Electrician walked off the job half way, what now?

[belmontbuild]

Hi all,

I am doing up my flat, which is quite a large space, about 150 spot lights and 65 plug sockets (now 95).

My Electrician started on monday and went home Thursday afternoon. He emailed me last night saying he is not willing to come back because I agreed to pay him 3.1k upfront on monday however I did not manage to get the money to him until tuesday which to be honest was my fault however I do feel its a little harsh to quit a job half way through because of that. I think he has just found another better paying job.

NB: job was 7350 first fix and 5k second fix. He is going to keep the £3.1k I have paid him and so far he has run 6 ring mains and boxed up 90 ish plug sockets.

Anyway what are my choices now? Unfortunately this has messed up the rest of my build as I can not put my floors down until the electrical work is finished so I am going to have to cancel the other jobs that are due to start next week.

Will I be able to find someone that is willing to take on a half done job? Should I just get someone on a day rate or get someone to price for the full job again?

 

[ackbarthestar]

Its not uncommon to walk away from a job that turns into a pigs ear....

But i do sympathize with some builders who are desperate to keep the trades on site when the cash flow dips.
One chap in question was trying to keep a site operational after a retaining end wall to a 3 story semi had collapsed. He had taken a third of the workforce off to another site to keep the cash flow coming in to pay for us.
The problem was..... Have you ever tried to install a rfc with only 3 walls to the rooms ? . I think not, needless to say, neither did we.
The job was a complete mess. H&SE was crawling all over the place, the P&Ds were in, one beligerent old numpty attempted to gloss green wood - he didn't last more than a couple of hours.
and this was in the days when tradesmen knew their stuff and part P was something you did in the portaloo.

 

[Farmelectrics]

has he given you any test sheets for the work he has carried out

 

[Kamikaze]

his price was based an about 65 plug sockets and 120 (ish) light fittings, we now have 95 sockets and 210 light fittings I agreed I would pay £25 extra per plug socket and £20 per light fitting that was not quoted for in the original drawings (on top of the price posted above). The spot lights will be something like this

heals.co.uk/ceiling+spotlights/montana-single-spot-light/invt/514575

(NB I am not buying the above spot lights just that style)

There is your answer then. Not enough money for the extras. It won’t be for me anyway.

 

[trev]

It's certainly confusing but from what the op has said it does sound like this guy got a hair up his bottom about something. In his position I wouldn't have said the cash was actually a payment, more likely a gesture of goodwill. Here's a large wad of cash for you to hold till I can get a similar amount into your account doesn't sound unreasonable to me, nor does it sound as if you're trying to imply he accepts cash payments (which, provided they are properly accounted for, are perfectly fine).
He has though left you in a pickle, the scheme providers give the ability to self certify. Signing off another's work is frowned upon so you may struggle to find someone willing to issue the necessary paperwork

 

[drew35]

I think I would be inclined to retest his work and just add it as a note on the certificate that it was done by another electrician but tested ok. The building regulation certificate is a little generic if you use "multiple circuits added or rewired". They don't know what's covered by multiple.
This job sounds enough money to me?

 

[belmontbuild]

Well whatever the reason was that he walked I guess we'll never know what was going through his mind to want to walk away from what sounds like a substantial contract. The question is whether he's done sufficient work to warrant the money he's been paid. If he has then I would just find another installer and start afresh, if not you'll have to get legal advice about recovering your money .

Hi, I do not really know, the place has bock work walls and OSB deck floor which can be pulled up to run cables. He has put in 6 ring mains and about 85 to 90 (sh +/-) 35mm back boxes. It took 2 guys 3 and half days work.

has he given you any test sheets for the work he has carried out

No.

There is your answer then. Not enough money for the extras. It won’t be for me anyway.

Ah that may be the problem but to be honest he asked for £25 per electrical point which I agreed to. He then said the same for the light fittings but I said I would be more happy with £20 for them.

We are using a central Rako system so all the lights need to be wired back to that and not to switches.

It's certainly confusing but from what the op has said it does sound like this guy got a hair up his bottom about something. In his position I wouldn't have said the cash was actually a payment, more likely a gesture of goodwill. Here's a large wad of cash for you to hold till I can get a similar amount into your account doesn't sound unreasonable to me, nor does it sound as if you're trying to imply he accepts cash payments (which, provided they are properly accounted for, are perfectly fine).
He has though left you in a pickle, the scheme providers give the ability to self certify. Signing off another's work is frowned upon so you may struggle to find someone willing to issue the necessary paperwork

Yep, its a bit strange. I really do not think its got anything to do with the payment method its just an excuse he has given. He actually said he would like a cash payment for the next lot of work lol.

 

[telectrix]

this £25/£20 per point . does that include the cost of the accessories, or are you supplying them?

 

[belmontbuild]

this £25/£20 per point . does that include the cost of the accessories, or are you supplying them?

No he supplied 35mm back box and cables. I will supply everything else. We are going with CrabTree sockets

 

[telectrix]

£25 per point to include cable and boxes, but not accessories, is IMO low. i would be looking at no less than £30 for sockets and £25 for lights.

 

[trev]

So maybe that's it then Tel. He's realised he has duffed the pricing and wandered off, factor in his hotel costs being 3 hours from home and you'll be seeing a good lump of that agreed sum going west. He still could have tried to renegotiate, it would have been far more professional

 

[belmontbuild]

So maybe that's it then Tel. He's realised he has duffed the pricing and wandered off, factor in his hotel costs being 3 hours from home and you'll be seeing a good lump of that agreed sum going west. He still could have tried to renegotiate, it would have been far more professional

Ah well maybe there is our problem but its still 15 to 16k in total to wire up one place and probably only 3 to 4 weeks work.

 

[telectrix]

perhaps he's got :001_9898: for brains. or a more profitable local job has come up.

 

[plugsandsparks]

I am in Dronfield this afternoon so not far away, have pmed my contact number
P&S

 

[belmontbuild]

Hi P&S.

Thanks for the PM, I tried to PM you back but as I am new it would not allow me to. I found someone this morning before I saw your PM but will get back to you if it falls through. Thanks for tasking the time to respond.

 

[sparks1973]

95 sockets = 'Big Space', I should blinking well think so with that many :drunk:

What the hell is it, a converted aircraft hanger?. Or are you running some sort of illicit DVD copying empire and need loads of duplicators? LOL

could be something else....but i`d rather not say on a public forum...lol...