Electrician brief, questions and quotes
A one-page brief for an electrician, the questions to ask, a table to compare quotes against the brief, and the check after the work is done. Seeded from your setup and your plan.
Optional on a first pass, and only needed when your plan has rows marked electrician or landlord. Then the brief and the questions are essential before anyone visits; the quotes and after sheets come later. Working with an electrician teaches all four.
The brief
One page an electrician can read before the walkthrough. Describe what each light should do and where you want to switch it; the electrician decides how it is wired.
Questions to ask
Tick the questions that apply and write the answer beside each. The green box above marks the groups that apply to your setup.
Quotes
One row per written quote. Compare each quote against the brief, not against the other quotes.
After the work
Walk the finished work with the electrician, or on your own the same evening.
How to use these sheets
- Describe outcomes, not wiring. "A switch at the top of the stairs that turns on the stair light" is a brief; how the circuit is run is the electrician's decision.
- Pick the questions that apply and write each answer beside it during the walkthrough. Ask for the license number and check the license and its class with your state or county board yourself.
- Compare each quote against the brief, not against the other quotes. A quote that leaves out a line of the brief (a permit, a rating, a dimmer) is not cheaper; it is different work. The FTC's guide to avoiding home improvement scams lists what a written estimate and contract should include.
- Walk the work afterward with the after checklist, at every switch and every dim level, and file the papers in the binder.
The quote rows come from Tunde and Sam, who are renovating a kitchen in a 1958 house with an insulated attic above it (invented details). Electrician A's quote does not mention the permit; Electrician B names housings that are not rated for insulation contact; Electrician C matches the brief. No prices are shown: the point is that A and B are quoting different work, which a price comparison would hide.
Nothing here is legal or electrical advice. Permits, license classes, contract rules and cancellation rights vary by state and city: your building department and licensing board say what applies. The brief records what you want and what you were told; the electrician decides how the work is done, and the inspector, where there is one, decides whether it passes.