Questions people actually ask
Pricing, permits, warranty terms, and how to tell whether what you are looking at is an emergency or a Tuesday problem. If yours is not here, call 715-684-2609.
Booking, pricing and scheduling
Do you charge for an estimate?
Quotes on planned work — panel upgrades, EV chargers, generators, rewiring, lighting layouts — are free. Diagnostic visits carry a flat fee because the job there is the finding, not just the fixing. We tell you that fee on the phone before dispatching, and we credit it toward the repair if you have us do the work.
How soon can you come out?
It depends where you are. Inside the Eau Claire metro, usually same or next day. Fifteen to thirty miles out, typically the same week. In the outer rings we batch work onto directional routes, so a few days' notice gets you a much better slot. Emergencies are dispatched regardless of distance.
Do you charge more for towns far from Eau Claire?
No. Scheduled work is priced the same across the whole 60-mile radius. Distance changes our routing, not your invoice.
How do you price work — hourly or flat rate?
Flat rate on defined work, agreed in writing before we start. You know the number before the first tool comes off the truck. Open-ended hourly billing is how small jobs turn into large invoices, and we do not work that way.
What payment methods do you take?
Card, check and ACH transfer. Larger projects are typically structured with a deposit and a balance on completion; we set that out in the quote. Call 715-684-2609 if you need something specific arranged.
Licensing, permits and insurance
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. All work is performed by Wisconsin-licensed electricians, and we are bonded and insured. We will issue a certificate of insurance naming your landlord or GC the same day you ask.
Do I need a permit for my job?
Service changes, panel upgrades, new circuits, hot tub and spa wiring, generator installs and any structural rewiring all require permits in the jurisdictions we work in. We pull it, we meet the inspector, and we give you the signed card. Small like-for-like device swaps generally do not.
What happens if the work fails inspection?
We correct it and re-inspect at our own cost. That is our problem to solve, not a change order we bring back to you.
Can I do some of the work myself to save money?
Wisconsin does allow homeowners to do certain work on their own primary residence, but it still needs a permit and inspection, and mistakes in a panel are not the kind you get a second chance at. Where it makes sense we will happily do the rough-in and let you handle trim, or vice versa — ask and we will tell you honestly what is sensible to hand off.
Safety and when to worry
What counts as an electrical emergency?
Burning or fishy plastic smells, smoke, visible sparking or arcing, scorch marks on a device, a panel or faceplate that is hot to the touch, water in the panel, a downed service drop, or a power loss that takes your heat in winter. Call 715-684-2609 and say it is an emergency. If you see fire or smoke, leave the building and call 911 first.
My breaker keeps tripping. Can I just replace it?
Please do not. A breaker that trips is usually doing exactly what it was designed to do — telling you the circuit is overloaded, shorted, or has a ground fault. Replacing it with a larger one removes the protection while leaving the fault in place, which is how house fires start. The right move is to find out what is drawing the current.
Is knob-and-tube wiring actually dangerous?
It is not inherently on fire, but it has no equipment ground, its insulation embrittles with age, and it overheats badly where later owners buried it in attic insulation. Combined with a century of amateur splices, it is a genuine risk — and increasingly an insurability problem regardless of the risk.
Do I need to worry about my Federal Pacific panel?
We recommend replacing it. Stab-Lok breakers have a documented history of failing to trip under fault conditions, which defeats the only job a breaker has. Zinsco and certain Sylvania panels have similar issues. Many insurers now surcharge or decline homes that still have one.
Why do my lights dim when the furnace or AC starts?
A brief flicker on a large motor start can be normal. Persistent dimming, or dimming that has gotten worse, often points to an undersized service, a loose neutral, or a degrading utility connection — and a loose neutral in particular can damage appliances and is worth investigating promptly.
Warranty and after the job
What warranty do you offer?
Three years of workmanship coverage as standard, five years on panels, service changes and whole-home systems, one year on diagnostic repairs. It is printed on your invoice, and it transfers to the next owner if you sell.
Is the warranty transferable?
Yes, at no cost. Call us with the closing date and the buyer's name and we reissue the certificate for the remaining term.
Do you clean up?
Yes. Drop cloths go down, debris leaves with us, and drywall we open for a rewire gets patched and primed as part of the job rather than left for you to arrange.
Will you label my panel?
Every panel we work on leaves with a complete, accurate circuit directory. It is one of the most useful things anyone can do to a house and it is almost never done properly. It costs you nothing extra.
Still have a question?
Call or text 715-684-2609. You will get an electrician who can answer it, not a script.