Electrician Network Miami
2525 SW 3rd Ave, Miami, FL 33129
888-228-7429
Finding and hiring an electrician to do or fix the electrical wiring in your home is not as simple as flipping through the phone book. Many times, homeowners rush into hiring an electrician without doing any background check. They want to get started as soon as possible, and in the process they end up wasting money on an electrician who do shoddy work or charge way too much. If you want an electrician who is good and dependable, not to mention charge a competitive price, you will need to spend some time doing your research. So how exactly do you pick the right electrician? Below are some things you can keep in mind when you are looking for a good electrician.
* Remember that electricians are professionals who have undergone training in electrical work. This is why you are better off paying an electrician to do the electrical work on your home instead of you doing it yourself. Make sure the electrician you intend to hire is qualified. He should be licensed or have a permit to perform electrical jobs. If you are hiring an apprentice, keep in mind that he should be under the direct supervision of a licensed electrician since an apprentice is not qualified to work alone yet.
* Go with an electrician with years of experience in electrical work. It is wise to ask for references and give those references a call. A good and honest electrician won't be hesitant to provide you with names of people who have hired him in the past. Call these people and ask about the quality of the work performed by the electrician or if they encountered any problems dealing with him.
* Ask an electrician for a quotation and a report on how he will carry out the electrical job you need done on your home. Find out if the price quoted to you includes labor and materials or if it is just for labor. Keep in mind that prices of materials may increase from the time an electrician gives you a quote to the time he starts work. In addition, find out if the estimate an electrician gives you also includes cleanup and removal/disposal of replaced electrical components.
* Ask the electrician you intend to hire to give you a detailed material and labor price sheet. Agree on the figure in this price sheet before starting the job. Watch out for electricians who ask for more than 30% of the cost of initial materials. Remember, it is standard practice among contractors to mark up materials in order to cover the time they spend picking up the materials and gas to deliver them to your home.
* Try to get the electrician to give you a "hard date" for completing the job, and put this in writing. This will help you plan and organize your household, as well as prevent you from going over budget.
The bottom line is this: before you start any home improvement or repair project such as an electrical repair job, clarify any issues you have with the electrician you are hiring. It is also crucial that you put everything in writing before the job starts so everything is clear and make sure the whole project goes smoothly.
As a homeowner, you are responsible for making sure that all the electrical wiring in your house is sound and up-to-date. Faulty writing poses several hazards, not least among them a potential fire, which should give you more than enough impetus to make sure that when you need an electrical problem fixed, you hire an experienced and qualified electrician. Poorly designed or poorly repaired circuits can cause damage to electrical appliance motors by delivering the wrong amperage. But how do you make sure that you get a qualified electrician to work in your home? If you know what to look for, it is not all that hard.
Licensing
One of the basic ways to assess the professionalism of an electrician is check to see if he has a state license. Master electricians have to pass a rigorous, standardized test and must provide proof of having been working as an electrician for at least two years. He must also be knowledgeable of the National Electrical Code and keep up to date with any modifications made to it. A sate license means that an electrician is qualified to plan, design, install and maintain electrical systems.
The other type of state licensing is that of the journeyman electrician. A journeyman electrician is one who has not yet qualified for a master's license, but who (as required by the state) works with a master electrician. The law prohibits that journeymen electricians design electrical systems, but they are allowed to install wiring and equipment.
Permit
Before hiring an electrician, also think about asking if he has a valid permit issued by the local building department. Before a building inspector issues a permit, he checks the electrician's work to see if it stands up to regulation standards and building codes, so this is a good way to gauge if an electrician you're thinking of hiring is really reliable.
Choosing the Right Electrician for the Job
Like many other contractors, electricians usually specialize in a specific field. Some do new construction sites, others go out only on service calls and others concentrate on commercial property work. Electricians specializing in remodeling, for example, know certain techniques specific to working with pre-existing wiring and electrical systems, techniques like snaking wires through finished walls, evaluating the power of circuits already in place and deciding whether to add service panels to handle increased power demands.
Recommendations
Lastly, another good way to find a good, reliable electrician is to ask others. Contractors usually have a list of reliable electricians that they usually recommend to clients. So if you're having a new room built and need an electrician, ask the contractor you used for the room to give you some recommendations. Another good place to find the contact info of recommended electricians is by going to your local home-builders' association or an electrical-supply store near you.
When you sit down to interview an electrician, ask to be shown a copy of his state license and proof of insurance and check that they are current and that he has minimum liability coverage of $500,000. And remember to check his references.