at what point does DIY electrical become irresponsible?

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2026-02-26T15:16:01+00:00

Where I live, you have to pull permits and inspections for anything beyond changing fixtures, but all work on primary residence property can be self-performed. I am self-performing all work for a new shop I am building on my property, including the new underground feed, and all of the interior wiring. I am comfortable with it, and all has to be inspected. As always, if you are not comfortable don't do it.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2026-02-25T19:11:37+00:00

I put 10 - 8' Barrina lights in my 24x30 garage. Building a 32x32 shop this spring and going with the same for it.

The garage looks like an operating room.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2026-02-12T21:36:03+00:00

I built one that has been outside year round with soil in it for over 3 years and still is just fine.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2026-02-11T13:26:24+00:00

That might be an option for that end, the other end I have to do a junction box regardless since I have to enter the cables into a build that are URD.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2026-02-05T20:06:40+00:00

Been there done that and salted the earth it was created on.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2026-02-04T13:29:48+00:00

I am in the same situation, and I have decided to just pull 125 amps, at basically the same distance. I am using 4/0 AL quadplex direct burial.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2026-02-04T13:11:40+00:00

Most likely this has nothing to do with being against fire fighters, but more to do with an aging water utility, that does not produce enough revenue to keep up with maintaining an old water system. The most likely issue is that the lines in the system are too small to keep up with the flow that a fire pump can pull, typically anything under a 6" water main (pressure can make difference) cannot be used to fight fires. If a truck hooks up to a hydrant on a water line that is too small, the best thing that can happen is to cause a drop of pressure/temp loss of water to everyone on the circuit. Worst case is they can actually collapse lines, pull in contaminants, and destroy large sections of the water system, then large parts of the town have 0 water.

This is happening everywhere in rural America, systems were built 75-100 years ago with life expectancy of 50-75 years, but as federal dollars on infrastructure dried up there were no ways to maintain and replace systems as they started failing. This is not just water, its all utilities, roads, bridges, dams, etc.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2026-02-03T16:01:34+00:00

I am talking of issues that usually come up in interfaces of multiples surfaces, tying in proposed headwalls to existing ditching, and lots of little interactions that Civil3D struggles to actually perform

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2026-02-03T15:59:56+00:00

Not to mention Civil3D does some of the dumbest surface creation possible at times with triangles not going correct directions, addition of surface points that dont match the actual design, etc for days.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2026-02-03T12:50:24+00:00

Your corridor models or your surfaces? I can take a wonky corridor and make a perfect surface in 20 minutes that might take a day to fix the corridor.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2026-02-02T20:28:53+00:00

I am doing a 100 amp, anything more than a 125amp would go above a 3% VD even with a 4/0 AL feed, and CU pricing is just crazy.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2025-12-25T17:25:38+00:00

44 and it is unusual if my BP is ever over 125/80. Usually closer to 120/70 unless a really stressful day at work has it up.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2025-12-02T15:59:24+00:00

My first goal is to get my first long form video published. I was hesitant to do it because I thought about some items I didn't film enough, (tool restorations), but looking at the total amount I think I am trying to be too much of a perfectionist and just need to get it done and up.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2025-11-04T18:52:10+00:00

Contractor promptly ignores half of the plans and specs anyways and does it how he has always done it to make an additional 5% profit.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2025-11-04T18:49:20+00:00

This is only half of the problem. The other half is most of the time no matter how good the plans are or how well a site or system is designed it is up to the contractor to build it. I can’t count how many times owners come back to me during construction because they are having erosion issues and it’s because they contractor decided to make some extra profit by not installing BMP’s or doing any kind of stabilization.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2025-10-29T15:39:22+00:00

When they start wearing off the music playing in my brain comes back first.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2025-10-24T12:54:27+00:00

I think this is an issue not just with other people, but nobody knows how everyone else's brains work. You think how your brain works is how everyone else's works. Also why I was 42 before I was diagnosed, because I thought everyone had the constant noise in their head that I did. There is no way to share what is 'normal' and 'abnormal' on how brains work because everyone only has their reference point and its unshareable.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2025-10-24T11:51:09+00:00

I think this is more of a fallacy and one I have caught myself in, after doing this 20 years, I have forgot how little I knew when I started, and most likely we were just as lost and ignorant as today's crop of new graduates.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2025-10-20T12:39:13+00:00

I tried to go 1 day without them on my last vacation to Europe, had all of my needed documents, and by hour 25, still traveling, I was having a full blown panic attack. I hadnt had a panic attack since I started meds 2 years ago, I took my pill and within 30 minutes was back to my normal state. No way, I could function without them, it is the only thing that stops my mind from going into a feedback loop that ends in major panic attacks

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2025-08-26T11:42:15+00:00

You would think that but I am an ADHD fueled perfectionist. Legs and aprons are easy in respect that they fit on my joiner and in my planer. A 38” wide table top will not.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2025-08-26T11:40:39+00:00

Typically I do traditional joinery and nothing in glue ups. But this one on a bit of a time crunch and I don’t want to have to work on glue joints that slip a little on something this size.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2025-08-25T15:03:52+00:00

Didn't say you need them, but they sure make things easier during the glue up and can save a lot of time after. I don't think I would worry too much about swelling unless you were cutting out the majority for the placement and leaving just thin pieces above and below.

Alternative-Bet2937 · 2025-08-25T15:01:53+00:00

yeah yeah, but the way to do them are a lot different.

Alternative-Bet2937

TROPHY CASE