When you are looking for an electrician, look for someone whom you can form a long term relationship with. This is true for homeowners, of course, but also true for apartment managers and owners of investment properties.  As an electrician in Los Angeles, I’ve built up long-term, on-going relationships with property management companies and apartment owners. I’ve found that these relationships save me and the client time and money whenever the client needs electrical work.

Find Recommended Electricians You can get recommendations for electricians from other apartment managers and also from homeowners. You can also search on-line for electrician Los Angeles or electrician Burbank, and so on. If you add the word reviews to your search, you can look for companies that have the best reviews.

Another approach is to search websites that feature reviews. Reviews appear on many websites including Google Places, Yelp.com, AngiesList.com, and CitySearch.com. You may be familiar with AngiesList.com, a paid service. It’s an excellent source of recommendations for contractors. It asks customers to rate contractors, including electricians, and give specifics about how their job went.

When looking at customer reviews, take a look at the big picture. If there are one or two bad reviews among the many good ones, does it seem like it’s just a grumpy customer? Is there a company reply that clears things up or says that it has corrected its employee?

Once you have three or so recommended electricians, take a look at their websites.

Check the Electrician’s Website

• Is it presentable and well-maintained? If the website checks out, it’s time to interview the electrician.

Interview the Electrician When you talk with the electrician, pay attention to how comfortable you are, including your trust level. Ask about:

• Experience with your type of work, including tenant relations • Names and contact info for five clients, preferably apartment or other property managers

Take notes on all this, particularly the License Number. If you decide to go ahead, you may wish to check some of what the electrician has said. If you decide not to go ahead, no need to proceed any further with this electrician. But save the notes so that you can remind yourself later of which companies you’ve already ruled out.

Look and Listen Electricians who are bidding jobs are on their best behavior. If you already notice that an electrician treats you or others in ways that concern you, better to find another with whom you feel more comfortable.

Check It Out • Check the company’s rating at the Better Business Bureau. Ratings run from A+ to F based on customer complaints made to the Bureau. As a note, an “A” reflects the same level of customer satisfaction as an “A+.” The “A+” is earned by an “A” contractor becoming a paying member of the Better Business Bureau, which supports the Bureau in its work.

Call References • Would you be happy to continue to use this electrical company?

Speak with at least three references. Listen carefully for enthusiasm or lack of enthusiasm about the electrician. A competent electrical company will have given you names that they believe are satisfied customers. Clients, past or present, may not feel comfortable saying anything negative. If they express little enthusiasm or say something negative, take this into consideration when making your decision.

Don’t Automatically Choose the Low Bid A bid may be too low. How can that be? An electrician may intentionally omit items that the job requires, only to come back later saying that additional work needs to be done. On the other hand, some electricians may unintentionally bid low through inexperience. Either way, the electrician may ask for more money to finish the job or may leave you with an incomplete project.

Look at the Whole Picture Price is important, but judge the entire picture an electrician is showing you — character, expertise, the ease of working with him or her, and overall value. A large part of an electrician’s value is that he/she gets the job done right and safely without taking too much of your time and inconveniencing you or your tenants. A very competent electrician can save you money by suggesting more efficient ways to do a job or to save on electricity.

If you  are looking for a fully licensed, bonded, and insured electrician in Los Angeles who can work with you and provide you quality electrical services at reasonable prices, please give us a call at (800) 990-9490, 8-5 pm. I look forward to hearing from you and will be happy to provide you with contact info for satisfied property managers. Or you can look at a couple of reviews by property managers on our website.

Many of us know as the years go on families grow in number and size. Unfortunately, our homes don’t expand to make room for us all. To get that extra square footage or an extra room, a home addition is ideal. But it is important to remember that the additional room needs to be connected to the house perfectly in every way. There are many points to remember with home additions and its important that they are done right or you may need to end up redoing the room you just completed.

Whether you are looking at a kitchen expansion, a new bathroom, or a room addition, there are many things to keep in mind before you put the drywall on. The new space will new lighting, switches, outlets, and even temperature controls. Depending on the size of the space these items can require a significant amount of electricity. Adding this extra load to an existing circuit can bring that circuit over the limit. If this happens you are prone to power surges, electrical outages, and even fires. Depending on the size of your room you may need a new circuit in order to properly handle the new electrical load. This means doing an addition to your electrical panel. If not implemented properly, additions to the service panel can be messy and dangerous. Because the main service panel is the heart of your home’s electrical system you want it to be in the best shape it can be.

After reading this it can seem like a home addition is a larger undertaking than you previously imagined. That is why it is important to get professional help. There can be many code violations and hazards in your new home addition and you don’t want to close them up until you are sure you are safe. An expert electrician knows what to look for and what should be done to make everything right. And when it comes to electrical panel upgrades a professional can make sure that the panel does not become a dangerous container of wires.

If you are performing a home addition or room expansion, make sure that you are keeping your home safe and up to code. The last thing you want is to expand your home and lose most of it to an electrical fire. With an expert electrician you have peace of mind knowing that everything behind the walls is done correctly.

The widespread availability and application of electricity is one of the truly greatest accomplishments mankind has ever achieved, yet we take it almost entirely for granted. Many people endlessly utilize electricity with almost no idea of how it works. The fact of the matter is that electricity is an incredibly dangerous, and even deadly force, that would be nearly impossible to harness for any practical application without grounding. We’ve probably all heard of grounding, but few people understand just how crucial proper grounding truly is to their house’s wiring.

The importance of proper grounding is so vital that it truly cannot be understated, even summarizing the necessity of grounding is difficult without thorough understanding of how electrical currents work. Still, as a basic overview, grounding provides these few necessary things to any safe electrical application, including the power routed to and through your home:

A certified & bonded residential electrician can help you with any electrical issues that may arise in your home, due to poor grounding or otherwise. For any electrical installation services, work with Des Moines’ Top Rated Local® residential electricians for safe, reliable wiring that you can count on.