Electrician v. Plumber: Why the Sizeable Rate (Wage) Differential?

Factual Questions
21

Whuckfistle

If you do not carry out an insulation test upon a circuit you have installed, in the UK, you would probably be breaking the law.

Reason I say probably, is that there has not yet been a test case, however, any electrician carrying out a contract would have to be either insured or personally liable, and insurance would certainly require proper testing as part of the terms.

If the matter came to court it is highly likely that the competance of the electrician concerned would be examined, and one crucial aspect to that would be to demonstrate that a newly installed circuit had been tested and certified by a competant person.

The definition of a competant person would almost certainly be defined as one who has demonstrably been able to follow the guidelines as issued in the I.E.E.E 16th edition wiring regulations, which also lays down standards for testing circuits.

An electrician would have to be able to prove that all the standards have been met, by having a laid out specification and design and testing procedure, this would have to be recorded.

You would not get away without carrying out your insulation test, and also you would have to carry out earth loop impedance tests, and finally you would also have to carry out Earth leakage trip tests on any residual current devices.

That only covers financial liability, but an electrician would also have a ‘duty of care’ to ensure that the circuit was installed correctly such that if a fault develops it would be isolated safely so that no danger arises.
If the electrician had failed in the ‘duty of care’ that person would become liable for criminal proceedings.

One case that I can remember was a cowboy electrician that had incorrectly installed a central heating system, and used the earth wire as a switched live instead of going to the wholesalers and buying 12" of 4-core wire.(red-yellow-blue-earth)
Due to an error the electrician made, he connected the other end of the switched live to the earth block, because he had followed the colour code at that end, and when the earth became live due to the switch, a stainless steel sink that was also connected to the earth bar became live, and killed the household occupant.
He had revisited the house after several complaint of mild shocks but had still not tested or checked his work properly.

He got four years, nowadays he could get ten years.

22

Things vary greatly here in the US. From state to state and within each state. Local code changes supercede the state code which can supercede the national electric code. In other words, the national code can be altered by the state and the local or city code can alter the state code. In some places you dont even need an electrician to do the work. Some places dont even require an inspection. Every state has differences in licsensing requirements and permit requirements.
The most common and proper ilnstallation would include,
a permit issued for work
a licsenced worker do the work
person should be bonded and insured
job should be inspected (at several stages of build)
completed job should be safe, up to code and done in a workmanlike manner.

But nowhere have I found that each circuit needs to be tested before power is applied.
In fact, it is not required by the National Electric Code to do so.

The owner may require testing and documentation as part of the installation but would pay extra for this.
CASDAVE-- I can`t reason, in your case, why the overcurrent device would not have interrupted the circuit if any part of the circuit was grounded. Normally this would be an automatic sparker. Sounds like he may have used the earth ground as the nuetral or return conductor. In this case the ground would carry current and the owner could get caught in the path.

23

Here in Alberta, it is very similar then to the US, with the following variances:
A permit is issued for the work
–Usually an electrician pulls the permit, but a homeowner may pull their own electrical permit for their own home.

A licensed worker do the work
– A homeowner may do their own work if they have pulled their own permit

Job should be inspected at several stages (Usually after supply service installation, rough-in, and final inspection)

Here too there is not a hard and fast rule that each circuit needs to tested before power-up…however… particularly in the case of receptacles, one (a great job for a 1st year apprentice) usually would use a 3-prong tester with a series of multi-colored lights to test (and repair :smack: if needed) each receptacle after power-up. The series of lights simply tells you the possible combinations of wiring faux pas that can occur i.e. open ground, reverse polarity, open neutral, reversed neutral/ground, reversed hot/ground.

24

In the UK, every outlet and every single circuit must be certified as being correct.

This means every circuit would be insulation tested, and every outlet would be earth loop impedance tested.

The measurements for these would have to be recorded and would form part of the completion of contract terms.

Whuckfistle

The stainless steel sink had been earth bonded to the water pipes leading to the sink, problem was that those pipes started off as copper, but were joined into plastic, so the central heating earth that was linked to the sink didn’t return to the supply.

25

The simple fact is that when your drains are blocked and theres water pouring all over your floor you’re gonna have to call a plumber, plumbers are smart enough to have got their heads together and make sure that they all charge the same… a lot.
If your electrics quit then it’s not quite so urgent, you can turn em off and they’re safe.

26

I can understand how that would happen now.

27

I’m sure there are different rules in different states, but in Texas you have to have at least 6,000 hours working in the trade before you can even take the examination for a Journeyman Plumbing License. After that you also have to have 6 hours Continuing Professional Education each year in order to keep your license. There is no difference between commercial and residential as far as licensing goes. I’m lucky in that the company I work for does only commercial work, so I get to stay away from the “dirtier” aspects of the trade. It’s a job not many people want to get into, so the market isn’t exactly flooded…sorry about that :-).

28

You can also shut your water off…

29

If I were going to pick a profession and I was considering electrician vs plummer. It would take a higher wage for me to be a plummer - as plummers are who you call when your toilet backs up!!!

30

Tit for Tat.

31

I believe here in WI, I had to have 8,000 hrs of OTJ and 1,500 hrs of schooling (for electrician). We dont need ongoing training each year because we dont carry a license if we work for someone else, only if we own our own business and have to pull our own permits. I just remember being in tech school for five years. Seemed like a lifetime.

32

true, but my point is that water leaks are seen as much more of a crisis situation by your average householder. maybe the rates a tradesman can charge is directly proportional to the volume of the nagging an average housewife can lay on her husband while he has a finger on a leaky pipe :wink: