New Electrical Drop by Electric Company..watch out!

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rickfarang
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New Electrical Drop by Electric Company..watch out!

Post by rickfarang » November 2, 2012, 12:27 pm

Hi Lee,

I am sorry to hear things went so badly; perhaps the worst misinterpretation or disregard for a customer's desires that I have heard of. I wonder if its the same electrician or somebody whom he sent. The electrician who works on our house has a cleft pallet which makes makes for obvious difficulty when trying to create some parts of speech - the best way to describe it is to say that a lot of his speech comes out of his nose when it shouldn't. Is this the same person?



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New Electrical Drop by Electric Company..watch out!

Post by lee » November 2, 2012, 2:14 pm

That's the guy Rick. Actually he didn't do the work himself, he had a small team do the work for him, maybe he didn't explain things properly to them. I understand mistakes happen from time to time but an honest electrician would accept the mistake and put it right and not lie and pass the blame.

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New Electrical Drop by Electric Company..watch out!

Post by rickfarang » November 2, 2012, 3:42 pm

I am very sorry for my part in your troubles. I am also pretty disappointed.

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Post by lee » November 2, 2012, 4:01 pm

No problems Rick it's not your fault, I just thought I'd give a heads-up!

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New Electrical Drop by Electric Company..watch out!

Post by bluejets » November 2, 2012, 4:05 pm

I've seen several well drawn house plans and all have included high detail on everything including the electrical.

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New Electrical Drop by Electric Company..watch out!

Post by fatbob » November 2, 2012, 7:56 pm

Did you have a plan? Did you supervise his work daily?

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Post by lee » November 2, 2012, 9:21 pm

Yes I had a basic plan which I used to mark the locations, he wasn't interested in looking at this and scribbled everything down on his own piece of paper. Still it's only a small basic rectangular building, a professional electrician wouldn't need a plan for something as basic as this. The builders have been working the past month without a plan and they have been doing an excellent job, no problems whatsoever, but these guys have been in the trade for years and could do it with their eyes closed. Also no need to supervise them because they know what they're doing, they can work from some very basic details.

I marked the exact locations where I wanted everything in bright coloured chalk, nothing was painted over because they were bare walls that haven't been rendered yet. I walked around with him and made sure he knew what I wanted him to do. There were about 4 guys here for one day, I didn't breath down their necks while they were working, it was clear what they had to do.

As I said before this is just my personal experience, I'm just passing my experience on, you don't have to agree with me. If you're looking for an electrician feel free to use him but I personally would touch him with a bargepole.

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New Electrical Drop by Electric Company..watch out!

Post by mortiboy » November 2, 2012, 9:36 pm

Why is it Thai's like put electrical sockets half way up the wall?
In my kitchen the light switch is in the next room!
All rooms have only one power supply, and all on centre walls of the house
Beats me.

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New Electrical Drop by Electric Company..watch out!

Post by bluejets » November 3, 2012, 4:03 am

No matter how basic the building, plans cost very little to have drawn up and as I said before, the detail is all included, no questions.

Change something, no problem. Go back to the drafter and have him draw up a variation.

It is not only to make sure they understand what is required but also to cover your ass when things are not as requested.

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New Electrical Drop by Electric Company..watch out!

Post by fatbob » November 3, 2012, 7:04 am

My job is supervising construction in Thailand, I have done this for 17 years and another 18 years before coming here in Aus, I knew what your answer was going to be and I hate to say it but the reason it was a stuff up is entirely your fault, no supervision and no plans, 'its only a box and they dont need them', you just proved they DO, the lesson here is anyone who thinks you can build in Thailand without supervision and plans but want western quality will end up where Lee is right now, sorry mate buts it is your own fault.

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New Electrical Drop by Electric Company..watch out!

Post by jackspratt » November 3, 2012, 7:23 am

If someone (a tradesman) can't/won't follow verbal instructions, plus a simple plan and marks on walls, why would anyone assume that they would follow a "proper" plan.

When I had renovations done to my house, the electrician followed me around and made his own marks on the walls, based on my instructions. I certainly wasn't sitting on his shoulder watching every minute as he completed the work - 100% correctly, and to western standards.

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Post by fatbob » November 3, 2012, 7:37 am

Typical comment from you Jackspratt, on my jobs they will follow a proper plan because they are being supervised to do so, I will do it how all major construction company's do it, to prevent mistakes, and on my jobs yes always looking over there shoulder because you need to, yes mark the walls OFF A PLAN, your trying to reinvent the wheel but as always you know best!
Lee thought he didn't need to and just look what happened, what always happens with that approach, tradesman here serve a four year apprenticeship....no....they are farmers who pick up a trade with no training, some pick it up, most don't, I only deal with it every day so I wouldn't know. My advice is for those who have some common sense and do not like to waste there hard earned money and do not want to get a shock every time they turn off there computer.

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jackspratt
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New Electrical Drop by Electric Company..watch out!

Post by jackspratt » November 3, 2012, 7:49 am

I must have been lucky then, that my "farmer" sparky, without a proper plan, nor constant supervision, just happened to get it right first time. :D

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Post by lee » November 3, 2012, 9:03 am

Coxo, I agree that plans are essential, especially on larger construction sites where you have multiple contractors and workers all over the place.

However I personally didn't think it was absolutely necessary for this small job. They had the building to themselves, and everything was clearly marked on the walls. The electrician who wired my house up, which is 3 times the size of this project, managed to do it unsupervised and without a plan, everything was done how I wanted it and there were no problems whatsoever. He understood basic instructions like 4 switches mean 4 and not 2. I do not get a shock from my computers. ;)

When you draw 6 S's on the wall in bright coloured marker you expect to get 6 switches, not 2. Most people would understand that whether you have a plan or not.

The guy I have coming will fix the errors without a proper plan, I will let you know if he is successful. ;)

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Post by parrot » November 3, 2012, 9:19 am

When we built our home we had to depend on the contractor choosing the right gauge steel in our columns, proper amount of concrete, adequate steel to support a roof, an electrician to select the proper gauge of wire and correct size of circuit breakers, a welder to connect all the steel rods, tile installers to square and lay our tile.....among a host of other jobs that I'd have no idea how to do myself, nor know if the worker were doing the job properly or not. If I knew how to do all that myself, I'd be inclined to do it myself and not rely on someone else's judgement.
Building a home in Thailand requires a considerable leap of faith in the workers doing the job. Sometimes work is so deficient that it's easily noticeable......but if one of the several electricians installing the wiring in the far reaches of the ceiling takes a shortcut with a wirenut, I doubt I'd notice. Ditto for the welder who secures the corner pieces of your roof beams to the house pillars.

Note: change my 'considerable' above to 'huge'

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New Electrical Drop by Electric Company..watch out!

Post by fatbob » November 3, 2012, 10:16 am

As I can tell with you Jack you got the only western trained electrician in the whole of Thailand, just adds to your legend status.

One thing my dear old granddad told me "Jack(spratt) of all trades master of none"

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New Electrical Drop by Electric Company..watch out!

Post by jimboLV » November 3, 2012, 10:24 am

I agree with coxxo. Either make a plan or hire someone to do it. And yes, you or someone you trust should constantly look over their shoulder. In the States the contractor wasn't allowed to do any work unless me or my inspector was present.

When we built our house I prepared a detailed electrical plan, then went along as sparky marked the walls etc., from the plan. He even suggested a few changes that turned out to be worthwhile. But I guess you could say that we cheated, as every one of the contractors we used were well known and had done work for the family for many years.

But then I have done construction for many years in the US, mostly industrial. I guess if I had turned them loose with vague instructions I would not have been satisfied with the final product. Grounding and getting the right polarity on the outlets was a big thing with me, also putting the light switches on the right side of the door.

I also prepared a detailed piping plan. For the rest of the house I only gave them a vague outline of room dimensions, etc. and let them do their thing. I learned a lot about Thai building construction, especially the way they lay the ceramic tiles, although I did make them wait a couple of weeks before laying the tile on green concrete. And the "rendering" of the walls was something I had never seen before, except for an old house I restored in Ohio which still had lath and plaster.

But the most important thing is to check the builders reputation, ask to see some completed work and if possible talk to the owners to see if they are satisfied.

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New Electrical Drop by Electric Company..watch out!

Post by jackspratt » November 3, 2012, 10:28 am

coxo wrote:
One thing my dear old granddad told me "Jack(spratt) of all trades master of none"
I wonder if your granddad knew my father, who was a very highly respected building supervisor for many years in Perth? :-k

He once told me "be careful of listening to someone who seems to believe they know it all when it comes to building". :D

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Post by fatbob » November 3, 2012, 10:44 am

jackspratt wrote:He once told me "be careful of listening to someone who seems to believe they know it all when it comes to building".
And my dear friend that quote applies to you.

Thanks JimboLV, I agree. I am presently completing the second stage of my house up in Udon, I have a small team of workers from here up there to finish works, the wife is watching with fully detailed drawings, an Aussie sparky mate from Ban Dung is up there every second day as my eyes and ears and I am flying up this arvo for two days, might see if Jackspratt wants a job so he can supervise from the bar.

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New Electrical Drop by Electric Company..watch out!

Post by rickfarang » June 5, 2013, 3:16 pm

Just a quick update. This is about 18 months after the original incident. We had the electricity drop out a few times in the least couple of days, that might or might not be related to this other fact: My electrician (the one who failed Lee) came by and related the story that the corrupt foreman of the electric company crew had been fired and thugs had been sent around to cause trouble for the electrician. No details were immediately available as the story was told in Thai. We don't know who if anybody related the story to the electric company. Make of it what you will.

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