Q. Did anybody hire a residential electrician recently? If yes, how did you decide which electrician to trust to? I live in Seattle area and even simple local Google search return 250+ electrical contractors in the radius of 25 miles. This market is oversaturated here. How do I choose? What are the things I should consider before hiring an electrician? Thanks.

A. "Word of mouth" can be a good option. I have a good friend who is an electrician in the Seattle area. He may be too busy. If not I think you would be fortunate to be able to hire him. You can email me with/for more information. In hiring any contractor you can rely on reputation and how you relate to that particular contractor.

Q. I need an reliable electrician/handyman to partner with me in fixing up some of my properties I own throughout the Southwestern parts of Michigan. I would appreciate it, if someone could recommend one to me. Regard, Deb S.

A. Hi Deb, I'm personally a do-it-yourself kind of girl, but with electrical work I agree you should leave it up to the pros. A friend of mine was really pleased with the electrician who installed their new furnace. The electrician was pretty affordable considering what needed to be done, but you should give this company a try - at least get a free estimate from them. Check them out at this website: http://www.ace-electrician.info My friend also mentioned they have a 15% OFF coupon on the site as well. Cheers, Tina

Q. My husband and I want to install a 220V outlet in our utility room to run our dryer. I would like to know, how much it would typically cost to have an electrician install one?

A. How high is up ?? Should be less than $100 depending on how far from your electrical panel and how difficult to run the wire from the panel to the outlet. Also, cost will vary drastically depending on your geographical area. Check in the yellow pages and most residential contractors will give you a free estimate. If they won't then call someone else. Never just tell someone to do the job without settleing on a price first. To do otherwise is like giving them a blank check. Be sure the electrician is licensed and bonded. This is for your protection as well as his.

Q. Please help, and thank you

A. Industrial electrician is more machine focused, large tools, lasers, that kind of thing. A construction electrician is more of a focus on wiring, building and similar. The two fields over lap, someone experienced in one can do a lot in the other, at least the ones I've known.

Q. We are building a home in OREGON and the electrician that my boyfriend hired said he was licensed but NOT bonded and insured. Will we still be able to pass inspection?

A. Yes, some places do not require an electrician to be insured, in order to be licensed. A lot of places, actually. And I don't know of any that require an electrician to be bonded. Hmm. Aside from payment and performance bonds, I've never even insured an electrician, for bonds. And I've written A LOT of contractors. The inspection, it doesn't matter AT ALL if the electrician is licensed, they only want the work to be done right. The reason you need the electrician to be licensed, is to pull the permits for you. Now, don't get me wrong - I think it's DUMB to hire an electrician with no insurance. If he crosses wires wrong, and burns the house down, you're screwed.

Q. Hi, I live in the Los Angeles metro area; and I need to get an electric cooktop mounted to a granite countertop that I just had installed. (I was expected my contractor to mount it but they said they don't do it) What is the price I should expect to pay to get this done?

A. Is the correctly sized hole cut for it? Is there a suitable electrical hookup for in place for it? If so, this is a straightforward electrical job. Probably one hours work for a residential electrician. If there is no power run underneath for the cook top, this will be much more expensive to run a line and install the unit. Up to 5 hours for a normal house. And then there is likely a need for a drywall dude to fix the walls after the electrician is done with them.

Q. I need some electrical work done. It's pretty simple work like changing outlets to current standards. How do I find out if an electrician is licensed or if he has had any problems? I live in the state of Rhode Island. Is there anything else I should be looking for?

A. Sure, ask the electrician if he is licenced, id is he reputable one how many years has he been doing this work if they had complaints from customers how much they charge an hour how long it will take

Q. My first contractor flaked out and never gave me an estimate after I spent hours explaining to the plumber and electrician what I wanted done. Now I am trying to get the plumber and electrician's estimates and have them lined up to work on a specific date. "Professional courtesy" because the bid was under the flakey contractor has impeded the process. I want to save the "surcharge" my contractor would charge and just hire the plumber and electrician by myself. Why is this so hard? What is the secret code to get this done??!! I want to save myself the money, especially since the bids are already done and they know what I want/need done!

A. Yes of course you can! But if they are the general contractors sub contractors they might not feel right about doing it without the contractor. If this is the case, go through your local phone book or a home improvement book (they usually have them for free in the super markets) and find a LICENSED and INSURED plumber and electrician.