Chandelier Installation Tips

If you are looking to Install a Chandelier we have a few tips and pointers for you to read and consider when taking up the task. As many people may not realize Chandelier Installation is not a simple task and many things should be considered when making such plans. Most importantly is to ensure that you have adequate support to hold the Chandelier and avoid it from falling. In addition the location and any obstacles should also be considered as well as the risk that you may need to make adjustments in order to hold you Chandelier in place. This can in some cases mean that you will need to make repairs or cuts into the ceiling in order to have the Chandelier Installation take place.

 

Here are a few pointers to think about when thinking of having a Chandelier Installed!

1.  Where is it going to be Installed?
2.  What is the weight of the Chandelier?
3.  How tall is it and what is the width of the Chandelier?
4.  Does it require to have supports Installed?
5.  Is there enough support already in Installed?
6.  Is there enough room to put up a ladder?
7.  Will there be a need to erect a Scaffold?
8.  Does the Chandelier have any Crystal?
9.  Is there a Large Ceiling Plate that will support the Chandelier?
10.  Have you considered having a Lift Installed?

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What Should Your Electrician Do?

A few skills and capabilities that a licensed electrician should have include the following:

• Maintaining all electrical components & apparatus clear and safe
• Installation of all electrical  systems and electrical wiring
• Electrical repair, troubleshooting and prevention of hazards

Now that you have an idea of what an electrician is capable of, you can easily formulate your questions around their capabilities. Below, you will see a few questions to ask any electricians in Toronto.

The 10 Important Questions you should Ask when hiring a Toronto Electrician or anywhere else in the GTA:

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Ground Wires in Light Fixtures & Devices

On a daily basis we find that someone or other is connecting Ground Wires from a Light Fixture or Chandelier to a Black Power Wire in a Ceiling Box.

Everyday we are called out, to a home as someone is experiencing one or all of these Electrical issues. The issues are as follows: Breakers Tripping, Switches Blowing out, Lights or Bathroom Fans not turning on, or a GFI Receptacles Tripping, and many other factors!

This stems from people trying to be a “DIY” known as a Do it yourself-er and failing at this task terribly!

Don’t take the risk hire a Licensed Electrician who will get the job done right the first time!

DIY’S Light Fixtures & Electrical Devices Installation!

If you want to try and Install your own Light Fixtures, Chandelier, Switches or Plugs! That’s totally fine provided that you know what your doing. If you don’t know what your doing and you connect the wrong wires to the wrong wires in the Box. Than you are running the Risk of Electrical Shock, Electrical Short Circuit, or even worse an Electrical Fire. You can even blow a hole in your Electrical Panel if the Short Circuit creates enough of a short circuit blast that could indeed blow a hole right through your Electrical Panel.

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Exposed Wires are Risky Business

Electrical safety hazards in the home are far too common. Ignored exposed wires are one of the worst, and most widespread Electrical hazards in today’s homes. Our everyday device cords become worn out and end up with bare wires being exposed. Similarly, your home wiring system itself is not immune to this issue. Let’s discuss the risks we take when we don’t repair exposed wires throughout our home.

Electrical Devices

We all have at least one and that’s an understatement. Every electrical device comes with an electric cord, and if we’re honest, they’re not always the sturdiest. Overtime, a laptop cord will start to fray, usually near the ends of the cord where we put the most pressure. You or someone you know will experience this eventually, and odds are, the exposed wire will remain that way for some time. The most frequently asked questions we receive are:

1. Is it dangerous?
2. What Can I do about?
3. Like what am I supposed to do?
4. Do I have to replace It?
5. Isn’t there anything that can be done to Fix it?
6. How dangerous is it really?

Because people have successfully used an exposed electrical cord for long periods of time, the benefits have somehow managed to outweigh the risks. Differing from the common consensus, it’s actually a very serious Dangerous/Hazardous and risk of electric shock and Fire Hazard. An open wire may not send the appropriate power to a device. Not to mention, it’s not properly distributed. lead to exposed wires starting to burn out, heating up, arcing and starting an Electrical Fire at the damaged end. Plus result in higher than normal drawing of power, surges to make up for intervals of power/electricity loss getting to the appliance.

A high power surge could also lead to a blown fuse, Breaker tripping, or even worse, an electrical fire. Best practices include taking care of your cord, getting it repaired/replaced when fray, torn or damaged, and buying a new cord when necessary. Another worthy mention is never purchase or use a knock off cord, as they are generally never certified and Not up to the Ontario Electrical Safety Code.

Home Wires

Exposed electrical wires in the skeleton of the home are a much higher fire risk than the above mentioned electrical devices. This is because they tend to be located around other wires, and lots of wood or other combustible materials. Sparks can fly without warning and out of sight. Regular home inspections are always a good idea for preventative maintenance. Similarly, if you’re buying an older home, an inspection done by a certified electrician could save you money and headaches down the road!

Electrical Tape is Not the Answer

Many keep electrical tape handy for cases just like this. However, this band-aid is not a viable solution. If there are bare electrical wires that are exposed, tape is not the answer and danger looms. In cases like these, where the protective casing is still intact, you may be in the clear. Having said that, replacing your extension cord or damaged Cables will help you sleep better at night, knowing that your Electrical Cables and Wires are safe and sound. If the tear gets worse, you may not even realize it, as it’s covered up in black tape. Don’t take the risk! If you have other exposed wires throughout the home, they can easily be fixed by a certified electrician. The stakes are too high in don’t take the gamble, get a professional to come in and ease your mind.

Pinched, torn, exposed, or ripped electrical wires should be fixed immediately, without hesitation. Compare it to driving a car with a leaking tire, leaking break cylinder, mediocre breaks. The risk is present, and very real! Don’t take the gamble!

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions regarding Exposed Wires:

Should I worry about Tangled Wires?

Worry, Yes! Be fearful. Fix, absolutely! Tangled wires are as much a fire hazard as exposed wires. In an extreme case, the danger doubles. Every device you plug into a socket is 120V of power. Imagine an extension cord with 5+ devices or appliances plugged in. That’s a lot of power in, one square footage. Alternatively, try limiting your sockets to 2 or 3 plugged in items.

What if my exposed Wire is outside my home?

The danger on outdoor bare wires increases dramatically as exposure to climate, sitting water, moisture raises the treat level to extreme. Exposed live wires are dangerous and a treat to life, as the risk of electrocution is high and the Danger is high. Not only is is climate, sitting water and the weather a factor, but also outdoor pests can make things a lot worse, a lot faster. Call a professional certified electrician to take on the job. To start, they’ll cut power to wires in question. Once they locate the circuit in the breaker box, they’ll safely disconnect the wire. Next, they’ll pull the wire out through the wall. The next steps get a bit detailed, we suggest calling in the expert instead of taking on the job yourself.

Don’t hesitate to call us if you find an exposed wire inside or outside of your home. In emergency situations, we’re here all hours of the day or night to assist you. So, don’t delay, call KVA Electrical for all your electrical needs!

Hazardous Pot Lights

How Hazardous Pot Lights can have a serious affect on your home and families well being!

We were called to a house in the City of Toronto for an Electrical issue, with respect to some Flickering Pot Lights located in the front Entrance of the Home. These Pot Lights were acting strangely anywhere from the point of them Flickering, to going on and Off randomly and doing some strange things at the same time.

Upon arrival our Electrician immediately realized that the Pot Lights, did act quite strangely and that they were Flickering and Turning On and Off randomly and on their own without anyone doing anything to cause this.

 

How We Solved It

We started by removing them and pulling them down form the Ceiling quickly finding out that the Pot Lights Transformer was starting to Burn it’s Self out, in turn being one of the Main causes for the Flickering issue.

In addition, to these issues and as we continued to remove these Pot Lights we Found a strange and concerning factor here. Which led us to further investigate and take a closer look as all of the Pot Lights had only one Wire Feeding them although there was a Total of 4 Pot Lights Installed in this particular Area.

As we continued to Investigate and look closer at this problem we found that a previous Electrician or Handyman had Installed these Pot Lights with a Tail coming out of the Pot Lights and made open connections in the Ceiling with Pre-Existing Pot light Housings that they left from a previous Installation. As shown in the Images 1 through 4, this is a serious concern and an Electrical Fire Hazard to say the least. We took immediate and corrective actions in order to rectify this issue and resolve any issue of open Wiring and removing the threat of any and all Hazardous Electrical Condition.

We Removed all of the Pre-Existing Wiring and Installed New wiring and Ran the Wires from Pot Light to Pot Light and provided Direct Wiring and Connections to the Pot Lights and Installed them in to the Existing Ceiling Space.

As shown in Images 5 through 8 this is a proper and correct way of Installing any type and kind Pot Lights!

Always hire Professionals as well as Trained people and Staff for any Trade related Work and Especially when it comes to the Electrical Trade it is vital to hire Licensed Electrical Contractors, that will do it right the First Time without any Hazardous conditions or Risk of Electrical Fire Hazards left behind.

 

 

Hidden Electrical Hazards in an Electrical Service

There are many places inside your home with Hidden Electrical Hazards ,which we can easily identify and point out. We are faced time and time again with customers that don’t realize the seriousness of hidden Electrical Hazards, Problems, and Defects that may be hidden inside of their Electrical Service, Panel, Meter Base, Wiring, Lights Switches and Receptacles just to name a few.

A broken Meter Bases Down Pipe (Conduit) on an Underground Service does not mean that you can go ahead and just repair the broken Conduit and be done! This actually can be due to multiple factors and reasons! One factor could that the Conduit may have been hit by a sharp object that could have also damaged the Underground Cables in the Conduit. A second factor could be that there may have been a shift in the ground causing the Conduit to Shift and break apart at the same time, which could put enough pressure and force on the Cables to break. Or they could even have been pulled out of their Sockets. A third factor could be that the force that caused the Conduit to break may have Damaged the Meter Bases Sockets and Lugs in which case the Meter Base may need to be repaired or replaced.

The repairing of a Down Pipe/Conduit on an Electrical Service does not always entail of just Repairing the Pipe/Conduit. Many times, we find that there are other underlying issues, such as a damaged Meter Base, Broken Meter Lugs, Burned out Wires/Cables, and in some cases, the Wires/Cables are also faulty, brittle, breaking apart due to poor Installation. The scope of work may appear and look to be very simple, easy and a quick fix! Which in the opinion of a customer; this would not justify the cost of the repair! In fact, there are many underlying and complex situations that are involved with such a repair! We may not know them until we get into the actual work. These hidden hazards are not known to us until we actually Open up the Meter Base. This is usually done by having Hydro the Local Utility Company provide us with a Disconnect of Power and Remove the actual Meter from the Meter Base Socket. Once we are able to have a look inside the Meter Base and inspect the Cables, then we can determine what we need to do, in order to make the necessary repairs and or Fixes. Once we have made all of the necessary repairs and brought things back up to Code then we can have ESA Inspect the Work so that we can have Power restored to the Property.

These are just some of the issues and Problems that we encounter on a daily basis when trying and attempting to repair a simple thing as a Service Down Pipe/ Conduit Repair.

Doing your own Home Wiring & Related Electrical Risks!

Are you Planning on doing your own Electrical wiring? Have you weighed out the risks? Electrical Work is extremely dangerous and complicated it takes a lot of skill and knowledge to get it right. Consider the risk and Hire a Professional Licensed Electrical Contractor.

It takes many years of training and hands on practice to get it done right. A Licensed Electrician has many years of training as well as hands on Experience and knows the Electrical Codes in order to do the Job Right and Safe.

Consider all of the facts and errors in installation that can result in serious injury or even death. An error in wire size or incorrect connection can result in a Fire leaving you homeless and no way of turning back the clock. It can also lead to Life threatening injuries or harm to others.

Think of your family and/or guest that may visit you from time to time, is it really worth it? Are the savings worth the risks? Are your loved ones that insignificant or is your own life not worth the extra cost in getting it done by an Expert?

ALWAYS CONSIDER THE RISKS. BEFORE YOU THINK OF DOING YOUR OWN ELECTRICAL WORK.

ENSURE THAT YOU CAN SLEEP COMFORTABLY AT NIGHT WITHOUT SECOND GUESSING YOURSELF.

HIRE A LICENSED ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR AND SLEEP AT NIGHT WITHOUT A DOUBT IN YOUR MIND.

HIRE A LICENSED ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR AND REST ASSURE THAT IT’S DONE BY A PROFESSIONAL THAT KNOWS HOW TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.

HIRE A LICENSED ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR WHO WILL DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.

Aluminum Wiring in your Home!

If you have Aluminum Wires in your home you should consider replacing them with Copper Wires and avoid the Risk of an Electrical Fire or lingering Electrical Hazard. The things that you should know about Aluminum Wires in your home! Is that Aluminum Wires are great Current carrying Conductors, but they are not that safe and should no longer be used in your Home. Consider rewiring your home and have them completely removed to avoid the risk of an Electrical Fire.

Aluminum Wires were widely used in the late 1960’s to the mid 1970, within a period of about 10 years, it became obvious that Aluminum Wires were problematic, not Safe, and a possible Fire hazard. Once the Industry came to the realization of the potential Hazard and threat that Aluminum Wires posed. The use of Aluminum Wires for Internal and inaccessible Electrical Installation in Residential, Commercial or any other type of Building Structure was quickly abolished. These types of Aluminum Wires were now deemed NOT Approved nor Accepted for the use and Installation in concealed or inaccessible Electrical Wiring and/or Installations in Residential and/or Commercial Building Structure.

Aluminum Wires can become extremely weak and frail and burn out especially at the point of Termination. Some examples and known places for this to occur are at the Main Electrical Panel, Breakers and Fuse Terminals including each individual Device, such as a Receptacles, Switches, Junction Box as well as the Lights Junction Boxes that holds the Light Fixtures in place.

This is due to the fact that Aluminum Wires will Oxidize, this is especially true when introduced to Joints, Splices or spliced with Copper Wires. At such a point of joints and splices they tend to overheat and burn out.  Especially if they are Not properly spliced or Terminated with the NON Oxidizing NOLAX Compound, which must be used whenever Aluminum Wires are spliced or Joint with other wires. Or if they are Installed and/or connected/Terminated with incompatible devices such as Switches, Receptacles, etc., which have been designed for use with copper wires Only.

There are several ways to ensure that Aluminum Wires are kept to a safe Operating Level.

• One is to ensure that all Wires are Properly Terminated with the use of NOLAX COMPOUND,
• Second is to ensure that all Terminations are done right and were they are connected to Devices ensure that all Wires are Terminated with NOLAX COMPOUND, and that the Device is an Aluminum approved accepting Device.
• Third is to make all Terminations in Junction Boxes and Device Boxes with the use of NOLAX COMPOUND and by installing Pig Tails at all Joints and Splices in order to ensure a solid and strong connection and Termination of Wires.

Some ways to tell if you are at risk if the cover plates of a Switch, Receptacle or Device is Warm to the touch or if you notice any discolouration of Switches or Receptacles, flickering lights, or the smell of hot plastic insulation may be evidence that these problems are present and exist.

We always recommend that when and were possible to remove and replace all Aluminum Wires in order to avoid and reduce the risk of a potentially dangerous situation (Fire, Personal Injury, Death,). It is also strongly recommended that all Aluminum Wires be removed and/or replaced in its entirety. This would be an ideal and proper way to deal with a potentially hazardous and Life threatening condition of pre-existing wiring.

Electrical Risks & Hazards!

There are many possible scenarios where Electrical Risks and Hazards can present themselves in a moments notice. Any one of us, including a professional electrician can and could become part of an electrical circuit. Results can range from a minor discomfort to actual death by electrocution. You can however, be quite safe when you work on electrical Wiring and or doing Electrical Maintenance, and repairing Electrical Wiring if you follow these guidelines.

 

How to stay Safe from Electrical Hazard in your Home!

• Never work on any electrical circuit without making sure that the circuit is completely De-energized (Deactivated, OFF, Disabled). You can accomplish this by de-activating the fuse or the circuit breaker. When in doubt throw the Master Switch OFF. If you cannot do that then you know you need to contact a professional.
• Always pick tools specifically for electrical work-with good plastic or insulated rubber. When you work with them, be sure you are gripping only the insulation.
• Be sure not to “ground” yourself. Never work on electrical circuits while you are standing on a bare ground or a concrete floor, because the contact with the ground is too good. Always wear rubber soled shoes. Never tackle an electrical job when your feet are wet, or when you are barefoot again, the contact is too good.
• Always be sure that any lamp or small appliance is unplugged when you work on it. And-if you plug it in to test it don’t be forgetful and leave it plugged while you continue with the repair.
• Do not use items with cords that are damaged where wires are exposed. Repair or replace the item.
• Be sure to use electrical items that are “Approved”. When purchasing an electrical item look for the CSA on the packaging.

 

Electrical Safety for your Children and Family!

Here are a few tips how to practice Electrical Safety for your Children and Family. We have a few tips to keep your home safe and secure from Electrical Shock or Electrocution. When a child comes into this world, as parents we want to take all possible measures to protect them as well provide a safe home environment. As children grow, they become increasingly more curious, therefore we need to take all necessary precautions to baby proof our home and ensure that we keep them safe from Electric Shock and Electrical Hazards.

 

How to keep your Children and Family Safe from Electrical Shock and or Electrocution!

 

Electrical devices in your home is something that are dangerous to young toddlers and babies who are curious, ready to explore the World. Below you will find helpful tips on how to make your home electrically shielded. Keep your children shielded from Electrocution and Electrical Shock. First and foremost, electrical outlets are one of the main worries of parents have at this stage of learning. As soon as your baby is able to crawl, walk, and discover, you must take the necessary steps to make your home’s outlets baby safe. If your children are exposed to unprotected outlets, an electric current could pass through them and cause serious harm and injuries. Burns, brain damage or suffer seizures, heart attacks and even death can occur from electrocution.

The safest way to ensure that your home is completely safe for your children is to contact a qualified electrician to install tamper-proof electrical outlets. These outlets have protective covers that make it impossible for your toddlers to remove and stick their little fingers in. Making your home safe for your young kids is an ongoing process-do not stop at electrical. Hiring an electrician is a great way to guarantee that the job gets done right in your home.