We had our electrical panel upgraded to 200 amp service from 100 amp. The installers were both relatively young. I presume an apprentice, paired with another electrician. The install involved removing the original 100 amp equipment located in a basement.
The site of the panel was convenient for the installers, with a basement door only steps away to the outside. The meter would need to be switched with a larger conduit run from that point down through the wall into the location of the new panel. This was done with gray PVC.
Naturally, all wires into the old panel which was a mix of hard metal conduit, flexible metal and new sheathed romex wire, had to be pulled from the old panel and put into the new panel. Above the house, an LG&E contractor (Pike) would drop the old wire to the house mast from the pole and connect new wires from the pole to the mast with a new guy wire.
This is an all-day event, with power being shut down to the home to complete the job. We were prepared for that and understood that a new PVC service entry was necessary?which required a larger hole bored through the brick. After the work was completed for the day I checked what was done and was not impressed.
I noticed afternoon light coming into the basement where this new hole was bored in the brick. I went outside, the hole was about an inch or two larger than the PVC coming through the wall.
No patching was done by the installers. The gaps were large enough for small animals to certainly come in. I took it upon myself to patch that hole with some backer and mortar.
The work also had to be inspected a few days later by the city. The city inspector found issues as well. A hard metal conduit connection above the panel was not tightened up, quite loose to be honest.
I pointed out to the inspector an outlet for the clothes dryer which was a short hard conduit run off the panel, was loose and not anchored to the wall. A second GFCI outlet similarly run off the panel was also very loose and not well anchored.
Now months later I noticed that a screw was not installed on the PVC service entrance cover plate.
Overall, the quality of the work was not what I would rate as top-notch. Payne did come back out to correct the inspectors findings and we have more room to add circuits than before.
It just seems that in our present times, when it comes to comprehensive service, it doesn't matter what you are paying, quality work is more the exception than the norm. Our experience with Payne bears that out. read more
