Avoid at all costs. This company is great at making promises and getting you excited before you start working with them, but they do not carry that excitement over to getting the job done.
I contracted Colter Electric to wire up an off grid cabin that is approx 750 sqft. When we first talked it seemed like Colter understood what I needed and he was as excited about it as I was. He told me this should be just a one day job and it would be about $1500 to complete, if that since it's small. We made arrangements for him to get the keys from me and he'll get someone up there to take care of it in a week or two. That was April 2025.
Colter did tell me that the price would be closer to $2k after he ran the numbers but that didn't seem excessive to me. After another talk, he said he would need to add in extra things to be in code so it might be closer to $2500 but he'd be filling out a contract to state that it would be less than $3k just in case there were any other issues we would have a cap on it. This rubbed me wrong immediately since the price just doubled but he had some good explanation. I signed it, we met and I gave him the key.
Well, about 4 weeks later they get started on the one day job and only get half way through since they didn't have the right parts. The same parts they should be expected to have going into the project or that they would be able to purchase from HD, but this was a delay that took another few weeks before they would be up.
Ready for the best part? I asked about the status and got an explanation that one of the guys had his car stolen and he had my key to my cabin in the car. So, a) he needed another key before they can continue working and b) I now had a key to my cabin floating around who knows where. But, I understand this is out of my control and I gave him another key which they again lost and needed me to provide a third. -Side note: Talked to another one of the guys and he let me know that someone's car did get stolen but that wasn't the cause of them losing the key. Not sure what the right story is here.
Four months later in August I've had enough and told him that I would need the job complete or I would need to find another contractor since the season for work is almost over. By the end of that week Colter was proud to send me a picture of the breaker box hooked up. I was excited that the job was done and I would be able to plug in my Genny and have power in my cabin. Felt that excitement all the way up to Williams and only disappointment when I walked in the door to see exposed wires everywhere. See pictures below.
I thought we had an understanding that my expectation was for the project to be done. Colter however took that differently somehow. He stated that this work would be done after the drywall since it's "trim work". I may not be an electrician by trade, but I know exposed wires
should not be buttoned up in a ceiling because it's a fire hazard. Same with the front porch light that had only wires hanging over the door frame.
Colter then followed up with demands for the remaining payment for a job not completed. He said that everything left was to be done at a point in the future when drywall was done because that's the way it works, however I had no problem finding someone else to actually finish up the work before drywall and leave me with a cabin that I could hook up to my generator to have full interior electrical. Was it the process or was it just excuses and shoddy workmanship? Either way, I was able to find a different electrician that had no issues with actually providing me what they promised at a good price and quick work.
Moral of the story: They say that any construction work will take twice as long as cost twice as much as the plan. Colter Electric excels at exceeding this expectation with some fun perks like arguing with the owner of the company and losing your keys. If this is what you're looking for, you've come to the right place. read more
