Trade program in Queens, graduating soon. My uncle's friend owns a couple of 2-family houses in Ridgewood and found out I'm in the electrical program. He wants me to swap outlets, put in some GFCIs and replace a few fixtures before new tenants move in. Says he'll pay $400 cash and "nobody checks." My foreman at my weekend job told me absolutely not but didn't really say why. Is it really that bad if it's small stuff?
Electrical inspector (former contractor) · 26 years · Ocean County, NJ
Mentor✓ Accepted answer
Not legal advice, and I'm on the Jersey side. When I see a fixture swap gone wrong, it's almost never the fixture. It's the box that wasn't secured, the backstabbed device, the neutral that wasn't where someone assumed. Small jobs fail the same ways big ones do, just with fewer people looking.
Kid, $400 cash is the most expensive money you'll ever make if it goes bad. 28 years in and I still pull permits on jobs I could do in my sleep. That's the job.
Apex grad, working non-union in the Bronx. When I was in school a guy in my class did this exact thing for a landlord and got stiffed on the money. He couldn't exactly complain to anyone. Just something to think about.