Tips on Choosing an Electrical Contractor

Posted by jhbryant1 on March 29th, 2019

Whether you are remodeling an existing building or constructing a new commercial property, one area that you can never do “on the cheap” is your electrical contractor. If your electrical work is not top notch, you will have perpetual power issues, client complaints, and more than one hazardous situation. If you are looking for a commercial electrical contractor in Los Angeles, here are some general rules to stick by.

Verify their Licenses and Insurance

The penalties are stiff for representing that you are licensed and insured when you are not, so violations are rare, but they do happen. For your own peace of mind and legal liability, insist that you see the licensure and insurance of any commercial electrical contractor that is working on your site and must have either. If a contractor does not, do not let them work on your site; the legal liability alone is too much of a risk.

Experience with Your Type of Project

An electrical contractor does not have to have years of experience working on your exact kind of project, but you want them to have some. They need to know the ins and outs of your electrical needs, the types of clients you will be catering to and what scalability needs you to foresee from an electrical perspective.

Experience with You (or Someone Like You)

This rule is not hard and fast, but having experience working with someone is always better than flying into a relationship blindly. You need to make sure you can work with the contractor and both of you trust each other. The only way to do that is through experience working together. If your contractor has not worked with you, it might be beneficial to outline what you expect before they set foot on the job site.

Make Sure They Can Communicate

You want your electrical contractor to play well with others. They do not have to be the life of the party or everyone’s best friend, but they will be working with your other contractors for a number of days, so being personable is more than just a nice thing to be. It is critical to making sure the job site runs smoothly.

Personal Inspection for Bid Purposes

Any contractor that offers you an estimate without seeing at least the blueprint of your building is quoting a price from a position of ignorance. Let your bidders know up front you expect them to physically go over the site or the blueprints so they can understand what you are looking for.

Finding a commercial electrical contractor in Los Angeles takes a bit of research and elbow grease. Once you find them, however, you will not be sorry.