Forum: Electricians
November 20, 2009
Great Electrician
I wanted to recommend an electrician that we used to rewire our 4 story 2 family brownstone. His name is Sal, and he's at LB Electric. His cell is 917-627-9903.
When deciding on an electrician, I believe I called between 10-15 of them and got quotes from at least 6 or 7. I called many of the recurring recommended electricians from this site, as well as a few other local electricians that I found through google searches or just from walking around my neighborhood. I wanted to go with someone who was local because the closer they are the better, in my mind.
I found LB Electric by googling online. Sal's quote was by far the most reasonable. For example, his quote was 30,000 less than the highest quote I got (from one of the electricians who was recommended on this website). He gave me some corporate references for building companies that he's done work for. They all checked out.
We are nearing the end of our project now - installing fixtures - and his work has been top notch, he has been reliable in showing up, and he's done a lot of arguably extra things for us, suffered through some contract changes, and had a wonderful attitude the whole time. There were a few mistakes in the way the switches were wired by his employees, but they are fixing those now. Some of the boxes weren't installed totally straight but he's also fixing those. (Happily and without attitude or anger, which is a big plus in my opinion). He is very friendly and spends a lot of time personally making sure the job is right. I am posting him today because we thought that one of the workers dislodged some electrical piece that made our boiler stop working. We then got power to the boiler, but it wasn't turning on. I called Sal who said he'd come over to fix it. It turns out it wasn't an electrical problem, but somehow, another person (don't know who) had turned off the water supply to the boiler. Sal fixed it for us, free of charge and happily and said "Hey, you don't need to call a handyman! I used to fix boilers." Last week, he took me to a lock wholesaler in the neighborhood because I had been having a hard time finding the right kind of electric lock for us. He waited at the store and helped me select one, and then got me a discount through his account with them. I have NEVER met a contractor who has been so nice, thorough, and reliable as Sal. I'd firmly recommend him to anyone.
If you have questions, I can try to respond to this post.
November 13, 2009
Weird 2-Phase Wiring
I was looking in the service panel to label all breakers.
It has 30A breaker for drier, which is connected to 12-2 BX cable. Two hot wires from the breaker connected to black and white wires and the neutral from the panel is connected to the BX shield of the cable. Looks like professional job. I am not an electrician, but this seems strange. I would expect 12-3 wire instead and no link between shield and neutral.
Is this something unusual and should I call electrician to look at it?
November 1, 2009
Where Are the Electricians?
Am I missing something? Where's the category for electricians in the new Directory listing?
Or, are electricians grouped under General Contractors? It would be nice to have a few good electricians at hand instead of searching all day long for some recommendations from buried, old posts.
No Light Switches
In our house the light fixtures were converted from gas to electrical long time ago. Apparently at that time people did not use wall mounted light switches.
I need to switch light on and off. In many places we have switch on the fixture. In some places I can get away with X10 wireless controllers. But in some places I want wall mounted switches.
The wires are behind the tin ceiling so when I showed it to electrician he said that it is very hard to open the wall, etc. We dumped cellulose insulation into the attic so wires of the top floor also hard to find.
Do we have any other options in installing switches.
October 29, 2009
Brownstone Ethernet Network
I went through a gut reno a few years back and had the electrician install CAT5E instead of standard phone wire. I am now looking to get in finalized by adding the proper ethernet jacks (he just put in RJ-45 connectors) and connecting all the wires. My original electrician gave me a quote of $1,400 which sounds kind of high to me. Anybody else have this done? Does this sound reasonable? Any recommendations? Thanks in advance.
October 27, 2009
Intercom Repair Person Needed
Fort Greene Brownstone (8 Units) needs the transformer replaced on the intercom system. Any vendor suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks,
October 20, 2009
Intercom System/Buzzer
I'm having trouble diagnosing my buzzer problem. I have a PK-543A system, which is functioning properly in every way except that the "Buzz" is extremely low. I have tried both different styles of buzzing available (Buzz 1 and Buzz 2).
The transformer is working correctly, everything else on the system (door release, talk, listen, etc...), but no matter the tone volume adjustment, the buzz in the apartment is very low. I'm thinking of replacing the intercom in the apartment (an IR204).
Help?
October 15, 2009
Giving props to Blaze Electric
I've gotten so many good recommendations in these forums over the years that I like to take the time to make recommendations of my own when its warranted.
We needed 3 recessed lighting fixtures replaced in our kitchen as they were the 25+ year old original fixtures and the sockets were shorting out regularly. I originally contacted Ceriello Electric, as they have done work for us in the past that we've been happy with, but through a series of mis-steps on their end that I won't go into, we ended up having to look for another electrician to help us out.
I called Blaze Electric on Tuesday (I saw mention of Blaze in a previous forum post here) and left a message, and got a prompt call back from Frank Caparale, who I subsequently learned is the owner. He came out himself on Wed to take a look at what we had (they are odd-sized Atlite cans and we didn't want to re-sheetrock the whole ceiling for this - we were hoping for drop-in replacements) and give us a quote.
A few hours after he left, he called me to say he could get the correct housings that would work with the existing holes and ring brackets and could install them on Thursday (today).
At 8:30am this morning, one of his guys (I believe his name was Keyshawn) arrived and promptly replaced our old lights, so that I wouldn't have to cook in the dark anymore :) The job took about 90 minutes, he was polite and efficient and most importantly, he cleaned up after himself, sweeping the kitchen floor, gathering all the boxes and old fixtures to be put out in the compactor room, etc.
Total cost, including the housings/baffles, labor and even the new floodlight bulbs (he advised R40s instead of of the R30s we had been using) came to $300 even, which is exactly the price I was quoted on Wed. My kitchen isn't dark anymore!
Although this was a small job and maybe not the best job to rate an electrician on, I have to say that I was impressed enough with Frank's responsiveness and his worker's professionalism, that I wouldn't hesitate to call Blaze again in the future, for jobs big or small.
Blaze Electric is on 5th Ave in Park Slope, Brooklyn and their main # is 718-369-0810. Frank's cell # on his card is 917-576-6900
If you happen to use Blaze, I hope your experience is as positive as mine was.
September 21, 2009
200 Amps enough for 8 unit Coop?
I'm curious about the Amperage we have in our Coop is sufficient for the load we draw from it. Do people have an opinion as to whether 200 Amps is enough for 8 2br units with computers, AC units, Sub Zeros or the like etc., does that strike anyone as an unwise risk?
September 15, 2009
Blaze Electric?
Has anyone used Blaze Electric in Park Slope? Other recommendations would be greatly appreciated.