Raleigh-Durham Electricians

How to hire a
Raleigh-Durham Electrician

Please read this quick guide to hiring a Raleigh-Durham Electrician (it will help, we promise!) Or click here to simply see our suggestions and contact information for 7 of the top area electricians.

Hiring a professional Raleigh-Durham electrician is not always an easy task. There are several factors to consider when dealing in this industry.

First, the barriers to calling oneself a professional electrician are small. People don't necessarily need a lot of fancy equipment or an office to start a business as an electrician. Therefore, individuals that have run a few wires before can try to trick you in to believing they are a highly skilled and experienced Raleigh-Durham electrician. If you have a van, a tool belt, and a business card you could fool a lot of people!

Second, there are many people out there who call themselves electricians. Look under 'Electrician' in the Raleigh, Durham, Cary, or Chapel Hill phone books and you will see what we mean…there are tons of electricians listed in each area. Also, there are often 'underground' electricians that are out dropping business cards and trying to get customers. Many times these are individuals who work for other large Raleigh-Durham companies, but offer their services as electricians on the side.

Finally, there is the fact that many homeowners are clueless when it comes to electrical needs. For instance, when a painter says they have completed the job you can usually tell that the job is done to your liking. However, homeowners may not know an electrical job is completed correctly until it is too late. Therefore, it is important to hire a qualified electrician!

So what do you do when looking for an electrician in the Raleigh-Durham and surrounding areas?

We recommend:

• Asking your friends and neighbors to see if they have had good or bad experiences with a Raleigh-Durham electrician. Simply knowing that another person has had a good experience with an electrician prior to calling them lessens your chance of hiring a problem. The Super 7 can help with this.

• If you have the time, call a few electricians to look at your problem. This will help you determine fair market price for your job. This does not mean you should always go with the lowest price, you should go with the company you feel most comfortable with and who you feel will do the best job. If an individual is offering a real low price you should ask yourself why.

• If you don't have the time, we suggest using The Super 7 to locate the one company you choose. We have a list of electricians that appear to meet our standards to be considered quality professionals. In fact, our "Certified Super" listed companies have proven that they do! We also require customers to voice their experience about their electrician to help ensure that they meet your needs.

• Always ask if the company charges a fee for your service call. Some electricians charge a fee for coming out and giving an estimate. However, you can ask them to waive the fee if you hire them

• In NC, all electricians must be licensed. You can use this website to search for NC licensed electricians or to make sure the company you call is property licensed: www.contractors-license.org. (Note: Follow the site's exact search directions to locate your professional. These sites can sometimes have errors, so if you don't see you pro's name listed be sure to ask for proof of licensing before writing them off. If they aren't listed and they are not producing documentation then be wary!) Always use a licensed contractor. If they are not licensed, and they are advertising that they offer electrical services for a living, you have to wonder why they don't have a license!

• Make sure the company or individual has insurance. Electrical services involve high voltage and plenty of opportunities for injury. As mentioned above there are many fly-by-night electricians that may not be insured. Ask them for their insurance company's phone number and call them to prove they are insured. If you skip this part you could be held liable for an uninsured electrician's injury while working on your house. Also, if they do something that ruins a major area of your house (such as incorrect work that starts a fire) they should be insured to pay for their mistakes.

• Ask the Raleigh-Durham electrician what it will take to fix your problem. If you are looking for an extremely low price, the electrician may offer a solution that is really only a quick fix. It is worth the extra money to make sure that your problem is truly fixed…

• Always get a statement of work performed in writing. Keep this filed away. Make sure the statements clearly describe what work is to be performed.

• Ask if the electrician's work comes with guarantees. Make sure you get these things in writing. These are all factors to weigh when looking at the total estimates left by different Raleigh-Durham electricians.

• Check in on the electrician's progress regularly…try to catch potential problems or misunderstandings before it is too late.

• If the electrician does a great job tell them you will recommend them on The Super 7.

• If they don't do a good job ask them to fix the issue or you will let other Raleigh-Durham residents know about their poor performance on The Super 7 website!


Good luck with your Raleigh-Durham electrician needs!

The Super 7 provides 7 quality electricians in the Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill and surrounding areas. Click here for our Super 7 Electricians!


More helpful short articles to help with your electrician needs:
How to Hire an Electrician
General Suggestions for Hiring Raleigh-Durham Contractors
Paying Your Raleigh-Durham Contractor
How to Avoid Hiring Bad Contractors
How Contractor Pricing Relates to Satisfaction
Finding and Using the Proper Contractor References