| Hiring an Electrician
by: John Frezados
Selecting the right electrical contractor isn't as easy as picking
someone out of the Yellow Pages. The ramifications of hiring the wrong
contractor can be financially disastrous and even dangerous.
First and foremost, it's imperative to know if the contractor you're
considering hiring, is licensed, bonded, and has adequate general
liability and workers compensation insurance.
Then, you need to determine if they are experienced in the type of work
you need performed, and if they are generally considered good, honest
and reputable.
The best place to start answering some of these questions is at the
Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors and / or the Division of
Consumer Affairs (basically the Authority having Jurisdiction), and of
course, the Better Business Bureau.
Now let’s pretend for a moment that you have an electrical job you need
done.
Not an emergency -- perhaps it's just fixing a light that stopped
working.
What would you do?
Would you call a few contractors and get multiple bids? You can, but I
wouldn’t necessarily suggest it.
Most people think that they should get multiple bids for every job. This
isn’t the case, and in actuality, putting to bid every little job may in
fact backfire.
Good contractors are few and far in between, and asking for multiple
bids for a small job will only alienate them the next time around. Try
looking at this from their point of view. Their time is worth probably
about $100/ hr, and yet, he or she makes the time to come to your
residence and provide you with a free estimate for whatever work you may
need.
Typically, a good contractor will try to provide you with an
“extra-competitive” bid, especially the first time around, just to make
you a customer.
But how can you tell if the first contractor walking into your house is
The good contractor? Some simple rules may apply here, but remember
there also are exceptions to every rule.
• A good contractor will typically look the part. In other words, if he
or she looks messy and disorganized, then it's probably indicative of
the type of work he or she does. Someone who takes pride in their work
usually takes pride in their appearance. Some contractors may argue this
point, but remember we're talking generalities here and not the
exceptions. He or she should have some type of company identification
(even a shirt with a logo would do).
• A good contractor will have company cards with their company name and
/ or their name, telephone and license # on it.
• A good contractor will respond to your calls quickly and provide you
with a free estimate (for most jobs) the same day or within a reasonable
amount of time, and will take the time to explain what they will do and
how they will do it.
• A good contractor will never offer to do the job without taking out
permits and may even walk away from a job if the homeowner insists on
not taking them. Remember, permits are additional insurance for the
homeowner guaranteeing (through inspection) that the job was performed
safely and correctly.
• A good contractor will never cut corners and do something unsafe in
order to accommodate your budget. They will, instead, offer suggestions
on how to modify your plans to meet both their code and safety
requirements, and your budget. If these two cannot meet, then they will
wish you good luck and walk away from the job.
• A good contractor will be happy to provide you with copies of their
insurance certificates and references when asked. Try not asking for
them unless it's a decent size job.
Suppose a homeowner would like to make a minor alteration or addition to
their electrical system. If the electrical system is old, then that part
of the system may need to be brought up to current code standards before
they can add to it or modify it.
In order to circumvent this regulation, the homeowner may insist that
the job be done without permits and possibly even hire someone
unlicensed to do the work.
What he or she doesn't realize is that if their house burns down, they
will very likely NOT be covered. Your homeowner’s policy probably states
(very clearly) that anyone doing work on the residence has to be
properly licensed and all building, plumbing and electrical codes must
be followed, and work performed with permits wherever required.
If you hired someone whom you thought was licensed, but ultimately
wasn't, it still may NOT be covered because you didn't take out permits
for the work, and as far as the insurance company is concerned, it was
done illegally.
If and when you decide to put a job out to bid, make sure that the work
is properly specified (in minute detail) so that all the contractors are
bidding on exactly the same things. Otherwise, there's no way of telling
who's bidding apples and who is bidding oranges. Not properly specifying
a job is probably the most common mistake homeowners make.
Why? Let's assume you need to have 10 receptacles, 4 lights and 2
dimmers installed in a room.
Without specifying the exact types such as (Standard, Decora, other),
amperage (15/20), location and method of use (this is used by good
contractors to determine how many receptacles to put on a single
circuit), types of lights, bulbs (R30, R40, halogens, etc.) and trims
(for Hi Hats) standard, eyeballs, etc., wattage of bulbs (determines
type and rating of dimmers used), there is no way of telling who is
bidding what. And these are just some of the variables used for a fairly
simple job!
• A good contractor always uses first-class, contractor-grade materials
and never uses anything else, regardless of budget. They will usually
price and give you the higher grade items automatically. This is where
they get in trouble when bidding with other contractors. Someone else
may be using approved but inferior materials, which would enable them to
come in considerably lower than the good contractor. They probably know
that you'll have problems with the items installed sooner rather than
later, but don't care because it falls beyond their warrantee period (if
they even have one).
• A good contractor will take into consideration how the receptacles are
being used (such as computers, entertainment equipment, vacuum cleaner,
etc.) and automatically factor in (price) dedicated lines for these
items, even though current codes may allow all of the receptacles to be
wired on a single circuit.
Other contractors won't, and will therefore be able to do the job
cheaper. Of course, when you start tripping breakers because the new
receptacles are overloading the circuit, there won't be anything to do
about it, because it didn't violate any codes at the time, and more
importantly, you didn't specify it.
But how could you specify it? You're not in the electrical field, and
you assumed the contractor would know better and factor this in.
Well, you're right. The good contractor already factored it in, but you
gave the job to the other one.
Are you starting to get the picture about the dangers of multiple bids?
Very often, you don't end up with the good contractor.
That's a pretty typical bidding scenario, and it’s obvious why people
are intimidated dealing with contractors. Make the wrong move and it can
spell big trouble.
Anyway, if you do bid the work, try to have it properly specified
perhaps by an architect or engineer. A good rule of thumb would be, if
you get multiple bids, always pick from the middle up, and never, ever
pick the lowest bid.
When you've finally selected a contractor, ask them for a copy of their
insurance policies, and make sure everything (including start and end
dates on larger jobs) is in writing.
Very often smaller contractors work out of their own house or garage,
and many do not carry workers compensation insurance. This may or may
not be a factor. If they have a helper with them or send someone else to
your house to do the work, it becomes a huge factor.
Without this insurance policy, you (the homeowner) are 100 % liable for
any accidents their workers may incur. Additionally, many contractors
have only enough general liability insurance to satisfy state
regulations, but nowhere near enough to pay for your house if it burns
down.
Finally, a last note of caution; as with everything else in life, “you
get what you pay for ".
In other words, don't let price alone be the determining factor when
hiring an electrical contractor. Remember, if a plumber messes up,
you’ll have a flood, if an electrical contractor messes up you’ll have a
fire or perhaps even worse.
Good Luck.
Resources
This article was written by John Frezados and published on
http://www.electrician-electricalcontractor.com , which is a website
dedicated to providing industry, trade and employment information for
electricians and electrical contractors.
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