While most of the knob and tube wiring in our 1918 house was removed in an earlier renovation, quite a bit still remained in our dining room and living room walls and ceilings. We turned to HomeStars to find a reputable company to replace these ancient circuits. Mapleleaf Electric Inc. caught our eye because of the company's excellent feedback rating, as well as its proximity to our house. I emailed the company to arrange for a quotation and the owner, Alex, got back to me very quickly. Within 24 hours he arrived to inspect the work to be done. I liked the fact that Alex was very thorough during his inspection. He used special circuit testers to identify not only the knob and tube runs, but also to check the "good" grounded wiring. It was painstaking work, as the knob and tube ran everywhere. We also asked Alex to wire new light fixtures and additional electrical outlets in the two rooms. The most difficult job called for the installation of new pendant lights in our dining room to replace ungrounded c. 1918 light fixtures. The catch: The four light fixtures were located where our dining room ceiling beams intersected. Because it was so difficult to fish wire through these wooden beams, which are only partially hollow, most of our neighbours with homes of the same age didn't bother to replace the original fixtures when they had new wiring put in. But I told Alex that we definitely wanted new lights in the beams. He said that he was confident that Mapleleaf Electric could do the job. Alex told me that the new fixtures should be CSA (UL) certified. He said he would not install anything else, because all of his work is ESA (Electrical Safety Authority) inspected. He sent his quote within 24 hours. While we might have found any number of electricians to do the job for less, we were confident that we wouldn't find anyone better, so we hired Mapleleaf Electric on the spot. As agreed, Alex and his team (three apprentice electricians) arrived exactly two weeks later at the appointed time of 8:00 am. They were very pleasant and worked with surprising speed and efficiency. It was a dirty job - the old wiring was filthy - but they took care to clean up as they went. They used the longest drill bits that I have ever seen, four to six feet long and highly flexible, to fish new wire through wall cavities, ceilings and the wooden beams in our dining room. I watched them work from a distance and was totally impressed. To fish through the wooden beams, they had to drill two additional small holes in the dining room ceiling and one in the wall, but the balance of their work was totally invisible and non-invasive. They intended to fill the three holes but I said I would do it myself, as I was planning other renovations in the dining room anyway. They wrapped up the job that day, before 4:00 pm. All of their work is perfect and we are extremely pleased. Alex was not available for the electrical inspection the next day, but he explained what would happen and what I should do. When he arrived, the ESA inspector said he was familiar with Mapleleaf Electric's work and had never had a problem with the company. He told me he was impressed with their work, particularly the difficult fish through the dining room beams. He gave Mapleleaf Electric a gold star. We're giving them one too!
