Paid electrician, is this right or normal?

[Dustydazzler]

twin n earth Cable , clips, back boxes , accessories , down lights , lamps etc etc pretty much always from screwfix or toolstation

Only get swa and some other bits and bobs like trunking from my local wholesalers

 

[Dave OCD]

Will they give better prices than the published Electricfix ones when you're regularly spending a fair bit ?

 

[Dustydazzler]

From my experience it is all a much of a muchness on most stuff

The main reason I drop into screwfix most weeks is their prysmain twin and earth is about 15% cheaper than my wholesalers

 

[LukeD]

I'm in no way snobbish or elitist about different brands of accessory, but to me the use of LAP products points more to DIY or cash in hand merchants who don't have wholesaler accounts and get everything from Screwfix, just my thoughts though.

Jesus...

 

[Dave OCD]

Ok, lets have your thoughts then ?

 

[LukeD]

Screwfix is the best business to happen for many trades . Lets see if "your" wholesaler is open the same times .Can deliver as quickly etc etc . In a few case its possible .Screwfix prices and customer services is amazing and I love using them. They now sell brands like Festool etc and will be taking on all sorts of top end brands/products .They are a very well run company . During Lockdown they kept many afloat !

 

[telectrix]

i uually use to backfill to be sure the cables weren't damaged by Tony the Trowel, but make itclear tha customer was responsible for finish, either himself or a paid spread.

 

[brianmoooore]

Screwfix is the best business to happen for many trades . Lets see if "your" wholesaler is open the same times .Can deliver as quickly etc etc . In a few case its possible .Screwfix prices and customer services is amazing and I love using them. They now sell brands like Festool etc and will be taking on all sorts of top end brands/products .They are a very well run company . During Lockdown they kept many afloat !

Screwfix is a good company, and when things are 'on special', their prices are unbeatable, but I've always managed to get better prices from my wholesalers for the normal run of parts.
As for opening hours, yes, Screwfix is open longer, but on a few occasions over the years, when I've been desperate, I've had the manager of my wholesalers deliver straight to site in his car at a moments notice, and also meet me out of hours at the branch, and open up to get me out of trouble.
There's also the much wider range of stock and special orders.
Fact remains, that if I'm testing an installation with LAP accessories, I will subject it too greater scrutiny than one wired with the likes of Crabtree, Shnieder, etc.

 

[Dave OCD]

Exactly that ! And if something goes wrong within its guarantee period it's much more of a faff than with a Wholesalers account.
I have no problem at all with SF and do buy certain items from them regularly, but they're not the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[baldelectrician]

Screwfix is a good company, and when things are 'on special', their prices are unbeatable, but I've always managed to get better prices from my wholesalers for the normal run of parts.
As for opening hours, yes, Screwfix is open longer, but on a few occasions over the years, when I've been desperate, I've had the manager of my wholesalers deliver straight to site in his car at a moments notice, and also meet me out of hours at the branch, and open up to get me out of trouble.
There's also the much wider range of stock and special orders.
Fact remains, that if I'm testing an installation with LAP accessories, I will subject it too greater scrutiny than one wired with the likes of Crabtree, Shnieder, etc.

I get better prices at my local wholesaler on a like for like basis.

I use SF but for things I cannot get easy from wholesaler (I ordered new safety boots this week from SF)

I use Hager consumer units and accessories, Hager refuse to sell to the sheds - that's a good selling point for me
The quality of Hager is also good.

I have a few wholesaler accounts and they regularly drop stuff off.

I had a rewire last month and it was a town centre street (free parking) and if I left I would not get my space back. I had 5 wholesaler visits over the 10 days I was there (from 3 different wholesalers)

I agree on the service being better with a wholesaler- I have had stuff dropped off in 10 minutes (for free) before

 

[brianmoooore]

Always delivered for free from a wholesaler. That goes without question, however small the order is, as long as you don't take the p***.
First one that tried to charge, it would be their last order.
One big advantage of Srewfix is the other non electrical things you can pick up at the same time, such as one coat plaster for making good.

 

[Simon47]

Plastering to an acceptable finish is another trade altogether.

Our house was rewired shortly before it went on the market. It's quite handy really, because I can see exactly where everything runs. The chases are filled with something that's grey, hard, and quite smooth - but not one of them is filled level with the surrounding plaster surface.

I always do my best to keep the chases and damage to a minimum however. I have seen some sparks who butcher peoples walls to the point they need replastering and skimming which imo is very poor work by the sparks.

I think that's one of those "it depends" things. At our last house, when I started chasing out in one of the bedrooms to add sockets (bit of friction with SWMBO - she had in mind a few days, lick of paint, I had in mind adding insulation to part of the ceiling, adding sockets, etc and it ended up taking a whole year in the end ?) it turned out that the bonding coat was mostly no longer attached to the brickwork. So one wall we just pulled it all off, another wall needed a lot of fixing up. In total, 1 1/2 walls back to brick, and the whole room (inc ceiling) skimmed.
OK, it would have been possible, with a lot of effort, to just chase out what was needed - and then those bits would be holding on large sheets of the original plastering.

It's funny, but back then I kept getting "but why would you want wall lights". We recently redecorated the dining room (quick job to get rid of the previous owner's idea of a nice colour scheme) - and just after I'd finished, on a wall where I'd used up some left over wallpaper I don't think we can get any more, she's sat there and says "hmm, a couple of wall lights would have done nicely there" ?

 

[DanBrownOne]

If you did not agree on cosmetic work after installation, then this is normal. However, I would not leave it like that. This is simply not right.

 

[captaincaveman]

I don't like pulling the wool over my customers eyes so I always explain I will fill chases etc in and try to make best I can but I'm not a plasterer so they may require one.
I have taken time out to practice plastering (plenty of tutorials on youtube!) and always add an extra hour onto the job to make good.

Why?
A) Because the customer allways appreciates it and gives me repeat custom / good reveiws.
I think the evidence for that is in this post. Steve3198 - Would you have this sparky back or would you have one who left a neat job? Exactly!
and
B) Because I've had to return numerous times after the plasterer has damaged the cable (or got water in switches tripping RCDs etc). If I have done it I can walk away knowing I won't have to return.

Incidentally, I've tried a couple of times recently on single cable chases by doing them just wide enough for the cable then filling in with tube gun type instant plaster which works very neatly (esp behind wall paper). No need for capping if you do the plastering yourself this way and take care.

As for Electricfix, I have no problem with using it as well as trade suppliers. Technically it is a trade supplier, and one with a very good website and plenty of stock. There's always one nearby so you don't have to take an hour out going to your local supplier (which I have no problem with. I like the choice).

Lap products are always improving and are fine. I have no hang ups about using some if they fit the bill. I have come across many dearer branded products that are rubbish. Lets face it - They're all made in China! (with the exception of perhaps Shneider but I wouldn't be surprised if they were made in China also)

 

[LukeD]

"Lap products are always improving and are fine. I have no hang ups about using some if they fit the bill. I have come across many dearer branded products that are rubbish. Lets face it - They're all made in China! (with the exception of perhaps Shneider but I wouldn't be surprised if they were made in China also)" Exactly !

 

[7029 dave]

Who remembers when Volex accessories were the cheap job goto brand.

 

[pc1966]

twin n earth Cable , clips, back boxes , accessories , down lights , lamps etc etc pretty much always from screwfix or toolstation

Handy places, convenient locations and opening hours.

Screwfix has Prysmian T&E at good prices, so what not to like?

 

[pc1966]

They're all made in China! (with the exception of perhaps Schneider but I wouldn't be surprised if they were made in China also

Depends on the range, etc. the domestic Schneider sockets, etc, are China like most. I think the better MK ones are UK/Malaysia though (excluding the craptastic "MK essentials").

However, a lot of the industrial Schneider stuff is EU and some UK-made (e.g. Square-D switch-fuses) as they have bought a load of different companies over the years.

 

[nicebutdim]

However, a lot of the industrial Schneider stuff is EU and some UK-made (e.g. Square-D switch-fuses) as they have bought a load of different companies over the years.

A lot of stuff is produced in China, but assembled elsewhere and then bears the 'made in' label of the country in which it was assembled.

Sometimes this is fair enough, as much of the work took place in that country, but often the assembly is little more than tweaks to change country of manufacture.

 

[Dave OCD]

Who remembers when Volex accessories were the cheap job goto brand.

In the mid/ late '80s my boss mostly bought Volex accessories, they weren't bad really but sockets with terminals low down at the back always seem a faff to dress the cables neatly inside the wall box. After that we used loads of Tenby which I really liked . The worst accessories I can think of are those awful RPP ones from CEF , twin terminals for all conductors with very shallow 'tunnels' and terminal screws made from cheese. ?