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!

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!

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!