really an electrician. He’s a handyman.
Well. I can always use a handyman. Even though I’m a little put off that he’s not a licensed, bonded electrician, I decide to give Larry a call. Meanwhile I buy a replacement switch.
He comes over, removes the shorted-out switch, and points out that the gadget I bought is not a three-way switch. He asks me to take the thing back and replace it with the type of switch he describes. Then give him a call and he’ll come over and change it out.
So I do that. Call him. Never get a call back. Figure the job was way too small potatoes for him.
After waiting for what seemed like a decent length of time, I called one of the other guys who’d been recommended — this one an actual electrician. He agrees to come over and wire the thing in: for $120!!!
Holy shit.
I haven’t asked our handyman what he proposes to charge but realize he’ll probably soak me for some comparable amount. But meanwhile I’ve got another guy’s name, plus I figure to ask some of the neighbors.
Last night I did call WonderAccountant, who happens to live across the street. She does have an electrician. His minimum charge is $150.
{sigh} Once again, I’m in the wrong goddamn business…
Eventually, yesterday evening, Larry calls back. He explains that he usually answers phone calls in the evening. And then I recall that Dave did the same, except that he made that his explicit policy upfront. His voicemail was set up to say “leave a message and I’ll call you back after 6:00 p.m. this evening.”
Larry is going to need some training. Hm.
Anyway, he’s slated to arrive this afternoon and wire in a new switch. We’ll soon find out how much he charges…
All of which reminds me: I need to check the fire alarms.
Image: By CMBJ – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17453517
$150 minimum charge….WOW. Gotta tell ya….in this discussion of higher prices….Just got back from the “Full Service Grocer” and MAN….I only go there about every 5-6 weeks (and maybe longer after this last experience) so I tend to notice price increases a bit more than if I went every week. And it seems to me everything has went up….Halloween candy….Jet Dry for the dishwasher…$5 for a tiny bottle!….Bleach….paper towels….tissues….lunch meat…You name it. I for one don’t know how someone with a family does it. This may explain the $150 minimum for the electrician
Ayup. Halloween candy…have you bought yours yet? Eek.
If you have a couple of licensed and bonded tradesmen working for you, what it boils down to is you’ve gotta support them. To do that, you have to charge enough to pay their way and yours.
It’s my opinion that if you’re just working with someone that does it on the side or as a way to make a little extra, that you should pay nowhere near the $150 rates. Those places are usually companies and they have costs associated with overhead and administration that someone who just does it here and there shouldn’t have or shouldn’t be charging for. I’ll be interested in the follow up to see what you pay.
I ended up paying the handydude $50, which was ten bucks less than I would’ve expected to pay the beloved Dave. These other guys are licensed, bonded electricians with employees…so, yeah. They have to pay the overhead.
Personally, I’d feel a whole lot more comfortable about having a guy who was licensed and bonded install a 3-way dimmer switch that gets hotter than a $2 cookstove after the lights have been on awhile. But there really IS a limit to what I can afford.