Poor workmanship is a common cause of electrical faults. These often occur because the electrician, or ‘handyman’ who did the work took a few shortcuts.
This is quite common so I’ve decided to make a whole post about it.
Electricians love to criticise the work of other electricians, but sometimes bad work needs to be called out, especially if it is very dodgy or even outright dangerous.
This post is to give you an idea of what a good job is in my opinion. Note that others may have a different opinion.
What Will A Good Electrician Do?
Put simply, a good electrician will install a cable to do a task, such as power a light, and ensure that protective devices will work to avoid a fire or electric shock, if a fault were to occur. Here is a bit more detail about what I mean.
- The cable should be the right size to not overload the circuit.
- The cable should not be damaged during install for any reason, including by other tradespeople.
- The electrical connection to fittings, switches should be good and not loose or too tight.
- Fittings and cable should be installed to avoid faults from occurring or any harm to anyone.
- Fittings and cable should be installed in a way that is aesthetically pleasing..
- The electrical wiring should be tested that it meets the standards and regulations of your country.
- A certification or inspection should be provided as per the regulations in your country.
Why Does Poor Workmanship Occur?
Poor workmanship occurs for several reasons. These are my opinions as an electrician.
- Laziness.
- Being a cheap skate to make the highest profit (fast and cheap).
- Not being a good teacher to apprentices.
- Not communicating properly with the owner or other people on site such as the builder.
- Not planning just winging the job.
What Happens If Your Electrical Is Poorly Installed?
The bad things that can happen as a result of poor workmanship can range from manageable to extremely bad.
Here are some things that can happen if you’ve had to suffer poor electrical workmanship.
- Aesthetic. Work looks ugly, wonky outlets, cable clipping not straight, etc.
- Appliances fail sooner than they should. Warranty is void because installer didn’t follow instructions.
- Breakers trip on overload
- Fires start
- People get electric shocks
To be fair, some of these result because the home owner/occupier has made bad decisions, like running four heaters through a multi board for example.
There are also second order effects of bad electrical work including
- Financial loss
- Mental stress
- Lawsuits
- Insurance problems
- Local council problems.
Maybe the worst second order effect is the wasted time.
As you can see, it can be quite important to make sure that the work is done right the first time.
How To Avoid Poor Electrical Workmanship?
There are a few things you can do to avoid poor electrical workmanship.
- Ensure you have hired a registered electrician (no do-it-all handymen).
- Ensure they have the right experience for the work that you want done. Electrical is a massive field and not everyone is equally competent.
- Take the time to understand what is happening on the job.
- Make sure to communicate clearly with the workers.
- Ensure that you get the right certification, etc as required by law.
- Read this blog if you have an electrical fault.
Next Steps
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