Back to Construction

For the past month or so I've been working at various grocery stores around the DC area installing the wiring and devices for new fire alarm and security systems. The grocery chain didn't want us working at night so we had to do the work during the day. In some ways, that's great. Night work can really mess with your schedule. But working in an active store with customers all around can be a problem too. As a sort of compromise work began at 5:00am. (Good for working in an empty store, bad if you have to drive from Baltimore to Dale City, Va every morning.)

Doing upgrades in an existing building was new for me. All of the work I had done in the past had been new construction. Sure you might be out in the cold (or inside in the cold) but at least you didn't have to deal with the mistakes, either accidental or deliberate, made by the electrician before you.

(See Photo.)

The number of MC runs laying on ceiling grid, hot wires hanging out of lidless troughs, panels without covers, etc. that I came across was remarkable.

But like I said, I'm back to new construction. And even better I'm working VERY close to home. I'm incredibly lucky to have a round trip commute of about eight miles! This means I'm technically working outside of Local 26's jurisdiction. And not that I want to say bad things about Local 24 but talking to the apprentices out of Baltimore, I'm incredibly grateful that I'm receiving a very good education.