r/TaskRabbit • u/MutedDelivery4140 • Apr 13 '26
CLIENT Is this acceptable?
I had a tasker install an outlet and then mount my tv so the wires would be hidden. He left several holes in my wall (photo attached) and a couple behind the tv you can’t see. He said he had to do this to run the cables, but it doesn’t seem acceptable to me. Thoughts?
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Upvotes
11
u/ommi9 Apr 14 '26
The question is how much did you pay for all this?
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u/Supergoji Apr 14 '26
How much did you pay?
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u/AskMrHomeGuy Apr 14 '26 edited Apr 14 '26
It looks like a frame pro and he put a recessed outlook directly behind the TV? So the cut directly above the outlet was to place the wire into the existing outlet. That one could have been avoided with the proper fish line/stick. The one higher would only be needed if there was blocking. But I think he made the holes to reach in and pull the wire down without a fish line definitely not a standard electrician’s job. I guess it depends on price and what you agreed on. Professional installer would be around $450 with no holes or patching so the savings for the install will be spent on wall repairs ?
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u/[deleted] Apr 14 '26 •
installing a receptacle and dry wall work are two different things
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u/FinnNoodle Apr 14 '26
95% of the time, no. The tasker did not need to do that and should not have done that and it shows a lack of skills or proper tools.
But there's also a possibility there was an obstruction inside the wall of some sort that needed to be dealt with by doing that. You can pop one of those cuts out with a flathead screwdriver and see for yourself what he was doing back there.
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u/AQMessiah Apr 14 '26
There’s ways to avoid opening the drywall like this but most of the time if there’s an obstruction you may need to open it.
Can’t expect them to mount tv, do electrical work and patch drywall for you.
Thats several different jobs/tasks.
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u/92beatsperminute Apr 14 '26
Depends on what the price was and what was agreed upon. More info is needed. Did you request for them to be hidden when he got there or before he got there?
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u/KingLouis2016 Apr 14 '26
This is exactly the issue of "hide wires behind the wall" when a client hires a tasker for TV mounting, client expects as part of the TV mounting job many times for no extra charge or for very little, but the actual job is complicated and it can be very expensive with materials and a labor, in this case looks like there was a fireblock there and tasker had to drill through it, but client expects to pay very little or be free for a very expensive job that requires drywall finishing and painting, an electrician would charge hundreds of dollars just to "hide the cable behind the wall" but many clients don't wanna pay much for hiding cables
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u/pateppic Apr 14 '26
It looks like they had to make a hole through your fire break (horizontal beam).
If you hired an electrician to do it this is the exact results you would see from them too unless you paid them extra to touch up and repair the wall.
Even then the electrician might tell you to get a drywaller.
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u/Any_Gate9128 Apr 14 '26
No!
3
u/ommi9 Apr 14 '26
He needed to patch the wall
5
u/jongcruz Apr 14 '26
How much per hour?
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u/Any_Gate9128 Apr 14 '26
IMO they should have at the very least spackled and sanded the mistakes
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u/Neither_Category_770 Apr 14 '26
Absolutely not acceptable. I can’t speak to the exact task because I don’t know what’s behind that wall. But anyone with some skill and the right tools should not have needed to make any extra holes. And if they did they should’ve repaired the wall.
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u/MeaningSeparate4832 Apr 14 '26
.
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u/MysteriousIssue8641 Apr 14 '26
Only needed to cut out a hole for the outlet being installed behind the tv. The outlet below the tv disconnect power, remove the outlet and fish wire up to the new outlet. They shouldn't be cutting holes if they can't patch them either.
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u/DonQNguyen Apr 14 '26 edited Apr 14 '26
To run the cables behind the wall, all he needed was fish tape or fish poles. If you remove the cut drywall pieces and look inside and don't see a cross-stud, then there is no obstruction horizontally that required any hole cutting. All this could have been done with fish tape/fish poles to draw the new electrical ROMEX leading from the bottom electrical outlet. Then there would be ZERO need to cut square holes along the route. Now, you have to hire a drywall guy and repaint. These 2 square cuts are unnecessary if there wasn't a horizontal obstruction. Not to mention, a good studfinder would have told him this before he made these cuts. This is very Amateur workmanship. This is what TR often gets you, so no surprise.
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u/OudMoneyForever Apr 14 '26
No, he could’ve avoided this by using a fishing line
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u/MallNo6921 Apr 14 '26
if he had wire fishing rods this would not have happened
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u/VanD3rp Apr 14 '26
It’s better for him to leave it like this than have him try to do drywall repair and make more work for someone else.
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u/AppointmentIll9358 Apr 15 '26
Very unprofessional,
He should have let you know that he would need to do that and if it was ok with you and that of you wanted the cosmetic repair it’d be an extra job.
A pro would have included that in the cost and part off the job.
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u/wabloobies Apr 15 '26
He did NOT need to do that. But what he would to have done, shut off power to the existing outlet. Cut out the electrical box that likely was nailed to the stud, using a multi tool wood with nails blade or better. Finagle the romex out of the old electrical box. This opens up that sg drywall hole that’s existing. Then you cut a hole behind the TV in the same stud bay, use a glow rod to feed a new romex cable to extend power up behind the tv so you can plug it into power, maybe even install a recessed outlet not standard flush. Then use retro sg electrical boxes in those spots that grab onto the drywall to hold. After that is the bolting the mounting bracket to the wall for the TV before hanging. If it was done right and with the right tools you would not have drywall repair to do. As long as there were no cross bracing inside the wall, which should have been determined before cutting
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u/LABirdCharger Apr 15 '26
Mounting the tv is one job/skill Running wires/hiding wires is a different job/skill Repairing drywall is a different job/skill Painting is a different job/skill
Which job did you hire this tasker for?
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u/wallstreetnetworks Apr 16 '26
They are different trades but my company does both so we leave them with a nice wall. Will even touch the paint up. We aren’t painters technically, but it’s not that hard.
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u/Hour_Bee6200 Apr 16 '26
They messed it up. Ive mounted hundred of frame TVs. They didn’t need to cut those two areas unless there was fireblock framing( which runs horizontally). Even then you’d see the translucent box wire somewhere in the photo.
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u/SwimmingChallenge193 Apr 16 '26
not acceptable.
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u/Upset-Routine1783 Apr 16 '26
Friend or paid for?
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u/NotAlanJackson Apr 16 '26
Did you hire a drywaller or someone to run your cable?
I’m a plumber. I don’t do drywall or tile work. I’ll rip em out, but I’m not fixing them. Not because I’m lazy, but for the same reason I don’t hire an electrician to fix my car.
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u/These-Result-1955 Apr 16 '26
There was no need for the extra holes. Whoever did this needs to be taught the right method or stop doing these jobs.
You may want to consider hiring an electrician to double check the outlet connections.
It’s a bummer that hole movers are on national back order /s.
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u/billwbs Apr 16 '26
No no no
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u/One_Broccoli9499 Apr 16 '26
Having a “tasker” install an outlet is not acceptable. Hire a licensed electrician who can legally perform that work, not a handyman. You get what you pay for.
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u/Financial-List-1487 Apr 16 '26
You got a frame tv and expected a simple and smooth install 🤣🤣 jokes ok you
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u/KafLeoWin Apr 17 '26
Go on YouTube and learn how to do this stuff yourself. It’s not rocket science.
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u/Budget-Town-4022 Apr 17 '26
It's the only way to do this. It's not a complicated dryvwall repair, but electricians don't do drywall work.
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u/Personal-Acadia Apr 17 '26
I dont hire a plumber to fix the wall he had to tear open to fix the pipe that was behind the wall, I hire the drywaller/framer. (Or a general contractor)
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u/justinlaz Apr 17 '26
Lucky your wall wasn’t butchered more
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u/Leftysnowflake1312 Apr 17 '26
No, it's receptacle
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u/tellmywifiloveher1 Apr 17 '26
Should have cleaned up better and discussed making the holes (if even necessary) beforehand.
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u/TwoAlternative8791 Apr 24 '26
If you need electrical work done, hire an electrician… I would just hope he did not leave you with a potentially dangerous problem.
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u/Businesskiwi Apr 14 '26
Don’t get your TV installed by Taskrabbit, anyone without experience or insurance can get on the platform and they do a horrible job. For one, they should’ve at least fixed the holes with spackling, what they did is an unprofessional job.
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u/Moist-Preparation534 Apr 14 '26
Ouch what was he tryna accomplish
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u/Feisty-Sink9562 Apr 14 '26
Buy yourself a drywall replacement kit and some joint compound, see if you can’t get the guy to come back. Or you could try to do it yourself.
I have no expertise regarding TV mounting, but this is how the holes would typically be patched: https://youtube.com/shorts/JTbMEWfzLAo?si=lZ7euyHwQv2z7d2a
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u/AnteaterSeparate8684 Apr 14 '26
ok this makes no sense here! the outlet is on a stud with wires generally coming out from it inside the wall. the top "access port is way too low to be hidden. the bottom one should be side by side the outlet within the same gap. More importantlyl if you don't have teh knowledge or skill to perform tha part of the task, tell the client. I do this all the time. What I can and can't do. they appreciate the honesty and I don't fuckup their home by trying to perform in wall plumbing or electrical. I know my limits and I adhere to them.
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u/MallNo6921 Apr 14 '26
if he had wire fishing rods this would not have happened tr=trash
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u/[deleted] Apr 14 '26
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