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you must not get many crawl spaces.
mud, bugs, snakes, busted shit pipes, too tight.
hell i had to dig under a main beam once to get to the other side. NOPE!!
ran romex til i got my union call. i'll do shit in my house, but i built is so chases everywhere, fuck that 12' spacing bullshit, outlet every 6', outside lights on 4 ways switches everywhere, i can light up the yard like an airport from any room, cable, phone, cat 6 on every wall!!!
i have a ton of respect for any resi guy that does it longer than 5 years!!!
As the "slight build guy" on staff, yeh I feel this. Also never tell your supervisor you can fit through a 10x10 access hatch or you'll find yourself walking across metal cieling joists one day like I do regularly now lmao.
lol, yep!
i never had the tight space problem after i got to be a in my mid 20's, working out i got bulked up, so instead of tight areas i got the "hey kid, see that pile of 4"RMC, yea run that up to the 70th floor and let me know when you are done!"
Ayyy shaft work, gotta love it. Been there too. At least there's no mud, snakes, or other nasties 😂 I've always been mint on confined spaces and Heights, I've been climbing trees since I could crawl and had parkoured my elementary school at its highest point before graduating it. Still, these comforts mean I get the uncomfortable jobs in others eyes. I guess being able to just "turn that instinct off" is a marketable boon, and a curse lol. Still, last to be laid off and first to get back when work kicks up 😊
See this pisses me off, get yeeted into every crook and nanny going. But turn around and say some guy too big to for a weight rated platform and I'm the biggest cunt going.
Every day you curse yourself for ever getting into this trade and this is the last ceiling crawl ever. Said every day for 20 years, yet you still keep turning up for work.
I probably got close to that in a barn attic in the middle of summer, our summers are usually 100% humidity and idk what the heat was up there but as soon as I got up there I was glistneing in sweat.
A true resi guy. I’m right there with you man. Always attic over crawl. I did have to send my apprentice in you with a fuck ton of bat shit though recently. That was a rough one.
I’ve worked in commercial and industrial as well as residential and patient care. New estate homes are great if you have the patience to deal with designers. I’ve really found a knack for remodeling Victorian era homes, I just think they’re gorgeous but they can get pretty nasty with coal soot and asbestos.
Service work on homes built from 1950-1980 is the fuck-ing worst. Once worked on a bath remodel on a house that sat on a creek. Didn’t think much of it when I got in the attic, it was a little tight so I had to belly crawl. Mouse poop everywhere, it was built in the 70s but had yellow and pink blown insulation. I had to get all the way back into the eve so I was face down with my arms stretched out. Yelled down to my apprentice because I thought he was shoving a wire up through the insulation and poking me in the stomach, heard him yell “WHAT?” from the other end of the hall. There was an enormous black rat snake under me and it was *pissed*. I had to belly crawl backwards to get out. Call an exterminator, I’ll be back tomorrow, gotta go home and work on my snake charge policy.
It’s good I’ve been at it for four years now actually. Has its pros and cons but I have improved my income quite dramatically and couldn’t imagine working on a rigid schedule and having to request off, deal with an ahole employer, etc ever again. My quality of life is tremendously improved despite the occasional downsides like after hours administrative work, the stresses of ownership and all the responsibility it brings, etc.
Not a ton really. About 8 years which was basically the minimum in CA to qualify for a contractors license. I come from a small business family and always knew I’d go that route but probably would have given it a couple more years if it werent for Covid and unmitigated circumstances. Got laid off right at the start of the hysteria. Job market sucked. Started putting up Craigslist ads for side jobs and before I knew it I realized even working about 3 days a week I was exceeding my previous income. So I quit looking for a job and kept at it. Honestly don’t think I was quite ready skills wise that first year. Just so much different planning and executing jobs completely on your own than with some experience ahead of you calling the shots. But being put into that position I learned more in that first year than I had in the previous 3. By year two it was a good little business.
The only good thing about it is that you can set your own schedule and make your own prices. There are not enough of us by any stretch of the imagination. My phone rings all day
same here, now all process plants, nice, clean, neat work.
i can deal with the hair nets, worst part of my day is cleaning up and prepping to go into a process room!!
perks are this week, cases of little fish crackers, last week, cases of jelly.
beverage (think the big soft drinks co's), milk, cookies, crackers.
medical instruments, think syringes, also medicines, pill stamping.
also metal processing, like making copper powder for diabolical things that go boom.
was in oil and gas for a bit and maritime for way too long, this is nice and clean. lots of stainless, VFD's and controls.
anything that takes a security clearance or super clean backround to grade school.
i cant by contract put any name brands on here but if you look in your medicine cabinet, garage, cuppards and fridge, my work is in there.
Installing 15kv 500mcm teck from the basket of a loader on messenger cable amongst water lines and air lines and duct tube 2 kilometers underground for 12 hours where it's literally as dark as the inside of a rock and I'd rather do that than go into a fiberglass insulated attic in the summer
Wait until you see what 100+ year old crawl spaces are like! Majority of them that I'm in have rat carcasses and smell like rat piss, you're crawling through piles of turds everywhere to deal with some hack job work that was done way too long ago. I literally had to dig my way into a crawlspace because somebody decided the access was a good place to pile all off their excess dirt. It's a fucking miracle if there is clean plastic to squeeze your body against down there. I'm 5'4" 160lbs, so even as a Jman I'm the one that gets to go in all the fucked off shit places in a home.
Just got done doing a bunch of work in an attic with blown in fiberglass insulation...fucking nightmare, I don't usually go full body tyvec suit in an attic, but I'd have been itching for fucking weeks if I didn't. Worst I ran into was blown in insulation that was literally paper dust. Even with a mask I was blowing black shit out of my nose for a week.
It's all about that money though, I'm just glad I work in a state that has great wages. I'd find something else to do real damn quick if I was making $20/hr as a journeyman like Florida and other shit states
Insulation is balls. Tips from the long-timer: talcum powder. Rub the baby powder over your exposed parts to clog your pores, then use cold water to wash off (or better yet a cool-cold shower at the end of the day) to keep your pores constricted while you wash off the fiberglass.
Also, my personal general rule, never use fish sticks without gloves. You might not notice right away, but once you start driving home and make a hard right or left, and let the steering wheel slip through your hands, you will know 😂.
Also, insulation the least of your worries. Commercial-industrial electrician here as well, I have a lot more concern about the asbestos you find in older builds (we do a lot of work in hospitals (go figure, of all asbestos places) and when you open the cieling to find asbestos wrap as well as k owing the walls are skimmed with it, your job becomes a lot more stressful than just dealing with a bit of itch my guy 😉
It's kind of ironic, the standards that is. We are required to use mobile tents to open the cieling tiles because they know there's asbestos. However, the mobile tents have a vac unit attached with a filter so any debris or dust is drawn down into the tent and out through the filter safely. For everyone else, but the dark humor joke among the boys is, we're the filter. It gets pulled to us, and then cleaned lol. Thanks hospitals, glad to know you have our backs with this standard request lol.
Those HEPA carts are actually pretty standard for hospitals and medical buildings, regardless of asbestos (or at least they're supposed to be.) Then again I've worked in enough of them that didn't seem to give a shit, too.
You are correct. That's kinda why I scoff at the standard.
The standard is requiring hepa filters on the Scaffold, NOT for the worker. There's a huge double standard, and unless you make a fuss to your employer, one that we get shafted on health-wise.
Worst part is, when you are the one to make a stink you're often the first laid off... Industry is a bit broken like that, with a few companies exuded to be fair.
lol yeah and when your doing a project they keep that area on negative pressure so all the shit in the air comes into the lungs of the dirty construction workers lol
Dirty construction workers lol, there's a note.
I remember working service during covid protocol when nearly everyone was required to stay home, stop working, and collect CERB. I was working in condos, critical service (as ppl needed to stay home, so if home wasn't working we need some trades to fix it). When I would be in the elevator (4 ppl max as signage posted, one per corner) if I was the only person inside, mask up and everything, and we stopped at a floor for one person, they would just say they will pass and wait for the next.
Cuz we dirty filthy construction people 😂 just funny shit.
Per ASHE, those carts are required primarily because of the micro-organisms (mold, etc) that can live in above ceiling spaces. Those organisms can lead to infections in those recovering from surgery or have weakened immune systems. It’s actually a significant cause of accidental death among patients.
Asbestos isn’t really why we use them.
Working now with a bad ass residential guy who is a fucking wizard. He’s 5’2” 150lb rock climber who makes this shit look easy. We joke that I’m “ground support”, making more now as an apprentice than some journeyman.
As a residential service guy I can say I really like my job more than most commercial work I have done. Granted I’ve only done light commercial, but I really like busting into old boxes and panels and seeing what’s going on. Resi service is like a wildcard everyday.
lol I agree I built my home New build is one thing Maybe I’m just old now lol I use to suit up and tie mc to myself and craw through old school crawl spaces over what I’m sure was asbestos through spaces you have to exhale to fit and keep crawling to breathe but yeah lol not doing that shit either anymore. But I agree a lot of people do shit jobs or what other people think are shit jobs and never stop to appreciate the people doing the jobs. We are all guilty of it in some way
Yeah. I'm old and refuse to do attics now. But I've seen my share of old rockwool and 3/4" layers of fine dust. Worst thing, though, is the contortionist acts needed to get an attic job done. My old bod can't do that shit anymore.
This is the truth! Lost a pair of dykes and a hot or not the other day. Was able to recover the cutters. Sadly, the tester was lost in the abyss for eternity.
yes the attics and crawlspaces can suck at times, but guess what? That work will never be done by A.I. or robots. You also stay in shape and get excellent core strength from crawling and climbing around. I also like the variety of jobsite locations you get to enjoy, sometimes a different location each day of the week. You get to meet new people every often, some of them have amazing life stories to share, and some of them go out of their way to make sure you are well fed and hydrated. I've been invited to run marathons, worked in a remodeled attic that housed a massive miniature model train world, pet the nicest dogs, talk shit with fellow sports fans. Even have suspicions about working at a serial killer's home every few years lol. Just wanted to share some good things about residential work, which is a starting point for a lot of new people in the trades. Another thing I like about residential work is that you get to learn a lot about homes, code, appliances, how to inspect hidden/inaccessable areas and how to install stuff at a home; all very valuable life skills if you ever need to repair or install something around your own place. You learn about carpentry, masonry, plumbing, hvac, hazardous materials, mold, pests etc.
My biggest gripe with commercial work is that sometimes you're on the same jobsite with the same guys for weeks or months on end, and it gets kinda monotonous.
But yeah, crawling around attics and crawlspaces all day gets to be too much as you get older, so it's a good idea to work towards an exit strategy, whether that's in a different role or in a different sector (commercial/industrial) altogether.
Oh yeah, and let's not forget about finding cool antique tools and "educational magazines" in attics and crawlspaces lol
We're doing a knob and tube abatement, lathe and plaster, finished attic, blown in insulation and 2' crawlspace with rat shit everywhere, didn't blow hot for asbestos but we're treating it as such. Fully suited up most of the time. Got an offer to go federal industrial. I'm taking it lol.
I’m over a decade in and have zero residential experience and am grateful. I did add a circuit for a ring camera in my attic but that doesn’t count imo
I was thinking that most electrician work is residential, but I did not check so that probably is not the actual situation. I did a fair amount going through our own attic to hook up up electric wires. Sure it is not that easy or comfortable. We have loose fill blow-in insulation up there, so a good mask really helps I am a homeowner not an electrician.
Let's not forget the 2 feet of blown in insulation on top of the pink stuff. It's fun wondering if that joist is gonna be there to step on. Oh shit! They're on 2 foot centers! Lol.
This is where snaking wires comes in handy.
I hate residential, I worked single family homes for around a year and a half. Cat skeletons in the crawlspaces of houses built in 1910, having to walk rafters to get home runs, I will gladly bend 1-1/4 pipe manually so that I don’t go back to that life.
Thanks 👍 luckily, it's not a daily thing. And I'll take pink over that old crusty yellow shit any day. I bought a respirator specifically for that, since the moment you touch it, it saturates the air.
But genuinely, thanks, not often we get much love; usually the other way around, for reasons unknown. I take my work seriously, study code, and make it a point to do things right, as I assume any union guy does. I enjoy the challenge and problem solving of my work too much to do anything else, I guess.
Currently doing Reno’s. Absolutely the fucking worst. I came from new builds and that shit is cake walk compared to these hill billy dog shit homes. It’s insane. Think it’s time to go into industrial
Nice to hear, thank you. Been outta resi for a couple years but I've spent entire weeks of my life in crawl spaces and attics by this point. Been in 1880 attics so small I have to push my body through little holes with my feet and just keep my arms at my side. Full of vermiculite insulation and couldn't even flip from my chest to my back. I've always been 165lbs so not big by any means. Been doing commercial for a couple years now and I gotta say, it's so much nicer than remodel resi work. Better money, better crews, better hours.
Hell in my area the topout rate for commercial is about 2x as much as resi and typically even with the biggger companies in the area resi benefits are shit. I do miss the troubleshooting of it all though felt like I had to think more than what I do now
I couldn't care less about the junk and bending around in an attic, holy moly it's the 140+°F temp up there on a hot August day with no air circulation that kills me.
What I’ve come to realize, is it’s always the worst homes that need electrical work. Roach, mouse, horder, chicken filled, run down dumps, and fucking mobile homes that make up most the residential work in my area.
I started out with a resi/small commercial/industrial company. Went to a big job company that does no stick framed homes. My attic days are long done, if my friends want a favour they are my apprentice for the day and crawling around in their own attics.
Totally agree, I started in resi. When I got a change to work industrial in O&G I split! Had a big smile on my face digging a trench in 100 heat bc I’d rather do that then be in those attics anyday.
Im a resi. Been doing mostly service work with my last company. I left for a shorter commute and better pay, still doing residential stuff but its mostly installs. Super clean work for the most part. We’re getting into mini splits and heat pumps too on new builds/remodels. Im loving my life now😂
Wow, I didn't realize an inside guy would understand lol. Nothing against anyone, but in general it seems like the commercial/industrial guys always think they're hot shit and no one could do what they do and Resi is below them. Like you said, I'd love to see inside guys in a crawl or attic once a week at minimum, skipping their breaks because I can't 8 and skate if I'm not done with the homeowners service upgrade. We definitely deserve to be paid a lot more similar to you guys.
**ATTENTION! READ THIS NOW!** **1. IF YOU ARE NOT A PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIAN OR LOOKING TO BECOME ONE(for career questions only):** **- DELETE** THIS POST OR YOU WILL BE **BANNED**. YOU CAN POST ON /r/AskElectricians FREELY **2. IF YOU COMMENT ON A POST THAT IS POSTED BY SOMEONE WHO IS NOT A PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIAN:** -YOU WILL BE **BANNED**. JUST **REPORT** THE POST. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/electricians) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It sucks but at least it sucks consistently
lol there’s a good attitude
you must not get many crawl spaces. mud, bugs, snakes, busted shit pipes, too tight. hell i had to dig under a main beam once to get to the other side. NOPE!! ran romex til i got my union call. i'll do shit in my house, but i built is so chases everywhere, fuck that 12' spacing bullshit, outlet every 6', outside lights on 4 ways switches everywhere, i can light up the yard like an airport from any room, cable, phone, cat 6 on every wall!!! i have a ton of respect for any resi guy that does it longer than 5 years!!!
As the "slight build guy" on staff, yeh I feel this. Also never tell your supervisor you can fit through a 10x10 access hatch or you'll find yourself walking across metal cieling joists one day like I do regularly now lmao.
lol, yep! i never had the tight space problem after i got to be a in my mid 20's, working out i got bulked up, so instead of tight areas i got the "hey kid, see that pile of 4"RMC, yea run that up to the 70th floor and let me know when you are done!"
Ayyy shaft work, gotta love it. Been there too. At least there's no mud, snakes, or other nasties 😂 I've always been mint on confined spaces and Heights, I've been climbing trees since I could crawl and had parkoured my elementary school at its highest point before graduating it. Still, these comforts mean I get the uncomfortable jobs in others eyes. I guess being able to just "turn that instinct off" is a marketable boon, and a curse lol. Still, last to be laid off and first to get back when work kicks up 😊
roger that last to go. i've never not worked unless i decided to take some fuck off time
Oh man I’m having flashbacks to the crawl space that got smaller and smaller, and the boss that “didn’t do attic or crawl work” before I was hired
See this pisses me off, get yeeted into every crook and nanny going. But turn around and say some guy too big to for a weight rated platform and I'm the biggest cunt going.
Been doing it since I was 14 about to be 22 my body is fucked
Every day you curse yourself for ever getting into this trade and this is the last ceiling crawl ever. Said every day for 20 years, yet you still keep turning up for work.
I'm a industrial guy doing some resi side work crawling under a house this week. Thankfully no attic work.
Resi here, I'll take an attic over a crawlspace almost every time. Crawlspaces get gross, attics are just hot.
You gotta come get baptized in these FL attics.
140° with 100% humidity. It’s a spiritual experience.
I probably got close to that in a barn attic in the middle of summer, our summers are usually 100% humidity and idk what the heat was up there but as soon as I got up there I was glistneing in sweat.
Its like that in July/August in Nebraska and Iowa too. Arms wet after being in the attic for 30 seconds. Winter is worse.
Some people pay for that spiritual experience. They call it “hot yoga.” Jokes on them if you’re getting paid for the same thing.
A true resi guy. I’m right there with you man. Always attic over crawl. I did have to send my apprentice in you with a fuck ton of bat shit though recently. That was a rough one.
Crawlspaces get gross but not attics? I got two words for ya... Mouse house
I’ve worked in commercial and industrial as well as residential and patient care. New estate homes are great if you have the patience to deal with designers. I’ve really found a knack for remodeling Victorian era homes, I just think they’re gorgeous but they can get pretty nasty with coal soot and asbestos. Service work on homes built from 1950-1980 is the fuck-ing worst. Once worked on a bath remodel on a house that sat on a creek. Didn’t think much of it when I got in the attic, it was a little tight so I had to belly crawl. Mouse poop everywhere, it was built in the 70s but had yellow and pink blown insulation. I had to get all the way back into the eve so I was face down with my arms stretched out. Yelled down to my apprentice because I thought he was shoving a wire up through the insulation and poking me in the stomach, heard him yell “WHAT?” from the other end of the hall. There was an enormous black rat snake under me and it was *pissed*. I had to belly crawl backwards to get out. Call an exterminator, I’ll be back tomorrow, gotta go home and work on my snake charge policy.
this one takes the cake
lol snake charge policy
Lol. If that happened to me I’d cut my license up and go apply at Wendy’s. Fuck all that snake nonsense.
That has got to be one of the wildest things iv heard!
Yup I’m stuck in resi and light commercial now that I’m self-employed. Can confirm it blows lol
How’s the self employment going?
It’s good I’ve been at it for four years now actually. Has its pros and cons but I have improved my income quite dramatically and couldn’t imagine working on a rigid schedule and having to request off, deal with an ahole employer, etc ever again. My quality of life is tremendously improved despite the occasional downsides like after hours administrative work, the stresses of ownership and all the responsibility it brings, etc.
How much experience did you have before you started your business?
Not a ton really. About 8 years which was basically the minimum in CA to qualify for a contractors license. I come from a small business family and always knew I’d go that route but probably would have given it a couple more years if it werent for Covid and unmitigated circumstances. Got laid off right at the start of the hysteria. Job market sucked. Started putting up Craigslist ads for side jobs and before I knew it I realized even working about 3 days a week I was exceeding my previous income. So I quit looking for a job and kept at it. Honestly don’t think I was quite ready skills wise that first year. Just so much different planning and executing jobs completely on your own than with some experience ahead of you calling the shots. But being put into that position I learned more in that first year than I had in the previous 3. By year two it was a good little business.
The only good thing about it is that you can set your own schedule and make your own prices. There are not enough of us by any stretch of the imagination. My phone rings all day
I got a respirator for attic and crawl spaces that helps a lot
Went from resi to industrial and I DO. NOT. MISS. IT.
same here, now all process plants, nice, clean, neat work. i can deal with the hair nets, worst part of my day is cleaning up and prepping to go into a process room!! perks are this week, cases of little fish crackers, last week, cases of jelly.
What kind of process plants?
beverage (think the big soft drinks co's), milk, cookies, crackers. medical instruments, think syringes, also medicines, pill stamping. also metal processing, like making copper powder for diabolical things that go boom. was in oil and gas for a bit and maritime for way too long, this is nice and clean. lots of stainless, VFD's and controls. anything that takes a security clearance or super clean backround to grade school. i cant by contract put any name brands on here but if you look in your medicine cabinet, garage, cuppards and fridge, my work is in there.
Bayer Pharma huh?
I specialize in remodel, and typically in late 1800's and early 1900's homes. It's rough sometimes, but we do get paid pretty well at least
Same
I love the term banjo tight.
Installing 15kv 500mcm teck from the basket of a loader on messenger cable amongst water lines and air lines and duct tube 2 kilometers underground for 12 hours where it's literally as dark as the inside of a rock and I'd rather do that than go into a fiberglass insulated attic in the summer
Wait until you see what 100+ year old crawl spaces are like! Majority of them that I'm in have rat carcasses and smell like rat piss, you're crawling through piles of turds everywhere to deal with some hack job work that was done way too long ago. I literally had to dig my way into a crawlspace because somebody decided the access was a good place to pile all off their excess dirt. It's a fucking miracle if there is clean plastic to squeeze your body against down there. I'm 5'4" 160lbs, so even as a Jman I'm the one that gets to go in all the fucked off shit places in a home. Just got done doing a bunch of work in an attic with blown in fiberglass insulation...fucking nightmare, I don't usually go full body tyvec suit in an attic, but I'd have been itching for fucking weeks if I didn't. Worst I ran into was blown in insulation that was literally paper dust. Even with a mask I was blowing black shit out of my nose for a week. It's all about that money though, I'm just glad I work in a state that has great wages. I'd find something else to do real damn quick if I was making $20/hr as a journeyman like Florida and other shit states
Insulation is balls. Tips from the long-timer: talcum powder. Rub the baby powder over your exposed parts to clog your pores, then use cold water to wash off (or better yet a cool-cold shower at the end of the day) to keep your pores constricted while you wash off the fiberglass. Also, my personal general rule, never use fish sticks without gloves. You might not notice right away, but once you start driving home and make a hard right or left, and let the steering wheel slip through your hands, you will know 😂. Also, insulation the least of your worries. Commercial-industrial electrician here as well, I have a lot more concern about the asbestos you find in older builds (we do a lot of work in hospitals (go figure, of all asbestos places) and when you open the cieling to find asbestos wrap as well as k owing the walls are skimmed with it, your job becomes a lot more stressful than just dealing with a bit of itch my guy 😉
Yeah every hospital job I have done there is also asbestos lol
It's kind of ironic, the standards that is. We are required to use mobile tents to open the cieling tiles because they know there's asbestos. However, the mobile tents have a vac unit attached with a filter so any debris or dust is drawn down into the tent and out through the filter safely. For everyone else, but the dark humor joke among the boys is, we're the filter. It gets pulled to us, and then cleaned lol. Thanks hospitals, glad to know you have our backs with this standard request lol.
Those HEPA carts are actually pretty standard for hospitals and medical buildings, regardless of asbestos (or at least they're supposed to be.) Then again I've worked in enough of them that didn't seem to give a shit, too.
You are correct. That's kinda why I scoff at the standard. The standard is requiring hepa filters on the Scaffold, NOT for the worker. There's a huge double standard, and unless you make a fuss to your employer, one that we get shafted on health-wise. Worst part is, when you are the one to make a stink you're often the first laid off... Industry is a bit broken like that, with a few companies exuded to be fair.
lol yeah and when your doing a project they keep that area on negative pressure so all the shit in the air comes into the lungs of the dirty construction workers lol
Dirty construction workers lol, there's a note. I remember working service during covid protocol when nearly everyone was required to stay home, stop working, and collect CERB. I was working in condos, critical service (as ppl needed to stay home, so if home wasn't working we need some trades to fix it). When I would be in the elevator (4 ppl max as signage posted, one per corner) if I was the only person inside, mask up and everything, and we stopped at a floor for one person, they would just say they will pass and wait for the next. Cuz we dirty filthy construction people 😂 just funny shit.
Meanwhile I’m riding elevators with dead people at the hospital lol
At least they don't ask what you're doing and why :) lol dark humor, but I'm sure you hear me lol.
I'd wear a respirator
Per ASHE, those carts are required primarily because of the micro-organisms (mold, etc) that can live in above ceiling spaces. Those organisms can lead to infections in those recovering from surgery or have weakened immune systems. It’s actually a significant cause of accidental death among patients. Asbestos isn’t really why we use them.
Working now with a bad ass residential guy who is a fucking wizard. He’s 5’2” 150lb rock climber who makes this shit look easy. We joke that I’m “ground support”, making more now as an apprentice than some journeyman.
As a residential service guy I can say I really like my job more than most commercial work I have done. Granted I’ve only done light commercial, but I really like busting into old boxes and panels and seeing what’s going on. Resi service is like a wildcard everyday.
Every time i see people shit talk resi guys, i always laugh because that shit talker is most likely going home to a house wired by a resi guy.
lol I agree I built my home New build is one thing Maybe I’m just old now lol I use to suit up and tie mc to myself and craw through old school crawl spaces over what I’m sure was asbestos through spaces you have to exhale to fit and keep crawling to breathe but yeah lol not doing that shit either anymore. But I agree a lot of people do shit jobs or what other people think are shit jobs and never stop to appreciate the people doing the jobs. We are all guilty of it in some way
Yeah. I'm old and refuse to do attics now. But I've seen my share of old rockwool and 3/4" layers of fine dust. Worst thing, though, is the contortionist acts needed to get an attic job done. My old bod can't do that shit anymore.
Number one rule for attics with blown in insulation. Don’t bring anything up there with you that you aren’t willing to part with permanently.
This is the truth! Lost a pair of dykes and a hot or not the other day. Was able to recover the cutters. Sadly, the tester was lost in the abyss for eternity.
yes the attics and crawlspaces can suck at times, but guess what? That work will never be done by A.I. or robots. You also stay in shape and get excellent core strength from crawling and climbing around. I also like the variety of jobsite locations you get to enjoy, sometimes a different location each day of the week. You get to meet new people every often, some of them have amazing life stories to share, and some of them go out of their way to make sure you are well fed and hydrated. I've been invited to run marathons, worked in a remodeled attic that housed a massive miniature model train world, pet the nicest dogs, talk shit with fellow sports fans. Even have suspicions about working at a serial killer's home every few years lol. Just wanted to share some good things about residential work, which is a starting point for a lot of new people in the trades. Another thing I like about residential work is that you get to learn a lot about homes, code, appliances, how to inspect hidden/inaccessable areas and how to install stuff at a home; all very valuable life skills if you ever need to repair or install something around your own place. You learn about carpentry, masonry, plumbing, hvac, hazardous materials, mold, pests etc. My biggest gripe with commercial work is that sometimes you're on the same jobsite with the same guys for weeks or months on end, and it gets kinda monotonous. But yeah, crawling around attics and crawlspaces all day gets to be too much as you get older, so it's a good idea to work towards an exit strategy, whether that's in a different role or in a different sector (commercial/industrial) altogether. Oh yeah, and let's not forget about finding cool antique tools and "educational magazines" in attics and crawlspaces lol
The homeowners can be hot tho
I am the same as you and feel the same.
We're doing a knob and tube abatement, lathe and plaster, finished attic, blown in insulation and 2' crawlspace with rat shit everywhere, didn't blow hot for asbestos but we're treating it as such. Fully suited up most of the time. Got an offer to go federal industrial. I'm taking it lol.
At $100 an hour, resi aint bad
I’m over a decade in and have zero residential experience and am grateful. I did add a circuit for a ring camera in my attic but that doesn’t count imo
Been there, done that. Didn't like it!
New construction period is fine with me Resi or otherwise. But existing residential is a no go except my house.
Who TF uses 5” rigid regularly?? Bridge work?
Renovation of 15kv system in a large hospital lol normally 4” emt but done a good bit of 4” rigid
I was thinking that most electrician work is residential, but I did not check so that probably is not the actual situation. I did a fair amount going through our own attic to hook up up electric wires. Sure it is not that easy or comfortable. We have loose fill blow-in insulation up there, so a good mask really helps I am a homeowner not an electrician.
Let's not forget the 2 feet of blown in insulation on top of the pink stuff. It's fun wondering if that joist is gonna be there to step on. Oh shit! They're on 2 foot centers! Lol. This is where snaking wires comes in handy.
New construction for the Win. Fuck an attic or crawl. But when i have to, thats what my helper is for lol
New build all day my friends.
I hate residential, I worked single family homes for around a year and a half. Cat skeletons in the crawlspaces of houses built in 1910, having to walk rafters to get home runs, I will gladly bend 1-1/4 pipe manually so that I don’t go back to that life.
Thanks 👍 luckily, it's not a daily thing. And I'll take pink over that old crusty yellow shit any day. I bought a respirator specifically for that, since the moment you touch it, it saturates the air. But genuinely, thanks, not often we get much love; usually the other way around, for reasons unknown. I take my work seriously, study code, and make it a point to do things right, as I assume any union guy does. I enjoy the challenge and problem solving of my work too much to do anything else, I guess.
Commercial guy here, I just tell people that if I have to go in an attic I charge 200 an hour for the whole job. They usually don't ask after that
My next reply lol
Industrial guy here doing my new home construction which is arguably the easiest and I still hate it
Yeah I have done a lot of new Resi and that pretty good work
Me to man...me too. I told my wife the same thing when I helped out my brother for a while.
😘
Currently doing Reno’s. Absolutely the fucking worst. I came from new builds and that shit is cake walk compared to these hill billy dog shit homes. It’s insane. Think it’s time to go into industrial
A lot easier than bending conduit (I hate math and have no patience)
I did my fair share of attic work when I did solar. 50°C in August, shoring up trusses another company blew apart with crooked lag bolts.
Nice to hear, thank you. Been outta resi for a couple years but I've spent entire weeks of my life in crawl spaces and attics by this point. Been in 1880 attics so small I have to push my body through little holes with my feet and just keep my arms at my side. Full of vermiculite insulation and couldn't even flip from my chest to my back. I've always been 165lbs so not big by any means. Been doing commercial for a couple years now and I gotta say, it's so much nicer than remodel resi work. Better money, better crews, better hours.
When it isn’t attic work it’s honestly pretty awesome
Attic is where your manhood gets questioned
lol shit plant having questionable liquid splashed on you
Hell in my area the topout rate for commercial is about 2x as much as resi and typically even with the biggger companies in the area resi benefits are shit. I do miss the troubleshooting of it all though felt like I had to think more than what I do now
I took a 5 year break from resi, no attics or crawl spaces. Going back to resi after that blew.
I couldn't care less about the junk and bending around in an attic, holy moly it's the 140+°F temp up there on a hot August day with no air circulation that kills me.
What I’ve come to realize, is it’s always the worst homes that need electrical work. Roach, mouse, horder, chicken filled, run down dumps, and fucking mobile homes that make up most the residential work in my area.
I started out with a resi/small commercial/industrial company. Went to a big job company that does no stick framed homes. My attic days are long done, if my friends want a favour they are my apprentice for the day and crawling around in their own attics.
Totally agree, I started in resi. When I got a change to work industrial in O&G I split! Had a big smile on my face digging a trench in 100 heat bc I’d rather do that then be in those attics anyday.
Im a resi. Been doing mostly service work with my last company. I left for a shorter commute and better pay, still doing residential stuff but its mostly installs. Super clean work for the most part. We’re getting into mini splits and heat pumps too on new builds/remodels. Im loving my life now😂
Did that for 5 years, left resi for commercial facility and a 50% pay increase and ill never look back
Wow, I didn't realize an inside guy would understand lol. Nothing against anyone, but in general it seems like the commercial/industrial guys always think they're hot shit and no one could do what they do and Resi is below them. Like you said, I'd love to see inside guys in a crawl or attic once a week at minimum, skipping their breaks because I can't 8 and skate if I'm not done with the homeowners service upgrade. We definitely deserve to be paid a lot more similar to you guys.
This is exactly why I work industrial now lol , resi sucks assssss in my opinion
It’s got its perks on occasion…
What a whiny baby.