I wanted to give my honest review for OC Electric. Please know that this review is not a fake or paid review.
Let me say first of all that these guys are the real deal. Before deciding to use OC Electric to replace our electric panel, I had no less then 6 quotes from electricians, including some with really good Yelp reviews. 5 out of the 6 businesses that I reached out to each had some serious issues that made me realize what a difference there are in the way companies like this do business. I kept detailed notes on each company and OC Electric was the only one who didn't have any negative issues as far as I was concerned.
First, it's important to understand that for the most part, upgrading an electric panel is for the most part, going to be the same process for all of these electricians, so, to begin with all of them will give you a basic quote with just texting the company basic info and some pictures of the existing panel. This is not like the "old days" where a business will come out, look at the job and give you a price.
After texting Ruben some pictures of my existing panel, we set up a time for him to come and give me a formal quote. The price was in line with what most of the other businesses and we decided to move forward with OC Electric. He handled all of the permits necessary in a very timely manner so that there would be no delays in starting the work. He texted me the day and time that they would arrive to start the job. For a big job like this, there are always concerns that during the process, unknown issues would be uncovered which lead to unexpected problems and costs. We've all heard the horror stories (and seen on those home improvement shows) right? Thank God there was nothing like that during this process for us. Keep in mind that we were replacing the original electric panel from when the house was built sometime back in 1963. A LOT of things have changed with electricity in the last 63 years. Mainly the size of these panels. I had no idea that today's panels are about 5 times bigger than my old one.
On the first day, two OC Electric technicians showed up right on time and got right to work. They began at around 8 AM and finished around 6 PM on the first day. By the time they left that first day, all of our electricity was working perfectly and each breaker switch for the new 200 Amp electric panel was clearly labeled. The technicians who worked at my house that day were courteous, and professional and they cleaned up any mess made from the work. These guys went above and beyond. In fact, on day 1 when they stopped to take their lunch break, one of the guys even offered to bring me back some lunch! Wow, how many hired workers do that? None that I know of. I also had a small separate wiring job that I had started myself (but never completed) and asked if they could take care of, and guess what? They did it for me in about 10 minutes. I was so grateful to them.
For this process there are a few steps involved, each one requiring an inspection and an approval from the city. First, the initial installation of the new panel, then inspection. Next was repairing the stucco. New chicken wire around the panel must be attached, then inspection. Next, stucco and paint, then final inspection. By the way, for our job I had told OC Electric that we didn't require painting because we are planning on getting the house painted anyway, but they insisted and the stucco guy did a pretty good job at matching the stucco texture. The paint color he used was slightly different, but for me, it didn't matter because of the future paint job.
The entire process took about a week due to the inspections that needed to be scheduled, which can be a hassle because you're at the mercy of the city inspector. Scheduling all of the inspections was handled by Ruben and he was always good at keeping me updated as to when each inspection would take place. Except for the initial inspection, someone from OC Electric was here to meet the inspector each time.
Aside from a couple minor aesthetic details, (which can't be avoided because of all of the new electric codes involved) I was very satisfied with the work that OC Electric performed and I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for an electrician. If I have any more electrical work in the future, I won't hesitate to give them a call. read more