Hiring a St. Louis Electrician

CSE is a family owned company and we are proud of our business ethics. However, today that does not seem to be the practice of all companies. Therefore, we would like to give you some recommendations when you go to hire an electrical contractor.

If you have an emergency and need an electrician immediately, a check on the following is recommended:

Check for online reviews
Check their Better Business Bureau Rating
Confirm they are licensed for your area

If your project allows you time to plan ahead, make a sketch for your St. Louis electrical contractor and discuss if he has any suggestions for your project. You will save time and money by knowing what you need in advance. Once wiring is pulled and drywall is up on a project, adding electrical outlets and lighting will be more costly. Have a well drawn up electrical plan that will avoid extras and you will get the best electrical bids and avoid costly extras.

If you are unsure of what is most important for your project, discuss your budget ahead of time with your electrical contractor. In this manner it can be best to work on a design build process with a set budget. The electrical contractor can tell you what you need to meet most local code official’s requirements and what will give you the most for your budget. Be prepared by discussing your plans with the local code officials first. Many code officials will require code updates that can be unexpected and completely blow your budget. Electrical is one of the areas of a budget that is commonly increased. Be prepared to allow for a 20% increase if you are using cookie cutter plans. If you have a tight budget, consider using economical fixtures that can be upgraded later so that you can get more wiring and outlets that would be costly to add later.

Talk to more than one electrical contractor. Get bids from at least two contractors. Get references and your proposal in writing. Find out how long each contractor has been in business. Ask if they are licensed for your county, and always ask for a copy of their insurance certificates. Make sure they have workers compensation insurance included for the owner of the company particularly if he is going to be working on the project. In Missouri it is not mandatory for the owner to have workers compensation insurance. If he is injured on your property, this could potentially leave you open to a liability suit. You may also benefit from checking the insurance certificate with the insurance company to make sure it is still in force. Ask to have your name added to the contractors policy as an additional insured. Most insurance companies will do this at no additional cost and If you are listed as an additional insured, you should be contacted by the insurance company if the policy is cancelled for any reason prior to it’s expiration date.

Always check the contractor’s references. Do they have customers or clients listed on their website? We do not choose to do this because we feel our customers are proprietary information and also prefer to protect our customers privacy. However, we are pleased to give recent references privately on all types of electrical work and suggest you actually call the references. If an electrical contractor lists their customers ask about a couple of the customers and ask to get a contact name for the customers you choose. You may want to ask the previous customer how the quality of work was, did they keep to the expected budget, were their technicians clean and courteous? Was the project completed in an acceptable amount of time?

Always take the time to check with the Better Business Bureau. Do they have any complaints? CSE has an A+ rating that we are very proud of as we have not had a complaint in 29 years of business. However, It is highly likely that a good contractor that has been around for a long time may get a complaint, but check to make sure it was closed out acceptably. If a contractor seems to have several complaints, even if they were closed acceptably, that may be a red flag to consider other contractors to do your project.

Check their associations, are they associated with a reputable independent or organized electrical contractor’s organization? Have their technicians received proper training towards their journeyman licenses? CSE is an IBEW local 1 electrical contractor with a long history of reliability, training, and experience.

Lastly think twice about do it yourself home rewiring projects. They can be intimidating and a little error could have disastrous results. Most government agencies have determined that electrical work should only be trusted to trained and experienced professionals requiring a licensed electrician. Your best choice for any electrical work is an electrical contractor who holds a master electricians license.

As a St. Louis Electrician , we strive to provide a fair price and have worked hard to hold our prices down in these tough economic times. If we are not the successful contractor in being awarded your project, make sure the company you hire meets some important standards with the tips found above.

Safety Tips

CSE serves all of St. Louis, MO including Eureka, Wildwood, Chesterfield, Ballwin, Ellisville, Manchester, Clayton, Fenton, Washington, Ladue, Town & Country, St. Charles, St. Louis County, & St. Charles, MO

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