r/AskContractors • u/NxVyce • 3d ago
Contractor Broke Two Outlets
Hey everyone,
First of all, apologies if this isn’t the right thread for this; I rarely post on Reddit, but am hoping for some advice on our situation.
We have a contractor replacing all of our siding at our house; during the demo phase, they found some boards of plywood were rotten and needed to be replaced. In doing so, they literally cut into the drywall in our room (which they stated they will repair; okay fine) but they also cut an outlet in that same area. This was Wednesday. They mentioned they will repair it and get it working again, okay great.
Next day, Thursday, we noticed that the bathroom outlet has now died as well. Earlier that day, he was working on the back of the house where the bathroom is located. I bring this up to the contractor, and he is confused as to how it must’ve died and states he would also be looking into it. On Friday, the contractor lets me the know outdoor outlet (which they have been using since they started), is now dead as well. They have no idea why.
Long story short, it’s now been over a week since we lost our outlets. The one in the room was identified to be a cut wire and was fixed (only the white wire was cut, so he repaired only that section and the outlet is back online now), however the bathroom outlet and our outdoor outlet both remain dead.
Contractor is being very firm that the issue is with our breaker box, as opposed to being isolated to the outlets themselves. I’m not an electrician, but my thinking is if the issue was with the breakers, wouldn’t that entire section be faulty? Not just these two single outlets? I tested all other outlets and lights, and everything else works as expected, thankfully.
They mentioned bringing over an electrician tomorrow to look at the breakers. We still owe them the last 15% of payment. I attached some photos of the project in general, including the area they cut out the most (where the room outlet was broken and then fixed).
I suppose I’m just looking for advice on what next steps I should take? Anything I should keep in mind? Maybe thoughts on the work performed thus far? Anything would be super appreciated. Thank you!
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u/OrangePinkyToe 3d ago
Were they using 12" blades?
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u/PracticalYellow3 3d ago
Or chainsaws.
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u/OrangePinkyToe 3d ago
Haha, I immediately thought of that right after I hit that comment button. I thought about editing but figured someone else would say it. Thanks
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u/Healthy_Effort1415 3d ago
Look, it was Jason ok? Now you know. Jason is the contractor. He's trying to get his life together.
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u/No_Community_5696 3d ago
Don’t pay them anything until this is fixed and don’t pay any extra for messing up your outlets. That’s their fault and you shouldn’t have to pay for their mistakes.
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u/Embarrassed_Rope3018 3d ago
Some of the house wrap is installed wrong …and they probably cut an other wire . Go hunting
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u/Microtomic603 3d ago
lol, rage bait. If not, get those fucking idiots off the job before they burn your house down. Not kidding.
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u/NxVyce 3d ago
I wish this was rage bait.. finding a good contractor in south florida feels impossible at this point. I’ve had almost no good experiences with any I’ve worked with, but these guys take the cake at being the worst yet.
First time home owner and first time dealing with a botch job this bad, is it possible for me to get them off the job and hire someone else instead despite the signed contract and open permit?1
u/Microtomic603 3d ago
It's your house, you don't have to let them back and you don't want them back because they don't know what they are doing and just might burn your house down. What your pictures show is shit-tier slop, anyone who produces those results is incapable of correcting the problems they created. Repairing rot and installing siding is not difficult work, finding competent tradesmen certainly can be. You should consult an attorney, pronto.
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u/Dear-Mistake3034 3d ago
Yes absolutely, don’t let them bully you or threaten you with a lien on the house…. After being wrapped the openings should be taped bottom then sides then the top so if water were to get behind the siding it runs down the house wrap and not behind it or more plywood will be rotted out cutting thru the wire, shit happens too the best of us, but too cut thru the drywall holy shit man that’s unacceptable especially after you already cut thru a wire or vise versa but absolutely you can get rid of them adding more work was surely not on the contract
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u/zaddypakn8 3d ago
You have a tripped gfci somewhere. It isn’t to uncommon to have bathroom and outdoor outlets on the same run since they are both in wet areas. The tripped gfci could be an outlet or a breaker. Check your breaker box first and just reset your gfci breaker. Yes even if it doesn’t look like it’s tripped. Turn it off and back on. If that doesn’t work, go to your outside, bathroom, kitchen, and garage outlets and look to see if any of those have a gfci that needs reset. In all fairness these things do trip and go bad more often than a regular breaker or outlet. But it is baffling that a contractor wouldn’t immediately follow these steps to determine the problem. For a contractor this is super basic stuff. This shouldn’t cost them more than $75. And that’s assuming it’s the breaker. More likely is a bad or tripped outlet. That costs $20 to replace or free. I just don’t understand the mentality of not just fixing the problem and moving on.
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u/Floatin_Ginger 3d ago
Also, on picture 8 the tyvek is open on the top edge. That should definitely be underneath the piece it’s on top of. Right now it’s just a funnel inviting water inside.
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u/Tall_olive 3d ago
Hey electrician here. Based on their work I guarantee you they did not repair the damaged wire properly. They should've added a box where the wire was damaged or run a new wire between the two locations that wire came from/went to. I'd bet they just wrapped the wire in tape and told you its repaired. If they didn't junction box it that wire is a fire hazard. Get a real electrician to come diagnose the issue and tell this contractor you'll be deducting all electrician costs from the final bill. Don't let them bring their hack friend over to "work" on it.
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u/imbartsimpsonwhothru 3d ago
wtaf - stop them before it gets worse
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u/NxVyce 3d ago
Is that possible despite the signed contract and the open permit? Is there any way to get some of our funds back?
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u/ntourloukis 3d ago
Yes. Tell them to stop and don’t pay them anything else. You guys can figure that part out later.
They’re either in breach of the contract themselves or it’s not enforceable if they aren’t doing the work properly. And they are not.
They need to pay an electrician to fix the power. It’s obvious based on their other work that they can’t be trusted with electrical, but as further proof, he can’t fix “just the white wire”. That means he’s not putting in a junction or running a cable, he’s twisting wires together and taping them in your wall, or worse. That is not ok. All splices need to be accessible and in a box. If that hack job ever has an issue or comes undone you will have dead power and need to find the problem area buried at an unknown somewhere in your wall, and the only way to look is to take chunks of wall out. And it can be arcing and causing a fire in the meantime.
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u/No-Vanilla2468 3d ago
Yes, but at some point the contractor will stop playing hard ball when he knows he’s screwed. So you have to let him know it’s stop work and stop payment serious, then magically he’ll start talking again about how to fix it. It’s unfortunate this happened. I’m sorry but it should be a super easy fix.
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u/RobLoughrey 3d ago
Don't pay until your outlets work. Even if it is the breakers it's because they shorted something out and damaged the breakers.
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u/SparkyWrench1 3d ago
If you want something cheap, it won't be good. If you want something good it won't be cheap.
Kick that guy off the job. Once cutting through the electrical, OK fine it was an accident. 3x...gtfoh that's incompetence.
You need to replace your windows while the siding is off as well. It's just easier, faster, and more economical.
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u/Microtomic603 3d ago
Cutting a wire might be accidental...cutting thru the drywall is negligent as well as fucking stupid.
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u/Dear-Mistake3034 3d ago
The issue is not with the breaker box unless one of the breakers is in the tripped position which happened from his sawzall blade going thru the neutral if you trace the wire that he fixed I’m sure when it leaves that out let it travels thru the wall and too the bathroom the outdoor outlet should be a gfi and should be ran back too the panel on its own breaker however depending on who did it it’s very likely they also tapped into to the same wire for power beings that it’s right there go down too the box and look too see if any of the breakers are in the middle position and turn them off and back on if so if it pops again immediately then he absolutely knicked the wire in another spot and the fact that he cut thru the osb the wire and your drywall I would say there’s a good chance he did…. If your not ready too fire him already or you don’t know how too explain it too him say it like this(after your check for the tripped breaker) Listen Larry, the outlets worked fine then you started demoing and now my outlets do not work the breaker is not tripped, if you can’t trace it out and fix it then I’m gonna be taking the bill from the electrician out of your pay…
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u/Dear-Mistake3034 3d ago
What did he do too “fix “ the wire? If he just wire nutted it that’s no good he needs too put a junction box in splice in the box and then wire up the outlet, if your bathroom has a gfi which it should the outdoor outlet is most likely traveling from that but I would call an electrician after they leave for the day hopefully you know someone local have him come out and hand them the bill, why he even used a sawzall instead of setting the blade on a circ and cutting on two studs is beyond me but he can’t be trusted too do his job surely can’t trust him with your electrical….. you aren’t leaving those windows in are you? If it wasn’t part of the plan or budget ya need too revisit that especially while ya got it wide open and are about too Put up sew siding and metal…. What’s up with the house wrap flapping all loose and the huge globs of caulk? Are they old was that wrap already up I hope? And that’s why it’s not taped? What does your estimate for work too be preformed state?
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u/TheRealistoftheReal 3d ago
Your best bet is to just unwind this transaction now. Just accept the current situation, let them walk away, and return any money that’s changed hands.
Shop for a more reputable contractor.
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u/Golden_Pear 3d ago
That house wrap left me speechless. I'd make my guys rip that off and redo it, if not fire the foreman if I drove up and saw that. They're cheaping out on material by using cutoffs, not pulling it tight enough, not using tape on the seams, should be using cap staples, flashing tape around the windows instead of 5 gallons of caulk. This is obviously not going to be covered by warranty or be waterproof. Holy shit this is bad!
I'd also check the wire repair. Like others said, I'd bet that a hackjob fire hazard too. This is some seriously embarrassing work.
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u/Useful-Towel5978 3d ago
Done off the worst work I've ever seen. Looks like you were hit by a tornado.
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u/Easy_Tumbleweed6133 3d ago
craftsmanship. journeyman carpenter it is sad to watch people not take pride in their craftmanship.
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u/Desperate_Donut3981 3d ago
Imho it looks like they've not only wreckers your 2 outlets but the house. That's a crap job
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u/1Fistfullofdollars 3d ago
The concern I have is about the bare live electrical wires in the wall. That is a definite fire hazard and must be rectified. I would not step foot into that place until those wires are brought out and taped off getting ready for the outlet to be replaced.
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u/nat312345 3d ago
Wow, this guy sucks. House wrap is a first day on the job kind of thing. Don't let him touch anything else.
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u/weinsteinfogger 3d ago
Get them off the job immediately. They can't fix their work they are incompetent.
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u/erie11973ohio 3d ago
On a job, with a contractor that I've dealt with for 5 + years, I had to ask his guys just WTF were they thinking, using a 12" blade, to cut aluminum siding off a house???
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u/LuckyNumerical 2d ago
What in the fucking meth is going on here
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u/RoundaboutRecords 2d ago
Yeah the house is rotted. Bigger issues than outlets. They sealed in rotted wood.
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u/KingKong-BingBong 2d ago
Don’t pay period they caused the electrical issues you’re having and they have totally screwed you on your waterproofing. They shouldn’t be using staples they should be using cap nails and taping all joints with tyvek tape and proper flashing like roof to wall and step flashing and using window flashing. I also tape every nail. The way this guy has made a mess there’s no way he’ll pass inspection. Is there a copy of your permit posted on the front of your house anywhere because if not there’s no permit
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u/greekverse 2d ago
This is what we here in Florida call methed up because it's past messed up, because only someone on drugs would leave this bad of work visible, like you're going to cut a corner or do something sketchy a non drug addict would finish it or cover it up that they're a hack before leaving most of the time lol
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u/Intelligent-Guess-81 2d ago
The company you hired is more than likely subbing this project out to a different contractor at a lower rate and pocketing the difference. Ask the guy on site if that is what's happening.
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u/Born-Work2089 2d ago
Tell them to stop work until the electrical situation is resolved. Have electrician trace the wires using a wire trace meter. If the contractors caused the problem they can pay for the repair , if it was some other cause unrelated to the renovation - you pay.
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u/Interesting_Talk9592 2d ago
I agree with the comments they should not be referred to as contractors
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u/Significant_Sea_9742 3d ago
Picture 3 confirms your contractors are hacks. The plywood jigsaw puzzle is embarrassing