Finding a qualified electrician can be difficult when companies can simply pay for ads to give themselves a boost on your search results. Whether they're officially qualified or not!
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to sift through all the available options to find the right electrician to handle all your projects. Here are a few must-have tips and tricks to help you find out if your electrician is right for you.
How to Choose the Best Electrician
By asking yourself a few of these questions before hiring an electrician, you're ensuring anyone you hire is right for the job. This ensures that the wiring of your home is up to codes and done properly the first time around. Hiring the best electrician for the job is imperative for safe and well-done work.
Is Their Workspace Neat?
A clean workspace may seem irrelevant when you're not dealing with housekeepers. But, a messy workspace can mean more than you think.
A messy workspace is an unnecessary hazard. Not to mention, electricians who don't keep up with their workspace are more likely to mix stuff up and make mistakes. If they can't keep their office and workspace straight, just imagine what they'll do to your wires.
Will They Let You Talk to Former Clients?
Most credible electricians will let you get into contact with some of their former clients either in person or over the phone. It's important to know that the work lasts long and works well even after it's no longer brand new. Another great place to check is somewhere like Yelp if you're uncomfortable asking to speak with former clients yourself.
Does Their Estimate Match Other Professionals?
You should never get one opinion unless the electrician has done work for you before; contacting at least three potential professional electricians to get a quote from is best practice. If the quote doesn't match the quotes from the other professionals that you contacted, perhaps hiring them isn't a good idea.
Are They Open With You?
Your electrician should make the effort to inform you about the work they're doing inside your home. These updates don't have to be technical, as they could be keeping you in the loop or letting you know what issues they're finding. Any professional electrician that you hire should be answering any questions within reason.
Are They up to the Times?
From smart appliances to upgrades in energy efficiency, technology seems to change and advance all the time. Knowing your electrician is capable of handling all of the latest tech is as easy as checking out what certifications they've got.
What Does a Certified Electrician Mean?
Are you hiring a company that's up to date on their certifications?
It's something most people don't think about, but it's important that the sort of work you're hiring an electrician for is on their licensing. But, certification ensures that the electrician you hire is properly trained for the work that they're meant to be doing.
It's difficult to get an answer sometimes on what a certified electrician means because it differs from state to state. Certifications are also state-by-state. So, if your electrician has crossed state lines then some of their papers may no longer valid.
How to Get a Certification
In Texas, a certified electrician means that they have the right training and the hours under their belt. Four years of apprenticeship and training is necessary for Texas to even qualify for taking the state license test. Your professional electrician should present you with the proper certifications and papers when asked.
What a Certification Means
If someone has their state certifications, it means that they have passed a written and practical knowledge test that proves to the state of Texas an understanding of codes and rules that professional electricians adhere too. There is also a physical section of the examination to further test the electrician.
There are several different certifications for various projects though. So, you should make sure that your electrician has the proper certification for all of the services they provide.
Do Electricians Need a License?
There are a lot of different licenses available to the different levels of electricians. These distinctions are important when choosing a company, as you want qualified people working on your home.
Journeyman License
In the state of Texas, 8,000 hours of an apprenticeship is a requirement to qualify for the state-issued test. Once the proper tests have been passed, an electrician will have earned his licensing. Electricians with this licensing are perfectly qualified to work on homes, but there is the option to get higher up licensing.
Master Electrician License
The highest level of electrician licenses is the Master Electrician License. This means that the electrician has worked for at least two years as a Journeyman License and passed the proper exams. Master Electrician is the most qualified position that an electrician can have.
Electrical Contractor License
To hold a Master Electrician License an electrical company must either be under the ownership of someone with a Master Electrician License or contract someone with that license. Depending on the size of the company, more than one Master Electrician might be under contract.
Why Choosing the Right Electrician is Important
These licenses and certifications are necessary because it means that the company that you are hiring to do work in your house is doing it properly.
If someone mis-wired your house then it could burn down due to a short circuit that might not have happened otherwise. These documents should be available, so making sure that the company you hire has this information shouldn't be difficult.
Choosing the best professional electrician for doing electrical work in your house is important. By using all the information above, you should have a better understanding of what information to look for and what is important. If you have further questions, feel free to contact our company because we're happy to help or check out our blog posts.