What basement electrical wiring involves

Most houses around here were wired for a different century. The work starts with finding out what is actually there. With basement electrical wiring, that means looking at the existing wiring, the panel capacity and whatever the last person left behind.

The first step is finding out what is actually wrong. Sometimes it is one loose connection at a device, and the fix is an hour. We will tell you that plainly instead of selling a bigger job.

Where this comes up

Panels, rewires, outlets, lighting and the circuits behind everything in a house. Most of these calls come from Des Plaines and the surrounding suburbs, but we take them anywhere in our service area.

Older buildings in this part of Illinois were wired to a different standard. Aluminum branch circuits, knob-and-tube in the walls, panels that were full the day they were installed. Those turn up constantly and they change the job.

How we do it

Quik Wire Electric has 3 years in business and 10 years of electrical experience behind it. The work goes in to code, gets tested and comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Why this is worth doing properly

For a business, a shortcut in the electrical shows up as downtime. A circuit that trips during the busiest hour or a cooler that loses power overnight can cost more than the original job did. Getting the load calculation right and every connection tight at install is what prevents that, and it is the part of the work customers never see.

The cost of doing it right the first time is almost always lower than the cost of doing it twice. We would rather tell you the job is bigger than you hoped than come back in two years.

Scheduling and how long it takes

Same day for anything unsafe, like no power or a burning smell. A service upgrade starts as soon as the permit and ComEd allow, and most other work fits in within a few days.

Parts can set the pace. Common breakers and devices are on the truck. Larger gear, like a specific panel or a transfer switch, may have to be ordered, and we will tell you that at the quote instead of on the day.

Code, permits and inspection

Generators and transfer switches draw extra attention from inspectors, because a bad install can push power back into the utility lines. Expect a permit and an inspection on those even in places that are relaxed about smaller work, and expect us to handle both.

We deal with whichever jurisdiction the job sits in. We pull the permit, we schedule the inspection, and we are there when the inspector walks it. You get the paperwork at the end, which matters when you sell the building or when an insurer asks.

Copper, aluminum and what is in your walls

Aluminum branch wiring went into a lot of houses in the late sixties and early seventies. It is not automatically dangerous, but it expands and contracts more than copper, which loosens terminations over time, and it needs devices and connectors rated for it.

The repair is usually not a full rewire. Proper connectors at every termination, done thoroughly, solves most of it. Anybody quoting you a whole-house rewire on sight has not looked.

The warning signs people ignore

Older homes hide their warnings in plain sight. Two-prong outlets with adapters stuck in them, extension cords that became permanent, a fuse that keeps getting replaced. Each one is the house telling you the wiring has fallen behind how you use it.

Flicker counts. If a light flickers and the bulb is fine, something in that circuit is making and breaking contact, and that gets worse with time.