The majority of the homeowners in Bentonville would never undertake a major electrical project in their own home. They know that rewiring the house or installing a new electrical panel requires skills and knowledge that they do not have. They understand that electricity has the potential to cause severe damage to their home if mishandled. In addition, it can result in severe or even life-threatening injuries. And these savvy consumers leave those big electrical jobs to the professionals.
But sadly, many of those same people are willing to try their hand at smaller electrical projects like replacing an outlet, wiring a new electrical box for a ceiling fan, or even extending an electrical wire to add a few new outlets. Unfortunately, they do not understand that even small electrical projects hold the same potential for disaster as the larger ones. And unless you have years of skill and training, even a “simple” electrical project can become hazardous and costly.
What It Takes To Become A Qualified Electrician
Having a basic understanding of electricity and wiring is not even the beginning of what is needed to become a licensed electrician. You might think that the electrician who comes to your home has a few years of hands-on experience and some training to do the job. But that is also not even close. To become a licensed electrician, you must complete all of the following:
- Four years as a journeyman
- Pass a series of tests and exams
- Log nearly 15,000 hours of experience in a variety of electrical specialties, which comes out to about 7.5 years of experience
The Hazards Of Working With Electricity
If you do not have all of the training, knowledge, and skills of a licensed electrician, you are taking a considerable risk working on the electrical system of your home. The risks include:
- Starting A Fire – Electrical fires are estimated to cause over 1 billion dollars in property damage each year. Keep in mind that is only the property damage due to electrical fires. That does not include any medical bills for injuries or the loss of life due to a fire. If you try to make even a minor electrical repair, you risk becoming another statistic and possibly a tragedy.
- Electrocution – The loss of life from an electrical accident is hard to even think about. But it happens regularly, even to those with decades of training and experience. So how can you justify taking that kind of risk with your own life to fix an outlet or add a ceiling fan to your home? In addition to putting yourself at risk, you could be risking the lives of everyone else in the house if you make even a slight mistake in the repair process. Many lives lost to electrocution are unsuspecting family members who use the improperly wired outlet and receive a fatal electrical shock.
- Inspection Failure – After the last two catastrophes, an inspection failure sounds minor. However, if you are in the process of selling your home, it can be much more upsetting. If the electrical system does not meet code, the sale of your house could stop until the issues are corrected. In many contracts, that is enough cause the buyer to walk away from the offer and purchase.
Sure, you might save a few dollars on an electrical repair today, but you do not know what that DIY work will cost in the future. The guaranteed solution is to call (479) 279-2410 for all your electrical needs. The licensed electricians at Allstate Electric and Communications provide a free price quote for the job and back it with a full warranty on the parts and labor.