Residential Electrical in Hollis, Maine

Wiring in Hollis follows the town's two big building periods. The houses built before 1940, about a fifth of the stock, include the Federal and Greek Revival homes of the river villages, and some still carry knob-and-tube wiring behind the plaster and under attic floors, extended over the years with newer cable. The much larger group from the 1960s and 1970s usually has grounded plastic-sheathed cable, but often too few circuits for a modern kitchen, no GFCI or AFCI protection, and in some houses aluminum branch wiring, which is safe only with connectors rated for it at each receptacle and switch. Newer homes are generally sound but may still fall short of current protection requirements. Many mid-century houses were also expanded later with a garage, sunroom or bedroom wired off whatever circuit was closest.

Close to 88 percent of Hollis homes are lived in by their owners, so most projects here are people updating their own houses: a kitchen remodel, a bathroom, a finished basement, an addition or a garage workshop. An open wall is the cheapest time to retire old circuits, add GFCI protection where water is present and AFCI protection in living areas, and run dedicated circuits for heat pumps, induction ranges and water heaters. Goodnow Electric replaces knob-and-tube and aluminum runs, adds receptacles and switches, troubleshoots breakers that trip, and wires remodels and additions, starting with a free written estimate. Outdoor outlets should be weather-resistant and GFCI-protected, with in-use covers.

Hollis enforces the 2021 International Residential Code for building work and issues building, plumbing and zoning permits through its code office, but electrical permits are not among them. Under state rules no state electrical permit is needed for a single-family house, but before the utility will energize a newly built home its wiring needs sign-off from a state or local inspector, a master electrician, or a house-wiring limited electrician. A building with two or more meters does need a state permit. Holding Maine master electrician license MS60021971, Goodnow Electric handles whichever path applies, coordinating the electrical sign-off with the town's building inspections so a remodel stays on schedule.