Two rules to read before anyone opens a box
Two short passages are worth reading before electrical work starts in Kiryas Joel. One comes from the county, the other from the village code. Each leads to questions to put to the electrician, in writing, before anything is signed.
What Orange County's consumer affairs office states
Orange County's Department of Consumer Affairs and Weights & Measures states that an electrical license is required to do electrical work in Orange County, New York.
Ask the electrician for the firm's Orange County electrical license number and the exact name the license is issued under. Compare that name with the name printed on the estimate and on the contract. If they differ, ask why, and get the explanation on paper.
Then put the wider question: "What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?" Write the answer next to the county number, with the date you asked.
The village code and the Code Enforcement Officer
Under the Village of Kiryas Joel Code, Chapter 53, Section 53-4, work that must conform to the Uniform Code requires a building permit obtained from the Code Enforcement Officer before the work starts.
Whether your project falls under that section is not something to guess. Ask the electrician whether any part of the job calls for a building permit under the village code, who obtains it from the Code Enforcement Officer, and when that will happen relative to the start date. Ask, too, whether the permit cost sits inside the price or is billed separately, and who will be home for any inspection.
Describe the problem before the visit
A clear description can shorten the search for a fault. Before you call, jot down:
- which outlets, lights or rooms are affected, and whether anything else on the same breaker stops working;
- when the trouble shows up, such as when the dryer starts, at night, or only when several things run at once;
- any sound, smell or warmth you notice near a switch, outlet or the panel;
- what has already been tried, such as resetting a breaker or swapping a bulb.
Take a photo of the panel door and its handwritten labels, if there are any. An electrician can read the layout from the photo before arriving.
Rooms that change use
A spare room becoming an office, a storage space turning into a playroom, a basement getting finished walls: each change can ask more of the wiring than the room was planned for. Tell the electrician what will happen in the room, not only what you want installed. Ask how many circuits serve it now, what else shares those circuits, and whether the plan adds a new one. Ask where outlets will land relative to desks, beds and shelves, so cords do not have to cross the floor.
Lighting, switches and dimmers
Lighting work can look simple and still raise choices. Ask whether a new fixture will hang from an existing box or need a new one, and whether that box is suited to the weight. If you want dimmers, ask whether the bulbs you plan to use work with the dimmer the electrician proposes, since a mismatch can flicker or hum. For stairs and long halls, ask about switches at each end. For outdoor lights, ask what kind of fixture, cover and wiring method the electrician plans to use outside and why.
Kitchen and laundry appliances
Large appliances can draw heavy current, and an older circuit may be shared with other loads. Before a new range, oven, dryer, dishwasher or extra refrigerator arrives, tell the electrician the model and ask whether the existing circuit and outlet match what the appliance calls for. If the answer is no, ask what the change involves, whether walls or ceilings will be opened, and who patches them afterward.
Who works under whose papers
The person who quotes the job may not be the person who arrives with the tools. Ask who will do the work on site, and whether that person works directly for the firm or for another company. For coverage, ask for proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation, and call your own insurer if you are unsure how a contractor's coverage relates to your policy.
Living at home while the work happens
Electrical work can mean the power is off in part of the house, or all of it, for a stretch of the day. Ask in advance:
- which rooms will lose power, and for roughly how long;
- whether the refrigerator and freezer stay on;
- whether anyone at home relies on equipment that needs power;
- where the crew will set up, and how they will protect floors and furniture;
- how dust from any cut into a wall will be kept in the room.
When to stop using a circuit
Some signs are reasons to switch a circuit off at the panel, if you can reach it safely, and call the same day: a cover plate warm to the touch, a sharp smell of hot plastic, dark marks around an outlet, a crackle from the panel, or a breaker that trips again as soon as it is reset. Keep children away from the area until someone has looked at it.
A short list for the first meeting
- the name on the estimate, matched against the name on the contract;
- who will be on site each day, and who is in charge;
- who obtains any building permit from the Code Enforcement Officer, and when;
- a written scope that lists each circuit, device and fixture;
- proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation;
- how long the power will be off, and in which rooms.