Nelson Electric

Brian does good work, and is efficient with the time to complete the job. I will call him again when I need an electrician.

He not only returned my call promptly (which not all people do … some don’t even return the call ever!) but also scheduled me right away, showed up when he said he would, did exactly what I asked him to do efficiently and effectively, and charged what I consider a reasonable rate. I wasn’t asking for anything terribly complicated but having a light switch and an outlet working again are a great relief and he made it easy. I would most definitely call him again.

Excellent! Brian installed outdoor 240V panel and fixed pipe. Would definitely be my first choice for next electrical job. He was pleasant, patient, flexible, professional, reasonable cost.

Brian’s a great guy and he does good work.
He called me a mere few minutes after I emailed him one morning, and was very personable… so much so that I quickly decided to go ahead and have him come to do some work for us.
Brian came when he said he would, and we walked through the work to be done. He offered thoughtful alternatives to what I requested (in order to help me lower my overall costs) and then got to work. Along the way, he patiently offered up explanations as to what he was doing and a few hours later, I had a house full of 2 prong outlets replaced with grounded/​GFIs. The final cost was reasonable (just a smidge above the most competitive estimate I’d received) and I’d like to think his handiwork will hold up well.
Folks should note that it seems Brian is close to retiring (semi-​retiring?) and thus is pretty upfront about which jobs he’s willing to do and which he’d rather pass on. (In my case, for the work he wasn’t keen on, he at least was able to give me an estimate of how much I should expect to pay another electrician for doing it.) If you can deal with and respect that, then you should be good.

Brian did a job for me last year and he was excellent. I called him for another 1.5 days of work and he told me he’d doubled his rates. Well, okay, he was good. The day before he was scheduled to do the work, he canceled because he was sick. Well, okay. We tentatively rescheduled for the end of the week and he said he’d call me to confirm. He never called back. I’m willing to pay a lot for a good electrician, or get a better deal and put up with some randomness. But not both.

I’ve lived in the same 100+ year old house for about ten years and worked with a lot of contractors (electrical, plumbing, carpentry, general, etc.) in that time — and my experience with Nelson Electric was a new one. We’ve got a fair amount of work needed for a remodel, have a list of items and set up an appointment to review and bid on the work.
Around the scheduled appointment time, the person from Nelson huffed and puffed their way to our front door and complained that he had spent the last ten minutes looking for parking on the street, couldn’t find any and therefore was not willing to discuss the job. Then he huffed and puffed away.
So one star for bothering to inform us he couldn’t be bothered. But I have ten years of experience living here, using street parking — and countless other friends/​family visitors and contractors who have done the same. The message was clear — Nelson didn’t need or want our business, which is likely just as well since a 100+ year old house has electrical problems far more complex than finding street parking.

Nelson was amazing!
I needed a 240V 30Amp to be installed.
I asked him on the phone for an estimate i described how the garage looks so he gave me an estimate of 250 $. I got another estimate for 400 $
He arrived right on time checked very quick what was needed to be done. and told me that he needs to buy some stuff if, id like to go my self and buy them it will reduce the bill. I went to the store got lost and made him wait for a bit. felt pretty bad about that but he was not too angry of about keeping him wait for a while.
Anyhow he gave me the bill and it was only 146 $ AMAZING
The work was great! and proffesional

I called Brian before the holiday as my company needed a lot of new outlets for new equipment coming in and he did the job well and fast.
We are very happy with his job and we are going to give him a lot of work. It is so hard to find a great electrician that when you find one you keep him. I do recommend him to everyone — business or individual

Good pricing, service and communication. Fixed my townhome issues in less than 2 hours. Will be using again.

While another electrician recommended to me took about 5 days to return my call, Brian called me back within an hour or so. Although he’s busy, he managed to fit my half-​day job in within a week, which I really appreciated. He set up an appointment, arrived on-​time, and got right to work. He put down a drop cloth to protect the living room floor during the ceiling fan installation. He’s easy-​going and friendly, and yet doesn’t spend too much time chit-​chatting. Instead, he spends most of his time working on your job. He did a good job at a reasonable price. You’re not going to get a quality electrician at a «cheap» price, but his price was more than reasonable considering it included both labor and parts. Highly recommended.

Brian was on time, gave a fair estimate and did a great job. He had even started to leave but decided he wasn’t satisfied with how a motion detector over my car port was working and came back to double-​check that all was working. It wasn’t but he figured out how it was originally wired and fixed it.
Certainly the first person I will call in the future.

Found Nelson Electric in Unilocal,Brian Nelson is such an awesome guy. I called him the night before, and we chatted about changing my need to change the receptacle for our replacement dryer. Brian scheduled me tentatively the next day with his tight schedule. We exchange email for the info and pictures he need to do the work. He called me the next day and was able squeeze me in and to do the work. Brian is such a nice honest guy, from our conversation the night before and in our place I knew this guy is a straight shooter. Brian is professional and been in the business for a long time. He even had time to replace my puck light and fix my pendant light. I would recommend Brian to all my friends and associate. My deep appreciation for a coming to our rescue and now we can do our laundry of 2 weeks.

After calling about 10 electricians, I finally got a live voice and it was Brian Nelson. It helps that he lives nearby the apt bldg I manage. He had to do a simple repair that was badly done by a previous electrician. And he kindly corrected some of my future expectations/​plans. I shouldn’t have expressed surprise at his low charges but seriously, others have charged me more and done less. What a relief to put him on my permanent roster of vendors.

Brian responded quickly by email and came out to give me a quote. His bid was timely, detailed and straightforward. The price was fair and the job was excellent.
I had called him a couple of years ago to install a hood and he was honest and said it was too big a job for one person. I decided then that i would call him in the future and am glad I did. The contractor who installed the sump pump was impressed with his work and plans to call him when he needs an electrician.
Brian is no nonsense and very easy to work with.

Brian was easy to get a hold of by phone and email. He was on time for our appointment and did good work installing a 240V outlet and a Level 2 EV charger. He provided a fair estimate ahead of time and then stuck to it. He was very pleasant and cleaned up after completing his work. I can easily recommend his services.

I’ve generallly done my own wiring for 20+ years but now had a problem that I could not even understand, much less fix. It left me with no celing lights in the hallway or kitchen of my condo. I had tried to figure this one out for several months. Gave up and called Brian. He was very responsive, came the next day and correctly diagnosed the problem immediately (hidden ballasts in the ceiling whose output was not a typical 110v hot/​neutral but specific to one model CFC fitting). He also was a very willing wiring teacher which I much appreciated. I’d call this guy again in a heartbeat.

I am a Real Estate developer and have hired Brian numerous times for many different jobs. He always shows up on time, does great work, and has a unimpeachable integrity. Having been in the construction business for 22 years I can tell you first hand that this combination of attributes is a very rare thing. His knowledge of code is impressive, and he is a hard worker. I also enjoy working with him as he is very professional, and a genuinely nice guy to get along with.
You can hire a big firm in the yellow pages and be billed for their fleet of trucks, secretary, advertising, accountant, etc., or you can hire Brian and pay just for him to do the work. Save money and be assured he will do what he says, when he says.
Six stars

I do most of my electric work myself but when I needed a professional to install a new panel at my home, I called Brian.
His written proposal for the job was clear and concise and the price was very fair (and on target in the end). He stayed communicative through the process and finished the job in only a couple hours.
Brian was extremely professional and I wouldn’t hesitate to call him in again

Bryan was fast, easy and efficient. He picked up the phone right away and was at my house within 15 minutes, as promised. The entire job — to replace a shorted breaker damaged by rain — took about 15 minutes. I’d recommend him in a heartbeat.
$ 65 minimum charge plus $ 12×2 breakers = $ 89.
Thanks Bryan!

We contacted Brian after we had a break in at our house and needed an outdoor light repaired. He came out the same day, diagnosed the problem quickly and fixed it for a reasonable price. His rates are EXCELLENT and even had a great stock of supplies on his truck saving trips to the hardware or home improvement store. We have used several other electricians over the years and Brian is by far the best that we have had.
He also told us that he is a general contractor and does other types of work as well.
I could never begin to encompass Brian’s abilities so I am including the following in his words:
LICENSED ELECTRICIAN — MASTER CRAFTSMAN, self-​employed
WHY HIRE THE WHOLE COMPANY WHEN ALL THAT YOU NEED IS THE ELECTRICIAN?
I’ve been providing homeowners in Oakland, Berkeley, Piedmont, Alameda, Lamorinda and nearby communities with the highest possible level of personalized service available — I do all of the work myself. For the past 18 years that I’ve lived in Rockridge and Temescal, my local customers have come to expect top quality workmanship, courteous, dependable service, fair prices and complete satisfaction when I’ve finished a job. They appreciate the security and comfort of dealing directly with the actual craftsman who will be working in their homes.
I do all kinds of residential electrical repairs and installations. No job is too small any very few are too big. Whether its simply installing a lighting fixture or the complete wiring of a new house I have the experience to do the job right.
Many of my customers are particularly concerned about the dirt, dust, damage and disruption that go along with having work done in their homes. It can’t be avoided but the extra care and effort I take goes a long way toward minimizing the inconvenience. For work in the most sensitive areas of your home, I am an expert at concealed retrofit work. Adding additional wall plugs, lights and new switches can sometimes be done without any damage to walls or woodwork. Even when major work does require cutting holes in walls and ceilings, I minimize the damage and, if necessary, leave the workspace clean and livable at the end of each workday.
I don’t advertise the lowest price or any phony 10−20−40% off deals. Think about it: 20% off of what? I just give you the best, professional service at a reasonable price. For service calls and small jobs under 4 hours long I charge $ 40 per hour. Free estimates are gladly given for larger projects. There’s no extra charge for weekend and evenings. I can do the whole job or will work with the do-​it-​yourselfers on your remodeling project.
Some of the services I provide are:
– Troubleshooting all electrical problems
– Add extra plugs, light and switches
– Specialty lighting: recessed, low-​voltage, undercabinet, accent
– Service upgrades
– Circuit breakers and sub-​panels installed
– Fuse boxes replaced with circuit breaker panels
– Kitchen and bath remodels
– Install ceiling fans
– Garage and garden circuits added
– Outdoor security lighting /​motion detector lights
– 240 V. circuits
– Cable TV /​Cat5 /​telephones
– Doorbells repaired
– Kitchen circuits added
– Dimmers
– Exhaust fan and duct installation
– Code violations corrected
– Appliances installed — Professional installation of all kitchen and laundry appliances including all water, gas, electric, exhaust vent and drain hook-​ups.
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