Houston101 Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Hi, Can anyone recommend an electrician? A friend knew of Universal Wiring, but weren't sure if they were any good. Any opinions are appreciated! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 I got bids for new service a while back, by far the lowest bid I got was from HCB Electric...the variation in bids was amazing...the highest was $2400, and the lowest $900. I wasn't too worried about quality since the city inspector would most certainly be out checking over the work. Although that's not to say HCB seemed sub-par....I got the impression that HCB definetly had their ducks in a row, but that they had lower costs because they were a small operation.HCB's web site is: http://www.hcbelectric.com/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 I got bids for new service a while back, by far the lowest bid I got was from HCB Electric...the variation in bids was amazing...the highest was $2400, and the lowest $900. I wasn't too worried about quality since the city inspector would most certainly be out checking over the work. Although that's not to say HCB seemed sub-par....I got the impression that HCB definetly had their ducks in a row, but that they had lower costs because they were a small operation.HCB's web site is: http://www.hcbelectric.com/index.htmljust floors me. i paid 300 plus materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 just floors me. i paid 300 plus materials.Well who'd you use? I still need to get my service upgraded... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 (edited) Well who'd you use? I still need to get my service upgraded...he's retired now. he won't even work for people he knows now. a definite loss. when you do get it done, make sure and run a few extra wires from the box to your attic so that if you need a circuit in the future the wire will already be there.. Edited February 25, 2007 by musicman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativehou Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 I've used Jeff Weissman for small jobs. He's experienced and very thorough.http://weissmanelectric.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 he's retired now. he won't even work for people he knows now. a definite loss. when you do get it done, make sure and run a few extra wires from the box to your attic so that if you need a circuit in the future the wire will already be there..That's too bad.Although what I think is even worse is that the city won't let homeowners pull permits. My grandfather is a retired electrician...he knows the code, and I'm more than capable of doing the work. Ohwell.I'm probably going to have them install a big fat piece of conduit between the panel and the attic to facilitate easily adding more circuits in the future...problem with having them pull wire is that it may not have enough conductors or be of a large enough gauge....of course you could always use that extra wire to pull through the larger wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 That's too bad.Although what I think is even worse is that the city won't let homeowners pull permits. My grandfather is a retired electrician...he knows the code, and I'm more than capable of doing the work. Ohwell.I'm probably going to have them install a big fat piece of conduit between the panel and the attic to facilitate easily adding more circuits in the future...problem with having them pull wire is that it may not have enough conductors or be of a large enough gauge....of course you could always use that extra wire to pull through the larger wire.as far as i know they do allow homeowners to pull permits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 as far as i know they do allow homeowners to pull permits.This page states: "All electrical work must be performed by a licensed electrical contractor."I dug into it further, and that statement appeared to be correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 (edited) This page states: "All electrical work must be performed by a licensed electrical contractor."I dug into it further, and that statement appeared to be correct.good info. i would just hire the electrician and do the work without the permit. at least the county won't try and raise your appraisal because you got a permit. Edited February 26, 2007 by musicman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txscorp Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 just floors me. i paid 300 plus materials.I had an appointment with HCB Electrical but they stood me up. No call - nothing. I called them once they were already 25 minutes late and they told me an emergency came up. I lost a day of vacation time and was not pleased. Maybe they do good work - maybe not. I will never know because I don't use companies that waste my time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 I had an appointment with HCB Electrical but they stood me up. No call - nothing. I called them once they were already 25 minutes late and they told me an emergency came up. I lost a day of vacation time and was not pleased. Maybe they do good work - maybe not. I will never know because I don't use companies that waste my time.my parents just redid theirs a few weeks ago. they had quite a bit of work done including adding new service. he charged them 750 but over 200 was for parts so i thought that was pretty good. i will call them to get his name. from what i saw (cause i've added a couple of circuits since) he did a good job. i will say my dad did not want to get a permit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flipper Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 my parents just redid theirs a few weeks ago. they had quite a bit of work done including adding new service. he charged them 750 but over 200 was for parts so i thought that was pretty good. i will call them to get his name. from what i saw (cause i've added a couple of circuits since) he did a good job. i will say my dad did not want to get a permit.Watch out changing your service without a permit. If centerpoint comes out to read the meter and notices that the power was disconnected from the old masthead and re-connected they can turn off the power. They you've gotta go get a permit and deal with a bunch of hassle. If you aren't replacing the masthead you should be alright though.flipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJXterra Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 I think I posted this somewhere else on here a while back, but I used Jim at AC/DC electric to do a full rewire of our 80 year old house. We didn't take the walls down to the studs so he had to do a lot of fishing, but it took him exactly as long as he said (one day less to be exact.) It was pricey, but Universal Electric was 5k+ higher and he did most of the work himself. I would go by the house before 8am and after 6pm and there were multiple times that I saw him there working extra to make sure he met his deadline.You're going to have a problem though b/c he's going to be pretty busy...as is anyone who's any good. And like flipper said, pull the permit. It's hard enough to deal with Centerpoint w/o having to explain why you disconnected the service yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoaexpert Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 Contact Darrel Fisk w/Ranch Electric @ 713.252.0390. Always fair & I never have to worry about his work. Tell him Kathleen referred you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 my parents just redid theirs a few weeks ago. they had quite a bit of work done including adding new service. he charged them 750 but over 200 was for parts so i thought that was pretty good. i will call them to get his name. from what i saw (cause i've added a couple of circuits since) he did a good job. i will say my dad did not want to get a permit.Did you ever find his contact info? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 Did you ever find his contact info?yeah i pm'd whoever needed it. his info iscountry line elec co.clifford goodwin281-630-9357 cell713-491-7030 officei believe he's a firefighter and does this on his off days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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