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    17Jan, 2018
    Free Estimates on Electrical – Avoiding Rip-Offs

    I’ve been an electrician in Los Angeles since 1979, over 30 years. In that time, I’ve seen the work of more than a few rip-off electricians. Customers tell me that they hired some company — let’s call them “Joe’s Rip-Off Electric” — and, I find that the customer was way overcharged. Sometimes the work wasn’t even needed. I’ve also seen the work of electricians who don’t know what they’re doing yet. Sometimes I’ve been hired to clean up a job by someone we’ll call “Justin Amateur Electric.” Every problem you have our emergency electrician Brisbane do comes with a minimum six month guarantee, so you can put your faith in the quality of our electrical work.

    How to avoid such electricians? If your job is an installation of new electrical components, the key is to ask for a free estimate over the phone. This doesn’t apply to repairing something that used to work — in this case, the electrician needs to see the job to tell you a price. He’ll need to troubleshoot with his tools and track down the culprit. But for installation of a new light fixture, a new electrical panel, or even an entire house rewire, a knowledgeable electrician should usually be able to give you a ballpark estimate without even seeing your job.

    Why is a Free Estimate so important? Joe Rip-Off Electric won’t want to give you an estimate over the phone. Joe has a different plan. He wants to send an electrician to your home or business to look at the job. He’ll charge you for looking over the job, figuring it all out, and then will give you an estimate. He’ll charge for the estimate, but he’ll explain that he’ll deduct it from the final bill.

    One variation on this plan is that Joe will tell you that he gives free estimates but that he must do it on-site. You’ll need to pay him for his travel time or pay some other fee. In any such approach, you’ll be paying to get the estimate.

    Here’s Joe’s thinking. Once you’ve run up a bill for the estimate, you’ll want to recoup the cost by agreeing to have Joe do the job. Only problem is that now you’re stuck with Joe. Joe knows this and knows that you haven’t had a chance to get competitive bids. He has a free hand to overcharge you.

    If you ask Justin Amateur Electric for a free estimate over the phone, Justin will also explain that he needs to see the job first. But he doesn’t have the same reason as Joe. Justin doesn’t know enough about electric to give you an estimate. He’s afraid that he’ll overestimate, or more likely, underestimate and lose money doing your job. If you hire him, you’re taking a chance with the quality and safety of the work. And the job may drag on while Justin learns the trade at your expense.

    Get three estimates. You can avoid both Joe Rip-Off Electric and Justin Amateur by getting a free estimate over the phone. When you ask for an estimate, describe the work that you want accurately. Get estimates from at least three electricians. Don’t necessarily go with the lowest estimate. You want an electrical system that works, that passes inspection if a permit is needed, and that’s safe. So, while you’re getting the estimate, pay attention to clues about quality and competence.

    If an electrician doesn’t give a free over-the-phone estimate, does it necessarily mean he’s dishonest or incompetent? No. Some honest and experienced electricians have developed a policy over the years of not giving free estimates. This is because giving a free estimate, either over-the-phone or on-site, takes time. An electrician can feel taken advantage of when giving free estimates. He’s occasionally gotten calls from people who have already chosen another electrician but are just calling around to find a low estimate so that they can bargain down the price of the electrician they’ve already selected.

    While I’m aware of this type of customer, I believe that most times giving a free estimate over the phone is both helpful to the customer and a good business practice. I do take care as to when I’ll send out an electrician to look at a job and give a firm bid. We’ll send out an electrician if I trust the customer to go ahead with the job on a bid that’s equal to or lower than our original phone estimate.

    Surprisingly, sometimes our firm bid is lower than the original phone estimate. This can happen if the electrician goes to the job and realizes by looking things over that there’s a more efficient way to get the job done.

    Get a firm bid in writing. After you get free estimates on installing a new electrical component, the next step is to have an electrician come to your job site. On a new installation, before doing any work, they should usually be able to give you a firm bid in writing and sign it. If you agree to a written bid, you shouldn’t have to pay more for the job regardless of what the electrician finds when he actually does the job.

    Repair jobs require a visit to the job site. With repair jobs, you won’t be able to rely on the “Free Estimate” technique for finding an electrician. You’ll need to rely on checking out the electrician’s website and customer references and paying attention to your comfort level with the honesty and competence of the company.

    If you need something fixed that used to work, most often the electrician will need to do go to your job and charge by the half hour or hour for taking out his tools and troubleshooting. However, within a half hour to an hour, he should know the extent of the problem. At that point, if he hasn’t already fixed the problem, the electrician should give you a firm bid in writing before doing more work.

    Often, by the time the electrician has figured out the problem (within a half hour to an hour or so) — let’s say it’s a loose wire — it will take another minute or so to fix it. In fact, he may not be certain that the loose wire was the entire problem until he tightens the wire, the circuit now works, and the job is done.

    Publishing Rights: You may republish this article in your web site, newsletter, or e-book, on the conditions that you agree to leave the article completely intact, including the author’s name, and that you credit the article to the links in the Resource Box and keep these links active.

    Kim Hopkins has been a Los Angeles electrician since 1979. His company, The Electric Connection at http://www.TheElectricConnection.com, is one of the foremost electrical contracting companies in the L.A. area. Kim has done trainings on electrical safety for home inspectors throughout Los Angeles. For a $25 off coupon on your first electrical job as well as other coupons, go to http://www.theelectricconnection.com/coupon.php.

    Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Kim_Hopkins/756795

    Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6376019

    15Jan, 2018
    Some Do’s and Don’ts When Hiring An Electrician / Electrical Contractor

    Selecting the right electrical contractor isn’t as easy as picking someone out of the Yellow Pages. The ramifications of hiring the wrong contractor can be financially disastrous and even dangerous. We provide 24 hour electrician Brisbane to fix urgent problems with electrical systems or emergency electrical breakdowns.

    First and foremost, it’s imperative to know if the contractor you’re considering hiring, is licensed, bonded, and has adequate general liability and workers compensation insurance.

    Then, you need to determine if they are experienced in the type of work you need performed, and if they are generally considered good, honest and reputable.

    The best place to start answering some of these questions is at the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors and / or the Division of Consumer Affairs (basically the Authority having Jurisdiction), and of course, the Better Business Bureau.

    Now let’s pretend for a moment that you have an electrical job you need done.
    Not an emergency — perhaps it’s just fixing a light that stopped working.

    What would you do?

    Would you call a few contractors and get multiple bids? You can, but I wouldn’t necessarily suggest it.

    Most people think that they should get multiple bids for every job. This isn’t the case, and in actuality, putting to bid every little job may in fact backfire.

    Good contractors are few and far in between, and asking for multiple bids for a small job will only alienate them the next time around. Try looking at this from their point of view. Their time is worth probably about $100/ hr, and yet, he or she makes the time to come to your residence and provide you with a free estimate for whatever work you may need.

    Typically, a good contractor will try to provide you with an “extra-competitive” bid, especially the first time around, just to make you a customer.

    But how can you tell if the first contractor walking into your house is The good contractor? Some simple rules may apply here, but remember there also are exceptions to every rule.

    o A good contractor will typically look the part. In other words, if he or she looks messy and disorganized, then it’s probably indicative of the type of work he or she does. Someone who takes pride in their work usually takes pride in their appearance. Some contractors may argue this point, but remember we’re talking generalities here and not the exceptions. He or she should have some type of company identification (even a shirt with a logo would do).

    o A good contractor will have company cards with their company name and / or their name, telephone and license # on it.

    o A good contractor will respond to your calls quickly and provide you with a free estimate (for most jobs) the same day or within a reasonable amount of time, and will take the time to explain what they will do and how they will do it.

    o A good contractor will never offer to do the job without taking out permits and may even walk away from a job if the homeowner insists on not taking them. Remember, permits are additional insurance for the homeowner guaranteeing (through inspection) that the job was performed safely and correctly.

    o A good contractor will never cut corners and do something unsafe in order to accommodate your budget. They will, instead, offer suggestions on how to modify your plans to meet both their code and safety requirements, and your budget. If these two cannot meet, then they will wish you good luck and walk away from the job.

    o A good contractor will be happy to provide you with copies of their insurance certificates and references when asked. Try not asking for them unless it’s a decent size job.

    Suppose a homeowner would like to make a minor alteration or addition to their electrical system. If the electrical system is old, then that part of the system may need to be brought up to current code standards before they can add to it or modify it.

    In order to circumvent this regulation, the homeowner may insist that the job be done without permits and possibly even hire someone unlicensed to do the work.

    What he or she doesn’t realize is that if their house burns down, they will very likely NOT be covered. Your homeowner’s policy probably states (very clearly) that anyone doing work on the residence has to be properly licensed and all building, plumbing and electrical codes must be followed, and work performed with permits wherever required.

    If you hired someone whom you thought was licensed, but ultimately wasn’t, it still may NOT be covered because you didn’t take out permits for the work, and as far as the insurance company is concerned, it was done illegally.

    If and when you decide to put a job out to bid, make sure that the work is properly specified (in minute detail) so that all the contractors are bidding on exactly the same things. Otherwise, there’s no way of telling who’s bidding apples and who is bidding oranges. Not properly specifying a job is probably the most common mistake homeowners make.

    Why? Let’s assume you need to have 10 receptacles, 4 lights and 2 dimmers installed in a room.
    Without specifying the exact types such as (Standard, Decora, other), amperage (15/20), location and method of use (this is used by good contractors to determine how many receptacles to put on a single circuit), types of lights, bulbs (R30, R40, halogens, etc.) and trims (for Hi Hats) standard, eyeballs, etc., wattage of bulbs (determines type and rating of dimmers used), there is no way of telling who is bidding what. And these are just some of the variables used for a fairly simple job!

    o A good contractor always uses first-class, contractor-grade materials and never uses anything else, regardless of budget. They will usually price and give you the higher grade items automatically. This is where they get in trouble when bidding with other contractors. Someone else may be using approved but inferior materials, which would enable them to come in considerably lower than the good contractor. They probably know that you’ll have problems with the items installed sooner rather than later, but don’t care because it falls beyond their warrantee period (if they even have one).

    o A good contractor will take into consideration how the receptacles are being used (such as computers, entertainment equipment, vacuum cleaner, etc.) and automatically factor in (price) dedicated lines for these items, even though current codes may allow all of the receptacles to be wired on a single circuit.

    Other contractors won’t, and will therefore be able to do the job cheaper. Of course, when you start tripping breakers because the new receptacles are overloading the circuit, there won’t be anything to do about it, because it didn’t violate any codes at the time, and more importantly, you didn’t specify it.

    But how could you specify it? You’re not in the electrical field, and you assumed the contractor would know better and factor this in.

    Well, you’re right. The good contractor already factored it in, but you gave the job to the other one.

    Are you starting to get the picture about the dangers of multiple bids? Very often, you don’t end up with the good contractor.

    That’s a pretty typical bidding scenario, and it’s obvious why people are intimidated dealing with contractors. Make the wrong move and it can spell big trouble.

    Anyway, if you do bid the work, try to have it properly specified perhaps by an architect or engineer. A good rule of thumb would be, if you get multiple bids, always pick from the middle up, and never, ever pick the lowest bid.

    When you’ve finally selected a contractor, ask them for a copy of their insurance policies, and make sure everything (including start and end dates on larger jobs) is in writing.

    Very often smaller contractors work out of their own house or garage, and many do not carry workers compensation insurance. This may or may not be a factor. If they have a helper with them or send someone else to your house to do the work, it becomes a huge factor.

    Without this insurance policy, you (the homeowner) are 100 % liable for any accidents their workers may incur. Additionally, many contractors have only enough general liability insurance to satisfy state regulations, but nowhere near enough to pay for your house if it burns down.

    Finally, a last note of caution; as with everything else in life, “you get what you pay for “.

    In other words, don’t let price alone be the determining factor when hiring an electrical contractor. Remember, if a plumber messes up, you’ll have a flood, if an electrical contractor messes up you’ll have a fire or perhaps even worse.

    Good Luck.

    Resources

    This article was written by John Frezados and published on www.electrician-electricalcontractor.com [http://www.electrician-electricalcontractor.com] , which is a website dedicated to providing industry, trade and employment information for electricians and electrical contractors. The article was part of a series of articles at www.electrician-electricalcontractor.com/electricalcontractor.html [http://www.electrician-electricalcontractor.com/electricalcontractor.html] , written for Electrical Contractors, to help improve their methods of operation and profitability. John Frezados is a Mechanical Engineer, a Licensed Master Electrician and Certified Electrical Instructor, and has over 20 years experience in the Electrical / General Contracting fields. He currently spends his time writing, teaching and consulting in the Electro-Mechanical Contracting and Engineering fields. He has authored numerous books and courses, such as “The Electrical Contractor’s Blueprint for Success” and “Custom Estimation Systems for Electrical Contractors” and teaches certified continuing education courses (listed at www.ccesllc.com ) for Electrical Contractors.

    Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/John_Frezados/58169

    Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/336878

    1Dec, 2017
    How to Repair Driveway Cracks

    How to Repair Concrete Driveway Cracks

    The primary purpose of fixing concrete cracks is to help keep moisture from working its way into the cracks. A secondary benefit of fixing concrete cracks is improving the appearance of your driveway. Considering that many homes have front-facing driveways, it is a good way to help improve your home’s curb appeal. Before you begin the repair, scope out the general area and try to get a feel for what caused the crack. Concrete cracks can be caused by growing tree roots, impact damage, weight overloading, etc. The most common cause of concrete cracks is standing water, which, over time, works its way into the concrete and expands and contracts according to the temperature. Concrete is one of our most important building products but the cost for concrete driveway somehow manageable. We use it for house slabs, driveways, paving and much more.

    Before you begin fixing the actual crack, think long and hard about how you can eliminate the cause of the problem. Preventing further damage is vital to the overall success of your repair job. The methods used to fix concrete cracks depend on the size of the actual crack.

    Preparation

    • Regardless of size, the first step should include cleaning the crack to create clean surfaces that are ready to bond with the repair materials.
    • Begin by breaking off any loose pieces of concrete with a screwdriver or chisel (be cautious you don’t needlessly enlarge the crack).
    • Once you’ve cleaned the crack’s edges, use a firm wired brush to remove any remaining debris.
    • Next, remove as much loose debris from within the crack as possible. This is best done with an air compressor but if you don’t have one available, you can use a shop vac or even canned air, which is commonly used to clean computer keyboards. The idea here is to clean out all of the dust and debris from within the crack.

    Now that the crack has been prepared for repair, follow the steps below according to the size of the crack. Follow the specific directions that are printed on the packaging of whatever product you end up using to make your repair.

    Fixing Small, Hairline Concrete Cracks

    • Textured caulk, concrete sealer or pourable grout designed for repairing concrete are good ways to fix small concrete cracks.
    • If you’re using concrete sealer or pourable grout, begin by lightly wetting the crack — a spray bottle filled with water will work well (textured caulk is best applied to a dry crack).
    • With all products, completely fill the crack and use a pointing trowel to push the grout or sealer into the crack.
    • If you’re using textured caulk, provide some overfill to account for shrinkage as the caulk dries.
    • If you’re wearing thick rubber gloves, you can use your thumb to ensure that you’re completely filling the crack.
    • In all cases, refer to specific product manufacturer guidelines for application instructions.