When the furnace will not come on, find out whether power is reaching it
The furnace sat all summer and now it stays silent. Where its power stops tells you which trade the job belongs to.
Electrical help for Lockport homeowners
Short, straight answers to the questions that come in on the phone, written for the houses here. When the answer is "call someone", the page says so and says who.
Need the work done rather than explained? The money pages: an electrician in Lockport for the head of the line, electrical panel upgrades, EV charger installation, standby generators, home electrical repair, the emergency electrician page, house rewiring and small electrical jobs. Or call (815) 524-0195.
Putting a ceiling fan where the light is now starts with what is above the ceiling
A light box holds a few pounds of glass. A fan needs a brace, and what is above the ceiling decides how it goes in.
The power went out and the standby generator did not take over. Where did it stop?
Engine running and the house still dark? The fault is usually past the engine, in the transfer switch and its wiring.
How far is your panel from where the car parks? That sets the charger job
Panel in the basement, car in the garage on the far side of the house? The path between them sets the day and the price.
Lights flickering in the house? How far it reaches tells you what it is
One lamp, one room or every light at once. How far the flicker reaches says where in the house the trouble sits.
A storm pulled the line off the house. Why is the power still off?
ComEd fixes its own line. A bent mast or a meter socket torn off your wall has to be repaired before the lights come on.
What to wire to the floor above while the basement ceiling is open
Once the basement drywall goes up, a new kitchen or bedroom circuit is a harder job. Decide what runs upstairs first.
What it takes to move an old Lockport house off fuses
Swapping the fuse box is the easy part. The old mast outside and the circuits behind it are what set the price.
Which backup keeps a Lockport basement dry when the power stays off?
A sump battery covers a short outage. A finished basement on a long one needs a backup that starts without you.
Do I need a permit for electrical work in Lockport?
Which electrical jobs need a permit from the City of Lockport, which ones do not, what the Building Department wants from a contractor, and what a homeowner can do on their own house.
Electrician or handyman? Which small jobs need which
A Lockport homeowner's sorting list for fans, fixtures, outlets and switches: what a careful handyman can do, what should go to a licensed electrician, and how the price compares.
Do you need a panel upgrade for an EV charger?
How an electrician decides whether a Lockport house can take a Level 2 charger on its existing panel, the load math in plain terms, and the three outcomes when the panel is full.
Why does my breaker keep tripping?
The three reasons a breaker trips over and over in a Lockport house, how to tell which one you have from the kitchen, and the point where it stops being a reset-and-forget.
Ask the electrician instead
If the page did not settle it, send the question. A licensed Lockport electrician calls back.
Prefer the phone? (815) 524-0195. Say what tripped, what you want added, or what the inspector wrote up.