Under no circumstances should you perform DIY electrical wiring in your home if you have no experience with it.
Instead, you should hire a local Hendersonville electrician to take care of it for you. An experienced electrician can handle any amount of electrical repair or remodeling. The only problem is that over 200,000 residential electricians are working in the country today, so you’ve got to figure out how to find the right one.
That’s what we’re here to discuss today. In this post, we’ll give you a complete guide to finding an electrician to do electrical wiring for residential projects. Keep reading and you’ll have someone you can trust taking care of the electrical troubleshooting in your home.
Understand Your Project and Needs
Before you start searching for the perfect electrician, you need to figure out what they’ll be doing. Knowing you need an electrician and knowing what you need them to do are two very different things. If you don’t understand the work involved, you’ll have trouble explaining it to prospective electricians.
Start by determining if you’re having them do indoor or outdoor installations. Indoor installations are generally easier to perform and require less intensive equipment. Outdoor installations have to take the elements into account, so you may be looking at a bigger job.
Once you’ve got that settled, figure out the specifics of the job. Will they be working on indoor/outdoor lighting, wiring, security systems, circuit breakers, or household appliances?
The more you know about your project, the easier it’ll be to determine whether an electrician is up to the job or not. Most homeowners don’t know much about electrical work, however, so the next few tips are even more essential.
Look at Online Reviews and Referrals
Always begin a search for electricians the same way you’d search for any other type of residential service. Head to Google and look for, “electricians in Hendersonville”, and you’ll be shown a list of all your options.
The first thing to do in a search like this is to try and separate the great from the good. Electricians rely on their reputation to build a lasting business, so ratings and reviews from former customers are the best way to find the most reputable options.
Sift through the reviews of the highest-rated electrical companies. In particular, you should be looking for any red flags that might make you avoid hiring someone. It could be poor customer service or a lack of quality workmanship.
Fortunately, former customers are never shy about sharing their experiences with a company. Choose 3-5 of the companies with spotless reputations and do more in-depth research on them.
Before we move on, there’s another way to find great electricians. Referrals from other homeowners are often more trustworthy than online comments. If you’ve got homeowner friends, ask which electrician they use and if they’d recommend them for your project.
Certifications and Experience
When you’ve found a few good electrician options, head to their company websites for further research. For any electrical remodeling or repair, you want a professional with the right certifications and experience.
To become a journeyman electrician, you need 8,000 hours of on-the-job experience. Journeyman and master electrician licenses are issued by the municipal government. Electrical contractor licenses are issued by the state.
When you’re dealing with a licensed electrician, you know they’ve got plenty of experience. That said, more experience is always better, so find out how long the company in question has been operating.
For example, Lanham Mechanical Contractors has served the local area since 1993. We have highly trained technicians on staff who have experience with a wide variety of electrical projects. You can trust us with everything from generator installation to complete electrical repair.
Insurance and Warranties
Hiring an electrician can be nerve-wracking because a lot can go wrong. To ease your nerves, all electrical companies should be equipped with general liability insurance. If anything goes wrong, whether it’s an injury to a worker or property damage, their insurance policy will cover the financial side of things.
There’s also the nerves associated with poor service. You always want your electricians to offer manufacturer and service warranties. These guarantee that your electrical work and the parts used will work.
If they don’t, the electrician will return to fix the problem until you’re satisfied. You should never pay out of pocket for poor workmanship.
Get Multiple Quotes
Always obtain multiple quotes. Getting estimates from multiple electricians will give you a good idea of what your project costs. This helps with budgeting and making sure you’re not overspending on your wiring.
Don’t choose the cheapest electrician because they’re the cheapest. With electrical work, you get what you pay for, so if one service is remarkably cheaper than the next, it’s cause for concern. Choose the company that strikes the right balance between affordability and quality.
At LMC, our goal is to give you the best possible service for the most reasonable price. For that reason, we offer financing to help you manage the cost of electrical work. You should never avoid getting important electrical work done because you’ve got a tight budget.
Timeline and Availability
Lastly, you’ll want to find out when the electrician can tackle your project and how long it’ll take. If you’re under time constraints, this is of the utmost importance. A busy electrician is a good sign. That said, if they can’t squeeze your project into their schedule, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
With residential electrical work, you also want the job done as quickly as possible. Look for an electrician who can give their undivided attention to your project to complete it as soon as possible.
The Best Electrical Wiring for Residential Projects
These tips will help you find the best electrical wiring for residential projects. If you’re located in the greater Nashville area, the best choice is always going to be Lanham Mechanical Contractors.
As Hendersonville’s top heating, cooling, and electrical company, we’ve helped countless homeowners deal with electrical projects. To get a quote for your upcoming project, don’t hesitate to contact us today.