Ten Tips and Tricks for Hiring a Residential Electrician- By: Austin Briggs

Description : Hiring a residential electrician can be an expensive undertaking! Here are ten tips to make sure you are hiring the right electrician for your home and tricks to make the experience positive for you and the residential electrical contractor.

1. Make sure you know what you want. If you want your yard wired for lights or for power tools? Would you prefer in-ground wiring or above ground wiring? Make sure you have an idea what appliances and tools you are planning to use the electricity for, how it is going to interact with your life, what you imagine it looking like, or what walls you want outlets on.

2. Do the measurements. Running cable is expensive and can drastically effect the time requirement and cost of your electrician’s visit. Make some rough estimates with a measuring tape concerning how far the wiring will run from breaker box to yard or wall to outlet, and the square footage of the rooms you want wired.

3. Do the research. Twenty minutes of your time performing Google searches on what you think you need can make your time with an electrician more efficient and cost effective simply because you know the language, plus it may help in building a mutual respect.

4. Get recommendations from friends. As with everything, people in your peer group often have valuable information to share which can aid you in choosing the right residential electrician to service your home.

5. Use social media to verify a company’s reputation. From Facebook to LinkedIn, there are a host of social sites that allow consumers to voice their opinions about an individual, product, service, or business.

6. Check to see if the residential electrician is listed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Both negative and positive client feedback can be found about a business as well as if the BBB awarded the business with a mark of excellence to insure trust.

7. Make sure the home electrician is aware of city codes and is prepared to file with the city. Most electrical work must past city zoning regulations and a work permit must be filed with the city. Make sure your residential electrician is familiar with the codes of your city and is willing to file a work permit to insure compliance.

8. Have open communication about what you want done and make sure they have communicated it back with you. Communication is always a two way street; you do not know if someone is on the same page about your work specifications unless they can communicate it.

9. Ask what level electrician they are and if you can save money be getting an apprentice or journeyman instead of a master electrician. It truly depends on the job, but it can cost you less per hour as long as you still have your quality needs fulfilled.

10. Documentation is key to accountable work. Get the project specifications in writing and sign off on the cost and time required for the project so that the value of the electrician’s labor is agreed upon and known by both parties involved.

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Author Resource : Southern Electrical is a reliable and trustworthy residential electricianserving the Austin and Houston TX metro areas. Contact this BBB Accredited Business today to have your home electrical contractor needs fulfilled.