I'm dealing with some contractor problems and I'm trying to get some information to figure out if the contractor is lying to me or just incompetent (or if I'm unreasonable).
We had a long delay of no work being done and they just started to do some work last week – and now they are saying they need another week to get materials.
This is a 1100 sq ft house. Nothing unusual about it. They are replacing all the existing knob and tube wires with up to code materials, including outlets and the main panel. This is something that was in the contract since day 1 so it's not something we just added. The electrician came over yesterday to look at the job and said he's waiting on materials before he can start.
The ONLY thing that's even remotely out of the ordinary – I asked him to run some ethernet cables as well.
Can't they pick up all of the materials from Home Depot or Lowe's? I even did a quick search on Amazon and I see they sell electrical panels which you can order with next day shipping.
Since they knew they had to do this when we first signed the contract, and there has already been over a month of no work being done, I think this delay is beyond unreasonable. I also don't think this delay is realistic since I just can't believe it's that hard to get very common materials for this type of job.
Best Answer
At the risk of throwing someone under the bus, NOTHING he would need could not be acquired at a real supply house (or even home center) in less than an hour and totally in stock. Even the ethernet cable (typically Cat5e) is nothing special in bulk and ANY electrician worth his salt should have the tools and be able to terminate.
I get the impression that he overbooked himself and needs time. Unfortunately for him we have the internet, so his excuse is easily debunked.