I highly recommend Tides Electric and the great people who work for them. Chad Ashbaugh, the owner and lead electrician came recommended by another electric contracting company that had done great work at my neighbors house (who explained that he couldn't take on any job smaller than a full re-wire).
All we initially wanted was for him install 6 new outlets in a house with walls of lathe and plaster, but we also wanted him to inspect the condition of our current breaker panel and our knob & tube system and discuss upgrading it with safety in mind... looking for safe ideas that would be cheaper than a full rewire. We'd had reoccurring breakers tripping, and were concerned about overload issues in a 2700 sq.ft. house with a total of 15 electrical outlets (plus 2 we'd improvised by using adapters in overhead lighting fixtures) We also knew that the distribution of wires going to the panel were not equally balanced. After a thorough inspection, he gave us a few options, which we then researched before getting back to him. After our research, we added 2 additional jobs to the order.
They provided, upon request, an understandable estimate at a price that was reasonable AND ACCURATE, they did everything we asked at the price quoted.
OUR JOB: They removed the existing overhead service and replaced the panel with one that met our safety concerns [200 amp Siemens 30/40 and Milbank overhead meter system], and moved the meter to the corner of the house. They also ran service to a tool shed 50' from the house (and installed a 50 amp panel there), we dug the 3' deep trench to the building.
They installed: weatherproofed outdoor GFCI receptacles at the front and rear of our home, a 20 amp bathroom GFCI circuit, and installed 5 additional outlets in upstairs bedrooms & in the basement.
Our job involved a house that had original wiring (installed in 1908), but also had some do-it-yourself upgrades that had been done in the 70s & 90s. Chad was up front about what would be needed, how long it would take and spoke at a consumers' level when the work presented challenges. As with any job that involves anything beyond the simplest upgrades, there were things that didn't go as planned, which involved a couple delays (all but one small delay were due to the conundrum of waiting for openings in the City of Tacoma inspection schedule. Chad responded promptly to any questions/concerns, addressed each issue professionally and as prompt as possible. Texting worked better than phone calls.
Toward the end we had one cost issue about 2 add-on, 'change order' items, I presented our viewpoint, we talked it over, Chad asked for a short while to think on it, a day later he dropped in and we decided to split the cost, he refunded the amount. As we'd already paid him, he could have kept the money, but he was fair.
The final price included Permit & Disconnect/Reconnect Fees, the price was at least $10,000 less than the cheapest full rewire we'd heard about, and required NO opening of walls or major remodel (although, had our basement been finished that might not have been true). It's been almost 6 months since they finished the job, and we've had NO issues, and lots of praise for the job, the price, and the experience. Had I not been retired, it would have required someone to be at the house on 3 separate days, but with all they did...it was amazing. Being here allowed me to educate myself about one of the biggest safety issues in any home, both men shared information about what they were doing, and why. I'll give them an A+ on all facits.
Jeanie Peterson, Hilltop, Tacoma read more
