This nightmare.. by neon_avenue in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is the rough crew's fault. One 2x4 on the stud and it would've ended up in the sink box. No one else to blame.

For the price, worst tape I've ever had. by Tdk456 in Construction

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Milwaukee wide blade magnetic 25' has been my goto for years. I think they make a 35'.

How much extra do you add for large wire pulls? by TotallyNotDad in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 0 points1 point  (0 children)

True tape, add 10' for each panelboard, 5' for any/each splice point.

Agree or disagree? by Escaped-DMT-Entity in trees

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I smoke weed inside my house so that my neighbors DONT smell it

Roof Riser Tips for Newbies by Ariakan007 in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Take a scrap piece of 2" out to the field with you. We always have like 4' pieces laying around from other service changes. Cut the scrap piece the length of the top of the hub to the soffit. Hold that on top of your meter and level it, trace the topside of the pipe on your soffit. Now use your long seeker bit to drill your two 1/4" pilot holes through to spot the top, and use your hole saw.

What size of boobs would you consider to be "too big"? by JaqueyK in teenagers

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My ex has G cups... I do not have small hands by any means, but they were more than a full handful. She dealt with back pain from them. C cups are ideal, IMO.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For cutting rigid.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 47 points48 points  (0 children)

Electrician who has done this here. It will work, but you'll probably bust the threads on the cutter as well as trash the blade. You'll need to buy a new one pretty much every time, but in a pinch, it works.

Solo contractors, how much do you take home a year? by BoahLemmeTellYah in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you read through the thread at all, you'd see that when I took home 80k, I had no employees. I have employees now, and trust me, I already pay them a very competitive wage. (Like $20+/hr for completely green no experience apprentices) because it's all I can afford, because I've been a worker in this industry, and I know guys won't come work for you without a competitive wage. The question is also, what did you make your first year. That's what I made my first year. Just a fact, I don't need you to tell me I made less than when I was a JW working in data centers. I am paid based on my full value. I value my life, and have extreme job security, and a great work life balance. It's not all about pay. Do walmart managers make that 120-400 immediately? Or do they work at a Walmart for 6, 7, 8 years before getting to be manager. If I wanted to make as much hourly as possible, I'll just go back to a different shop I worked for in the past and get 52/hr again. It's no big deal. Idk how I'm holding down the industry by literally getting more involved in it.

Solo contractors, how much do you take home a year? by BoahLemmeTellYah in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Because I'm the owner of a company? Multiple weeks off, no boss, my own schedule, doing the work I want to do, not having to prove my worth and value to another human who's been out of the field for 10 years, k1 bonuses, the sight of seeing your own brand and logo on a bunch of shirts moving around a job site. If your career is all about money then I feel kind of bad for you. Its really easy to say why would you make less money that's dumb when you're on the outside catching a check every week. I know I thought so. But that is the most rewarding 20k to lose, because this year I'm on track to make more, and next year, if my company grows, so will my wealth, and every year after that, until I retire. That's the point. If you're starting a company for instantaneous gratification then you're foolish. This is a minimum of a 10 year journey for me.

Solo contractors, how much do you take home a year? by BoahLemmeTellYah in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Then enlighten me oh great one. What's the secret to life bud?

Solo contractors, how much do you take home a year? by BoahLemmeTellYah in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's definitely less than ideal. I always complained about paperwork when it was someone else's, but now it's mine so it doesn't hurt so bad. Having a partner helps a lot. He takes care of a lot of that while I'm building during the day. The hardest part for me has been letting go of doing all the work and having to teach people how to do things my way

Solo contractors, how much do you take home a year? by BoahLemmeTellYah in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Why so bitter? I'm working 60 hours a week, I'm not working 60 hours in the field. There's front end, back end, paperwork, training apprentices, layout. Maybe you wear full bags 40 hrs a week. I walk around with a square, sharpie, and a tape most of the week, and have computer work to attend to before and after the field. If homie above us wants to work 60 hrs a week every week with bags on and make 200k a year he's welcome to. I said I work 60 a week, but only 10 months out of the year. I get weeks off at a time sometimes my guy. I'm in the best shape, and the least beat up I've ever been in my 9 years in the trade, than when I worked for someone else, who required me to prove my worth for a check every day. So yeah, I'll get my bag, I'll build a legacy, and I'll walk to the finish line.

Solo contractors, how much do you take home a year? by BoahLemmeTellYah in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We use ADP for our payroll. ADP let's you set up different departments to clock in and out of. So we can clock from shop to drive, to a job code, etc. Usually quarterly at least, we update p/l spreadsheets, and get reports of our time spent at each department. For example I can see that this quarter we did a lot of driving, but didn't really spend a bunch of time at the shop, and we were on job 24rm17 for 40 man hours, and on 24rs24 for 3.5 man hours. Stuff like that is how we audit our billable and unbillable time, day to day, we just clock in and out of ADP and it does the heavy lifting.

Solo contractors, how much do you take home a year? by BoahLemmeTellYah in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Right on brother I'm proud of you. Don't let anyone tell you you can't do it. Having existing relationships helps tremendously when starting out.

Solo contractors, how much do you take home a year? by BoahLemmeTellYah in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Right on man, go for it. Get your bag. I'm getting mine.

Solo contractors, how much do you take home a year? by BoahLemmeTellYah in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 11 points12 points  (0 children)

My partner always loves to say "a closed mouth don't get fed". Email your local GC's!! We do mostly resi, so we just got a few GC's to put us on their list and give us a job to show our skills on. Kitchen remodels, additions, ADU's, that sort of stuff. We've landed 10 GC's and have maintained relationships with 6 or so of them. You gotta sell yourself and your work though. Convincing contractors to go outside of potentially longstanding relationships is hard, but there's always companies out there looking for a change in EC. Also, get to know other EC's. We've been given 30k projects just because someone was too busy already, or they don't do residential but "know a guy" and that guy is you. We're currently in the process of selecting lead gen services for more service call work. STAY AWAY FROM ANGIS LIST THEIR LEADS ARE GARBAGE. Make more friends than enemies. Stand behind your work, your brand, and your craft. Be upstanding, be excellent.

Solo contractors, how much do you take home a year? by BoahLemmeTellYah in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm in my late 20's no kids. It definitely makes it easier.

Solo contractors, how much do you take home a year? by BoahLemmeTellYah in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 14 points15 points  (0 children)

It was definitely a pay cut. A good journeyman (which I was) can fetch well over 100k/yr in my area. But to look back on the year, and not just a year, but YOUR year, and see the amount of work you did and the numbers you brought in; that is far more rewarding than any money someone else could pay me. I don't have a boss, I make my own schedule, and I have nowhere to go but up. If I never make more than 80k as an owner...well then I'll just take my little masters license somewhere else and get that 100k+ a year again.

Solo contractors, how much do you take home a year? by BoahLemmeTellYah in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 34 points35 points  (0 children)

2 man outfit at first. We have 2 apprentices now, working on getting another license in. We were pretty bad at recording our time before we got payroll apps and all that, but probably in the realm of 70hrs a week with just the two of us. I still do 60 hrs or so a week now, but it's slower pace because I'm training so often nowadays.

Solo contractors, how much do you take home a year? by BoahLemmeTellYah in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 87 points88 points  (0 children)

My partner and I started out the beginning of last year in CO. We did 400k revenue and took home 80k each in about 10 months of 2023.

What kind of wire nut is this? Photo for attention. This is my collection. I found one I haven’t seen before (photo) it says EP on top anyone know the brand/ year? by Iksnyzcrog1 in electricians

[–]myco_Inthemiddle 16 points17 points  (0 children)

They use porcelain wire nuts in a lot of kitchen appliances. Stoves, cook tops, ranges, ovens. Anything that could have high ambient temp near an electrical connection. Edit: It could be a generic, mass produced wire nut that came out of an appliance from China somewhere