If you have an electrical repair or project coming up, you have an important decision to make about who will complete the work. With rising costs, it can be tempting to save some money and cut some corners by doing it yourself or hiring a do-it-all handyman.
A ‘handyman’ might be able to do the job for you, or they might not. Even worse, they could cause potential fire hazards or more expensive electrical repairs down the road.
With most work in a project being covered behind walls, wire junction boxes, or hard-to-access places, it’s incredibly easy to hide dangerously unsuitable work from the property owner. Almost any household item, like tape or paper clips, can quickly be used to ‘fix’ a problem.
Not to mention, wires that carry high voltage can easily be cut, pinched, or exposed to a fire hazard. Again, you might not even ever know about the potential threat because it’s hidden.
Codes absolutely must be met or there’s a huge liability to your employees, customers, and personal property. If you decide to attempt electrical work by yourself or go with a repair handyman, you don’t necessarily have a guarantee that all the work will be safe and up to code.
*Disclaimer: It’s highly advised that you do not attempt any sort of electrical addition or repair on your own unless you have experience as an electrician.
Working with electrical wiring can be incredibly dangerous! We don’t emphasize that to scare you, but it’s the truth.
If you hire an unlicensed worker to save money, you are taking a huge risk. It’s very possible you could end up paying more in the end.
A handyman (or yourself) might have some electrical skill but not be recognized as a licensed contractor by the law. In Georgia, jobs costing less than $2,500 or nonstructural work with no subcontracts do not require a license. That means hiring any handyman for a job more than $2,500 is illegal.
Shockley Electric is a fully licensed and insured residential and commercial contractor in the State of Georgia. We also offer a lifetime warranty on our labor and 3 years for parts. Any unlicensed handyman can’t offer you this protection.
Since 2005, we have been serving business owners with their electrical needs. If you’re looking for an experienced electrician for your next inspection, contact us at Shockley or call (770) 630-6858 to speak with an expert today!
Hiring a good commercial electrician just makes sense. Like you said, a handyman might cause more damage, but a professional has the training and skill to handle any problem. Plus, electrical problems can be kind of scary and dangerous! That’s why I think hiring someone is always your best bet.
Thank you for mentioning how hiring a worker without a license may force you to spend more money than it would cost to hire a licensed expert. My wife and I are planning on opening an auto repair service together next month, but we notice that our building’s lights tend to flicker whenever we try turning on some of our repair tools to test them out. We’ll see if we can find an expert that can handle our problem correctly the first time.
Thanks for mentioning how you may not be aware of wiring complications that cause fire hazards since they may not be apparent. My brother is thinking about opening an auto repair service but has recently noticed that one of the outlets in his building has started to turn black ever since he plugged his phone charger into it. Maybe hiring an expert could help him identify his building’s wiring issue.