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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.
The article was part of a series of articles at http://www.electrician-electricalcontractor.com/electricalcontractor.html,
written for Electrical Contractors, to help improve their
methods of operation and profitability.
About The Author
The author of this article is John Frezados who is a Mechanical
Engineer, Licensed Master Electrician and Certified Electrical
Instructor. With over 20 years experience in the Electrical
/ General Contracting fields, he's currently dedicating
his time writing, teaching and consulting in the Electro-Mechanical
Contracting and Engineering fields. He has also authored
"The Electrical Contractor's Blueprint for Success"
and "Custom Estimation Systems for Electrical Contractors"
and teaches certified continuing education courses (listed
at http://www.ccesllc.com) for Electrical Contractors.
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