The Electric Connection’s Blog

Creative Basement Remodels with Glendale Electrician

electriccon_09_4You can look at your house and think of it as a piece of clay to be molded into image and design you want. Owning a home gives you the luxury of creating the perfect living space for your family by remodeling, upgrading or even adding on as allowed by your city building codes. Many older homes are equipped with basements. Those basements are often ignored and overlooked as viable living spaces. Instead, they are filled with the overflow and not given any kind of attention. You can change that with the help of an electrician. Glendale homeowners who want to add living space without knocking out walls can use their basements. The Electric Connection has a team ready to help you light up your basement and make it warm and inviting.

You will want to hire a general contractor to help you come up with building plans that will transform the basement into living space. There are plenty of options depending on how big the basement is. You may be able to create a hobby room, den, office or just a nice space to relax and watch the game. One of the most important elements of a basement is the lighting explains a Glendale electrician. The windows tend to be a bit smaller and don’t always get a great deal of natural light. You need to compensate by having plenty of lighting installed.

Basements are notoriously dark and dingy. The ceilings tend to be lower in a basement than in the upper levels of the home. You need to get creative with your lighting. One way to get maximum light without losing any head space is to have an electrician in Glendale install can lights or what is known as recessed lighting. You will love the brightness and the overall transformation of your new space. Give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your basement lighting transformation.

Electric Outlet Warning Signs by Burbank Electrician

electriccon_09_3Outlets are seemingly innocuous parts of any home. They blend right into the walls and we hardly even know they are there. We often hide them with furniture or décor and never give them a second thought until we need to plug something in or unplug a device. It isn’t like we give them daily inspections or even monthly evaluations. Why would we? They do nothing. Or do they? Those outlets are not always as innocent as they may look. Sometimes, they are extremely dangerous and when you hide them, they can get away with a lot and you won’t know until it is too late. An electrician in Burbank wants you to be wary of those outlets and pay attention to any warn signs that indicate something may not be right. The team at The Electric Connection can give you more detailed information if you need it.

Burning wires have a very distinct, acrid smell. If you ever smell something a little off in the home and it seems like it is coming from a wall, you probably have a serious fire hazard explains a Burbank electrician. Plugging in and unplugging cords over and over puts stress on the tiny wires that give the outlet electricity. They can become loose. They touch each other or the insulation and slowly burn. This is how home fires are started. Other obvious signs of trouble are;
*Black streaks up the wall or around the outlet
*Blackness around where things are plugged in
*Outlet doesn’t work or only works at times
*Sizzling or crackling noise coming from the outlet
*An electrical shock when things are plugged in
*The outlet feels hot or the wall around the outlet feels hot

Don’t ignore your outlets says an electrician. Burbank homeowners need to call The Electric Connection right away if they suspect there is any trouble.

Dramatic Lighting Changes with Los Angeles Electrician

electriccon_09_1Walking into the same house you have lived in for years may bring mixed emotions. It is a place of comfort and safety. You love coming home, but maybe you walk through the door and see all the things you would like to change in the home. Maybe you dream of a more modern look or a classical style that is more in line with your personal tastes. Big home remodels and renovations can get expensive and they can take some time. If you are looking for a quick fix that will give your home a new look and feel, you need to call an electrician in Los Angeles. The team at The Electric Connection can help you get the new look you have been dreaming about, but haven’t been able to do just yet.

Believe it or not, enhancing your home can be fairly easy and take less than a couple of hours to do. Dramatic lighting changes can completely change the way a room looks. Adding track lighting with LEDs to a kitchen and getting rid of that boring old fixture is a breeze with a Los Angeles electrician on board. You shouldn’t try to do it yourself. Electricity isn’t something an inexperienced person should ever mess with.

A dark space tends to look smaller and more boxy. You can open up your kitchen, bedroom or living room with the right lighting. Taking it into the ceiling with recessed lights is also an option explains an electrician. Los Angeles homeowners that want to give their old look a face lift can do so with the easy job of changing out a light fixture. When you shop around for light fixtures, you will be amazed at how inexpensive a dramatic change can be. Give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your lighting upgrade.

Adding Dimmer Switches by California Electrician

electriccon_08_7Light switches are so common we rarely think twice about them. We walk into a room, flip the switch without looking and carry on. In the middle of the night or first thing in the morning, the light that comes on in an instant is a bit of a shock to eyes that have not quite adjusted. Lights are often a little too much for certain occasions and you are forced to choose between too much or too little. Or are you? Your California electrician has a better idea. The team at The Electric Connection can help you take control of the light in your life by installing a dimmer switch.

For a long time, dimmer switches were a common feature for chandeliers installed in the dining room area. This allows you to dictate just how much light you want to shed over the dinner table. Cheery breakfasts and lunches are best served with plenty of light. Evening meals that are meant to help you unwind or connect with your friends and loved ones over a delicious entree are best served with low light. It gives the space a more intimate feel.

You can have that same luxury of light control in every room in the house. There is some very minimal electrical wiring that will need to be done. It is a fairly easy switch to install a dimmer in place of your existing light switch. You can have one in the living room that allows you to turn down the lights while you are watching television. Another in the bathroom gives you the ability to have low light for those middle of the night visits instead of blinding light that wakes you up and interrupts a good night’s sleep. An electrician in southern California is ready to help. Just give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your dimmer switch installation.

Extension Cord Safety Tips by Santa Monica Electrician

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Using an extension cord now and again is pretty common around the house. You may need it to run some power tools in the shop or run some yard equipment. In the house, you may need to use an extension cord as a temporary fix to an increased need for an outlet in an area of the house that is currently without. Extension cords come in handy around the holidays when you need to plug in the various decorations you put out in the yard and around the house. While the extension cords are relatively safe, there are a few other things you need to know to ensure you are using them correctly. An electrician in Santa Monica has some safety tips for you. If you have any questions, you can call The Electric Connection.

1-An extension cord is a temporary fix. It isn’t meant to become a permanent outlet. If you need more outlets, call an electrician. Santa Monica homeowners can request to have additional outlets installed around the home, inside and out.

2-Do not run the cords across main pathways in or out of the house. Not only do they pose tripping hazards, but they will also wear down. An exposed wire is an electrocution or electric short and fire waiting to happen. Run the cords along a wall. If it must cross a pathway, use a cord protector to keep it from being directly stepped on.

3-Do not plug several extension cords in together to reach an area. Buy the right cord for your needs from the very start.

4-Your Santa Monica electrician reiterates the need to use outdoor extension cords for outdoor use. Don’t use a flat cord that is designed for indoor use in the outdoors. They are simply not built to withstand the elements and you risk an electric shock or the device shorting out and potentially starting a fire.

Extension cords are handy to have around in a pinch, but make sure you use them correctly and follow these safety tips. Give The Electric Connection a call if you would like a more permanent fix to your electrical needs.

Building Your First Home with a Glendale Electrician

electriccon_08_4First time home buyers are going to be extremely excited about the prospect of owning a home. It gives you the freedom to do as you wish with the interior and the satisfaction of actually owning something. It is the American dream and young people especially look forward to the day they get the keys to their first home. Sometimes, the dream is a little more difficult to achieve than many think. They start looking for a home only to discover their dream home is just not where they want it on the land they want it. For those home buyers, the best option would be to have a home built by a team of professionals. An electrician in Glendale will be an intricate part of the building process. You will want to have someone who is experienced and professional, like those at The Electric Connection.

There are plenty of financing options that allow home buyers to easily obtain the loan they need to build their own home on a piece of land or to buy in a new development. The process of having a home built is exciting. Every little detail is cleared through the new homeowner, including the Glendale electrician placing additional outlets in rooms where you think you will need them.

It is a good idea to sit down and meet with your contractors before the process ever begins. Talk about your wants and needs and set a high standard for the builders and your electrician. Glendale homeowners don’t have to settle or compromise. The work should only be completed by licensed and bonded professionals. This not only protects you, but it ensures the building process will go much smoother. Getting the county inspector out can be a huge feat. You want to make sure the work passes inspection the first time. If it doesn’t, your construction will be held up and it may take months longer than you anticipated to move into your new home. Stick with the professionals and give The Electric Connection a call if you are ready to get started on your new home construction.

Getting a Wiring Inspection by an Electrician in Beverly Hills

electriccon_08_2Home ownership comes with a great deal of responsibility. There is a lot of upkeep that goes into keeping a house operating as it should and of course, the cosmetic appearance of the home is also a lot of work. When you buy a house, you expect to have some repairs. Those repairs may be very minimal and more to make the house a little more functional or they can be much more extensive and costly. You may have bought a home that had electrical problems you weren’t aware of or maybe you have lived in the home for some time and have recently come to realize you have an electrical issue. If you suspect there is something not quite right with the electrical wiring in your house, you need to call a Beverly Hills electrician like those at The Electric Connection.

House fires caused by faulty wiring are far too common. They happen at any time of the day or night and can be absolutely devastating. Prevention is truly the only real way of fixing an electrical wiring hazard. It isn’t always easy to see a problem, especially if it is behind the walls and covered by insulation. This is why you need an electrician. Beverly Hills homeowners who have a sneaky suspicion there is an issue shouldn’t put it off. Call and have a wiring inspection right away. They are inexpensive and well worth the cost to find a problem and have it fixed before it becomes a huge problem that puts the lives of the family at risk.

You don’t have to wait to experience an electrical issue to have a wiring inspection. Give yourself peace of mind by have an electrician in Beverly Hills check things out. You will be informed of any potential issues. If it is all clear, you will sleep better at night knowing it is safe. Give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your electrical inspection.

Surge Protection a Must Says Los Angeles Electrician

electriccon_08_1The power goes off and on at random times and often when you least expect it. When it happens, it is a minor nuisance that requires you to reset clocks and turn back on whatever appliance you are using. You don’t typically think of that few seconds of the power going off and then going right back on as serious. It is. Those little power outages are killing the life of your appliances and damaging your sensitive electronics. Every time the power flickers or surges, anything that is plugged in is basically getting a jolt. An electrician in Los Angeles wants you to save your electronics and appliances by investing surge protection. The team at The Electric Connection can get your home protected in just a few short hours.

Every day, little surges of electricity are sent through the lines and into your home. You may hear your refrigerator compressor kick on when nobody has left the door open or your lights may get suddenly brighter or dim. These are all signs of a power surge explains an electrician. Los Angeles homeowners may notice these things happen if they run more than a couple appliances at a time or when something like the AC unit kicks on. The electricity is pulled from the other appliances and electronics to run the AC, which is a lot like cutting off the supply. This makes everything else, including the AC, work a little harder and not run quite as it should. This is what causes the damage.

The fix is to have a whole house surge protector installed at the electric panel by a Los Angeles electrician. This will control the electrical flow and prevent those surges from happening. If the power goes out and comes right back on, the surge protector will prevent any one appliance from getting a jolt of electricity that may fry the board. Give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your surge protection installation.

New Chandelier Installed by Pasadena Electrician

electriccon_july_5When you open the door to your home, you are instantly hit with a first impression—so are your visitors. If you are selling your home, that first impression starts outside, but walking through the front door is where you really have the chance to impress a potential buyer. Your home is your castle and you want it to look as nice as possible. It doesn’t have to be a mega mansion or a brand new home to be gorgeous. You can make your home look like a million dollars with some simple adjustments like paint, décor, flooring and lighting. One of the ways to really impress the second that front door is opened is with a chandelier in the foyer or entry way. This is something that can be handled by an electrician. Pasadena homeowners will be amazed at the difference an entryway chandelier changes the entire look of the home. At The Electric Connection, we can help you be proud of your home.

A chandelier gives a room a very elegant feel. Beautiful glass combined with light creates a beautiful sight. This is what you will see when you open that door every day. The chandelier can be accompanied with a dimmer switch installed by an electrician in Pasadena. It gives you the luxury of having full light on a dark night or just a little night light for when you get home after dark.

Chandeliers are not just for the entry way. They are beautiful pieces in a dining room or a sitting room as well. Their simple elegance is enough to be a main focal point in a room with very little other décor needed. You can choose to go big or go small. Your Pasadena electrician will take care of all of the installation for you, even if there isn’t an existing light in the room. Give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your chandelier installation.

Best Lighting for a Basement Remodel

electriccon_july_4Transforming a basement into livable space is a big deal. It requires a lot of planning, work and execution. If you have a basement, you have a lot of space down there that you could be using to entertain, as bedrooms or simply to add value to your home. When done correctly and up to code, your basement can count towards the total square footage of your home. Every additional square foot adds anywhere from $50 to $200 to your total value depending on where you live. An electrician in Glendale, like those at The Electric Connection, can help you get that remodel underway and up to code in no time.

Basements are generally already wired with electricity, but the lack of walls, ceiling and more than a cement floor are an issue. Once you add flooring and put in a ceiling, the ceiling height tends to be a bit smaller than the average. However, it is still functional and as long as it meets the building code, you can make it work. Now, basements tend to be dark, but you can change that with the installation of recessed lights by an electrician. Glendale homeowners will not have to worry about losing any head room with these lights because they are flush with the ceiling.

You can add several lights that will really brighten up the space. Whether you are transforming your basement into a den or the ultimate game room, you want to preserve as much ceiling space as possible while providing plenty of light. If you are dividing the area into separate rooms, your Glendale electrician can add the wiring needed for the outlets as well as the light switches needed to operate the lights in each space. A basement remodel is a fun project that is rewarding and will provide an excellent return on your investment. Give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your lighting installation.