Residential Electrical in Wells, Maine

Wells has a longer building history than most Maine towns. Several of its old farms and homesteads are on the National Register, and houses of that age were wired long after they were built, so knob-and-tube, cloth-covered cable and ungrounded outlets still turn up in some of them. Older beach cottages often have small services and circuits added piecemeal as they were expanded. Mobile homes from the 1960s and 1970s can have aluminum branch wiring that needs proper repairs at every device. The newer houses, about 39 percent of the stock since 2000, are usually wired to modern standards but can still lack GFCI or AFCI protection where current code calls for it.

Remodels, additions and conversions are the most common reasons for new wiring. Winterizing a cottage means adding circuits for heat, running new cable in walls that were never insulated, and bringing kitchens and baths up to code. Finishing a basement or bonus room, building an addition, or adding a laundry room each needs its own circuits. Outdoor showers, hot tubs and dock or boat-shed power near the marsh all need GFCI protection and wet-location equipment. Troubleshooting is part of the work too, from outlets that died after a storm to lights that dim when the well pump starts.

Electrical permitting in Wells runs through the state rather than the town, and Goodnow Electric handles the single-family certification or state permit as the job requires. Goodnow Electric is licensed, bonded and insured under Maine master electrician license MS60021971, the owner is on site for every job, and written estimates are free. Mobile home owners should also know that work on the home's service, feeder or pedestal is electrical work like any other and needs a licensed electrician. The same goes for garages, sheds and workshops that were wired by a previous owner with an extension-cord style feed; replacing it with a properly sized buried feeder and a small subpanel is safer and gives room for tools and lights.