The Thing About Electricians

As a former communications technician and home theater designer, I have worked with many different electricians and appreciate what they do as a craft. I also know that their job is completely different from that of an installer/designer. For example, the wire they use costs considerably more and it can be difficult to work with due to its flexibility and size. Also, it's rather straightforward in calculating the circuits, amperage, and wire gauge needed.

I suspect that these factors contribute to the reasons I have such difficulty appreciating not what they do, but how they do it. In my installation experiences, rarely have I seen an electrician use finesse in an installation. Mostly, brute force gets the job done. Our house is no exception.

We decided to rewire the entire house and install new boxes, switches, and outlets. A good idea for the integrity of the house but a bad idea for the integrity of the original plaster walls. While I expected numerous holes to be made to run the wiring, I was not expecting those holes to be made using a hammer since I have always used tools with a bit more precision.

I believe that my disdain is similar to that of an Indy Car engineer regarding that of a NASCAR engineer. Sure both cars go but one goes way faster...and turns right.

Regardless of the process, the electrician did a great job giving us a heavy up to 200 amp service and new everything. Sure we cleaned up a lot of messes and we have a bunch of holes in the walls and ceilings but we saved a little money too.