Residential Electrical in Arundel, Maine

Because most of Arundel was built after 1980, the typical wiring job here is less about knob-and-tube and more about adding to a house that has outgrown its original plan. A finished basement, a bonus room over the garage, a home office or a new kitchen all need dedicated circuits, and older 1980s wiring may lack the GFCI and AFCI protection now required in kitchens, bathrooms, laundry areas and bedrooms. The older farmhouses scattered through town, about one home in ten built before 1960, are the exception, and they can have ungrounded outlets, cloth-covered cable and service panels added in pieces over the years.

Manufactured homes have their own wiring concerns. Units built before the late 1970s may have aluminum branch wiring, which needs proper connectors at outlets and switches to prevent overheating. Outdoor feeders to the home can be damaged by frost heave or mowing, and exterior outlets on a skirted home are often unprotected. Converting a mobile home from oil to a heat pump also means adding a new 240-volt circuit to a panel that may already be full. Radon matters too: Arundel's building permit packet includes radon system requirements, and a radon mitigation fan needs its own properly installed electrical connection.

Troubleshooting takes up a fair share of the work in any town, and Arundel, with its mix of newer houses and older farmhouses, is no different. Tripping breakers, flickering lights and outlets that stopped working after a storm are worth tracing before they cause damage. Arundel issues its own electrical permits, and new work is inspected. Goodnow Electric is a licensed, bonded and insured master electrician; the owner is on site for every job, and every estimate is free and in writing. Well pump and sewage pump circuits, both listed on the town's permit schedule, are common additions in houses off the public mains. Detached garages, workshops and barns wired decades ago on a single buried cable are another frequent project, since adding a subpanel there makes room for tools, lights and a car charger.