JAN your so brutally honest. Lol. So our quote was 55 an hour. Who knew he would stand there scratching his head for a few of those hours I already had outlets they just needed to be tapped into. It’s just crazy when someone hands u a 1300 bill and you don’t even love it! I didn’t know I’d be able to see wires and junction boxes. BUT like you said shame on me. Now I have to pay someone to fix it on top of this.

19 hours??? No way!! I would definitely have to dispute that bill. But lesson learned. Always get a price beforehand.

19 hours, $1,300 is a ridicules price to install that level of under-cabinet lighting. By any chance was their name "Snail Electric". You mention that "you already had outlets they just need to tap into". If the outlets you are referring to are the ones servicing the countertop then they are not supposed to do that, those outlets are dedicated circuits for countertop appliances only.

Snail Electric Lol! I love it. I’m not exactly sure how he did it.

If you are looking for some leverage to get a price reduction call the electrician and ask for a copy of the electrical inspection certificate. I suspect the electrical work was done without a permit. If so he is not going to want that on his record.

I know, I’m so sick about this.

A relatively inexpensive, and very good lesson. We've seen MUCH worse here. Live /learn/forgive yourself. It wasn't the entire kitchen ceiling, and a subsequent fire with stupidly installed recessed. Good news right there, huh?i

Thanks Jan!

Did he put this to a half hot switch? You cannot steal power like that these days, also if you have no lip on the bottom of your cabinets, every light will show.

What you should have done is had the proper wiring installed and then just installed the rest yourself. You cant blame him/her they saw you coming, 99cent lights usually come with a plug... is that the case here? Also I suggest you go buy another pack because these bulbs will burn out and by then they will have changed the fixture and possibly the color rendering. Buy from the same lot so you have replacements.

lastly where you there when he installed? or was the contractor?

Hi,yes I have a lip under my cabinet you cannot see the lights. I took that photo from underneath. I know he added another outlet next to the other. Also on the other he put dimmers and IDK. No I wasn’t there my husband was,but we hire people because he’s not very handy lol

Horrible install, transformers should be inside the cabinet. Low volt wire can be hidden by wood channels when tucked in the corner.

So if your husband was there, he know how long it took right?

Also I dont think its horrible, he did his best to keep it neat, and not drill to many holes in the cabinets to run cords through, plus transformers die so easy access isn't so bad.

Yes, he was there. He didn’t time him. It’s our fault we hired an electrician that never did under cabinet lighting before. He told my husband that later. We will pay him his 1,000 dollars of labor . We have someone coming to fix it. Then I’ll be done with it! Just hate getting taking advantage of.

IF you do not ask questions, you have rolled out the doormat.: ( What you hate is you let it happen.

You have to drill holes in the cabinet for it to be done correctly. Having done multiple installs this is necessary.

You can have trim installed on the bottom of your cabinets so that you don't see the lights and wiring.

I am having it re-wire today. I have trim at the bottom of my cabinet so you don’t see the wires but I still know they’re there so they drive me crazy.

Good luck............Send a picture when its done.......

Thats a waste of money! you complained about the install cost and now your paying more because, YOU and only YOU know the wires are there................that"s plain silly. At this point you could have paid for "nice" under cabs and install.

So he was there from what time to what time? that how you time someone, and an electrician who has never installed under cabs... sorry that is where you say, next. I'm sorry that you all let this happen to you............but I'm really starting not to feel bad, you didn't get taken advantage of, you went with the first guy, didnt stay aware of the time table, allowed him to openly tell you he hadn't done this before, and now your paying to have someone re install cheap lights.......

So I’m having the cabinets refinished on sat. They can’t paint the bottom with all that mess under there. Also the look of the “cheap” lighting is fine and they are LED at least. Lol.

.If you are fine with cheap and half ass , it is usually what you will get. You also often overpay for inferior, as the same off hand and casual attitude is shot through the megaphone to any trade you employ. Yes....... they pick it up. It may as well be in the air they breathe.

Translation? Start second guessing the what, who, how etc of the Cabinet REFINISH right now....or you will run out of sympathetic ears here, in short order. No lol matter.

19 hours is a 2-day job. Or 2 people for 8 hours. I’m confused as to how your husband can’t speak to whether the labor time is valid if he was there. Regardless, it’s good you’re keeping a positive attitude - sometimes it feels like the only thing you CAN control in this process!

Amazing that some people put the word pro next to their name

Something is not making sense. You're having the lights rewired today?

And the cabinets refinished on Saturday and they can't paint the bottom of the cabinets because of the wiring???

Classic cart before horse. And I sure hope that you mean that the cabinet refinish is starting on Saturday...

Do pros work on Saturdays?

Kirsten, The electrician was here did some things for a few hours. Left went to store, came back did another few things, went to store and so on my husband didn’t think to time him. Jan when I said I like the cheap lighting I meant I am happy with the actual lighting of the pucks. They are a nice soft white,and dimmable. I’m not complaining about the lights I choose. I was complaining of installation and labor cost.

If the cabinets are "starting" on Saturday, about all that can or should happen is a removal of door and drawer faces to a TRUCK. Possibly the beginning of the cleaning /prepping of box frames. No more than that.

@Ci_lantro yes my all the under the cabinet wiring was taken out today and put inside of my cabinet he will finish putting the lights back up after the painting is refinished. Yes Wicked Restorations are starting my cabinets on Saturday.

I want to be a pro

Tape lights would have looked much better! Can you have those installed instead?

Regardless of whether someone was in or out, you shouldn’t need a stop watch to know if the ballpark was in the 19 hour range. Also, to the extent they were ill prepared and had to get tools and/or materials they should have had if actually qualified - that isn’t time you should be paying for; that is “learning time.”

Matt,

Is there a point somewhere in your comments?: ) Why beat around a bush? State it.

Bri, I have everything taking out. So maybe I can.

19 hours would be nearly 2.5 full 8 hour days. No way he spent that much time on JUST the cabinet lights! My undercabinet lights were installed (as part of an overall remodel, but I was there the day they did it) in about 3 hours max. That included having to move the lights from the back of the cabinet where he put them originally to the front. If your husband can't tell if over 2 days were spent on the UCL install, he deserves to pay the bill LOL.

You said he was doing some other work. Are you sure that the 19 hours doesn't include all the work he was doing?

I agree he shouldn't charge for time spent for fetching supplies he should have had, but that is common with handyman type workers unfortunately.

"Kirsten, The electrician was here did some things for a few hours. Left went to store, came back did another few things, went to store and so on my husband didn’t think to time him. Jan when I said I like the cheap lighting I meant I am happy with the actual lighting of the pucks. They are a nice soft white,and dimmable. I’m not complaining about the lights I choose. I was complaining of installation and labor cost. "

WE all like your fun attitude, but its not a matter of timing him, its as simple as what apx time did he get there what apx time did he leave? I think NO ONE understands how that's impossible for DH!?

And why would you have the cabinets refinished after the lights are installed........HHMM something begs to differ here. And are you saying you are bringing back the same guy to re-install them?

This is not ADDING up...no pun intended, okay maybe a little

So RL My only question here was to start was to find out how long it should take to put in under the counter lighting and I appreciate all the feedback. However I don’t think it’s necessary to question how I plan my home projects.I don’t owe you an explanation BUT I will tell you...... Painting my cabinets weren’t on our priority list considering my cabinets are beautiful except for the color . So I decided to update my kitchen with new beautiful backsplash for now ,but my MIL said I should get lighting before I get my backsplash put in. So after my backsplash was finished we decided let’s not wait and get our cabinets painted now. SO DOES THAT ADD UP ENOUGH FOR YOU NOW???? Thank you ,but no thanks for all you for your “help” ! So much for my FUN attitude.

I just don’t know why I would ask a simple question and get insulted like this. BUT thank you for the people that actually answered my questions and gave me some positive feedback.

Wow, that does look awful and I understand why you are pissed. I cannot imagine why it would take that long, unless you had a kitchen like mine - we have plaster walls with almost no space inside to drop wire lines down to the basement. It took a day and a half for our under cabinet install. There was a lot of chiseling at plaster, and they moved a few boxes around too. I got a quote before hand. My lights were very expensive, high end LED's. The cabinet maker recessed them under the cabinet with a finished panel to cover all wires. For me it was worth the investment of a good electrician to do this correctly and they knew what they were doing. I can't remember how much it cost, but I would never have spent that much on electrician fees if they were cheap lights that you can see from underneath.

These electricians were great. I think that a lot of the people who work on my house are stoners. Maybe your electrician was toking up with my exterior painter?

Ah, the pros strike again. Not to mention one pro is a furniture mover. Number of under cabinet lighting jobs done by either one personally =0

Okay Matt. Any PRO would have suggested this dialogue with said "electrician"

Question: Morning, these are my pucks, going here, what will I owe you?

Elec: "Uh, I don't know, as long as it takes me x this much an hour, including if I need something from Home Depot"

"How long is that roughly? You know, a ballpark".

Elec: " Uh.....Don't know, I never did any under cabinet lighting install"

ANSWER: "BYE!!!!!! have a nice day! Thank you for coming! here's 150.00 for your trouble!"

So forgive us. Or anyone for that matter, when an OP is irate/BUMMED enough to seek advise, is "pissed" , has an ugly install, "overpays", ( above WHAT) , and in the same breath says "lol, they were cheap" ......and........................

Wait, wait, wait. # I never said I was pissed. #2 I was trying to be nice to people I just asked opinions from. So I said LOL. #3 I picked the puck lights. I don’t have a problem with the lighting aspect of it. When I said cheap said I meant they weren’t Recessed, or anything over the top that would need a special install. It doesn’t even matter I simply asked a question. How many hours. Why would I be ridiculed for making a mistake. Thanks Matt I appreciate the fact that you recognized I didn’t deserve this treatment I think I’m more mad about telling these people my business than I am about getting ripped off.

Coming for advice after the mistake usually results in an unhappy OP, and I definitely won’t be doing that myself in large part due to the way some of the regular posters respond. Many don’t seem to appreciate the distinction between knowledge and condescension. Reading through the snark, as unhelpful as it might seem, the takeaway should be that there is not a one size fits all labor cost for cabinet lighting; what is reasonable will depend on your specific situation. In your specific situation, you hired someone inexperienced who, in addition to doing a poor job, appears to have charged you for learning time. That doesn’t sound reasonable, but it’s also a difficult thing to challenge when you can’t even approximate the time you know he was there. I think it’s great you’re taking the steps to make sure YOU are happy with it and I’m sure this will be a funny story in a few years when all is said and done :)

Sandy, don't let these "pro's" bring you down....They can't help themselves............At least you caught it before you posted your cabinets being refinished. That would have "triggered" them to the max...Good luck with the rest of your project............

Wacokid. Ty so much!

"don't let these "pro's" bring you down....They can't help themselves"

You should be more respectful and not just clump everyone into the same basket. If you have an issue with a particular persons response then be specific and directly address that particular individual.

"Respect", good one. That's laughable. The real "pro's" don't have to worry about what I say.

Just so you know, I worked Managed a lighting showroom for 12 years prior to us starting our own business. I did plenty of installs, and design plans, so Im not coming from left field. I suppose if you have the time to look up each one of our accounts to see what the pro status is.. you must be bored. You're better off just helping the person on the thread, rather than trying to dictate what mandates a PRO qualification.

Sorry you felt that I was trying to be rude or insulting, a normal person doing a basic install of some puck lights just shouldn't take 13 hours, I think most of us where just trying to figure out how it got to that point in order to back you up.

Number of under cab installs, about 10 I would say. But assumption makes an ass out of both of us.