The week I installed 22 systems solo and nearly lost my mind

Last month I had a stretch where I was the only installer available for a whole week. My boss was out sick and the other guy quit the week before. I did 22 residential installs in 5 days, which is way more than my normal pace of 3 to 4 a day. Every job had some new problem: a panel that wouldn't power up, a siren that kept false triggering, and one house where the attic hit 130 degrees. The good side is I made almost double my usual paycheck from overtime and extra commission. But by Friday I was so tired I almost wired a door sensor to the wrong zone. Has anyone else had a killer week like that where you just had to grind through it and hope nothing broke?

2 comments

2 Comments

grant_hart1mo ago

Yeah 22 in 5 days is brutal. I did 18 once and by day 4 I was forgetting which panel code went with which house. Your brain just turns to mush at that point. Good money but not worth burning out over.

jenny_coleman1mo ago

Hold on though, 22 in 5 days is actually pretty standard for some crews. It depends on the system but most houses can handle a panel swap in like 3 to 4 hours if the weather cooperates and you got your gear ready. 18 in 5 days is solid but not really that crazy if you're doing new construction where everything is the same. The real killer is when you get stuck doing service upgrades in old houses with wire that looks like it was installed in 1952. That's what turns your brain to mush way faster than volume does. I'm not saying 22 is easy but if you got a helper who can at least hand you tools it's totally doable without burning out. Just my take from seeing a lot of guys run numbers like that.