Clean Finish Electrical · Troubleshooting and repair
Electrical repair and troubleshooting in Orange County
Something stopped working and you want it found and fixed by someone who will not guess at your expense.
Texting is fastest. Brian usually answers within the hour during the day.
What it usually involves
Most calls are one of a few things: a dead outlet or a run of them, a breaker that keeps tripping, lights that flicker or half the house dark. The cause is often a loose neutral, a failed GFCI upstream, a worn breaker, or a connection that overheated. Sometimes it is on Edison's side of the meter, and then the job is knowing that quickly and getting Edison out.
Brian starts on the phone. Describe it, send a photo, and if it is something you can safely reset yourself he will walk you through it and not charge you. If it needs a visit, he brings the meters and the parts that fix nine out of ten of these the same day.
When another electrician or a home-warranty contractor has told you the fix is to cut open walls and run new wire, get a second opinion first. One customer was told her neutral was missing; the real problem was a loose, burned neutral in the main panel, found in thirty minutes.
A visit usually starts at the panel, not at the outlet that stopped working. Brian checks voltage at the breakers and the neutral bar first, because that is where a loose or overheated connection shows up fastest, and it tells him whether the fault is one circuit or something feeding several. From there he works the GFCI hunt: bathroom, garage, kitchen, and outdoor outlets are almost always wired in a chain off one GFCI, and a tripped one upstream can kill outlets in a completely different room with no obvious connection between them. If the panel and the GFCIs check out, he traces it outlet by outlet, testing each one along the circuit until the break shows itself, rather than guessing and replacing parts that were never the problem. Either way, you get a plain explanation of what was actually wrong, not just a part number, and the panel and any opened covers go back together clean before he leaves.
What it usually costs
Call or text for a quote. Every house is different.
Every house is different. Text a photo and Brian will give you a real number before he shows up.
Questions people ask about electrical repairs
Half my house has no power. Is that an emergency?
Usually not a fire risk, but call rather than wait. It is often one leg of the service, a main breaker, or a failed connection at the panel or the meter. If it is on Edison's side Brian will call them with you and get a work order in.
A breaker keeps tripping. Can I just replace it?
Please do not. A breaker that trips is usually doing its job. Something on that circuit is overloading it or shorting. Find the cause first; the breaker is rarely the cause.
Why are several outlets dead at once?
They are almost always downstream of one GFCI outlet or one bad connection. Check bathroom, garage, and outdoor GFCIs for a reset button first. If that does not do it, the connection needs to be found.
Do you charge to come look?
Yes. Every visit is a charge, including a diagnostic visit. What is free is a quick phone answer when the fix is something you can safely do yourself.
Do you work weekends?
Yes. Text or call and you will get an answer. Weekend calls that cannot wait get handled.
Can you fix it the same day?
Most of the time, yes. The majority of these calls turn out to be a single loose connection, a worn breaker, or a failed GFCI, and Brian carries the parts that cover most of them. If it turns out to be bigger, like a service issue on Edison's side, he will tell you that up front instead of stretching out a visit.
Request a quote
Tell Brian what is going on.
Fastest: text a photo to (949) 357-6448. The form below works too, but allow 24 to 48 hours for a reply.
Texting is fastest. Brian usually answers within the hour during the day.