Whenever you need any electrical work, such as repairs or an installation, you usually want to have a rough idea of what to expect during a service call and how long everything will take. The steps our electricians will take depend on exactly what service you need. Nonetheless, this guide will give you at least a good idea of what to expect when you schedule a service call.
Determining the Scope of the Work
When our electricians arrive at your house for a service call, we put on shoe covers before entering. That way, we won’t track dirt into your home, and you won’t have to worry about us messing up your floors. Once inside, we will talk to you about what type of work you need, such as installing new lighting, replacing an existing fixture, etc. If you’re experiencing any electrical issues, we’ll want to get as much information from you about the issue as possible so we know what we need to check for.
We can get straight to work if you’re just having us do a fairly basic task like replacing a light fixture, fixing a light switch, or inspecting an outlet that stopped working. If you’re having any issues, such as a breaker that frequently trips, we’ll first need to determine the possible cause and go from there. Similarly, if you need to add additional lights or outlets or have a circuit that needs to be rewired, we’ll need to inspect to determine the best, least intrusive way of running the new wires.
In a major project like rewiring a house, our electricians must do much more legwork and inspect your entire electrical system before starting the project. We must usually determine if components must be updated to meet today’s electrical code requirements. That means additional tasks, such as running and connecting new wiring, may need to be completed.
Performing an Electrical Load Calculation
If you’re adding additional lighting or installing an EV charging station, one of our electricians must perform a load calculation first. This calculation determines whether the circuit your new lights are wired to can manage the additional electrical load. If the circuit is close to capacity, switching some things over to a different circuit or installing a new circuit may be necessary.
Our electrician will calculate your home’s total electrical load for major installations to determine whether your electrical service has enough amps to support the new installation. If it doesn’t, you must replace your main electrical panel with a larger one. In any example situations we just mentioned, an electrical permit is needed before the work can start. We usually obtain the necessary permit and don’t usually agree upon a scheduled start date until we have the permit(s).
Discussing What Work Is Needed and Calculating the Price
Once one of our electricians has determined the scope of the work we need to perform, we should discuss everything with you again so that you fully understand what we’re going to do and why everything is necessary. Any reputable electrical company should also give you a quote for how much everything is going to cost before getting started. Depending on what work you need to be performed, one of our electricians may also be able to give you various options and price packages.
At Top Flight Electric, we use software to calculate flat-rate pricing on all services we perform. Once we understand what needs to be done, we’ll enter all the information into the software and present you with your pricing options. That means you’ll always be fully aware of how much your repair or installation will cost beforehand and never have to worry about suddenly being hit with hidden fees once the project is complete.
Shutting the Power Off
Before starting the installation or repair, one of our electricians must shut the power off to whatever we’re working on to perform the work safely. We often need to just switch the power off to whatever circuit we’re working on by flipping the circuit breaker off. In case of more significant work, such as upgrading your electrical panel, we will need to shut the power off to your entire house.
Unfortunately, that means you won’t be able to use anything that requires electricity while we’re working. Luckily, almost all electrical projects other than completely rewiring a home can be done on the same day, so you won’t have to go for too long without power.
Handling the Installation or Repair
Once the power is off, one of our electricians will start going about whatever we need to do. Depending on the service you need, we may need to access your attic to run new wires or inspect the existing wiring. If you’re adding additional fixtures like lights or outlets, our team of electricians can usually fish and pull the new wiring from your electrical panel and then up through a wall into the attic.
We can often pull the wiring from the attic down through the wall or ceiling to where the new fixtures are going. We’ll need to cut a hole in the wall or ceiling to fit the new fixture in place and may sometimes need to cut additional holes. Nonetheless, our experienced, reputable electricians will always try to find a way to do the work in the least invasive way possible.
We’ll do our best to cut into your drywall or ceiling as little as possible and clean up after ourselves, trying not to make too much of a mess.
Testing and Clean Up
Once our electricians have finished everything we need, we’ll turn the power on and test to ensure everything works. If the service we provided required an electrical permit for our work, we would need to contact the municipal electrical inspector and wait for the final inspection. The city or county usually inspects work that requires a permit to ensure that the work conforms to all necessary electrical code requirements.
If, for some reason, anything doesn’t meet the code, the electrician will have to fix the issue and then call for a second inspection before the work can finally get approved. After everything has been tested and inspected, our electricians will clean the work area and leave your home exactly as we found it.
Top Flight Electric Professional Electrical Services
If you need any type of electrical service in Winter Haven or a surrounding area, Top Flight Electric has you covered. We’ve been providing expert residential electrical services since 2017, and you can count on us for all your repair and installation needs. When you choose us, you can trust that our team will arrive on time and work with you to ensure you know what work is required and that your specific needs are fully met. Contact us at Top Flight Electric today to schedule a service call for any electrical installation or repair.
