More Electrician Than Meets The Eye

I have learned a lot following the Maine Electric guys out to their calls. What I am most impressed about is that it takes more than just being able to work with electricity to be an electrician. An electrician must know how to be crafty in drywall, carpentry, and stucco as I found out recently. In Livermore, an old panel had to be replaced and it was best to put the new panel on the outside of the wall.

That meant that Angel had to prepare the old hole for the brand new panel. He added pieces of wood for support and placed chicken wire on the inside. With these things in place, he could put stucco on the wall and bolt in the brand new panel.

I watched as Angel mixed the powder with water and created a stucco mix. He had to make a little at a time because the stucco would harden quickly. He used his hands to evenly spread the stucco onto the wall making sure enough was in place and that it wouldn't slip down and fall off.

Shortly after the stucco had dried, it was time to place the new panel on the wall and connect the wires. Just like many times before, Angel bolted the panel, sealed around the edges, and neatly organized the wires on the inside. The end result was a beautiful outdoor panel.

All that was left was to ground the panel for safety from a large electrical surge. It was Marks turn to join in on the job. Mark had to pound a 10 foot pole into the ground. This pole would allow any surge in electricity be safely dispersed underground and absorbed into the earth.

Finally, the the panel had been grounded and the job was done.

It goes to show that when looking for an electrician you are not only looking for someone who does the job correctly but someone who does a great job. The Maine Electric team is a well rounded group who can tackle any residential electrical job and have the skills to leave behind a clean end result.

For more information on the services Maine Electric provides please visit out business page.

For more pictures of this job click here!

Installing Recessed Lighting

Last friday I got to see how recessed lighting is installed. I was very excited to see how this was done because in my mind it sounded like a large messy job, but I was wrong. The process of installing recessed lighting is actually quite simple and no where near as messy as I once thought it was.

I drove to Pleasanton and caught up with the Maine Electric guys, Ryan and Tim, and watched as they got ready to install the new lights. The home owners wanted to install some recessed lights on a dimmer because the current light fixture on the ceiling fan wasn't enough for them to light up the entire room. So, Ryan got out his measuring tape and began to find the best symmetrical placement for the lights around the room.

Ryan marked the off four locations around the bed where the lights were to be installed. The locations of the lights would allow the home owners to have light in the entryway of their room, light above the armoire, and light each side of the bed. Once the holes were marked off it was time to drill.  

There was almost no mess because the drill had caught all of the pieces of drywall. All that was left behind was the hole for the brand new recessed lights. Since the lights were to be placed on a dimmer, the old switch had to be replaced to not only control the ceiling fan but also operate the dimmers.

Once the new hole was made in the wall, the new wire for the recessed light could be dropped into the new switch box and connected with the wires from the ceiling fan. That meant it was time for Tim to go back into the attic. The warm weather has finally caught up with us and that means the attic was going to be really hot. Luckily, Tim has a special vest filled with ice packs to keep him cool while in the attic.

The "cups" for the recessed lights could be clipped into the holes and the installation was almost  complete.

I was amazed by how quick and easy it was to install the new lighting. Not only did the new lights get rid of the lamps but it also provided plenty of light to fill the room. Given the new dimmers, the lights could be adjusted to any intensity the home owner pleased. With the Maine Electric team, the job was done quick, safely, and all in one day. 

For more information on the services Maine Electric provides, check out our business page!

Overloaded Circuit!

Yesterday, I took a short drive to a call here in Livermore. I caught up with the Maine Electric guys, Angel and Tim, who had already begun working on their job. The home had a microwave unit that was connected to same circuit as an outlet. The microwave and the outlet had been used at the same time causing the circuit to become overloaded. This picture below shows what happens to the wire when there is too much electricity for the circuit to handle. This could potentially start a fire.

The goal for today was to place the microwave on a dedicated circuit. Also, the electrical panel had to be replaced because not only did it not have enough room for a dedicated microwave circuit but it was located on a "firewall" and needed to be properly repositioned. A firewall in your home is different from the firewall you may have on your computer to protect you from harm. In this case, a firewall means that the location of the electrical panel is within a wall facing the inside of the house. For added safety from fire and by city regulation, it is required the fuse box be framed on the outside of the wall. So, Angel and Tim got to work.

Angel carefully disconnected the wires and began to remove the old fuse box. Meanwhile, Tim started to make the hole into the attic.

Once the attic opening was made, Angel could then begin to drill the hole in which the new wire would come down. Also, the wire could then be sent to Tim who would then pull the wire towards the location of the microwave. Tim would then send the wire down into its new location where an outlet solely dedicated for the microwave would be assembled.

Finally, it was time to patch up the holes and install the new electrical panel.

The electrical panel would be framed with wood and sheetrock. After all the wires were installed, Angel and Tim worked together to label each and every breaker if in the future power needed to be cut off in a specific area.

Electricity is no joke! As we saw at this location, an overloaded circuit caused a wire to burn. There was no fire but luckily our trained and certified electricians were called in order to prevent the microwave overloading the circuit from happening again. If you would like more information about Maine Electric and our their services please visit their website.

For more pictures of the job click here.

Livermore Spa Feed to Disconnect Box Installation

Yesterday I followed the Maine Electric guys to a local job in Livermore. The home owner needed an electrical feed and disconnect box for their spa. So, that meant back in the attic today to feed some wire! Before we could go up into the attic, Angel had to prepare the location outside for the new connection.

Once the location had been determined, it was time to make the hole for the wire to travel across the attic. Angel drilled away!

Next, I watched as Angel prepare the fuse box for the new wires that were going to be connected. When installing new wires into the fuse box it is important to understand what kind of voltage the items being installed carry because it could trip the breaker.

As Angel was preparing the fuse box, I followed Tim up into the attic to watch him pull the wire. Since we were in a newer home, it was much more manageable to move around. Regardless, there was still so many things to hop over!

The wire was then sent down to Angel in order to be connected with all the other wires.

It is important to make sure the electrical work in your home is done safely and correctly. The Maine Electric guys work on multiple electrical jobs on a daily bases and understand how to get the job done. They are certified and trained to handle many different types of electrical jobs. For more information on the services we provide, check out the Maine Electric business page!

Click here for more pictures of the job!

San Mateo Electrical Rewire

Yesterday I drove out over the San Mateo Bridge to go take some pictures of a home being rewired by our Electricians here at Maine Electric Inc. I knew I had arrived to the right place when I saw our "warehouse on wheels" parked out front. I was taken upstairs to where the rewiring was being done. The home had old style outlets for only two prongs. Also, there was a shortage of outlets to use to plug in their electrical appliances. I found Al measuring out each wall to find the space in between.

 Once he calculated where the center of the wall was he sent up the information the guys in the attic. I went up into the attic and took a look for myself.

The attic was very warm and full of insulation, luckily we were in the bay area and it was early in morning and the heat was not too intense. I found Tim working his way through the attic with the measurements he had received from Al. He was drilling the holes down in between the walls.

Once the holes were drilled, the wires for the new outlets could be sent down into the new outlet boxes. Climbing down from out of the attic I went to see where the wires would end up. I found as the holes above were being made, the boxes down below were being done simultaneously. Each new outlet box had to be cut into wall and each was strategically placed.

Rewiring a house is a big job but nothing the guys at Maine Electric Inc. can't handle! It was great to see the guys working together as a team to complete this project! For more information on the services provided by Maine Electric Inc. Check out our business page! 

Tag along!

Last Friday, I had my first opportunity to following along Mark from Maine Electric on one of his first calls of the day. I watched as he prepared his Maine Electric van with all the tools and supplies he needed for a long day of electrical work. Once the van was ready, I followed him from our dispatch office in Livermore, CA for a short drive over to Pleasanton. This was a warranty call meaning that Maine Electric had done some work earlier and was called to come assist with any occurrences that may have arose free of charge.

Originally, the team had been called to help solve the problem of the new air-conditioner unit that was was higher voltage than the breaker could handle. The team solved that problem!

The reason the team was back was to check on a few items that had occurred: the pool light, pool side outlet, and motion light had all seemed to lose power. So, I went with Mark and watched him work.

I watched as Mark searched high and low as he made sure that every wire was correctly lined up in its proper position. Checking the wires to see their voltage and making sure each wire was doing the job it was supposed to do. 

Finally Mark had found the problem and it was time to get to work on fixing it!

During the process, Mark had looked at the outlet by the pool and noticed a lot of rusty build up. The outlet was in a cool and damp area by a patch of roses that saw much water. The outlet was used to power the pump of a fountain. Although the outlet was in working order and not the source of the trouble, Mark replaced the outlet and added a bubble cover to as a complementary service to prevent trouble in the future.

The bubble covers are used for electrical outlets for spas, pools, or any other item that is outside everyday and is exposed to wet or rainy conditions. The cover allows for items to be plugged in and protected from the elements. After this Mark cleaned up shop and put everything that he had worked on back together and everything was good as new.

Overall, it was a fun experience watching my first electrician at work for Maine Electric. I look forward to many more different jobs that experienced certified electricians take on every day!

More pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/maineelectric/

Welcome to my blog for Maine Electric!

Hello everyone and welcome to the new blog! I have been given the opportunity to follow around the electricians at Main Electric Inc. and give you the inside view of what goes on each and every day! My goal is to gather information and gain an understanding of why it is so important to consider a professional and licensed electrician in order to work on your home or office.

I will be posting pictures, videos, and answering any questions that you may have! So, feel free to follow me on this journey on what it means to be an electrician!