Are you thinking of remodeling or building a new home? It is a big investment – both emotionally and financially. And it can also be a big investment of your time if you want to be closely involved in the decision-making. You will be hiring several contractors to give a final touch to your home. You also require an electrical contractor. An electrical contractor is either a business person or a company that provides electrical services. They are also responsible for any work that needs to be constructed in relation to a particular design and the maintenance of any electrical systems. But what if you got a wrong electrical contractor? Know what to expect before the project starts; it will help you better in order to prepare for the process. Before you hire an electrical contractor to do your electrical work, you should take some time to get to meet with and ask the contractor questions. Here are some tips given which you should consider before hiring an electrical contractor.

Make sure that the electrical contractor you are hiring is a license holder. An ECRA/ESA license is required by all electrical contractors in Calgary and other parts of southern Alberta today in order to ensure both your safety as well as quality workmanship. If they do not have this license, you should move to the next contractor on your list. Compare your contractor with the other contractors. Be sure that you are hiring the best among them. Ask them about their experiences and the practical work and seminars they have undergone.  A reliable contractor is one who gives you the best and satisfactory output within your budget. Be direct with your contractor. Neither he will be present always in the project area, nor will you be there to see the work going on. Therefore ask your contractor direct questions about who will be responsible for opening and locking up, who will supervise subcontractors on site and who to call on a daily basis with any questions or queries.

There’s always something unknown about a project, or an area that is most likely to trigger an immediate change order. Odds are your contractor already knows what that is. Talking about it upfront and running some worst-case-scenario numbers or doing some early, selective demolition to get more information could be the best way to get a handle on what may be ahead.

Also it is very important to know that the company doing the work for you is fully insured. Not all contractors take out insurance as it’s costly or they’re not able to obtain it because of prior claims or infractions of one kind or another. However, it is important for a contractor that you hire to have. Your homeowners insurance may not cover problems should they occur and you will be left holding the responsibility if your contractor isn’t insured and leaves. So it is better to be prepared instead of taking the risk. While not all electrical work requires a permit or an audit or inspection upon completion of work, you need to know that your contractor will be responsible for obtaining the necessary permits and inspections/audits when they are needed.

There is another point to consider. Any contractor that comes in far below other contractors in pricing, may sound like a good deal and make it tempting to go the cheapest route but, remember that there’s reasons they are way below other contractors. You get what you pay for and if a contractor’s pricing is sounding too good to be true, it’s likely because there’s undesirable reasons why and you could  end up paying the price for it down the road in one way or another that  will be far more costly in the long run.

As your circumstances are individual to you, there will likely be other questions that you’ll think of and want to ask your contractor. A good contractor will try to answer all reasonable questions if possible. Write them down and ask them but, keep in mind that a contractor cannot answer endless, small questions. You should also have a prior knowledge related to the work. If you don’t have, then you my refer internet instead of asking small questions and irritating them during work! Their time is usually booked and we all know time is money so, pick your questions carefully and thoughtfully, according to your needs but, don’t go overboard either. All reasonable questions should be able to be answered either then or with a call-back from them. Please keep in mind that there will be questions that your contractor may not be able to immediately answer as they may need time to get quotes from suppliers, look at your particular situation, the structure in which they will be working and many other variables.

But a good contractor, anyhow, tries to solve all your issues. Confirming that you will receive these things before you get started will help ensure that you finish the project with all the information you need. Good luck in selecting the best electrical contractor.