Attempting to do your own electrical work is not only difficult but dangerous. For your safety, it is essential you always hire a pro to do any electrical projects in your home. In fact, in Ontario, as a homeowner living in Oshawa, it is your legal responsibility to only hire a Licensed Electrical Contractor (LEC). Don’t put your household at risk, learn how to safely hire a licensed electrician in Oshawa for all your electrical project needs.
Proper Training and Licensing
Electricity is a powerful and dangerous source of energy. In order to be able to safely complete residential electrical projects, a pro must go through years of schooling and proper training to obtain the necessary licenses. As a homeowner in Oshawa, it is your responsibility to only hire electricians who have gone through the proper training and are licensed by the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA). They issue licenses to electricians who have successfully completed their apprenticeship and journeyperson exams. While you can still hire an electrician who is in school, you must ensure they are employed/overseen by a licensed electrician.
Types of Electricians
There are three types of electricians for hire in Oshawa. Each comes with different qualifications, knowledge and experience. Based on the type of electrician you hire, the cost of your project will vary. Typically the more experienced, the more expensive they are to hire.
Apprentice
An electrician apprentice is currently in school, working towards obtaining their journeyperson status. They may work with a more experienced electrician to help them gain practical work experience. While an apprentice may know a good deal, they are still learning and are required to be overseen by a more experienced electrician. You can hire an apprentice to do small, simple electrical projects so long as they have a licensed electrician supervising them. Hiring an apprentice is a good way to keep your costs down for small projects.
Journeyperson
Once the pro has completed their apprenticeship, a final exam must be passed to become a journeyperson. After that, the electrician will need to get their license from the ESA. At this point, they can choose to write another interprovincial exam that will allow them to work across Canada. If the journeyperson only wants to work in Oshawa, they can do so with their new journeyperson status and license. They can choose to work for themselves or be employed by a company.
Master Electrician
As the name suggests, a master electrician is the most knowledgeable and experienced electrician you can hire. They have completed all the schooling necessary and have the right licenses. If you’re taking on a complex project, such as rewiring your entire house, a master electrician will be able to do this with ease. While they are the most expensive, you can rest assured the job will be completed perfectly.
Tips for Hiring an Electrician
Our number one tip for safely hiring an electrician is to ask about proper licensing. While you are in the interview phase, be sure to ask each and every electrician you are considering to hire. Do not put your home or life at risk because you forgot to ask for proof of their ESA license number. This number should also be visible on the company website and invoices. You can check to confirm the validity of their license directly on the ESA website.
Our second tip is to look for a Verified Badge on an electrician’s HomeStars profile. Whether you’re doing the research yourself or are checking out the pros HomeStars has matched you with, you want to see this badge. A Verified Badge means that the company has passed our thorough screening process which includes a criminal and credit check in addition to confirming proper licensing. While on a pro’s profile, also be sure to look at their Star Score and reviews from past clients. All three of these HomeStars tools will help you decide if this is the right company for you to hire.
Always remember that attempting to do your own electrical work is very dangerous. Equally as dangerous is letting someone who is not properly trained or licensed to perform this work for you. By law, all homeowners in Oshawa, and Ontario in general, are required to only hire a licensed electrical contractor. Keep our tips in mind so that when you need an electrician, you know how to safely hire one.
