Frequently Asked Questions About Our Work in Frederick
The Questions We Get Before Every Job
These are the ones that come up regardless of what the job actually is — how we quote, what happens on the first visit, who repairs the drywall, and what we will and will not take on. Questions about a specific service are answered on that service’s own page, and most of those pages now publish their prices.
How do you price a job, and do you charge for a quote?
No charge for the visit or the quote. We come out, look at the space, work out what the job actually involves, and give you a fixed price in writing before anything starts. Most of our service pages publish price ranges so you have a rough idea before you call. Where a quote can change is if something turns up behind a wall that nobody could have seen – and if that happens we tell you before we carry on, not afterwards.
What happens on the first visit?
We look at the space rather than the catalog. Wall construction, cable routes, where power is and is not, where people sit, what is already installed and whether it is worth keeping. It usually takes twenty minutes to an hour depending on the size of the job. You get a written quote afterwards, itemized so you can drop a room out of it without redoing the whole thing.
Do you charge extra for a second technician?
Some jobs need two people – hanging a large screen, pulling cable through an attic, lifting anything heavy safely. Where that is the case it is priced into the quote you approve at the start, not added at the end. You will not get an invoice with a line on it you were not expecting.
Do you guarantee the work?
Equipment carries whatever manufacturer warranty it comes with, and we register it for you where registration is required. On the installation itself, if something we fitted is not working the way it should, we come back and put it right. In practice most callbacks turn out to be a setting rather than a fault, and we do not charge for those. We also expect to come back once after a bigger job to adjust schedules and scenes, because nobody gets those right until they have lived with them for a few weeks.
Do you repair broken equipment?
No. We install new equipment and we diagnose, rewire and reconfigure existing systems, including gear we did not supply. Repairing a faulty amplifier, television or receiver is a bench trade and we will point you toward one. Worth saying that a good share of what feels broken turns out to be wiring, a source selection or a setting rather than a fault – and that we can fix.
Are you licensed and insured?
Ask and we will send you license and insurance documentation before any work starts. Anyone doing electrical work in Maryland should be able to do the same, and it is worth asking that of everyone you take a quote from – not everyone quoting on this kind of work carries the electrical side at all. Christian Rogers is an electrician by trade, which is why the circuits, outlets and panel work on our jobs are ours rather than subcontracted.
Can I buy the equipment myself, or do part of the job on my own?
Both are fine. We can supply everything or fit what you have already bought, and if something you bought is not right for the job – a mount not rated for the weight of your television, a thermostat that will not run your heat pump – we will say so before it goes on the wall rather than after. Plenty of customers also split a job: they run their own low-voltage cable or handle the cosmetics, and bring us in for the parts that need an electrician or a license.
Do you take on jobs another company started or left unfinished?
Yes, and it is a fair share of what we do. Builders who ran conduit and never terminated it, installers who moved away mid-project, systems inherited with a house that nobody can program any more. We document what is actually there, tell you what it will take to finish it, and quote that properly after a first visit rather than over the phone.
Do you work with builders, architects and interior designers?
Yes. We work directly with trades on new builds and renovations, and we would rather be in the conversation at the drawing stage than after the drywall. We can work from plans, mark up device and outlet positions before framing, and coordinate around the schedule of whoever else is on site.
When is the best time to bring you in on a renovation or new build?
Before the drywall goes on, and earlier than most people think. Cable is the cheapest part of any of this while the walls are open and one of the most expensive afterwards. Even if you are not fitting everything now, running the cable to the rooms you might want later costs very little at framing stage and is close to impossible to add cleanly once the house is finished.
What areas do you serve?
We are based at 6201 Dispatch Way in Frederick and work across Frederick County – Urbana, Ijamsville, New Market, Walkersville, Middletown, Mount Airy, Brunswick and Adamstown – plus Hagerstown, Boonsboro, Westminster, Clarksburg, Damascus, Germantown and Gaithersburg. Call (240) 372-5809 and we will tell you straight away whether we can reach you.
How soon can you come out, and what support do you offer afterwards?
Most first visits happen within a week, and small jobs are often scheduled sooner than that. Afterwards, we are local – a schedule that needs changing, a scene that is not quite right, or a room added to an existing system is a short drive rather than a support queue. Several of our customers have been with us six, ten and fifteen years, adding to the same system as their houses changed around them.
Question about a specific service? Costs, equipment and how each job runs are covered on the service pages themselves — or call us and ask.