An electrician who really knows his trade, he fixed a chandelier and its switch in no time.

I have worked with Walter twice now -- once to diagnose and repair the problem when an area of my house lost power, another time for a hardwired appliance replacement. He was a pleasure to work with on both occasions: responsive, efficient, and answered all of my endless questions! I think that his pricing is quite reasonable, and I have confidence in his work. read more

Walter helped me with several electrical maintenance issues in a condo I moved into 3 yrs ago now. He was able to quickly diagnose and address an intermittent electrical problem with a wall heater that amounted to an inexpensive fix by thoroughly cleaning the layer of oily dust that apparently caused it to overheat. The problem had previously gone unaddressed and baffled the unit's owner and occupants for years... instead of costly replacement, with expert analysis. He was prompt, efficient, professional, and went to extra lengths to save me money by including a search for an older ceiling fan replacement along with his other shopping needs for other parts. read more

Walter came to our house for an estimate. We needed to have the circuits reconfigured because too many appliances were on one circuit which caused it to overload and trip, causing many outlets in the house to fail including the furnace. We had just moved in and it had been a cold winter. We previously had other electicians take a look and give us free estimates and learned that many of the circuits were not wired properly and not up to code. We agreed to pay Walter $120 for the estimate (which would be deducted from the bill if we selected him to do the job). When he came, he had unplugged everything on that circuit and turned the circuit back on and the furnace turned back on. Then, he did something unsual... He cut the circuit and said "If you pay me $500", I'll put it on it's own circuit and get it back running." Hmmm. A strange on the spot proposition. But we didn't think anything of it. We later find out that he cut other circuits in the house (ones that actually worked) and now we were inconvenienced, because we had less working outlets in the house. Why cut stuff when they are working? Why cut anything at all when you're assigned to provide an estimate, when you can just turn the power off at the fuze box. We opted for another electrician who provided a lower estimate for the overall job (not just putting the furnace on it's own circuit). The other electrician got the job done and wired correctly but the furnace was still not working. He said there must be something wrong with the furnace. But the furnace was just working before, so we knew there was nothing wrong with the furnace. When we called Walter, he offered to fix it for more money. We called PG&E to see what the problem was before shelling out more money. PG&E came the following week to check out the situation and discovered that the wires in the furnace to the thermostat had been disconnected. And for Walter to have full knowledge of the problem (since he caused it) and for him to offer to fix it for more money was unethical. He shouldn't have tampered with the furnace to begin with. What a scam artist. Don't use this guy. read more

Walter is an excellent electrician and you will not find a better work ethic in anyone in the Bay Area! He came the day after we called for home improvement electrical work. He installed outdoor plugs and switches in a way that simplified our lives and eliminated formerly complicated connections. In addition he did work inside our house and, at the last minute, accommodated our request for an additional phone jack. He did all of this work around other contractors working at the same time without any problem. He is incredibly focused and knowledgeable. We hired him over another contractor with a lower estimate because he had superior solutions. Funny thing, when it came time to settle the bill, Walter came in way below his estimate. Does it get any better than this? We highly recommend him and will hire him again when we're ready to make some other changes. 11-16-10 Hired Walter again to install our new dryer...which required all new wiring because the last guy was, apparently, an idiot. So, as usual, Walter arrived, expertly evaluated the situation and got to work. Had everything he needed in his truck, too. Geez, we love this guy! read more

Walter is pleasant, informative and high skilled. He arrives when he says he'll arrive. He is responsive to your questions and stated electrical needs. Walter installed 3 prong sockets, drilled sconces to add manual switches, and repaired fixtures. read more

Thank you to Walter for helping to fix a ceiling light in my condo building. He was very pleasant, knew exactly what he needed to assess the problem, and had the fixture working promptly. If it wasn't for the part that needed to be ordered, it would have been fixed quicker. And the price wasn't so bad either. I will definitely be calling again should the need arise. read more

Called Walter on Sunday afternoon and came on Monday Am Fixed our problem within 20 Minutes and at a very reasonable rate Can not be more pleased with the quality, speed and reasonble Charges He is the Best read more

I concur, Walter is amazing! We called on Tuesday night and left a message with 3 electricians about 1/2 the power going out in our house. Each had a different take, 2 tried to prescribe a solution without coming to check the panel. They were off. Walter called at 8:30am, was available that same afternoon and within 10 minutes of looking at the problem, found the source of the issue and repaired it for about a very reasonable price. Honest, professional and great disposition. 2 Thumbs up read more

I really enjoyed working w/ Walter. He is honest, highly professional, and he prices his excellent services VERY competitively. His was my second bid estimate. The first was 3 times higher that included work that wasn't necessary! Last week (7/27/10) he fixed and replaced my aging (30 years) broken electical panel on my home. I probably should give him 5 stars but I think he could have handled PG&E a little better. PG&E was a major pain in the behind and it wasn't Walter's fault that PG&E couldn't commit to a electrical disconnect/reconnect date. I was also VERY impressed w/ how Walter handled the Oakland city inspector and the entire permitting process. Thanks to Walter and his quality work, it went very quickly, smoothly, and uneventful. I will be calling Walter Liebe the next time I need electical help/service on my home in the Oakland Hills. THANKS WALTER! read more

Track lights wouldn't operate in the kitchen. Walter came out the same day as the call, found the short & repaired. Also willing to look at other problem with deck lights even though he had other calls. Promptly found & repaired that problem also. Price quite reasonable I thought. I will definitely make Walter my first call again. read more

I hired Walter for multiple locations: complete house rewiring, outlet issues, new wire in basements incl installing new outlets. He and his colleague performed the jobs without any problems. He is knowledgeable and will let you know what works and what won't work. He is reliable, on time, and easy-going. read more

DO NOT use Walter Liebe!!! We bought a house that was in need of rewiring. We read glowing reviews about Walter on Berkeley Parents Network, and here as well. And we called all the references he provided us. We were so excited to have him work on our house. Much to my regret, we agreed on a scope of work and a start date with Walter about a month ago. Walter was adamant that the knob and tube in our attic needed to come out, and we trusted him, so we went ahead and committed the $3500 to get the insulation out so that they would have a clean attic to work with (per his requirement). Also, per his guidance, we also spent $150 getting the proper permits for the scope of work in rewiring the house. One FULL month later (2 WORKING DAYS before our agreed start date), Walter emails us to tell us that he's running behind on another job, and told us he needed to leave town, and asked us if it was ok to push our job back for almost 2 months. We emailed him back, explaining our situation, and how he had committed us to tons of work and money to prep for him, and that pushing our job back by almost 2 months would not work for us, and asking him to help us come up with some other solution. No response. I am literally writing this review the friday before our job is supposed to start with him. Long story short: it seems like some people might have had good experiences with him. But clearly, Walter is inconsistent with who he keeps his commitments with. When we agreed on the job start date and scope, he said to us "I don't do a contract, as I trust my clients and they trust me." I rue the day that I believed him. Walter: if you read this, we are incredibly disappointed. And you committed us to thousands of dollars of insulation removal (and reinstallation) just to prep for your job. Use Walter if you feel lucky. Because, clearly, it's a total hit or miss on whether he'll honor his agreements with his clients. read more

He did fix the issue but left the job incomplete. He promised to return more than once and now more than a year later I've given up in him finishing. He also was very expensive, charging for an apprentice who spent all but five minutes just hanging around talking. read more

I spoke with Walter last week and made arrangements to have him come to my house today at 10 am to work on some minor electrical problems at my house. It's 11:45 am and he hasn't shown up. No call from him. Since 10 am, I have called him (twice) and left a voicemail, and sent him an email through his website, and I haven't received any response to those communications. I have taken the day off of work so I can deal with my electrical issue, and Walter has totally flaked on me. I don't want to take another day off of work, so I just called Roberts Electric and they are sending somebody out to my house this afternoon. Next time, I will make sure to call Roberts Electric instead of Walter. read more

He is friendly, and professional. Yet, he didn't fix my problem, and when I emailed him about the total post-work failure, he later emailed me that he had been out of town, and wanted to know what he could do. My sense is that he is not really up for complex or high level work. Perhaps not, maybe I caught him on a bad day, or he is very busy. I raised him to three stars because he actually did email me back, and was willing to come back. But I had already resolved the issue. In any event, I found a contractor who had a solution for the tricky issue within 1 hour at half the price so I would not call walter back as much as I liked him personally. I'm sure he can do straight forward things well, and it may be that the job was a bit over his head or more than he wanted to do given his busy schedule. I scanned the electrical issues on Yelp, and almost all of them are basic things which is great, but not what I needed. read more

Walter is great. Nice guy, fixed our problem fast, very reasonable rates. Can't recommend him highly enough.

I called three electricians last night. It's now the next day and Walter's already come and gone. He'll also be back to do more work. The other two electricians haven't even gotten back to me yet. Walter is great and I'm happy I found him. read more

I hired walter to add ceiling lights in two rooms and install some fixtures as well. They showed up on time and completed the multiple jobs quickly and professionally. friendly and helpful. No complaints. read more

Walter is such a gem! I had light fixtures that suddenly stopped working for no apparent reason. He got me into his schedule right away. When he arrived at my home he was respectful, efficient, and fixed my issue in no time! His rates are totally reasonable. Walter is an absolute delight to work with! read more

The model of German efficiency, and a nice guy besides. His free estimate quickly turned into a paying gig once I realized just how comprehensive his knowledge was. He worked fast and rounded down (!) when we calculated his total time spent on the job. You can be sure I'll hire him again for bigger projects. read more

Walter is very knowledgeable, honest, friendly and a great electrician. We have had him at our house on several occasions and he did a great job, was able to diagnosis, repair and figure out complex issues. He is very fit and was able to hop around in the ceiling and install fixtures. I feel very comfortable working with him and he also gives you an education and I would not mind if he stayed for tea as I enjoy his visits. He is engaged and cares about things being done right, but is not out to rip you off. I had an issue with a new stove, I had a electrician come in and give me a $1,300 estimate and said it was the only way for my stove to work and would take several weeks. I wanted a second opinion so I called Walter and he fixed it on the spot for $250. He said the other guys quote was crazy and involved unnecessary work. read more

Walter is amazing. He had time for me on the same day that I called and he did miraculous work. The outdoor lights on my stairs leading to the house hadn't worked for at least 2 years. He found all the places the wires had been cut or shredded and fixed it all. He worked quickly yet diligently, this guy is no slacker. He bills by the hour but this is the kind of person that works hard from the get go and isn't wasting a single penny. after seeing his work ethic and effectiveness, I asked him to look at a wiring problem I had in the house. I had 4 locations where mutliple switches ran to the same lights but they didn't work correctly. you had to have the switches in just the right combination of patterns to make the lights go on and off. One by one he fixed them so that no matter what switch i use, the lights go on and off as intended. this is going to change my life as it is soooo irritating for the switches not to work. A handyman had previously looked at it and gave me the "oh, this is going to be tough" speech so I didn't have him do it. For walter? Not a problem. all fixed and in record time. Walter was efficient and effective and worth every penny i paid him and his rates are quite reasonable given how much he can do. Walter is my new electrician for life. read more

At the last minute, it was decided I needed an electrical outlet. I already had the painter and movers lined up but would have to cancel or delay this if I didn't get an electrician in fast. As usual, Walter showed up as soon as he could, and did it right there. What a life saver!! He does professional work so I never question his costs. I have paid less and ended up paying more to correct the shoddy work. Thanks to Walter, the painter came on time and the project will be completed as planned. read more

Outlets were not working in 3 rooms. Walter found and fixed the problem in about an hour. He also found some lose wiring that made the lights flicker in another room. Great service, he hustles and works very efficiently. Would definitely call again. read more

I have had Walter over several times for different projects. he is always on time, easy to talk to and has several solutions to go with the situation. He is dedicated and does not waste any time! I would hire him again. read more

Very unreliable. He showed up about an hour late for our initial meeting and did not call to tell me he was running late. With that said, he seemed professional and competent so I booked him for an appointment to perform the work 2 months in advance (deferred timing due to his "busy schedule"). Less than 24 hours before the meeting was scheduled, he cancelled on me. Will not respond to calls to try to work towards a solution and finally wrote an email essentially saying that he has other jobs that are more important than mine and he would likely need to cancel again so I should just find somebody else for the job. I will do this, but please understand that we are all busy, not just you Mr. Liebe. If you do not want to do a job, you have every right to make that decision. However, I recommend you show your potential clients the respect of telling them upfront, not after they've waited months for a job to be initiated and completed. read more

The outlets and lights went out in the bedroom. Shutting off and then on again switches in the box didn't work. Consulted Yelp and found the man of the hour among the collection of reviewed electricians. Walter Liebe stood out Seven 5 star reviews proclaimed his well deserved popularity. He arrived within the hour of my call. He found a short caused by an outdoor outlet that literally had a melt down. The melted outlet still had the odor of smoldering wires. Walter replaced the outlet with a handsome expensive looking new one that he had with him. We thanked him profusely for saving us from a disastrous situation. Very efficient without wasting any time, his charge well worth it. read more

I just hired Walter to fix a bothersome smoke alarm and in the span of 2 hours he fixed all 7 things on my electrical "to do" list. Besides fixing everything (even going to the store to get what I needed), he explained many of the problems and made me much less worried. I can't believe how lucky I am to have discovered such a smart, honest, hard-working electrician. I just added more things to my list and I am definitely calling Walter to fix everything! read more

I liked Walter and trusted him. That was a mistake. He gave me a verbal estimate of $10K to rewire my house. He was inconsistent with his work schedule, took a trip to Europe and did other jobs during the scope of my work. Instead of cutting out around the outlets and switches, he hammered holes in the wall which required lots of work to repair. The outlets were not flush with the wall and required quite a bit of adjusting to fix. Two years later I have had to have electricians come twice to repair ceiling fixtures and switches that malfunctioned including one that smelled like it was burning in the ceiling. So finally the electrical work was done and the cost for the $10K job was $19,000 !!!! He said that there were changes. Yes, we had to relocate some of the bathroom outlets( before the sheetrock), add an outlet in the hallway and a few very minor changes. No way that equaled $9000. Before my job was finished, I referred Walter to some friends who were also very unhappy with his services. Apologies. I regret using Walter and would definitely not recommend him. read more

Walter has come out and saved the day twice for me already. The first time, he fixed something that a handyman had broken - and gave me a complete tutorial on my house's electrical system, really useful. Today he came by on short notice and again fixed the problem - it was an old vacuum cleaner, not the outlet - and gave me a quick fix for it (new vacuum cleaner!). Fantastic. read more

Walter is a rip off. Doubled his verbal quote without notice or documentation. Threatened to sue me if I didn't pay up. I wish I had gone ahead and taken him to court instead of paying an extra $10K !! This was a straight forward job for full electrical upgrade with only a four or five minor changes (add outlet, move switch). I'd give a negative rating if there was one. read more

Walter fixed a large amount of dangerous wiring in our house. It was a tough job, and he was extremely pleasant and easy to work with. Yes, he was on the expensive side, and he was not interested in giving a fixed quote when he didn't know what the job was going to take. But he was very clear about this, reluctantly gave us a verbal estimate when I pushed for it, but also made very clear that the job was uncertain and it might take more time than expected. It ended up taking quite a bit more because of the sloppy wiring (some of it charred!) that he found in the course of the job. Made me feel like it was well worth it to have the job done right. read more

After cursing the name of ATT for not activating our phone line, we dubiously realized that we bought a house without phone wiring (!!) We called Walter and he was able to schedule an appointment with us within the next two days. His rates are about 25% less than another electrician I called (who was booked for the next two weeks. Yikes, we needed DSL!) and he was super professional and accommodating. We were psyched that he was able to come after work (7pm) and didn't charge us extra. He did the job quickly and efficiently and we were very happy that we called him. We still donn't have DSL due to an ATT problem so we have gone back to cursing their name... At least Walter got us one step closer. We'll figure out the DSL tonight... read more

Walter only did a small project for me, but he was able to squeeze me into his schedule with short notice, and was great at communicating via email and over the phone. He ended up showing up right on time, and was able to finish the project really quickly. I would definitely utilize his services in the future. read more

Walter installed a monoral lighting system at my condo and did a great job. After that initial project, I hired Walter for a bigger project around the house (install a new ceiling light fixture and mini-chandelier in one room, install recessed lighting in another, install an eyeball ligth with dimmer for some art work, and install motion detector lights on the exterior of the houseI). The results were great and I thought Walter's rates were reasonable and he wastes zero time. He is efficient and is concisous of taking care of your place while he's working. If you got any electrical issues, you won't go wrong using him. read more

Lights in several of my rooms blew at once and I feared that my old wiring would need to be replaced. Walter immediately sorted out the problem withiin minutes with minimal fuss and cost. Very reasonable and I would highly recommend him. read more

We called Walter to do some work for us right after we moved in to our house and he did a great job on everything: set up cable wires (much cleaner than the messy jobs that Comcast do!), put in some 3 prong outlets, updated some of the wires on our fuse box, etc. Walter was super friendly, worked at just the right pace and we were very happy with everything he did for us. His rates are reasonable and we will definitely call him again for any future electrical needs! read more

On 8/28/2010 I left a message on this guy's voicemail, saying that I wanted to schedule an estimate for adding a couple of circuits to my home. As of 9/13/10, there has been no return call. Poor business practices. read more