Outlet & Switch Installation
More outlets, in the places you actually need them
Older St. Charles homes were wired for a lamp and a radio. If you are running power strips into power strips, the answer is not another power strip.
- New outlets and dedicated circuits
- GFCI and AFCI protection
- Two-prong to grounded replacement
- Dimmers, smart switches and USB outlets
The common ask
Three jobs that make up most of this work
Small jobs, but two of them are safety work rather than convenience.
Adding outlets
Kitchens, home offices, garages and exterior. Usually a new circuit rather than extending an overloaded one.
Replacing two-prong outlets
Common in Old Town and Frenchtown. Done correctly this means either running a ground or using GFCI protection with the required labeling — not just swapping in a three-prong face.
Adding GFCI protection
Kitchens, baths, garages, basements, exterior. If your older home does not have it in those locations, that is worth fixing regardless of anything else.
Not sure what GFCI and AFCI actually do? Our guide on GFCI and AFCI explained covers it plainly.
Why it matters
The shortcut we will not take
No fake grounds
Swapping a two-prong outlet for a three-prong one on an ungrounded circuit is common, cheap, and dangerous. Everything plugged in believes it is grounded and nothing is.
No daisy-chained circuits
Adding a fourth outlet to an already-loaded 15 amp circuit solves the plug shortage and creates a tripping problem. New load usually means a new circuit.
Correct box fill and support
Boxes have a legal capacity for conductors and devices. Overstuffed boxes are a heat problem hiding behind a cover plate.
Devices that suit the circuit
Smart switches often need a neutral in the box, which older homes frequently lack. We check before you buy them, not after.
Where GFCI belongs
The locations worth checking today
Ninety seconds with a flashlight tells you whether your house has the protection it should.
Look for outlets with test and reset buttons in your kitchen counter area, every bathroom, the garage, any unfinished basement space, outdoor receptacles, and near a laundry sink. If those locations have plain outlets instead, the circuits are unprotected — and in an older St. Charles home that is a genuinely worthwhile thing to fix. It is not an expensive job. It is one of the highest safety returns per dollar available in a house, and it can often be handled from a single device per circuit rather than replacing every outlet.
How we work
What to expect when you call
- 01
Tell us what you need
Where, how many, and what will be plugged in. Heavy loads change the answer from adding an outlet to adding a circuit.
- 02
We check the circuit
What is already on it and whether it can take more. Also whether there is a ground and a neutral where the device needs one.
- 03
Install and test
Devices installed, box fill and support checked, GFCI and AFCI tested, and cover plates left straight.
Free estimate
Get outlets or switches added
Tell us the rooms and roughly how many. If it is for a specific appliance, mention that too.
Related: GFCI and AFCI explained, electrical repair, whole-home rewiring, lighting installation, panel upgrade
Something electrical that is not getting better on its own?
Call for anything urgent, or send the form and we will get back to you within one business day with a real number.