Electric Services Home LLC

Electrician · Chicago, IL

Chicago electrical work, done in conduit and done once.

We are an electrician in Chicago for homes, two-flats and small storefronts: panel and 200 amp service upgrades, rewiring in metal conduit, EV charger circuits and repair. Every quote is written in the materials Chicago code demands, so the number on paper is the number that passes inspection.

Call 312-284-7542 Request a site visit
  • Written scope before work
  • EMT conduit, not plastic cable
  • Openings patched paint-ready
  • Permit filed by us
Electric Services Home work van parked at the curb outside a Chicago job, loaded with wire and conduit
Opened wall during electrical rough-in, new metal boxes and conduit set between the studs

On site · Chicago 60618

Van at the curb, wall open for rough-in. 12 AWG going onto a 20A circuit.

Six kinds of job

What we wire, and how each one gets priced.

No price list. Each line below says what the number depends on, because a panel in a 1912 two-flat and a panel in a 1990s rehab are not the same job.

  1. 01 Panel and service upgrades 100A to 200A service, a new panel with breakers actually listed for it, and the utility meter appointment booked by us. The usual 200 amp service upgrade in Chicago is one working day with the power off. Basis: fixed written quote after a site visit
  2. 02 Rewiring in EMT conduit Conduit rewiring in Chicago: knob and tube and ungrounded two-wire circuits replaced in metal raceway, as the city requires. We open the plaster, we close it again. Basis: fixed quote per floor after a walk-through
  3. 03 Level 2 EV charger circuits A dedicated 240V circuit, usually on a 40A or 50A breaker. Load calculation first, so you know whether your service can carry the car before you buy the charger. Basis: range from a panel photo and run length, confirmed on site
  4. 04 Lighting and devices Recessed lighting installation in Chicago kitchens and living rooms, fixtures, GFCI and AFCI protection, and dedicated 20A kitchen circuits pulled on 12 AWG copper. Basis: per fixture and per device, itemized on the written quote
  5. 05 Troubleshooting and repair The breaker keeps tripping, a circuit went dead, an outlet runs warm, the lights flicker when the AC kicks on. Traced to the cause, not reset and left. Basis: diagnostic visit first, repair quoted before any work
  6. 06 Small commercial build-outs Commercial electrician work in Chicago storefronts and offices: lighting, receptacle layouts, dedicated equipment circuits and exit lighting tie-ins for tenants who need to open on a date. Basis: quoted from drawings or a walk-through

Prices are never printed here as figures. The written quote after a visit is the only number we stand behind, and it does not move unless the scope does.

Scope, materials and lead times for each

From first call to sign-off

How a job runs.

Seven steps. The middle ones take a day or two. The first and last depend on the City and the utility, and we tell you which is which.

Drag, scroll or use the arrow keys

  1. 01

    You call or send the panel photo

    Tell us what it feeds and what is wrong. Send a photo of the panel label: brand, amperage, and how many open slots. That is enough for a range on most jobs.

    Same or next working day

  2. 02

    Site visit with the cover off

    We look at the service drop, the meter, the panel interior and the basement runs. Dead-front comes off. Double-taps, aluminum branch wiring and wrong-brand breakers show up here or nowhere.

    About an hour on site

  3. 03

    Written scope and fixed quote

    Every circuit, every device, the conduit size and the wire gauge, the permit, the patch-back. One number. If something is not on the paper, we are not doing it and we are not charging for it.

    Usually within two working days

  4. 04

    Permit pulled, utility booked

    We file the electrical permit with the City and, on service work, book the meter disconnect and reconnect with the utility. You do not chase anyone.

    Depends on the City and ComEd queue

  5. 05

    Rough-in, in metal

    EMT bent and strapped, boxes set, conductors pulled. Drop cloths down before the first hole. Power off only as long as the work needs it, and you know the window in advance.

    One to several days by scope

  6. 06

    Devices, labels, patch-back

    Breakers landed and torqued, panel directory written by hand and legible, devices trimmed out. Every opening we cut is patched and sanded to paint-ready. You paint.

    Last day on site

  7. 07

    Inspection and sign-off

    We meet the City inspector. If anything gets written up on our work, we fix it at our cost and rebook. You get the closed permit for your records and your sale file.

    When the inspector's slot comes up

01 / 07

Method, not adjectives

Chicago wants metal around the wire. We price it that way.

Chicago electrical code calls for conduit, EMT or armoured cable, on nearly all building wiring. Most of the country runs plastic-sheathed cable instead. That is where the trouble starts: a crew from outside the city quotes in plastic, the job fails, and the quote grows at inspection. Ours does not, because conduit is in it from the first walk-through.

A 100 amp panel feeding a kitchen, a dryer and an EV charger is not a panel. It is a fuse waiting for August.

  1. EMT

    Conduit-first quoting

    Half-inch and three-quarter EMT for branch runs, set-screw fittings, metal boxes. We bend it on site and strap it inside the stud bay. The quote names the raceway, so you can compare it line for line against anyone else's.

  2. 100A → 200A

    Load before hardware

    Before we put a charger, a range or a heat pump on your panel, we run the load calculation. Plenty of older Chicago houses still sit on 100A. Sometimes it carries the new load. Sometimes the honest answer is a service upgrade, and we say so before you spend money on the appliance.

  3. 240V / 40A

    EV circuits sized to the charger

    A typical Level 2 charger wants a dedicated 240V circuit on a 40A breaker, some on 50A. Wire gauge and breaker follow the charger's listing, not a rule of thumb.

  4. 12 AWG / 20A

    The right copper on the right breaker

    Kitchen counter circuits run on 20A breakers, so they get 12 AWG. We still open panels where someone hung 14 AWG on a 20A breaker. That wire is the weak link, and it gets warm before the breaker ever notices.

  5. Photo

    A range from the panel label

    Send us a photo of the panel label with the cover on. Brand, amperage, open slots. We come back with a range. A visit turns that into a fixed number.

  6. Failed?

    The inspection failures we fix most

    Electrical inspection failed in Chicago, closing on hold: we get that call a lot. The usual causes are a panel swapped with the wrong breaker brand in the bus, double-tapped neutrals under one screw, and plastic cable run where conduit was required. We correct it, rebook the inspector, and hand over the closed permit.

Who we are not for

What we will not do, even if asked.

If you need any of these, we are the wrong crew. Better you hear it now than from the inspector.

  • No. 1

    Add circuits to a panel stuffed with tandems.

    If the panel is already full of tandem breakers it was never listed for, adding one more is how a bus bar cooks. We will quote the fix, which is often a subpanel or a new panel. We will not squeeze in the extra breaker.

  • No. 2

    Run plastic cable where Chicago wants conduit.

    It is cheaper and faster for a day. Then it fails inspection, or it passes nobody and shows up when you sell. Inside the city, we pull wire in metal. That is not up for negotiation on price.

  • No. 3

    Leave open walls for someone else.

    We cut the holes. We patch the holes, set and sanded, paint-ready. You do not need to find a plasterer after the electrician leaves, and the patch-back is already in the quote.

  • No. 4

    Quote a firm number by phone, unseen.

    A photo of the panel label gets you a range. A visit gets you a number. Anyone who gives a fixed price for a service upgrade without seeing the meter and the panel is guessing, and the guess gets corrected on your invoice.

Request a site visit

Tell us what it feeds. We will come and look.

If the breaker trips twice, stop resetting it. If anything smells hot or a plate is warm to the touch, turn that circuit off and call now.

312-284-7542

Where we work from

3120 N St Louis Ave
Chicago, Illinois 60618

[email protected]

Visits by appointment, anywhere inside the City of Chicago. More on how we work and the full contact page.

Request a site visit

We call back to set a time. No sales follow-up, no list.