Howard Simons Electrical

I’m going to add my voice to the chorus of people praising Howard. He was such a pleasure to work with– we needed a more detailed evaluation of a commercial office/​industrial space following a somewhat alarming general inspection. Howard made time that week and was flexible when we needed to reschedule. He was the only one of our specialists that requested the home inspection in advance of our meeting — and actually read it! He came prepared to walk the clients through exactly what the home inspection said and why. He went above and beyond in so many ways. I am a Chicago-​dweller so typically I would never have been Unilocaling Skokie electricians so we got lucky. Howard will permanently be in my Rolodex! I don’t know how his pricing compares –clients have not embarked on the repairs yet, but Howard would be a welcome addition to any home inspection team.
Edit: also, Michael C, regarding your «middling» review, if you think an electrician that shows up on time, get the job done within 20 minutes of the anticipated timing, and does not want to repair your BROKEN ELECTRICITY with his shoes off is «average», then best of luck finding a professional that will satisfy you. Gross.

THE BEST! Just like all the other reviewers I’m delighted with the service from Howard. He is highly experienced, thoughtful and kind. Howard came over to fix our garage outlets which were tripping a circuit breaker. He listened carefully to the symptoms, took a targeted approach to problem solving and our issue was fixed in an hour– highly recommended!

Howard is excellent. I highly recommend him.
I first called him a few weeks ago when I had an electrical issue in my master bath. While we were talking on the phone, he advised me to check the simple things first, like the circuit breaker. Turns out, the circuit breaker had popped. Switched it back on, and most (but not all) of my problem was solved. I appreciated his willingness to help troubleshoot over the phone — even when he wasn’t getting paid.
Howard came to the house a few days later to resolve the remainder of the issue. A couple of hours later all was well again! He even installed an exhaust fan/​light while he was here.
Howard is friendly, knowledgeable, prompt, and professional. If I need any additional electrical work in the future, he’s my guy.

I used Howard to install back porch lights for my parents’ house and everything went smoothly. He came when he said and the price was right. I then called to have him install a front porch light for my house and he cancelled on me twice. This is fine because I know it’s a small job but now he won’t respond to my text messages so I can get the job done. Shame because I had quite a lot of business to throw his way but I like to test out the service before getting to deep in with them and realizing they are unreliable. Look else where if you want someone you can count on.

Howard responded to my frantic call on a Sunday. My smoke/​CO2 wired detector battery had died and the detector was chirping despite me having replaced the battery; as I had people coming over for brunch, I needed this fixed asap. Howard was gracious to come over in a timely manner despite having lunch plans of his own. He fixed the issue quickly; and was very friendly. I highly recommend him; he is professional, knowledgeable and friendly.

Howard Simons is brilliant — not to mention very kind. I had been told by 2 other electricians that my outdoor light fixtures needed to be completely replaced — that the wiring was burnt out and useless. I put off replacing them for a few months and in the meantime, other electrical issues arose throughout my house (bathroom outlets and outdoor outlets). Based on all the excellent Unilocal reviews, I thought I would give Howard a try — thank goodness I did. He showed up on time and worked for several hours. I kept popping my head outside thinking he must need something, but all I saw was Howard going in and out of his truck completely immersed in his work. He not only fixed what I had been told was impossible, he saved me both my time and money by not having to replace light fixtures that he was able to repair! His work did not stop there… he stayed to answer all my questions on exactly what was done, and explained how he fixed things. Howard Simons clearly knows his stuff, enjoys his work and is simply a very nice man! Thank you Howard!

I called Howard based on his excellent Unilocal reviews. He arrived on time at my house this morning and took care of my electrical issue. The job turned out to be a bit more extensive than anticipated, yet his pricing was fair and I’m confident with his quality of work. I am pleased to recommend Howard to other Unilocal users.

Based on a number of other positive Unilocal reviews, I called Howard to get help with several small electrical tasks including moving a light switch, installing electrical boxes for some vanity lights, fixing a poorly wired outdoor light, and replacing a doorbell. Howard and his coworker showed up exactly when they said they would and they did a great job at a reasonable price.

Howard knows electric. We bought a condo that was twenty years old. There were switches on the walls that went to nowhere. It was a mystery trying to figure things out. He put new sockets in and made changes to our specifications. He put in two new ceiling fans and three closet lights. He worked for over six hours. I was concerned about what this was going to cost us, but his final bill was very reasonable, to my surprise. He is very nice and easy to talk with too. Thanks to Unilocal comments.

Howard is legitimately good at what he does. He is no fuss, no muss, gets the job done. He will do little jobs, big jobs, etc. He upgraded my whole house from two prong to grounded outlets, replaced a few sconces, two ceiling fans, installed flourescent lights in my basement and garage and was kind and timely and professional. I would recommend him to anyone. He knows his stuff!

We needed to have a number of small things done — fix light switches, replace outdated outlets, install a chandelier — and Howard had good reviews so we called.
He was able to schedule the appointment pretty quickly after I contacted him, he called when knew he’d be late, he worked hard on our projects, and he did a great job for a good price. We’re thrilled with the work!

We hired Howard Simons to install a light fixture over a stairway, a couple of fans, and to convert some light cans to regular light boxes from which to hang fixtures. We thought we needed to convert the cans to light boxes to allow us to insulate in the ceiling. Howard gave us an estimate and then came out to do the work. Long story short, he told us that we could accomplish the insulating without having to replace the cans, installed the light and fans, and also repaired three outdoor outlets and then charged us only 60% of his original estimate. We would recommend him to anyone and will be sure to hire him again when we need electrical work done. Thanks, Howard!!!

Based on the reviews here, I called Howard first thing on a Monday. We needed someone to figure out why we were living in electric bizarre world. Lights and outlets were working in some parts of the house but not in others. If you turned on the switch in one room, it didn’t turn on that room’s lights but it did turn on the lights in another room. Lights which previously had worked were now dead (we have a house that was built in the 20s and much of the wiring is still original).
Howard was pleasant and businesslike on the phone, listened to my description of what was going on, asked if it was an emergency (not really… just annoying), and told me that he might be able to come by late that day depending on his previously scheduled work but was definitely available two days later. He said he would let me know as the day progressed if he would be able to come by that same day.
Howard called midafternoon when he was on his way. He diagnosed our problem, explained it, fixed the immediate issue for a fair price, and gave us a fairly-​priced cost for replacing the old wiring in our house. He also told us approximately how long that project would take, which is important to me because I telecommute.
Our experience with Howard was wonderful. We look forward to doing business with him for all of our electrical needs in the future. He is friendly, knowledgeable, and explains well what the problem is and how to fix it.

Just had Howard Simons out today. Called in the morning as we only had half the electrical in the house working. Fortunately, he was on a job nearby and came out that morning. He did a very through job diagnosing the problem (which I thought would be storm related and found out I was completely wrong).
Turns out after checking circuit breakers and all the typical stuff, the issue it was my dog urinating on part of the floor over the crawlspace, that dripped down and started to corrode the electrical «stuff» down there. He replaced what needed replacing and saved me SO much time and most likely, money. He and his associate were so helpful, calming and trustworthy. I would definitely use Howard Simons again and recommend him highly.

After reading the reviews, I would have expected more. After coming in to the house and helping resolve the problem (a minor one) he stayed around 20 minutes longer to make the total time over 1hr, and billed us more. He also didn’t want to take his shoes off when coming in the house and did not have covers for them… on a rainy day, I would expect a Unilocal 5 star to have been more courteous.
On the bright side, he charged the hourly rate that he states and he came on time. All in all, an average experience.

I hired Howard Simons Electrical when I somehow lost electricity to the 2^nd floor of my house while at work one day. I called Howard at 6:30 pm and he was able to come out the next day (.We used a few long extension cords from downstairs to get us through the night)
Howard tested the circuit box and found the problem quickly. He went to his truck, got the parts and fixed the problem– and explained what he did and why. My 2^nd floor electricity was restored within 30 minutes and I was charged $ 100 total parts/​labor.
Howard was very pleasant and courteous and knew what he was doing.
I would not hesitate to hire Howard SImons Electrical for any future electrical repair.

Had Howard back to repair some ancient bad wiring. Thought is was going to be an easy repair but turned out to be very complicated and extensive. Howard was persistent in finding a solution and made sure that it was fixed appropriately and completely. Hire this man!

Howard is the REAL DEAL.
I needed some major electrical work done on my new (older) home, and had several electricians come in to give me an estimate. As i mentioned, this was no small job, the house was still wired to a fuse box from the ‘50s, so hopefully you can imagine what kind of undertaking this was.
Out of all the estimates I received, the thing that stuck out about Howard was his attitude. While the other 3 electrician’s (who I found on Unilocal) gave me long-​winded, repetitive, and overly salesy pitches; Howard gave it to me straight. He told me what needed to be done, asked what I wanted to address, informed me how many days the job would potentially take, and then he left. no nonsense. no drama. no BS.
After considering all the other estimates, I chose to move forward with Howard and let me tell you I made the right choice. Everything I asked for was completed per my original request. The price was competitive, yet reasonable. The job was completed on time without any problems. What more could you want from your electrician.
If you want to be coddled by your electrician, then look elsewhere.
If you want to be ‘scared’ into getting more work done, then look elsewhere.
If you want to overpay for your electrical work, then look elswhere.
BUT
If you want an experienced electrician who will LISTEN to you, give you a fair deal, and complete the job successfully, then Howard is your guy.
*** if you leave him an email/​voicemail, and he doesn’t follow-​up right away, don’t get discouraged. Howard is a very busy guy and is always out on a job– be patient! He WILL get back to you.

Howard is the man. Straight and to the point. He fixed our electrical breaker problem and was honest about it. I got other electricians to come out and they all said I needed to replace the entire electrical service to the tune of about $ 2000 – 3000.
Howard told me that he would not replace the service unless need be and he did not think it was necessary.
He will be our go-​to electrician from this point on.
Call Howard, you wont be sorry. He may be busy so be patient and wait for a call back. It is worth the wait for someone honest and whom will save you money in this day and age.

Hopefully this 5-​star review helps balance out the guy who got free advice and decided as a thanks he would harm this guy’s perfect rating. What a tool.
I would hire Howard again to do work in my home. The cost was extremely reasonable. The job was installing an extra breaker and running a new circuit in my basement with two extra outlets and extending an existing line for a 3^rd outlet. Howard 1) Picked up the phone when I called 2) Came over to provide an estimate quickly 3) Has a good appointment turnaround 4) Shows up on time 5) Keeps the work area clean 6) Is happy to answer any and every question.
We have been burned by different contractors and handymen in different ways (we’re young first-​time homeowners with a fixer-​upper) so I really appreciated that Howard looked at the problem we had, provided a fixed-​bid amount to do this job, and made sure that he was doing exactly what we wanted with our home.