|
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.
|
