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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
electrician-electricalcontractor.com,
which is a website dedicated to providing
industry, trade and employment information for
electricians and electrical contractors. |
