A-One Electric

I used A-​One electric for some rewiring work in a bathroom project. I have not ever used an electrician for anything in my house… usually what I need done is something I can handle on my own (turn off breaker and work on outlets, light fixtures, etc). This time I was needing an expert to prevent me burning down the house. Some major rewiring work.
At first I was skeptical of the high estimate Karen gave me… she gave me an hourly price estimate. I hesitate with that because I always am under the impression that they low-​ball for the bid on the work and then hit you with a huge cost. I asked for a fixed price estimate and was told by Karen that unforeseen issues can cause the price to be higher on a fixed estimate… whereas the hourly has the potential to be less.
I gambled and took her bid. When her two electricians arrived (one master electrician and one apprentice) they were very professional, made sure to ask us any questions before doing any work, and cleaned up after themselves.
Best of all, the final price was lower than the original estimate. Not to say that this will always be the case, but I did feel like they were honest with their work and did not try to screw me with a higher cost on the job.
I would recommend them and would use them again in the future.

I see that others have given A-​One high marks, and perhaps they’re good for simple stuff, but I cannot recommend them. I had an issue with a bedroom where every time I flipped on a light switch it tripped the breaker for the bedroom. A-One’s technician arrived unprepared (without even the right type of breaker to swap into my panel) and without the necessary expertise to diagnose the problem. He looked in the light switch box and, without unscrewing anything, concluded «everything looks right to me». He told me he could hunt around for the problem, but since he didn’t know what he was looking for, he would only find it by luck. I told him no thanks. I gave a call to a friend of mine, and he explained that what I was looking for was something that was causing current to leak onto the ground wire, because this would cause the breaker to read a higher than normal change when the switch was flipped, and therefore trip the breaker. I found the problem — a wire with a slice in its protective coating — in the same switch box the technician had glanced in. A one-​inch piece of electrical tape and the problem was solved. A-​One sent me a bill for $ 95 for doing nothing. I understand the «trip charge» concept, but considering the details of the trip, I don’t think it was deserved. I offered to split it with them ($ 45) and they said they would take me to small claims court. Nice.

I called the owner, Karen Phaup, yesterday because of various electrical problems in the home I am selling. Jason just left (on a Saturday no less) & fixed everything efficiently and at a very reasonable cost. Sigh of relief! Thank you!

We have used Karen many times for a variety of electrical jobs both at our home and our son’s home. She’s great. She comes on time and does exactly what she says she will. The work is done right. Even when we lived in Houston and rented the Austin home we live in now she was wonderful. We are happy to recommend her!

Karen and crew are great. The service was exceptional-​She made the time for my small residential project. The work was exactly what I wanted and they kept checking in to make sure it was what I wanted. The price was quite reasonable as well. Would highly recommend them.

I’ve used Karen 3 times, and she was terrific. Even my contractor was impressed with her and asked for her business card. She saved him time, and she saved me money. I am about to call her again to look at a short that I have in a property I’m putting on the market. Karen’s knowledge is excellent. She fixed a light in my house that didn’t work when no one else could figure it out. Her pricing was also very reasonable. I highly recommend Karen. I’ve used two other electricians throughout the years and none compare.

Karen is one of the most unreasonable people I have ever worked with. I needed a separate electrical panel set for a guest house and called Karen for a bid. She came in at $ 3,185 for PART of the work, while another Master Electrician came in at $ 1,625 for ALL of the work. When I didn’t award the job to her, she became irate and verbally abusive over the phone and in text messages. She even had the nerve to send me a bill for a service call, when I simply had her bid a job. She could never tell me why I should have paid over twice the amount of money to have her do PART of the job! Bottom line, if you need a light bulb changed and don’t care how much it costs, Karen is your girl. If you are considering using Karen for your electrical job, call several electrical professionals and seek competitive bids for your job.