LOOK NO FURTHER.
Being from another part of the country and having no business contacts in South Florida can be very stressful when you find yourself in need of any contracted work. It's hard to know who to trust and that's why I'm writing to recommend the services of Streamline Electric. I own an apartment in Hollywood, it sits uninhabited most of the year except for winter. One morning I got up and my electricity was off. Not just a blown fuse or bad outlet, there was no electricity in my entire apartment. I knew the bill had been paid so I checked the meter and like all my neighbors, there was electricity available however it was getting interrupted somewhere along the 150' stretch between the meter room and my fuse box.
I am at the mercy of the internet in these instances, and I was lucky to have happened upon Streamline. I chose them as they had excellent reviews and their office was fairly close to my apartment. When I called and spoke with Elizabeth in the office, I felt confident I was dealing with the right people.
I explained my situation and the urgency of having everything shut off unexpectedly, and they had someone come out the very same day. The technician was very professional, he got to work testing every outlet and trying to find the root of the problem. Diagnostics ran into two days and when it became apparent that the situation was atypical and I began to worry about diagnostic fees reaching into the thousands, the owner of the company, Michael, came to personally inspect the job and assure me that this wasn't the norm and that he would absolutely work with me on the fee structure. And he held to that.
The techs narrowed down the problem area to the space in the wall where the electric cables enter my apartment through the floor and into the box in the wall. I authorized them to cut a small hole in the drywall so they could then cut and remove the pipe wherein the problem lay. The problem, as it turns out, was that termites had eaten their way into the wall, and built a mound within a four foot section of the pipe that houses the main electrical feed. Termite mounds are like concrete and it was so densely packed that it actually shut off my electricity.
Once it was diagnosed the repairs went quickly. Everyone on the job was incredibly polite, I felt safe leaving my apartment while they were there and it was as pleasant as this type of situation can be. So they ran all new lines underground and into my apartment, and suggested I upgrade to a breaker box from the old glass fuses. I agreed. Seems easy enough, right?
Once the new box was installed, we encountered even more problems. First of all, the place was built and wired in 1960. So there's that. Years ago we had recessed lighting installed and we never had any idea there was a problem with the electricity, except in hindsight I realize the fan in the kitchen never worked... when the new breaker box was installed the electricity in my entire apartment went absolutely haywire. Lights were on extra bright, some lights were on extra dim and different lights would flicker when you'd turn on any given lightswitch. Some of them I couldn't turn off. And the fan in the kitchen suddenly worked again. Another atypical situation that really required expertise. So it was something like the ground wire had been used inappropriately but again, they had to diagnose some weird uncommon problems and they did it extremely well. Once identified, the problem was easily corrected and electricity was fully restored to my apartment.
Overall, I can't praise this company enough. Michael is incredibly knowledgeable and incredibly pleasant to work with. He was more than willing to walk me through and explain every detail of the necessary work, and he was considerate enough to work with me on the diagnostic fees. I feel that I couldn't have made a better choice in service providers and that I will always return to Streamline Electric for any electrical-related issues. I truly feel that I found a trustworthy contractor in south Florida and if my experience can help another homeowner, I'm glad to share.
Rebecca in Hollywood read more