Electrician & Electrical Repair

Where are you right now?

People find this page in one of seven situations, and each one calls for a different kind of help. Pick yours and we'll take you straight to it.

Something smells like it's burning, or you saw sparks. Read this one first. Safety comes before diagnosis.

Something stopped working, or a breaker keeps tripping. A dead outlet, a dark room, flickering lights or a breaker that won't stay on.

An inspector or your insurer flagged your panel. What a 4-point inspection looks at, and how to fix exactly what was flagged.

You're selling, or a buyer's inspection came back with a list. The questions inspectors commonly raise, and how to sort real problems from report noise.

You're adding an EV charger, a hot tub, a bigger AC or a generator. The first question is whether your panel has room for it.

A storm or lightning just came through. Some things work, some don't, and the AC might be one of them.

You want a second opinion on a quote. We review other companies' electrical quotes for free.

A burning smell, sparks or a warm outlet

If there is smoke or flame, get everyone out of the house and call 911. That is the whole instruction. The house can wait.

If there's no fire but you smell something hot, hear buzzing from the panel, or find an outlet or switch that is warm, scorched or sparking, stop using it and call us. Don't plug anything back into it, and don't keep resetting a breaker that trips. Heat at a connection means electricity is going somewhere it shouldn't, and that kind of problem rarely fixes itself.

We provide emergency service on nights and weekends. Outside office hours, your call goes to our automated on-call system, which our own technicians respond through. Tell the technician what you smell, see or hear, and where in the house it is.

Problems like this don't always announce themselves. Not long ago, one of our AC technicians found a breaker that wouldn't stay tight. When our electrician opened the panel, there was discoloration and a melted wire behind it. If something at your panel looks or feels wrong, it's worth a call.

Something stopped working, or a breaker keeps tripping

Most of our electrical calls start here. Call and tell us what stopped, when it started and what else was running at the time. You don't need to diagnose anything yourself; that's our job, and it's what you're paying us for.

A breaker that keeps tripping is doing exactly what it was built to do: telling you something on that circuit is wrong. Usually it's too much on one circuit, an appliance that's failing, or a fault in the wiring. Resetting it over and over doesn't fix any of those. Our electrician finds which one it is and fixes the cause. What we won't do is swap in a bigger breaker so it stops tripping. The breaker is sized to protect the wire behind it, and upsizing it just moves the failure somewhere you can't see.

These are the repairs we handle most:

• Outlets and switches that are dead, loose, warm or sparking, including GFCI outlets in kitchens, baths, garages, lanais and pool decks.
• Breakers that trip, and circuits that have gone dead.
• Lights that flicker, dim or quit, indoors and out.
• Part of the house without power while the rest of the street has it, and the wiring behind it.
• Smoke detectors that chirp, fail or need replacing.
• Light fixtures and ceiling fans, including ones you've already picked out. Plenty of our customers have.

Our trucks are stocked, so most repairs are finished the same day we're there. Some need a part ordered or a second visit, and we'll tell you if yours does. If it can wait, request service online and our office will text or call you, whichever you choose, to set a time.

Adding an EV charger, a hot tub, a bigger AC or a generator

Every new large load raises the same first question: does your panel, and the service feeding it, have room? We check that before anything else. If it does, the job is a new circuit and the equipment. If it doesn't, we'll explain the options, including a panel or service upgrade, and you decide. Larger work is quoted in writing before it starts.

EV chargers. We install the charger you've bought, hardwired or plug-in, and make sure your panel is ready for it. See EV charger installation.

Pools, hot tubs and docks. We power pool pumps and equipment, hook up hot tubs, and wire pool-deck lighting, dock lights, dock outlets and dock subpanels.

A bigger air conditioner. A larger system can need a different breaker and wire than the one it replaces. We're an AC contractor and an electrical contractor, so that gets worked out under one roof instead of between two companies.

A whole-home standby generator. That's a job for an electrician and a gas contractor, and we're both. We do a full electrical load calculation on your home, as required by code, and we'll show it to you on paper. See generator installation.

EV charger installation in Manatee County

A home charger comes down to three questions: where you will charge, how fast you need it, and whether your panel has room. We don't supply chargers. You pick the one you want, and we install it and make sure your panel is ready for it. We typically quote the job in writing so you know the cost before work starts.

How fast do you need it?

Level 1 is the cord that came with the car, in an ordinary outlet. It works if you drive very little, and it is slow. Level 2 runs on 240 volts, like a dryer or range, and is the faster everyday option. It needs its own circuit from your panel, so it is an electrician's job, not an outlet swap.

Does your panel have room?

That is the first thing we check. If the panel has room, the job is a new circuit and the charger. If it does not, we explain the options, which may include a panel upgrade, before any work starts.

Where will it go?

A garage wall is the simple case. An outside wall or carport works too, but the run from the panel to the charger matters: a longer run means more wire and more work, and the cable has to reach your car.

Hardwired or plug-in?

We install either. A hardwired charger connects directly to its circuit. A plug-in charger uses a 240-volt outlet and can go with you if you move. Some chargers are made to be hardwired only, so your charger's instructions come first.

Selling your home? Questions inspectors commonly raise

A buyer's inspection report can come back with a list of electrical items, and some of them sound worse than they are. Whether you're about to list or the report is already in your inbox, these are the questions worth asking:

• Are there double-tapped breakers, with two wires under one breaker screw? A technician should look at it; some breakers are rated for two wires, many aren't.
• Do the outlets that need GFCI protection have it, in kitchens, bathrooms, garages and outdoors, and do they trip and reset?
• Are there open junction boxes, missing cover plates or gaps in the panel cover?
• Is the panel a brand inspectors commonly flag, such as Federal Pacific, Zinsco or Challenger?
• Is there any sign of heat, scorching or corrosion at the panel?

Call and tell us which items the inspector raised, and we'll schedule the visit. We'll check what was flagged, show you what we found and explain the options, including when something is fine and should be left alone. Larger work is quoted in writing before it starts, and most repairs are finished the same day we're there. Call (941) 778-0773.