The Perils of Do-It-Yourself Electrical Work

You’re an enthusiastic do-it-yourselfer, a capable YouTube-er, and an all-around handy person...so why should you hire a professional for electrical work? It’ll be easy, right?

Wrong. Electricity can be dangerous! In the hands of the wrong person, it frequently causes burns, building code violations, electrocution, and even house fires. It can also lead to frustration, followed by your partner's laughter, and another annoying unfinished home improvement project. (Did you know the average home has nine unfinished DIY projects at any one time? Ugh!)

There was lots of frustration and laughter at my house when my husband attempted to install a ceiling fixture, wall switch, and outlet on our porch. It was going well until we flipped the switch to turn on the light and nothing happened. An hour later, the light still wasn’t working, and the colorful language began.

We plugged the drill into the outlet so we could use it to take down the light and examine it. That’s when we noticed that the light did work – every time we pulled the trigger on the drill. Interesting! We had a good laugh and went back into problem-solving mode.

Fast forward to much later in the day (after a lot more colorful language) when we finally gave up and called an electrician. He came out early the following week and got the light working within a few minutes.

Lesson learned: Hiring a professional saves precious time, not to mention your sanity and, sometimes, even your relationship. It’s also much safer and eliminates the stress caused by yet another half-done project. 

Don’t let electrical issues pile up in your home. The experts at Grand Bay Electric are ready to tackle them and give you back your time.