Burkin Electric

john t.

wonderful & prompt, will be dissappointed if jim retires!

john trumpy
dana hills

SteveinCA _.

I just had a small job to install two additional outside security lights on the outside stucco wall of my house, max. 3 hours work. Knowing that electricians generally do not like small jobs. I sent a detailed description and attached pics of the house in an email to an electrician who has been doing moderately bigger work for me. Never even received a reply. A second electrician - same thing. Both live 8 minutes down the road from me, deliberately picked to avoid making them travel.

So I decided to try to do the job myself, as I am experienced in such work. But, I got half way done and with the assistance of my neighbor It became immediately apparent that at 78 this stuff has suddenly become overwhelming for me. And the 13 foot extended ladder and I were no longer a good match, with my new handicaps. Odd, I don't know why :)

Then I remembered Jim Burckin from his installing a 60amp sub panel in my garage for my shop, 20 years ago. I reviewed the entries here and I also do not understand the unfavorable comments by some.

Jim promptly called me back that same day, and said he could fit this in at 7 - 8:00 am the next morning if that wasn't too early. Jim lives five blocks from me and worked me in to two jobs he is doing immediately near me.

When finished he voluntarily put away the several ladders I had set up in my abortive installation effort and put them away for me.

Jim is an extremely affable fellow, biggest risk being he'll talk your ear off :) .

Reading the reviews I can only say that as with all contractors, you need to be sure you are explaining your expectations well, and clearly understand each other. Yes, he was a little guarded on the initial phone before taking such a small job particularly when the customer had started it, but then happily came out. Small job contractors are hard to find.

True, you have to get his attention focused a little at initial discussion but he is great.

Heidi A.

A lot of talk explaining. Shock - extremely expensive for the job that was done. Be careful.
Scared my tenant by saying that all the wiring in the whole duplex unit could cause a fire and probably should all be replaced because it was still from 1953 when the building was built. Had to pay to hire another electrician to come in and check it. It was just fine. Would never hire Burkin again.

Delilah D.

I don't understand the negative reviews. I've used Burkin Electric several times over the last 3 years at both my home and business and found Jim to be nothing less than highly skilled and professional. He goes out of his way to explain how everything works and what needs to be done to get the job done. He is critical about making sure everything is up to code and I've never had any surprises when it was time to pay his bill. He's an old-school Master Electrician that does Union grade, high quality work. I've always felt he is honest and fair and I won't call anyone else when I need an electrician.

J.A. C.

Jim dropped by on short notice in between appointments on a Saturday, when we had a major electrical problem and were without electricity in half our house. He very patiently explained to us what he suspected the situation to be and his prior experience with similar houses in our neighborhood, and gave us some good instructions on what we could do in advance to decrease the time it would take him when he returned (simple things like unscrewing the faceplates, disconnecting computer and electrical items, removing things from cupboards that have outlets, moving desks, etc.).

Rather than talking over our heads or assuming we wouldn't understand enough for him to explain the situation, he described potential problems and remedies in terms we could pretty well understand, and was very personable and helpful.

He explained the necessity to check prior electrical work to make sure it was up to code, and also made excellent suggestions for upgrading and also for saving time/money.

My husband, an electrical engineer, commented afterward that he watched him work and was impressed with what he did, which was fairly extensive.

Completely happy and impressed with his work, we are getting an estimate from him for doing additional work in the future.

Shari C.

Never showed . . .Never called. . .to hook up our outdoor Fountain!!! However, after reading all these horror stories about Burkin Electric. . I'm glad I dodged that bullet!!!

John M.

Jim may be a master electrician, but his LISTENING and CUSTOMER SERVICE skills are sorely lacking.
I explained everything about the job - thoroughly, I thought - and Jim seemed to understand everything I asked him to do. He asked questions, he repeated back to me what I had told him, and even made some great suggestions. So the project was to install a photovoltaic sensor to replace a clock timer to control lights, and set up four outlet boxes near existing battery-operated security cameras, so that AC power could be used instead of batteries.
39 years of experience, my little job should have been a slam dunk, right?
First of all, he LOST THE KEY I GAVE HIM. Thanks, Jim. The fact that you spent time looking for it makes me feel so much better about it being lost. Don't worry about the expense of re-keying that lock!
Second, he seemed to lose track of why we wanted a photovoltaic sensor - but he installed it anyway, for no purpose. Yes, just attached it to the side of my building. For fun. Not connected to anything (although he had used the box to stuff excess cable - it was serving SOME function, I guess).
Third, there is a fourth camera position that is removed from the other three. There was a pair of existing light fixtures, which had been made somewhat redundant by recent lighting additions next door, so we agreed that we would remove one of the lights and cut the existing conduit back so that an electrical box could be installed near the existing battery-operated camera. We discussed this thoroughly, including the placement of the new box - NEAR THE EXISTING CAMERA because THAT IS WHERE I WISH TO PLACE THE NEW CAMERA.
No, no, no, I am a stupid idiot to want the outlet installed where I asked for it to be installed, because Jim decided it should be installed somewhere else - and with 39 years of experience, what could I possibly tell him that he doesn't already know?
It was ALL MY FAULT that I hadn't explained that bypassing the clock timer, to MY mind, meant that ALL of the light fixtures currently controlled by the timer should instead be controlled by the photovoltaic sensor.
It was also ALL MY FAULT that there was a photovoltaic sensor connected to nothing.
I gave him two stars instead of only one because, in the end, the job was completed.
As far as price fairness, his bid of $800-$1200 rounded up to $1327. His invoice does not break out hours worked or parts, but that would probably be my fault, too.

I would not recommend this electrician. HORRIBLE experience.

Kasia K.

First, let me say that these days it's hard to find QUALITY tradesmen that actually know what they are doing, are willing to educate the customer, and don't want to screw you out of your hard earned money. Why? Everybody with a pickup truck is a 'contractor' and if they happened to have replaced a bulb or a broken outlet - they consider themselves 'electricians'.
:-) I laugh, but sadly this is very true. So to have found Burkin Electric - is like winning gold. Honestly.

We bought a house in Concord few months back, and ever since then I wanted to renovate the garage - insulation, new drywall and most of all installing OUTLETS! Seems like such a non-important thing, if you don't spend much time there. But if you want to have a girl-cave (LOL - yes I said it!) you need a bunch of outlets where you can plug in the tools, the workout equipment, a TV... fridge, etc. Anyway - I digress!

I happen to see Burkin Electric truck every day while I walk my dog in the neighborhood, and during one of those walks (this Tuesday), I overheard Jim (the owner) advise his neighbor on some electrical issue. I thought - ""hey I gotta get a quote for the outlets in the garage!"" Few minutes later I gave them a call, left a voicemail and sure enough Jim called me back immediately. INCREDIBLY friendly man BTW - he promised to come by the next day and look at the garage wall and give me a quote. Without fail, he was at my house the next day (Wednesday). He took a long time to explain what the best solution in our situation would be and why, and gave me a quote for labor and materials. He was not pushy, he wasn't trying to convince me to hire his company - he simply gave me a ton of advise and said to let him know my decision. That same evening - we agreed to do the work and scheduled it for the NEXT day - Thursday (btw the worst weather we have seen in months!!!!!!).

Jim and his apprentice Mike showed up yesterday late afternoon/early evening - as promised while communicating with me throughout the day and figuring out timing. Mike - super nice guy as well - very polite and knowledgable. They worked in such terrible weather I can't even believe it AND it was already AFTER normal business hours!! The job of adding 3 new electrical circuits and a bunch of outlets was completed in the time frame promised. All of the outlets were tested prior to their departure, and the ""job site"" was spotless after Burkin left my house. Frankly - I owe them a big Thanks for vacuuming up the space!

The cost we agreed to on Wednesday was exactly what I was charged when the job was completed. No upsells. No additional stuff. Electrical components are pricy, but there was full disclosure on how much they would cost when we were discussing quote initially. Jim even handed me an itemized receipt from the hardware store!

To sum it up - I found our electrician! I would recommend it to anybody.

Patricia C.

Jim Burkin has done a couple of jobs for us in the past several years. Each time he did an excellent job with no surprises and a fair price. I am recommending him to a friend as I write this.

Dana C.

Beware of the quote for the job and the surprise at the end saying parts are extra. 800.00 job turned into a 1,300 job at the end. Never saw it coming. Extremely overpriced. Shop around first.