On the day, who walks through the door?
An electrical job in Weirton can bring one person to the house or several. The quote may carry one name, while the people who arrive carry tools, a ladder and a role you never discussed. Knowing who they are, and what the state's code says about each title, makes it easier to plan the visit and to know whom to talk to when a question comes up halfway through.
Paid electrical work under West Virginia Code 29-3B-2
West Virginia Code 29-3B-2 says no electrical work may be performed, offered, or engaged in for compensation or hire in West Virginia unless the person, firm, or corporation holds a license and a certificate issued by the State Fire Marshal. The same section says a person assisting a journeyman or master electrician needs no license for work done under that electrician's supervision.
The classes the State Fire Marshal issues
Under West Virginia Code 29-3B-4, the State Fire Marshal is authorized to issue master electrician, journeyman electrician and temporary electrician licenses, along with additional specialty electrician classes. Section 29-3B-2 describes a journeyman electrician as having at least one year of electrical work experience and not authorized to design electrical systems. It describes a master electrician as having at least two years of experience including all phases of electrical work, competent to design electrical systems and to instruct and supervise journeymen.
Those are the code's words. Which of those classes fits your job is for the electrician to answer, so ask each one you talk to: "Which State Fire Marshal electrician license do you hold, and what is its number?" Write the answer beside the person's name and the date.
Weirton city in the Census count
The U.S. Census Bureau counted 19,163 people in Weirton city, West Virginia, in the Census of April 1, 2020. QuickFacts gives the city's land area as 18.06 square miles (2020).
A roster, before anyone arrives
When a quote is accepted, ask the company to tell you who is coming. A short roster saves confusion at the door:
- the name of each person expected at the house;
- each person's title on the crew, in the company's own words;
- who is in charge at the house while the work goes on;
- whether anyone on the crew is there to assist another electrician;
- who to call at the office if the person in charge has left for the day.
If the roster changes on the morning of the job, it is fair to ask who has taken whose place and in what role. On a job that runs more than a day, you can ask for the roster again each morning.
Getting the house ready for the crew
A little preparation can keep the day moving and your belongings out of the way.
- Clear a path to the panel. Move boxes, shelves or laundry baskets so the panel door opens fully and someone can stand in front of it.
- Empty the work areas. Pull furniture back from walls where outlets, switches or fixtures are being changed, and take pictures off those walls.
- Ask which rooms lose power, and for how long. Plan around a refrigerator, a freezer, a home office, a sump pump or any medical equipment that needs power.
- Settle pets and children somewhere away from open walls, ladders and tools.
- Point out the attic and basement access, and tell the crew about anything stored there that should not be moved.
- Agree on parking and a staging spot for tools and wire, so a driveway or porch is not blocked longer than needed.
Questions that come up halfway through
If the crew finds something nobody saw at the estimate, ask the person in charge to stop and explain it before anything is added, and to put any change to the price or the time in writing first. If they need to check with the office, ask who will call you back.
The walk-through before the crew packs up
Before the last person leaves, ask for a walk-through with whoever is in charge.
- Ask them to show each new or changed outlet, switch and fixture working.
- Ask who on the crew did each part of the work, and who reviewed it before the walk-through.
- Ask them to update the labels inside the panel door to match the new work.
- Ask what was found but left as it is, and why.
If something does not work as described, say so then, while the crew and the tools are still at the house.
A page of notes to keep
After the job, gather in one place:
- the roster of names and roles you were given;
- the answer to the license question, with the number and the date;
- the written quote and any signed changes;
- any permit or inspection papers;
- the final invoice and the written warranty on labor and parts.
Ask for proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation before work begins, and add it to the same folder. If a problem shows up later, these notes let you tell the company exactly who was there and what was done.
If something seems wrong between visits
If an outlet or switch feels warm to the touch or trips a breaker again and again after the work, switch off the circuit at the panel if you can reach it safely, leave the cover on, and call the company the same day.