Why You Need an Electrical Contractor for a Home Renovation
Whether you’re remodeling the hall bathroom or doing a major home renovation, you’re likely going to require some electrical work. Should you leave this work to your general contractor or bring in an electrical contractor for your home renovation? We’re looking at why choosing an experienced, licensed electrical contractor is the safer, smarter option for your home.
What Are the Differences Between a General Contractor and an Electrical Contractor?
Before we explain why it’s a better idea to hire an electrician to handle the electrical work for your home renovation, let’s first look at the differences between a general contractor and an electrical contractor.
What Is a General Contractor?
A general contractor is responsible for overseeing your home renovation from start to finish. They create a design, plan, and budget based on the homeowner’s wishes. After devising a plan and budget, they'll hire subcontractors, gather materials, and manage the project. They are responsible for ensuring that each step of the remodel, from plumbing to painting, is completed within proper building codes and in accordance with the homeowner’s wishes.
Essentially, a general contractor is a jack of all trades. Your general contractor may even work on some of the tasks themselves, as they have overall skills in basic carpentry, plumbing, and basic electrical work.
What Is an Electrical Contractor?
An electrical contractor has highly-specialized knowledge and can perform electrical installation, electrical repairs, and electrical inspections. They'll be able to help you make important decisions such as what type of lights to install in your pool, placement of outdoor lighting, including motion sensor lighting in your plan, and other decisions that will impact the look and feel of your home.
Once the plan is made, your electrical contractor will design the electrical systems and ensure the light fixtures, outlets, and other components are placed efficiently. The electrical contractor then oversees or completes installing the wiring, outlets, fixtures, and other aspects of the system, and ensuring they are safe, efficient, and compliant with federal and local electrical codes.
Quick Tip: When choosing an electrical contractor, look for a company that's been in service in your area for at least 5 years. The more history an electrician has in your area, the better they will understand the codes and any restrictions specific to the region. MSS Ortiz Electrical Services has been in Durham, North Carolina since 1984. If you're about to take on a home renovation and you're located in the Triangle area, give us a call! Our Durham electricians have the knowledge and expertise to get your renovation done right.
Electrical contractors are often brought in at the beginning of the project to perform any upgrades or updates, complete any rewiring, update the circuit breaker box, and perform other electrical tasks. This ensures that the system is set up correctly once the renovation begins. However, they may come back to the project to complete any installation for appliances, security systems, or complex light systems.
4 Reasons You Need an Electrical Contractor for Your Home Remodel
Now that we’ve explained the difference between a general contractor and an electrical contractor, let’s look at why you should have an electrical and general contractor on hand for your home renovation.
Designing the Electrical System
A renovation or remodel often involves removing walls, changing layouts, and adding appliances, shelving, plumbing, and a wide variety of other fixtures and features. This means that your current electrical system will need to be redesigned in order to support your updates. It’s important to have an electrical contractor inspect the existing system and create a new plan for how to run wiring, and where to place outlets, switches, and fixtures. An experienced contractor will ensure that the plan is functional, safe, and meets the homeowner’s needs.
Updating Your Electrical Panel
With new lights, outlets, and wiring, your electrical panel will also need to be updated to account for these changes. Often, new circuits will need to be added and the panel itself will need to be updated in order to avoid the risk of outages or even fire. General contractors typically don’t have the experience for this project and it shouldn’t be left to a subcontractor who may not have the experience for such an intensive project.
Rewiring Your Home for Your Remodel
As we mentioned above, an extensive remodel or renovation will likely interfere with your current wiring, or you may need additional wiring run to work with your new layout. This should not be left to a subcontractor who may or may not have the experience needed to perform this task in accordance with state and local electrical and building codes.
Installing New Lighting
While a general contractor or subcontractor can swap out an existing light fixture for a new one, most renovations involve adding completely new fixtures. This requires additional wiring and switches to be installed, which should also be left to an experienced electrical contractor.
Get a Free Quote from an Electrical Contractor in Durham, NC
Before you start your home renovation project, get a quote for electrical services from our experienced team in Durham, North Carolina. MSS Ortiz electricians in Durham can help plan, rewire, and install your new home wiring setup. While we are headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, our licensed electricians are spread across the state and will travel to the surrounding areas including Raleigh, Greensboro, Apex, Pittsboro, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, and more!
With over 70 years of combined experience and an unlimited electrical license, you can feel confident that your electrical work will be safe, efficient, and ideal for your home remodel. Call us today at (919) 382-0832 or fill out the form below to schedule an estimate!
