Electrician Wanted

[cr0ft]

Hi all. I'm already a qualified plumber and have recently completed my 5 week inspection and testing, 17th Edition and Domestic Electrical Installer Qualification. I am looking to try and build up a working relationship with an electrician in the Lincoln area who might need a second pair of hands. In return I am actively getting electrical work in through my existing business and it looks like I will have a re-wire coming up in the next couple of weeks.

The job will entail putting in a RCD protected consumer unit and running the usual 2 lighting and 2 ring mains circuits plus a cooker radial. I would prefer to work with a good electrician on this job as having 2 people speeds up work like this and also I don't really want my first job to be me out there on my own, even though I am very confident in the theory side of things and (having worked as a plumber running my own business) am happy working in properties.

Obviously we would split the labour 50/50 on the job and I will be supplying all materials for the job.

I'm really not interested in anyone flaming me about having done a 5 week course so please don't reply if you're only going to be rude about this! Even though I'm (in theory) well qualified to do this I am aware that practical experience counts for a lot, hence this post.

Finally, I'm ex-military and have a good work ethic and am looking for an electrician to work with who has the same attitude. This job will be assessed by the NICEIC in order to register me so all the work will need to be done to the highest standard. I am doing all the cable calculations for voltage drops, sizing etc.

If anyone is at all interested in this then please PM me.

Thanks for your time to read this!

 

[DNS1]

you an engineer........that is now a plumber ....who now wants to be a sparks ..................well that's me out of here

That so odd?

Some people just get a buzz out of doing new things...

I did an engineering degree, got bored, worked as a sound engineer/technician but work dried up. I've spent the past 8 years as cabin crew for a major airline and now I'm training to be a sparks.

 

[Specialist]

Hi Croft: I'm with telectrix on this 1, In that although as you say you've done a 5 week course you realise that you don't have all the answers & need someone more experienced to work alongside you.
Only thing I would say is that maybe you should have concentrated on some smaller jobs first to ease your way into things, rather than take on a full Re-wire straight away.

Anyway Good luck with it, have you tried contacting some of the smaller DI's in your area to see if they'd be interested ?

 

[cr0ft]

cr0ft,

Sadly, you'll always get a really negative reaction from some people because you've not done a full electrical apprenticeship.

I found it helps to refer to yourself as a qualified "Domestic Installer", you'll get a lot less hassle.

I think you're doing the right thing though. Seems like you're in a similar boat to me. As a plumber with your own business you're clearly going to be experienced with "house-bashing" side of which is pretty much the same in both trades, afterall, pulling up boards and drilling through walls is the same whether it's for cables or pipework.

What a lot of people don't seem to get, is that people pick things up at different rates. Just because it takes one person years to get to grips with the calculations, doesn't mean it's the same for everyone.

You sound like you're doing exactly the right thing

Thank you, nice to hear everyone on hear isn't spouting the same thing. Having the degree has helped me pick up a lot of the cable sizing, voltage drops etc because I've already covered a lot of it in detail in the electrical engineering side of my degree.

I know experience is required though. I could tell you how to wire in a consumer unit perfectly but I have no experience in actually doing one in someone's home and so I would like to do it myself with someone with more experience around if I hit a snag.

Totally happy with the house-bashing side. Glad someone realises that it's pretty much identical whether its pipes or cables. If you live near Lincoln you would be exactly the sort of person I would like to work with to be honest. Sods law says you don't though!

 

[cr0ft]

Thanks. I do get bored of doing the same old thing. Over the last 3 years I've gone from tap repairs to re-plumbing entire houses. The electrical trade seemed the next logical step to add as every heating install requires heating controls as a minimum.

Eventually I want to move into bigger building work and will hopefully subcontract out work but I want to have a good understanding of the technical trades I bring in.

Hope it works out for you DNS1.

 

[malcolmsanford]

For me it's not the fact whether you have done 5 days 5 weeks or 5 decades, it is the fact that your going to use another persons work on your self assessment, which pretty much defeats the object of the assessment.

Applaud that you want to gain experience with an older hand, but what are going to do once this older hand walks you through this assessment? I'm sure he will never be seen and your going to then be fully qualified and experience with that well known mining qualification of

Monkey see monkey do .......................... I bet my pension you will not learn anything on 1 rewire, well certainly not enough to complete a 2nd rewire on your own, but I have a feeling your going to try.

What your doing and asking to do really is tantamount to fraud. By having someone assist you on your assessment is exactly that, becasue if you inform the NICEIC of what you did, they will not assess you, are you going to be telling them?

I hope for one none of the lads on here will entertain this.

 

[cr0ft]

Hi Specialist. Fair point about the re-wire. I was hoping for a smaller 2nd certification job with NICEIC. The other job is running electrics for my dad's garage which is obviously a lot less work. It's just the way the jobs came in to be honest, hence why I'm looking for someone to work with on it.

I'm assuming electrics is like plumbing in that it's more work but if you are doing a full house re-plumbing job its actually easier to do than a large modification of an existing circuit. The though process being is you know what everything does as you've put it all in.

 

[cr0ft]

No Malcom, you're missing my point. I'm quite happy with designing the circuits etc, I'm doing that now. I'm happy that I could do the re-wire, have already planned the cable runs and had a good look round the house. Take your point about NICEIC and if I can get someone to help me then no I won't use this as an assessment job, I'll wait for another simpler one to come along and will use this to get experience.

I'm going to be doing all the wiring itself (I'm more than comfortable with this and wiring in a consumer unit etc) and would plan on the electrician just being there as almost a mock assessment to be honest, and to help me pull cables etc. Seems like a sensible approach to me (and several others on here it seems).

If I can't get someone to help me then I will use it as my assessment job (although I would prefer not to). It just seems like the sensible thing to do on my first larger job.

 

[Engineer54]

Thanks for that. I don't think I'm fooling either myself or the clients. The clients have been clearly informed that I've recently qualified and that this will be a NICEIC inspection job. I know my limitations to which is why I'm looking to work with someone. Please can you tell me where either of us have been fooled (as you put it)?

I think I made it quite clear that on paper I am qualified to do the work but in practise I recognise the need for experience. Perhaps you should take the time to read my post before making sarcastic replies, your first paragraph clearly shows that you have only read what you want to see in my post.

I am looking to bring in the other electrician on an advisory basis only and to help run cables etc (this is of course much easier with two people). With my engineering degree and recent qualifications I am more than happy calculating voltage drops, cable sizing and all other technical requirements for the domestic installation.

The reality is that I do feel happy with the re-wiring of the property but it just seems sensible to me that I look to do my first big job with someone more experienced in case I hit any problems that I don't feel confident about to be honest.

I haven't taken a basic 5 days course and planned to start doing full-scope work under this, I've taken a 5 week in depth course but despite this still want to work with someone to develop my skills further.

I really don't need to be told how long I need to work with another qualified electrician for as I'm very much aware of my limitations and abilities.

In the longer term I hope I can build up a good working relationship and that we can help each other out on electrical work, maybe plumbing work too if they are interested. Working on the basis that most jobs are much easier with 2 people.

I'm sorry that you seem to have a chip on your shoulder about people entering the industry in this way, but that, to be blunt, is your problem not mine.

It's good to hear that you know your limitations right now, but i hope you don't think one job is going to give you the necessary experience to continue on your own...

Being confident is fine, being over confident tends to get you in a whole heap of mess!! You've completed a 5 week course, and now your laying out plans based on someone being there to cover you, so what happens when that doesn't work out?? Are you still going to take work on such as rewires etc, by yourself, ...i think you Will??

I wouldn't have said a word, if you had done this course to be able to carry out the bits of electrical works that plumbers need to bring electricians in for, like shower pumps, thermostats, boiler wiring etc,

I don't have any chips on my shoulders, and people entering the industry via 5 day or 5 week courses, is basically not my problem, ...It's a problem for the UK Electrical industry, a very big problem, because it degrades and lessens the status of fully qualified and experienced electricians across the board, not just now, but even more so in the future!!!


How long did it take you to become a plumber, or was that a short course thing as well??

 

[polo1]

I have to admit I'm amazed at the response on here. I think the intelligent thing to do when you have just finished a short course is to get someone with more experience in than you (and pay them of course) to help you get up to speed. From the majority of responses on here I'm kind of wishing I hadn't bothered wasting my time to be honest.

Sorry for trying to do the right thing. I've been completely honest with my clients and I won't have anyone make out I'm misleading them as to my abilities. I am also very aware of my limitations which is why I'm asking for this.

Quite frankly, the negative responses aren't very helpful, if someone is interested in working with me and wants to be positive about it then please PM me. Not going to bother replying to people being negative any more.

I'm sorry you appear to have missed my "good luck" - I kinda anticipated some of the responses you would get before they appeared, so wanted to get in first!

It's a real shame that some very experienced and technically extremely sound posters on here can't get over the fact that there is a different way into our trade now. Personally, I don't like it either, but I'm not going to bad mouth or seek to belittle folks who take that route. As has been said already, there are bad, fully qualified sparks and good domestic installers, with everything inbetween. What's far more important to me are guys who provide a good service for a fair price, know their limitations and are not afraid to ask questions - we all have to learn (and continue to do so).
So, I'll repeat my offering of good luck, and hope you won't be put off coming back to the Forum to tell us how you are getting on, and to ask for advice.
Regards.

 

[malcolmsanford]

That so odd?

Some people just get a buzz out of doing new things...

I did an engineering degree, got bored, worked as a sound engineer/technician but work dried up. I've spent the past 8 years as cabin crew for a major airline and now I'm training to be a sparks.

I sometimes wonder what is happening in this world

I wonder how many doctors got up one morning and decide i'm bored with this, Paramedic is the way forward, or a lawyer saying yep paralegal for me.

In all my born days in this industry have I know an electrical engineer or any engineer decide well I have had enough of earning 50-60k a year, it's attics and outside lights for me now ..................

No wonder this industry is on it's knees.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

And you don't think that the 3 are even slightly related malcolmsanford? It's pretty obvious to most that engineering plumbing and electrical work are all related but don't let that put you off, keep writing your sarcastic drivel.

And not a problem, it sounds like no great loss from your attitude. I actually want to continue doing plumbing and add electrical work to my portfolio too but don't let that bother you. Plumbing and electrical trades go hand in hand and to be honest I will achieve what I want with 100 negative responses on here, I just need 1 person who is positive about it. No problem.

In the case that I don't get anyone who is interested then I will do it myself and have it assessed by NICEIC anyway, I would just prefer to do it in a mature way.

jsut reading your posts croft....quite the defensive one arn`t we.....no doubt you spent some time looking over similar threads to this in here prior to posting this.......what you have to remember here croft is that most of the members of this forum went to tech/college and served their time etc..and gained a foothold in the industry in the traditional way....now i have to tell you now that i aint a fan of these "6 week wonder courses" or "intensive training"...n stuff like that......theres a reason why things were done the way they were (and still are if done properly).....you are going to struggle to be taken seriously by quite a few in here and it aint them being
un-cooperative or awquard...just because how they feel dont quite suit your mindset......theres no getting away from it.....you have chosen a "quick easy route" as you see it.....exept you will find it wasn`t so "quick n easy" after all once you are out installin and fault finding and all the other stuff we have to do on a daily basis.....anyway, best o luck to you.....you`l need it mate.....

 

[DNS1]

I think you've got a point Malcolm, it wouldn't be right if cr0ft just worked supervised and then got the job assessed.

However, from what I understand, that's not what he was planning.

Just sounds like he wants a mate who knows what he/she is doing when it comes to assisting him. I sure as hell wouldn't want to do a rewire assisted by someone with zero experience who didn't know enough to get me the right cable from the van, or who couldn't drill a hole in a joist in the right place.

Even if he did need to ask the occasional bit of advice on the install, it would be no different to asking on here. I bet half the forum users have given someone advice on their assessed work (probably without ever knowing!)

 

[DNS1]

In all my born days in this industry have I know an electrical engineer or any engineer decide well I have had enough of earning 50-60k a year, it's attics and outside lights for me now ..................

You're living in the past I'm afraid mate. Not easy to earn that sort of money as an engineer these days, even with the degree (seeing as every man and his dog has one).

In my job you find a lot of people who have previous experience elsewhere. I've worked on aircraft with former doctors, nurses, lawyers and professional musicians.

The days of having to stick with a career are gone, there's nothing wrong with changing your mind these days and doing something completely different.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

I think you've got a point Malcolm, it wouldn't be right if cr0ft just worked supervised and then got the job assessed.

However, from what I understand, that's not what he was planning.

Just sounds like he wants a mate who knows what he/she is doing when it comes to assisting him. I sure as hell wouldn't want to do a rewire assisted by someone with zero experience who didn't know enough to get me the right cable from the van, or who couldn't drill a hole in a joist in the right place.

Even if he did need to ask the occasional bit of advice on the install, it would be no different to asking on here. I bet half the forum users have given someone advice on their assessed work (probably without ever knowing!)

whats up with him?..should know ẁhat he`s doing......

 

[malcolmsanford]

That is my point, it is nothing to do with how long or not how long you have taken to become competent, to be assessed by a scheme.

It's not also the fact that someone will guide you or advise you, it is the fact that they will be physically installing cables, doing the work and on the assessment the OP will be standing in front of the assessor saying, yep all me guv.