Best Sparkie in ACT

I meant “joined with hubba bubba”, ie joining wires to terminals using bubble gum. Quick, dirty and guaranteed to be lethal.

Whatever you do don’t use the guy who did some wiring at my cousin’s years back. An Indian or maybe Pakistani fella calling himself Kumar seemed friendly, gave a good quote and promised a top job. He took double the time and became abusive. He doubled the price at the end. After a week or so there was a bonfire in the garage. The wiring had began sparking and caught fire. The wiring was later found to have been joined hubba bubba. A breaker had even been replaced by a broken screw driver shaft. When my cousin called his mobile it was (of course) disconnected. He’d disappeared into thin air, leaving a trail of destruction. The authorities and insurance company were also unable to locate him.

Moral of the story. Beware of fake tradies. Use somebody who’s been established locally for many years. Even go around to their house to pay.

Mælinar said :

@ant – I’ve seen coathanger fuses (or at least what we call No 8 wire, which is a similar grade to coathanger wire).

I’ve also seen No 8 glowing. I kid thee not, it was one of the few times in my life I was cognisant of explosions and my proximity to them (as well as not touching anything metal as I retreated).

Electricity through No 8 sounds kind of like what I’d presume radiation to hum like, and you can see it internally moving kind of like looking at a little bit of lava.

(Ron Weasley) Bloody Hell! (/Ron Weasley).

Fair dinkum, some people are dumb as owl sheeyit.

Normal fuse wire is a hell of a lot thinner than coat hanger wire, that’s just crazy.

Pickle – Darkroom is my hobby… where’s the skill in photoshop ?

I ahve a D70 and film, but i prefer b+w on film….hence darkroom 🙂

Dark room?

Just go digital that will save half the cost!

Tradies suck. Most of the time. Never bloody turn up, never bloody clean up, never have any bloody respect for your property.

That said, we had A1 install a reverse cycle a/c a while back and they were very, very good. Quick, clean and efficient. I’d certainly give them a call.

@ant – I’ve seen coathanger fuses (or at least what we call No 8 wire, which is a similar grade to coathanger wire).

I’ve also seen No 8 glowing. I kid thee not, it was one of the few times in my life I was cognisant of explosions and my proximity to them (as well as not touching anything metal as I retreated).

Electricity through No 8 sounds kind of like what I’d presume radiation to hum like, and you can see it internally moving kind of like looking at a little bit of lava.

Coat hanger fuse! You’re making that up.

I’m so glad they invented those fuses with a switch, trying to find the correct wire and something to cut it with in the dark was always a bit fraught. even if you were super-organised and had the two different packages of wire living in the fuse box with the spiders, some idiot was always going to use the light fuse for the power, or worse, the power fuse for the lights!

I’ve got two fuse boxes, the normal one full of switches and gauges on the side of the house, but the other is up on my power pole (as I discovered one rainy night and the bloody thing kept tripping).

Years ago I jagged a really good sparkie. He did many jobs for me, including a job that nearly got to five figures. Now the horror part: He has left the trade!

You will know if you have a good tradesman by his or her attitude.

Good luck.

And to the troll questioning the validity of electrical safety: fry in your shower with your hairdryer and a dodgy RCD and coat hanger fuse.

Barry Viney is based in Palmerston and an awesome sparkie. Had him do my exteriors months ago and was very impressed with the job.

realityskin, trying to keep this thread troll free.. Cheers mate. Tard….

Felix the Cat said :

Can’t recall the price but whatever it was it was worth every cent not to listen to the smoke alarm and the high pitched beeping at 3am. No mess and no fuss.

He probably charged you $100 to change the battery 🙂

eating contaminated $10 pizza or food in a dodgy restaurant could be mortal
a bad hair cut might be considered mortal to some
a violent pub brawl could be just as mortal

don’t think you’re better than anyone else with your equally inane question..

Bob Dawes is a nice fella.

Also can recommend:

A1 Electrical
JCL Electrics
5 Star Electrical
Livewire Electrics

Mark Pritchard 0415 625 848.

He’s honest, turns up at the agreed time, does good work, and will suggest cheaper ways of doing things if possible.

I’ve used him for over a decade, at both my house and the rental one ( yes, I’m a VY Berlina wannabe ).

I’m sure you’d be fine with some of better known companies in the Yellow Pages. What you are asking to be done is not that difficult; you’re not re-wiring the Sydney Opera House 😉

Ask for proof of qualifications and experience, and don’t let an apprentice do the work or without supervision.

Perhaps speak to a friend who has had loads of external Christmas lights up in the past – they may have required external re-wiring done for those rainy Summer nights …

Not sure if there such a thing as the Electricians Association of Australia or similar organisation – might be worth checking out.

You will get what you pay for, but I completely understand your concerns regarding safety.

I used Tradeworks
(http://www.tradeworks.com.au/) when my smoke alarm decided to malfunction and started going off at 3am in the morning and wouldn’t shut off. I rang them up (the next day during business hours) and organised a tradie to come around and replace it. I left the key in the mailbox for the sparky to let himself in and do the job as I had to work and he in turn replaced the key when he finished and left me a bill which I promptly paid. Can’t recall the price but whatever it was it was worth every cent not to listen to the smoke alarm and the high pitched beeping at 3am. No mess and no fuss.

I have a couple of ex-workmates who are sparkies (and other trades) but I have found them for the most part unreliable and not real good (I am pretty fussy) and wouldn’t recommend them to anyone except my worst enemy.

realityskin, your kidding right ?

Electrocution. Fire. Take your pick.

mortal danger ?

Bob from Bob Dawes Electrical: 6296 6230 (sorry, I don’t know his mobile number). He’s a fantastic chap and he’s done a number of jobs around our joint. All have been safe and sound. And, as a plus, he’s quite reasonably priced too.