If your home needs improvements, it’s certainly understandable why you’d want to go the DIY route. Doing your own work can often save a lot of money, plus it’s fun and satisfying for many people.  However, it’s important to know what jobs are good candidates for a DIY project – and which are not.

Just about any electrical service work is in the latter category.  Working on your wiring or major appliances requires significant skills and training, and there is a lot that could go wrong, even disastrously wrong, without that training.  

4 Reasons to Leave Electrical Service Work to The Pros

1. Electrocution

The amount of power flowing into a home is no joke.  It can be extremely dangerous.  Standard 110V outlets in the US won’t usually kill you if you take a jolt, but they can still do a lot of harm.  In addition, many appliances and electrical junctions in your house can be at 240V or above, and at that voltage a shock could put you in the hospital.  Or worse.

2. Crossed wires

Probably the most common way we see DIYers mess up their home’s electrical system is by crossing the wrong wires, or mis-wiring appliances.  Depending on the situation, this could cause the appliance to take too little or too much power, or even cause dangerous blow-outs.  Again, a person needs significant training to know how to properly wire these items!

3. Fire hazards

Another major risk from poorly done electrical work is the risk of fire.  Crossed wires or poor connections create heat buildup that can easily ignite nearby flammable objects.  Wire shorts creating sparks or arcs can also cause an ignition.  In fact, wiring problems are the third most common cause of home fires in the US, responsible for over 50,000 fires every year.

Hiring a pro reduces that risk significantly.

4. Inspection problems

Even if you complete a wiring solution that works without frying anything, it might not be up to code.  This may not be a problem immediately, but it very well could be the next time you want to either A) make a major addition to your property, or B) sell your home.  At that time, it will probably need to be inspected and any problematic wiring will be found and you could be looking at a major loss.

Let RD Matthews Electrical Help

In short, there’s no good reason to risk doing your own electrical service work. Instead, contact the team at RD Matthews Electrical for safe, effective electrical contracting in Virginia.

• Electrical Service in Virginia