As a Le Puente homeowner, you are responsible for making sure that all the electrical wiring in your house is sound and up-to-date. Faulty writing poses several hazards, not least among them a potential fire, which should give you more than enough impetus to make sure that when you need an electrical problem fixed, you hire an experienced and qualified electrician. Poorly designed or poorly repaired circuits can cause damage to electrical appliance motors by delivering the wrong amperage. But how do you make sure that you get a qualified electrician to work in your home? If you know what to look for, it is not all that hard.
Licensing
One of the basic ways to assess the professionalism of an electrician is check to see if he has a state license. Master electricians have to pass a rigorous, standardized test and must provide proof of having been working as an electrician for at least two years. He must also be knowledgeable of the National Electrical Code and keep up to date with any modifications made to it. A sate license means that an electrician is qualified to plan, design, install and maintain electrical systems.
The other type of state licensing is that of the journeyman electrician. A journeyman electrician is one who has not yet qualified for a master’s license, but who (as required by the state) works with a master electrician. The law prohibits that Le Puente journeymen electricians design electrical systems, but they are allowed to install wiring and equipment.
Permit
Before hiring a Le Puente electrician, also think about asking if he has a valid permit issued by the local building department. Before a building inspector issues a permit, he checks the electrician’s work to see if it stands up to regulation standards and building codes, so this is a good way to gauge if an electrician you’re thinking of hiring is really reliable.
Choosing the Right Electrician for the Job
Like many other contractors, electricians usually specialize in a specific field. Some do new construction sites, others go out only on service calls and others concentrate on commercial property work. Electricians specializing in remodeling, for example, know certain techniques specific to working with pre-existing wiring and electrical systems, techniques like snaking wires through finished walls, evaluating the power of circuits already in place and deciding whether to add service panels to handle increased power demands.
Recommendations
Lastly, another good way to find a good, reliable electrician is to ask others. Contractors usually have a list of reliable Le Puente electricians that they usually recommend to clients. So if you’re having a new room built and need an electrician, ask the contractor you used for the room to give you some recommendations. Another good place to find the contact info of recommended electricians is by going to your local home-builders’ association or an electrical-supply store near you.
When you sit down to interview an electrician, ask to be shown a copy of his state license and proof of insurance and check that they are current and that he has minimum liability coverage of $500,000. And remember to check his references.
