Your electrician in Aliso Viejo.

What I see in Aliso Viejo homes

Aliso Viejo is the youngest city I serve, and its homes are young too. The first houses went on sale in March 1982 and the first family moved in that November, as part of a master plan for 20,000 homes, and the city incorporated on July 1, 2001. Census figures in the city's housing data show more than half of its homes were built in the 1990s, about a quarter in the 1980s, and most of the rest in the 2000s.

It is also a city of attached homes. Only about a third of Aliso Viejo housing is single-family detached; roughly a quarter is attached townhomes and a little over a third is in buildings of five units or more. That shapes the electrical work more than the age does. In a condo or a townhome, part of the system belongs to you and part belongs to the association, and I find out where that line is before I start.

Most of the wiring here is modern and in reasonable shape, so what these homes usually need is not repair but additions: a Level 2 charger in an assigned garage, recessed lighting in a townhome living room, circuits for a home office, and replacing original builder fixtures that are now twenty-five to forty years old. From Glenwood by the country club to Westridge and the hillside homes above Wood Canyon, the detached houses also bring panel additions, outdoor lighting, and spa circuits.

Attached homes call for more care with the neighbors, too. Shared walls, shared attics, and shared electrical rooms mean I plan the route before I cut anything, keep noisy work to reasonable hours, and never shut off a breaker that is not yours. When a problem turns out to be on the association side, I tell you so and write down what I found for the manager.

Permits in Aliso Viejo

Aliso Viejo issues its own building permits through the city's Building & Safety department at City Hall, 12 Journey, Suite 100, which has its own Building Official. Permits can be applied for online through the city's Customer Self-Service portal, which also shows inspection records and project status. I pull the permit, schedule the inspection, and walk the inspector through the work. In a condo or townhome the association usually has to approve anything that touches common property, and a charger in a common-area garage falls under California's rules for associations. Aliso Viejo is split between two utilities at Alicia Parkway, with Southern California Edison on the west side and San Diego Gas & Electric on the east, and on a main service upgrade I coordinate the disconnect and reconnect with whichever one serves your address.