A Note To All Homeowners
As an electrician I have seen some of the worse wiring and some of the best. What surprises me most in my trade are the short cuts some tradesmen take to make a profit. Any electrician that you as a homeowner may hire should be a licensed master electrician. A PA HIC registration card is not a License. A master electrician license is only obtained by taking a test, only given by certain townships. To qualify to take this test, the tradesmen must provide proof that he has been working in the trade as an apprentice for four years. He also must have knowledge of the NEC code book. This book dictates what is allowable and how electrical work is to be installed and designed. All master electricians live by the NEC code book.
Some of the worst wiring I have seen was done not by an electrician, but by a handyman, or a carpenter trying to save money. He is saving money at the expense of your safety. Handymen, carpenters, even lazy electricians like to do sloppy work such as:
- Hidden junction boxes-When a wire is not long enough they make a junction in a box and drywall over it.
- Bad connections–When the contractor/handymen make nicks in the copper that makes the copper weak. This leads to arcing connections, burning of the rubber jacket, lost of power, or worse.
- Open boxes/knock outs-Switch, outlet, and junction boxes are designed not to allow oxygen in in an event of arcing that causes burning of the jacket of the wire. When boxes are left open or a knock out is left open, oxygen can fuel the arcing which may lead to a fire.
- Knob and tube-If you discover knob and tube in your house DO NOT USE IT. It is not safe.
I don’t think these contractors I stated above know what circumstances they are putting the homeowner in to make a dollar. If they did I think they wouldn’t be able to sleep at night with what they are doing, I know I wouldn’t be able to.
Safety comes first with residential wiring, your home is where you and your children sleep at night. It is the last place you want someone taking a short cut to save time or money. Regardless if you hire Donald Miller’s electrical services or not, make sure your electrician is keeping your family’s safety first and his profits second.
At Donald Miller’s Electrical Services we feel quality means safety. When we install all of our electrical work, we install all our work according to the NEC code book your township is honoring. We go above and beyond our scope of work to make sure our work is safe, affordable, and of the utmost quality. Not only is our work safe but looks good too. Our lighting designs are more than just lights in a ceiling, we want to make sure it has a nice spread or spot depending on what the objective is.
My name is Donald Miller and I guarantee all of my work.