Hiring an Electrician

Things to Consider When Hiring an Electrician

Is hiring an electrician as simple as going online and picking one.

I don’t think so!

In this blog, we will discuss qualities you should look for when Hiring an Electrician to do work in your home or business.

Many people don’t give much thought to their electrical system in their homes or offices until something goes wrong and it stops working. At some point and time, whether it’s a service problem or you just want to make changes, you will require a qualified electrical company to help you out.

When Hiring an Electrical Company there are a few requirements that should be considered and to help you with this decision we have identified a list of questions that need to be answered.

Necessary Considerations

  1. Project Size / Scope
  2. Desired Timeline or Schedule
  3. Electrical Permit
  4. Certified, Licenced ELectrical Company
  5. Insurance
  6. Health and Safety Policy
  7. References

1. Project Size and Scope

When hiring an electrical contractor the project level of complexity and budget size can play a crucial part when selecting the right provider. Determining these above components will help you with all your trade selection as electrical companies will require the appropriate skills and capacity to complete the project on schedule which means (Committed Staff).

The size or number of staff in a company is important but what supports great performance is a strong back office support team, technical planning, scheduling and the ability to provide accurate estimates and project backup.

When Hiring an electrician don’t be too quick to believe the quick sales pitch like, don’t worry we have you covered story. Based on the above list we need to consider the financial impact of hiring an unqualified or dishonest electrical company.

PTX Electric is certified and Excels at providing detailed estimates and project guidance, don’t settle for less.

Some Ring the Bell indicators are:

  1. Pay me in cash.
  2. No need for a permit
  3. Your Electrical Panel is full, but we will install a subpanel?
  4. Your Panel type is discontinued, Don’t worry, we have Used breakers?
  5. It’s not Code, but it’s totally Safe?

Electricity can be dangerous and low-quality work can pose a life and safety concerns for your home family or business. As a result it is essential you hire a licensed qualified electrical contractor.

2. Schedules and Timelines

When starting a project it is very important the appropriate planning and scheduling takes place as it aligns both customer expectations and contractor resources. It is one thing to have a schedule but it needs to align with both parties and be achievable. Unrealistic schedules will result in increased cost, decreased quality and customer dissatisfaction.

We touched briefly on this subject above however we cannot emphasise enough the importance of schedules.

Layering the trades can be challenging and every trade impacts another thus the need for clear oversight and planning. Whether it’s a large project or a small project PTX Electric is expert in pre-planning.

3. Electrical Permit

Prior to any electrical work commencing it is required by BC Electrical authority that you acquire a permit. The permit can be acquired based on a general scope and does not need to be all encompassing as it’s not always possible to know what’s hidden in the walls and ceilings.

As long as the permit is acquired and posted all the electrical work will be inspected and approved by the BC authority or its certified representative. Just a quick mention, it is required by both municipal and provincial guidelines that permits be acquired for general construction work as well as all other pertaining trades.

Play it safe; ensure all service providers are qualified/licensed with permits in place.

 

4. Certified, Licenced Electrical Company

Noted below these are important question to ask;

1. Is the Electrical Company incorporated or Ltd.

This can make a significant difference as there are strict rules a corporation must follow versus a proprietorship. Smaller 1-2 man shops can do great work but are very limited in their resource constraints and cash flow that allows them to deliver their projects on time and budget. Delays cost money and impact all provider partners.

2. Are all the Electricians qualified (Red Seal certified)? Poor quality and safety concerns will occur if all trades are not certified.

3. Are all apprentices signed according to the provincial apprenticeship governing authority. If not, your liability insurance may not cover your property if an incident or accident occurs as they are not certified to work on the electrical system.

4. Is the Electrical Contractor licensed to work in your municipality?

If you are not aware, each City/Zone requires contractors to apply for a yearly licence if they want to work in your local or city. WIthout this licence they cannot request or acquire an Electrical Permit.

Note: If an electrical contractor tells you a permit is not required it may be because he is not legally certified to work in your city and as a result cannot acquire a permit.

5. Insurance

Liability insurance is a critical component when considering an electrical company, and as with most insurance policies we only need them if something goes wrong.

1. Ask for proof of insurance. Contractor may vary but most companies carry a minimum liability coverage of 2-5 million.

2. BC Worksafe requires all companies to contribute to the provincial insurance coverage that protects employees against accidental injuries at the workplace.

3. Make sure you request proof of insurance coverage because without it you are liable.

6. Health and Safety Policy.

Are you Trained?

Health and Safety is very important and without clear guidelines and safety procedures employees can be injured. Believe it or not most accidents happen as a result of lack of awareness and knowledge. In other words if we are trained in what causes small and large accidents we are more likely to prevent their occurrences.

1. How to work safely.

2. Tool / Equipment handling and care.

3. Clean working space.

4. Correct use of Ladders.

5. Fall arrest guidelines.

6. Working from heights etc the list goes on.

7. References

Why settle for the unknown, ask your electrical contractor to provide you with at least three references that you can speak with to verify performance standards and customer satisfaction.

To complete your verification process you should perform a quick and simple google reference search. Although this gives you a general idea of performance there is nothing like speaking with a former customer.

Conclusion

Deciding on the ideal electrical contractor to Hire can be confusing, although we hope that our blog helps you to hire the most suitable service provider.

At PTX Electric Ltd. we pride ourselves on providing qualified professional electrical service and project work and our warranty promise is we fix it.

Call PTX Electric for your next emergency call or work project and we will be honoured to make your experience great.

Poor quality lingers long after the cheap price disappears