FAQs

Yep! Everything from service calls to whole house remodels.

The safe answer is anytime you are spending your hard earned money on an electrical upgrade, you should have a permit. The purpose of a permit is to have a contractor's work inspected to make sure it meets state requirements and is tied to a contractor's license.  There are rules in our State that dictate when a permit is required, but for the most part it is logic. If you are having a defective GFCI replaced, no permit is required. However larger projects require permits for all the professionals working on the project (electrical, plumbing, building etc). As a property owner, you want to make sure the work is meets safety standards and does not need to be corrected later.  Also, when you go to sell the property at a later date, work done without permits can cause you problems completing the sale.

Each manufacturer has their own recommendation but in our experience a battery only unit is good for 5 years and an electric for 10 years. Did you know that Carbon Monoxide (CO) causes more harm than fire? Get a carbon monoxide detector and put it in a location that all can hear it.

We are a licensed contractor, most "tradesmen" who do side jobs are not Licensed Contractors. For you, this means I have insurance, I meet all the State requirements, completed the current requirement for continuing education and I have been in business 30 years.  The guy working on the side has none of those assets and is not responsible if your home burns down. You should review your coverage with your insurance agent before considering a person doing side jobs.  The last thing you want to find out is that you do not have coverage when a problem occurs because the people you hired are unlicensed and do not have liability insurance to cover damage to your property. While you are talking to your agent also ask about what your liability is if this same person becomes seriously injured while working on your property.

Yes you changed the batteries but did you tell the smoke detector? Most smoke detectors require that you trigger them to reset the battery circuit. If you have interconnected smokes hold the test button on all of them, one at a time, until they all sound.

This is a big problem and a question we get very frequently. For energy conservation, our government has set guidelines for the efficiency of lighting products. Many of the products we have used in the past have been discontinued. However there are replacements for most of these products and we can help you with your selection.  Without going into the technical details, the new products cost less to use and create less heat than the older products.

Most homes built prior to 2000 have 15 amp (1800 watts) lighting circuits that are connected to the bathroom outlets. Newer homes will have a 20 amp (2400 watts) dedicated circuit for bathroom outlets. If you are in the first category you just have to do the math. Lights in the bathroom 240 watts bath fan 100 watts hair dryer 1800 watts this equals 2140 watts. The 15 amp circuit will heat up and trip the circuit breaker in just a few minutes. The other bathroom and bedroom lights could also be on this circuit making the problem worse. Installing a new circuit will address this problem.

NO, NO, NO. A generator is an engine just like your car. When it uses gasoline, or any other fuel, it produces Carbon Monoxide (CO). CO is a gas that will migrate into your home and can cause death. CO is known as the silent killer as it has no odor. Generators must be used out of doors and must remain dry unless your generator is approved for wet locations. Very few portable generators are suitable for wet locations.

It is kind of your neighbor to loan you his generator, however it is very dangerous to plug it into a dryer outlet or any other outlet that does not have a transfer switch connected to it. Without a transfer switch you would be energizing the Edison line and possibly injure or worse kill a power line worker. You must have a definitive way of disconnecting from the power company before you connect the generator and this method must prevent you from making that mistake.