How did you find an electrician?

[joyb]

We've been hoping to get all of the wiring updated for the last year, but we've been having a hard time finding an electrician. From all of the people I've called, I've only had three willing to come out to give an estimate (even when the website states they do residential rewiring), and I've only received one estimate. I get that this just isn't a job that people want. And I've been asking for estimates in spring and fall (so no climbing in the attic in the summer or winter). In talking with the one who gave an estimate, it's becoming less clear what he's actually going to do. He's going to use what's there and run new wiring. I'd asked to run all new, so this makes me uncomfortable. Anyway, I remember reading in general that those electricians with experience can do the rewiring job well, but how do you find these people?

[SkipW]

I found my electrician through a referral from another contractor. I have used him for 10 years and he is the only one I use on any of my jobs or my own home. He and his helper have done incredible rewiring jobs in mansions and not damaged a single inch of plaster...that in and of itself is amazing.

Try asking around friends and neighbors who have had successful contracting work done and then speak to those contractors (of course, it would be nice if you had some work for them ) to see if you can get a referral from them.

Other than that it can be hit or miss calling out of the phone book, unless you have a section listing old home restorers and the like...

Good Luck!

[Neighmond]

When you see your local electric power company folks driving around or stopped someplace, ask them (when they aren't in the middle of something) for a few names. Electricians who do residential and light commercial work and have to do the service entry work on places develop relationships with the local utility and they will often point you to a good one if in doubt.

[Corsetière]

I'm with Skip. If you have another contractor you trust, ask them who they would use for electric work. Or my other go-to method is to ask through the neighborhood association. I live in a historic district, so most folks are fairly picky about who they will use.

[phil]

Any thoughts on whether this is something you can handle? I rewired my house under a homeowners permit, but it could be different in your area. I am lucky that my brother is an electrician so he helped to point me in the right direction. Mostly it is a matter of removing old plugs and outlets, drilling holes to route your wiring through to the panel you need a fish tape, and a long flexible drill. you need the correct boxes, ones that you can fit through the existing holes to attach them to the studs. Most of the work is in fishing in all the new wires and mounting the boxes so they are straight and flush with the wall. If you have an electrician working with you he might be ok with you fishing in alll the wire and just have him connect the outlets and change the panel. you might want to open walls and at the same time you can insulate.

I would suggest you request all new parts and don't even talk about the fixtures you want. Just have him install porcelain sockets to pass inspection , and if you want fancy push button switches or old lamps, worry about that later. the parts are cheap. I wouldn't involve the electrician with cable. phone, cat 5 etc.. but you can pull more of that in at the same time if you wish.

you will probably want lots more plugs especially in the kitchen. watch out if they want the bedroom plugs on spark fault breakers. put them on the same run so you only need one spark fault breaker. put he bedrooms lights on a different breaker. you will likely want to put a new panel and if you want a bigger panel you might need a new service line.

my inspector allowed me to use the old system while I re wired it and I had lots running on temporary extension cords because the new system or it's outlets couldn't be turned on. You will need a strategy. it is nice to have a helper so if you hire an electrician you could ask if he will allow you to help pull the wire at least and after a day or two he might feel ok with you doing some of that. Ihave a feeling they may not allow you to work on your own wiring in your area but you'd have to check. here and with mine it was legal the way I did it and the inspector complimented me on how safe and neat it was.

anyone with a little know how can wire a box, BUT if you have a good experienced electrician to show you how to route the wires and how to fold them neatly, you'll get bonus points for doing it right. there are little details, like for example I used wire nuts on every connection even bonding wires , and I taped the wire nuts on and wrapped the tape the correct way. he did open one and checked all that and it was perfectly neat so he was satisfied and I guess he knew I had someone good helping me which gave him confidence in me.

[Don M]

BUT if you have a good experienced electrician to show you how to route the wires and how to fold them neatly, you'll get bonus points for doing it right. there are little details, like for example I used wire nuts on every connection even bonding wires , and I taped the wire nuts on and wrapped the tape the correct way. he did open one and checked all that and it was perfectly neat so he was satisfied and I guess he knew I had someone good helping me which gave him confidence in me.

That's exactly how I learned to wire my MA Cider Mill & that included relays connected to 5 electric 220 baseboard units in a 30x30 living room!

[nhguy]

A a good hardware store is a great place to find good contractors. Anyone who owns a hardware store will want to keep a historic homeowner happy, as they will be frequent customers. We found the electrician we used for our house through the realtor that we bought the house through. He gave us three names and had all of them quote the job and when they would start. The local hardware store gave us the name of a few plumbers and roofing contractors and anyone we used did a fine job. Good luck with your project.

[phil]

I get all my electrical parts through a half dozen electrical wholesalers. the wholesalers mainly deal with electricians so that would also be a place to try, they know who is buying a lot of parts.
Many electricians don't want to work on old houses because it's dirty work. by comparison to new construction. lots of crawl spaces and attics etc.. Most of the electricians I work with are able to work on industrial stuff like PLC's and motor control etc. Electrical wiring on houses only gets to a certain level of complication and most electricaians who just work on houses dont' need to know as much technical stuff. As long as he has a ticket you should be fine but a guy that does a lot of rewiring of houses will have his techniques down for the kind of wire fishing you need to accomplish. One who does a lot of new house wiring should probably have the skills you need though.
the job you are offering is fairly short, dirty, and you are a one time customer ( pretty much) so that's perhaps why every electrician won't bite on your job.
maybe ask a place that does water damage and fire restoration work. I now some specialize along those lines and they are used to dirty re-wire type of jobs.

[joyb]

Thanks for all of the suggestions! Our house is a two story that had the kitchen and first floor bath remodeled sometime in the 60s. A lot of the first floor plugs were rewired at that time, but the wiring for light fixtures is all original. When we moved in, the vent stack had to be replaced, so we replaced all the plumbing and all the wiring that was on that part of the house. We have the first floor light fixtures and most of the second floor light fixtures and plugs to do. I asked for an estimate from the electrician who did that work for us, but I couldn't get an estimate from him. We really liked him, and we found him through the carpenter we were working with at the time. I was thinking I might call the electrician again and ask if he knew of a good recommendation for this type of work.

Though I wish I were so ambitious, I don't think I could do it myself! And the city's a little particular.

Interesting idea to ask the power company, too. We just happen to have some power poles getting replaced this year, they were clearing trees all summer, so I'm sure I'll get a chance to chat with them sometime soon.

We do have a nice local hardware store, too, that I'll have to ask when we stop in.

We're the only older home in a bunch of '70s and newer builds, but I was driving through another neighborhood today with many historic homes, and I even thought about just going door-to-door to ask!

Thanks for the ideas for getting referrals!

[joyb]

Phil - thanks for the recommendation! I'll look into the water damage businesses. There was some severe flooding here about 5 years ago, so I know I can ask around for recommendations for those businesses.

Also, thanks for the considerations. I definitely get that we're not a nice, clean job. And we're living here, so there's no private "workspace" for the duration of the job. That's a good point, too, and it's a one-time job. It was kind of funny with one of the guys who came out for an estimate, they're small it's basically him and two other guys, but I could just see on his face how he just didn't want to get into the walls. At this point I just want to get it done!