Electricians: Ignite a Spark and Learn About Electricy

Hiring an Electrical Contractor for the First Time: 5 Top Tips

14 August 2017

Byron Holmes

If you are planning to have work carried out on your home, you will need to call in an electrician. If you haven't hired an electrical contractor before, you may be looking for some top tips which will ensure that the process goes smoothly. Below is a guide of the steps you should take when you are hiring an electrician.

Check their qualifications

When looking for an electrical contractor, the first step you need to take is to check on their skills and certifications. All electricians should be registered with and issued with a licence from the Electrical Licensing Board. Doing this will ensure that the contractor who visits your home is fully trained.

Discuss the scope of the work

Once you have found an electrical contractor who is fully certified, you need to discuss the range of work you need them to carry out on your behalf and the order in which you wish the jobs to be completed. This will help to prevent any 'mission creep' where an electrician discovers additional work while completing an assigned job and makes repairs without consulting you. This could substantially increase the cost of the work and lead to a dispute between you and the contractor.

Talk about the timetable 

Once you have established the scope of the work, you should move on to talk about the timetable for the work. If the job requires several different tasks to be completed, you should work with the contractor to establish how long it will take for each task to be completed so you can formulate a schedule. You should ask the electrical contractor to report back to you on a regular basis on how the work is progressing. 

Agree on the terms of payment 

Perhaps most importantly, you will need to discuss the terms of payment for the work. Depending on the scale and cost of the work, an electrical contractor may require that you pay a deposit in advance of the work commencing or for incremental payments as the project progresses. If this is the case, you should ask for a receipt for each payment so you can keep track of how much has been paid.

Make copies of any paperwork

You should keep copies of any paperwork, contracts or receipts which are created during the electrical work. Doing so will help you in the event of any dispute about the electrical safety within the building.

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