It’s not shocking that most electric work is best left to the pros
We've all seen overly confident movie characters take on DIY home electrical work. They pull out the pliers, attach a few wires, hold their breath, and flip a breaker switch. Alas, it rarely goes well. As a gentle reminder—most electrical work is better left to the professionals. Yes, that goes for small wiring jobs that may seem straightforward.
Here's a guide to help you spot electrical problems, so you know when it’s best to call an electrician.
If you don’t know anything about your electrical system (homes don’t exactly come with a manual) and don’t have any experience with wiring, don’t hesitate to call a professional electrician for electrical projects.
While it’s possible to DIY basic projects like replacing an outlet or a doorbell, it can be potentially dangerous or damaging to attempt wiring tasks that are out of your league. Hire an electrician for any electrical jobs that require working with your home’s wiring to stay on the safe side.
Every city has electrical codes for construction, and those requirements can vary from place to place. These codes mandate what kind of wiring to use, safety features for electrical systems, and plenty of other important information.
If you’re completing a home remodel or other work that involves significant additions or changes to your home’s electrical system, hire an electrician who knows the latest local codes and can ensure your system meets all requirements. Licensed and certified electricians must keep up with the newest codes, so they’re a reliable source for staying compliant and safe.
Sometimes electrical issues can be difficult to identify, but they can still cause plenty of trouble. For example, constantly flipping breakers could hint at old wiring or intermittent shorts that could be a hazard and lead to an eventual electrical fire.
Since problems like these can stay hidden inside your walls, it’s difficult for homeowners to find them or recognize the severity of them. If you’re struggling to find the source of an electrical problem, call in the pros to inspect your system. Electricians know where to look and what to test to find out the cause of the issue before it worsens.
Decades of electrical improvements have made home electrical systems safer than ever. However, there is still some risk of getting shocked, especially when working with wiring or large appliances. And if there’s damage to the wiring that could cause a short, that risk increases.
If you’re worried about health hazards from working around wiring or believe that there’s a considerable risk of shock due to system damage, shut down the circuit using your breaker box and hire an electrician to handle the problem for you. Electricians have the protective clothing and equipment necessary to deal with electrical hazards on the job.
Certain remodels will require the work of a professional electrician because of the components involved and the impact they have on your electrical system. For example, breaker replacements or upgrades require a trained electrician to inspect your current breakers and choose the replacements that have the necessary amperage and compatibility with your setup.
A transfer switch for a whole-house generator is another situation where the size and importance of the project means a professional should handle it. A transfer switch can move entire circuits in a home to or back from generator power, a complex task that requires careful installation from an experienced electrician.
Old wiring is less likely to be up to current codes and more likely to short and cause electrical fires. If you’re living in an older house, you may find large parts of the wiring need to be replaced entirely. That’s a sign to call in an electrician. Understanding what wiring needs to be replaced and routing new wiring through walls is not a DIY job.
You also need to budget for it: Rewiring a house can cost between $4,000 and $8,000. In some cases, you may only need to rewire from the meter to the breaker box as part of an upgrade. This project should be handled by an electrician, but it’s a much more affordable project, usually between $200 and $500.
Every electrician’s tool kit has a voltmeter, multimeter, or a similar tool to help them measure electricity. These vital tools and their probes allow users to safely test which wires are live and the strength and stability of the current.
If you don’t have a voltmeter or alternative tool, it’s much harder to complete electrical tasks around the house. Hire an electrician with the proper tools for testing and inspecting your electrical system.
Some electrical decisions are too big to make on your own without an expert. For example, major projects like planning a home expansion, updating the entire wiring system, and adding solar panels require a professional electrician consultation.
In other cases, especially large remodels, you may want to call in an electrician for an inspection and consultation on how to save money. The right wiring choices in the right rooms can not only save time on the remodel but may be able to lower the price, too.
You’ll need to locate and hire an electrician near you if there’s an electrical project you don’t feel comfortable tackling yourself. Generally, look for a contractor that specializes in the type of appliance or component that you need help with. For wiring, outlets and similar projects, a general electrician is your best bet. For larger remodels, a general contractor will often take care of electrical projects via subcontractors.
For more complex electrical projects, it’s often most efficient and cost-effective to hire an electrician rather than trying to figure it out yourself (and risking electrical problems). Electricians know exactly what a project requires, and can often find supplies or parts for cheaper than the average homeowner. That can save money compared to going it alone.
Yes. Like other trained specialists, electricians need to be licensed in their state of operation, and carry specific kinds of insurance required by that state, which usually includes general liability insurance and surety bonds. When choosing an electrician, always pay attention to these details, and avoid electricians who can’t offer proof. When it comes to wiring, you want experienced, trained pros doing the work.
You can certainly talk with electricians about pricing, but the pro has the first and last word on what they charge. If you feel like a quote is too expensive, you can discuss the quotes that other electricians have made and see if they’ll lower their estimate in return. Or you may be able to talk about specific parts of the estimate and how they can be changed.
Local electricians with experience in your area understand the local building codes, which is very important when doing new electrical work. They also have experience with the kind of electrical problems homes in your location may have, and even the components that were used in the original construction, which leads them to make faster and better decisions.
