Please call us for a Free Estimate. Our phone number: (713) 922-3933. We will be happy to give you any information that you may need as well as a Free Estimate over the phone on most electrical jobs.
Some electricians won’t offer to give you a Free Estimate over the phone. Instead, they want to drive over to see the job and either charge for the estimate or give a “Free Estimate” but charge a “trip fee.” They may offer to deduct the cost of the estimate or trip fee off the total cost of the job should you decide to go ahead.
They may be operating on another business model from ours. Once they’ve given you the estimate at your home or business, they’re hoping that you’ll give them the job so that you can recoup what you spent on the estimate. This both pressures you to give them the job and also to put up with a higher price than you might have gotten from another electrician.
We offer a Free Estimate over the phone on most jobs so that you’re not unduly pressured, but are free to go with the best electrician for you. We rely on the quality of our electrical work and honest prices to attract and keep customers.
For what type of electrical work can you give me a Free Estimate over the phone?
We can almost always give you a Free Estimate over the phone if your job is installing new items such as:
If your job is repairing any electrical component, like a light switch or outlet that used to work, we’ll need to use tools to troubleshoot the circuit and won’t be able to give you a Free Estimate over the phone.
How can you give me an over-the-phone estimate for a job as big as a house rewire or an electrical panel upgrade?
We’ll do a brief interview with you to find out the size of your house and some other basics. We can give you a rough estimate over the phone. Then if you want to take the next step, we can send an electrician to your home or business. He’ll look over your electrical system and give you a firm bid in writing. If the bid is accepted, we’ll schedule the job with you.
Are there times when you can’t do a Free Estimate?
If you need something fixed that used to work, we’ll need to do on-site troubleshooting of your electrical system. The electrician will need to pull out his tools, and we’ll need to charge for the electrician’s time. Within a half-hour to an hour, we’ll know the extent of the problem. At that point, if he hasn’t already fixed the problem, the electrician can give you a firm bid in writing before doing more work.
Often, by the time the electrician has figured out the problem (within a half-hour to an hour or so), he’s fixed it or is a few minutes away from fixing it. For example, if it’s a loose wire, once found, it will take another minute or so to fix it. In fact, he may not be certain that the loose wire was the entire problem until he tightens the wire, the circuit now works, and the job is done.
Why can’t you give an over-the-phone estimate for troubleshooting jobs?
When a component in your electrical system no longer works, there can be a variety of reasons, each requiring a different amount of time to fix. Let’s say you have a swimming pool and the pool light no longer comes on. If the light switch has broken and needs replacing, we’re talking about an inexpensive part plus half an hour of labor. If the light fixture or the circuit breaker is broken, these parts are bigger expenses. If the wire feeding the light has a short circuit, that could mean digging up the wire that runs underground, cutting the concrete pool deck, replacing the wiring and its protective housing (electrical conduit), cutting a new trench and re-burying the wire, and finally, patching the concrete pool deck. That could be hundreds of dollars.
So, the symptom of the pool light not working doesn’t tell us the cost. We’ll need to troubleshoot on-site for a half-hour to an hour, find the cause, and then, if there’s more work to do, we’ll be able to give you a firm bid price.
What is the difference between an estimate and a bid?
We can give you a Free Estimate over the phone without seeing the job if you want to install a new electrical component, for example, a new electrical panel. If the estimate is acceptable and we both want to move ahead, we’ll set an appointment with you to see the job. Once we’ve seen the job and checked out the details, we can give you a firm written bid in writing. A bid is a firm price with no surprises for you.