PSA: That subcontractor shortcut cost me a $1,200 call back at a condo complex downtown

I was doing a trim out at the Camden Lofts in Austin last month and found every single switch leg was wire nutted together without any marrettes being properly torqued. The whole unit had intermittent flickering and two arc faults that took me three trips to diagnose because I kept looking for bad breakers first. How do you handle guys who rush through rough-in work and leave a mess behind?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_brooke11d ago

I mean, Matt from my local supply house actually told me about this trick where you can use a thermal imaging camera on a quick scan during rough-in. Idk why nobody talks about it, but it catches loose connections immediately because they heat up under load. I started renting one for the day on big jobs and it saves me from chasing ghosts later. Maybe it's just me but I feel like the real issue is guys not knowing how to use proper torque screwdrivers on those wire nuts, not just being in a hurry.

jordan18411d ago

They're called torque screwdrivers and they're specific to electrical work, but I think you might be mixing them up with torque wrenches that mechanics use. The ones for wire nuts are smaller and usually go up to like 15 inch-lbs. That's a totally different tool. Actually, the real issue with loose connections is more about guys stripping the wire when they use those cheap wire nut twister things that spin too fast. I've seen it happen where the copper gets all frayed and then the connection is bad regardless of torque.