Rip off or reasonable??? Need advice! Houston electrician?

Why not get a second quote then you'll have something to compare? I'm guessing there's more than one electrician in Houston.

If it is easy to get above the ceiling and get to the wires then I do think that a lot. That is about the run from my fuse box to my HPC and I ran the wires/circuit myself for $70 including the breaker.

As a licensed alarm technician in NJ (and NOT Houston), it is my opinion that this is both a good rate, and you should still get at least one other quote (and two, would be better). Then, you can compare them to see if they are in line with what the current wage labor rate is in your area..
And please remember, lower cost, may be more expensive in the long run. Quality is something that rarely comes cheap (after all, a Tesla is not inexpensive, because it far surpasses any other vehicle in quality- at least any other I have had experience with).
Just know that quality work includes safety, and other things you may not be able to see, but are still legally, ethically, and Code required! All of that comes at a cost. You certainly do not want someone who was (for example) selling mattresses last week, and tomorrow, installing his first HPWC in your home! No disparagement meant to mattress salespeople!

We had a NEMA 14-50 installed at my sister's house in Bellaire and used Cheikh Gakou (832-659-3442) on the advice of Tesla owners there. His price was better than others and is very familiar with EVs.

Moving the thread to Texas section. You'll probably get some local recommendations there.

We used Sugar Land Electric. They were very reasonable - 281-491-5393

Material cost for this 12 foot run would be less than $100. All businesses have fixed and variable costs but this seems excessive to me. Does this require a local electrical inspector to sign off on? Just seems a lot to me. As another poster noted, if you have clear attic access this is not a hard job (read time consuming).

Electricfan said:

No, no sign off required. I had the EVSE installed when I got the Volt in 2011 and no sign off then. I had another outlet installed for the Tesla, no sign off. I was shocked by the estimate, I admit. Its more than I paid for anything else I've had added for the cars (Volt and Tesla).

Honestly, I think I'm getting special "Tesla" pricing. :crying: I guess I should hide the Tesla before they come to look.

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Agreed. I don't want you to burn your house down so I would get a qualified electrician to do it but this is not that hard for a DIYer so it should be an easy job for an electrician. You might want to check with friends at work/ask at your local Home Depot, etc. for a smaller outfit. Good luck....................and hide the Tesla:wink:

Recommended electricians for Tesla owners in Houston are:

Juan Medina - 281-530-6284
Houston, TX 77083

Cheikh Gakou ([email protected])
Chams Electric
Cypress, TX 77433
832-659-3442

I've personally used Juan and I've heard nothing but good things about Cheikh from a number of owners. Good luck.

Just my $.02

I contacted Juan and he seemed very knowledgeable but he charges $85.00 just to come out to give an estimate (although he did give me some rough numbers over the phone). Juan didn't say anything about needing any type of permit or inspection.

I then contacted Cheikh and he actually came out to the house and provided an estimate. He charges $300 for an inspection fee. He says that a master electrician is required to pull a permit to install a new 14-50 plug. Including inspection, it was going to cost close to $1000 to install the new plug (although one of the reasons is that my fuse panel didn't have enough room and a sub-panel was going to need to be installed).

I'm getting mixed messages on the inspection thing so I'm currently looking for a third opinion!

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum but have been lurking for the past 2 weeks. I'm expecting my Model S delivery late August. Anyways, I've contacted a few electricians around town, mainly around the Katy area to install the NEMA 14-50 plug with little luck but I did find one worth the time.

Texas Electrical Pros (Matthew Manasco) 832.863.2211
He is very knowledgable and was able to come out to do a free estimate. The company is very small at the moment, I believe its only him for now but he said he has over 17 years of experience. Although he had some issues arriving on time, I'm guessing since this is due to a one man company, he was extremely professional as well as open to answer any type of my questions. He was also able to give me some options on what he recommends and a few price points to consider if I wanted upgrades but did not push hard for them. From what I can tell, his prices were extremely fair in the market from my brief research especially since almost every electrician wanted to charge to come out for an estimate on what I needed. Give him a call if you want a quick estimate. Since I knew exactly where I wanted my plug in the garage and the location of my breaker box, he was able to give me a good ball park figure of where I should expect the final invoice to be around.

I also called the Houston Galleria Tesla store and got another name from their recommendation.

Zuma Services (Franco Zumarraga) 832.253.8042
Franco was also professional over the phone and sounds like he has completed multiple projects for clients with Teslas. He was able to stop by the house for a free estimate. Since I was not home when he arrived, I cannot comment on his professionalism in person however he sounds very knowledgable over the phone. Franco left a free estimate with me without charge.

I ultimately selected my Texas Electrical Pros since Matthew was extremely patient with me over the phone (over multiple calls) and sounded like an honest, down to earth businessman. His total bill was also less than what Franco from Zuma Services quoted for the same work. However this may be different for everyone since breaker boxes are different as well as the desired location of the port inside your garage.

I hope my brief research can lend a hand to any of you around town. If not, at least now you have 2 more electrician names in your pile

Just tried Sugar Land Electric. They wanted $130 just to come out and do the estimate. I will try the others and report back

Generally speaking (i don't know specifically about your locale), all electric work, except for simple repairs like replacing switches and outlets or installing light fixtures, requires a permit and inspection. Certainly anything that involves running new wires. Lots of electricians (and plumbers and carpenters and landscapers and contractors...) like to tell people they don't and sneak the job in under the table. Especially unlicensed ones who can't pull a permit for a client anyway.

Ended up going with Zuma Services (Franco Zumarraga) 832.253.8042. The total for a 100 foot run from my breaker which was located about as far from my garage as possible was $760. They had to run cable up the side, into the attic then down the other side. This involved putting some metal piping up and down the house, but was cheaper than digging a trench around the house. Tried the charger last night. Works like a charm, piping on the sides wasn't ideal but looks fine.

Franco and his guys were on time and courteous. I was busy with work so didn't have time to get another quote but based on numbers I saw here his numbers were reasonable.

Hi Folks
I am a little late to this discussion but I need the same job so I looked up the electricians who were referred;
I looked them up in the Texas License Board: TDLR Active License Search

Zuma Services: No License, which means no insurance
Franco Zumarraga: Jouneyman Electrcian, which means not a master electrician and cannot apply for permit
Texas Electrical Pros: No License and no insurance
Matthew Manasco: Journeyman Electrician, not a master
Juan Medina: Could not confirm license, no master with this name in the State of Texas
Cheikh Gakou Chams Electric: Could not reach him
I tried the others listed and just no communication, I guess this is an old post.
I use Universal Home Experts. Price about the same as Chams, Gave me a 5 year warranty and they were awesome.

Cheikh is a Master Electrician:


Name and Location Other Information

GAKOU, CHEIKH


County: FORT BEND Master Electrician
License #: 399428
Expiration Date: 05/04/2018
Type: ME
Phone:
This licensee is the designated master for:
Electrical Contractor: CHAMS ELECTRICAL SERVICES
License #: 32669
Expiration Date: 05/24/2018

davewill said:

Generally speaking (i don't know specifically about your locale), all electric work, except for simple repairs like replacing switches and outlets or installing light fixtures, requires a permit and inspection. Certainly anything that involves running new wires. Lots of electricians (and plumbers and carpenters and landscapers and contractors...) like to tell people they don't and sneak the job in under the table. Especially unlicensed ones who can't pull a permit for a client anyway.

Click to expand...

Permits and inspection are required for EV charger connections in the Houston city limits. At least one of the recommended local electricians didn't include permitting in their quote to me until I specifically asked for a permit to be pulled.
edit to add: They were licensed but did not like the time/expense of visiting the City Permit Office. They subbed that legwork to another sparky who made the trip more often.