O'Connor & Sons Electric

Sreedhar M.

I called Tom on Christmas eve about a set of electrical sockets on a wall in my house that had stopped working. Tom first advised me over the phone, making sure I'd already tried all the usual things (checking the circuit breakers and resetting any tripped ones) to save me some cash in case it was a very simple fix I could do on my own. I had already tried resetting the breakers to no avail. Tom was able to come over very soon and after a thorough search through the entire house, he located a tripped breaker in a corner of the hot water tank room (I had no clue this existed and would never have known to look for it there). Tom was very friendly and very professional and knows his stuff. I highly recommend him and would definitely use him again for anything electrical issue in the future.

Bug B.

Tom O'Connor helped me with an electric issue at my home recently. He was thorough, prompt and resourceful. He is also very knowledgeable about all matters electric. He has a sense of humor and takes pride in his work. I am very satisfied and strongly recommend him.

Kelli M.

I called O'Connor and Sons on a Saturday for an emergency issue. I had contractors building a deck at my house when one of them got shocked by what appeared to be live chicken wire sticking out of the stucco. I was freaking out, and after calling PG&E, I called Tom who immediately responded. He came out, figured out the issue and resolved it. It turned out to be much less dire than we (PG&E and myself) had thought- a single nail had just barely nicked a wire, no live chicken wire running through the stucco.

Tom was quick to respond, took care of the problem quickly, and was very reassuring. I also felt that he was very honest in that he explained if I really, really wanted, he could do more extensive work by opening up the wall, but that in his honest opinion it would be a waste of my money. I appreciated that he explained things to me in depth, and in a manner in which I could understand (electrical engineering is not my forte, to put it mildly). To top things off, he gave me a discount on his usual hourly rate because the problem was less dire than originally thought (to be clear, this was an unnecessary, though highly appreciated gesture).

Also, he's really nice and has a great sense of humor, which is always a major bonus. I mean, nobody likes dealing with a surly contractor in an already stressful situation, you know?

Marc D.

We were having an emergent issue with our electrical. Tom came out and immediately identified it and gave me an honest and clear opinion of the work. I appreciated his frankness. He replaced our main electrical panel in a very timely fashion with excellent quality. I highly recommend him and his work!

Jonathan M.

I owe Tom O'Connor a debt of gratitude for finding and fixing our electrical problems quickly, capably and affordably.

What a contrast with the first merchant we called, who tried to convince us that the house needed major rewiring to avoid an imminent fire hazard (total estimate in excess of $15,000!).

Go with Tom. He's honest, and you'll like the quality and value of his work.

Jay N.

Just had an excellent experience this morning calling up Tom to fix a very mundane issue: changing a battery in a very high-up, very hard-to-reach smoke detector that would not stop beeping! Very impressed with how quickly he arranged to come out and get it done, at how eager he was to just help me out, and how reasonable he was with his pricing.

The incessant, incredibly annoying beeping started Saturday morning, and my hopes of finding someone with a tall ladder willing to come out for a 5-minute project on a Saturday were pretty low. Quick Yelp search showed great reviews for Tom; I left him a voicemail and got a call back within minutes. He was very polite and eager to help, and said he would call back soon with more information on timing. He did as promised and offered to come out to see what ladder would be required/if this would be feasible. Within literally 10 minutes of that phone call, he was in my place checking out the setup; about 10 minutes after that, he had returned with a van complete with an array of ladders. He took care to protect my wall and carpeting while getting up on the ladder and had the battery changed in no time. Beeping resolved and sanity preserved!

We then spent more time chatting after the work was done than the time spent to change the battery! I had started my day super annoyed at my smoke alarm and at the prospect of trying to find a guy willing to come out and help; I will finish my day knowing that I've found an honest, intelligent, and dependable electrician I can call on any time in the future if, God forbid, I have a more complex electrical issue. It's easy to call up a bunch of places and compare quotes, but those are just numbers. In just this short interaction with Tom, I can clearly see that he is one of those trades people who is committed to doing his craft as well as it can be done and to helping his customers. I couldn't imaging having any other kind of contractor working on something as important as the electrical setup of a home.

Scott T.

Tom might be the last honest man in the electrical contracting business. We had a problem with lights and receptacles shorting out and flickering. We called Tom as one of a number of local contractors because he was in the area doing a job just down the street. Within 10 minutes he had arrived at the door, coffee in hand and proceeded to diagnose the problem as soon as he opened the panel and observed the shoddy work performed by another electrical contractor several years ago. He immediately told us what to do, we got a permit within an hour and he had parts on his truck. From start to finish it took less than 3 hours and we were back up and the house was running again. Since I work from home with clients overseas and also take online classes it was imperative that I had access to the Internet. I highly recommend O'Connor & Son's Electric. They are friendly, professional, and responsive. If they are not immediately available, wait for them to be available! You will be glad you did. BTW, they came in 20% below the estimate.

Brynn E.

Our furnace stopped working and Tom was over in just a few minutes. He fixed the problem faster than expected. I would call him again for future problems.

Lisa H.

We recently had an electric charger installed for our electric car through a company that Nissan recommended. They did a fine job but when the electrical inspector came out to inspect the installation, she found several things wrong in work that we had done previously when we remodeled our house. With a 10-day notice to make the repairs or have our electrical service disconnected, we called Tom to come over and fix the mess. He came over that same day, figured out what needed to be done and sent Julian over to rewire the subpanel in the garage. From a jumbled mess of wires, Julian created a work of art, everything in place and labeled. More importantly, by the next week, Tom had coordinated the city inspector and the city utilities to come out, discuss what needed to be done, turn off the utilities, re-string the wires from the utility pole to the house, turn the utilities back on and had everything inspected and signed off in a single day. Very efficient, very competent and he has a lovely Irish accent to boot :)

Rebecca H.

O'Connor & Sons came recommended to us by someone who inspects a lot of homes. This guy sees all sorts of crazy dangerous electrical mistakes and said Tom's work is always top notch. We are very thankful for that referral to O'Connor and Sons.

Moving into a 1959 Eichler with the original electrical panel and some funky switch behavior, we knew we needed some safety upgrades. Tom and his lead electrician Julian diagnosed and repaired a few potentially dangerous situations and really brought our house into the 21st century. Julian works quickly and quietly and gets the job done. Tom is open and honest and does not oversell you on more than you need (like a 200 amp panel when 100 or 125 will fit all your needs).

Their knowledge is extensive. O'Connor & Sons have decades of experience on all types of homes and buildings and situations. Old mansions, McMansions, ranches, Eichlers, office space, and more. Small repairs, new construction, remodels, etc. Tom is also well versed in other aspects of building and home repair/remodels in general. I trust his advice. He has saved us a ton of money and time by connecting us with solid, honest tradespeople.

One final thought: When balancing the safety of your family against potentially shoddy electrical work, is it wise to hire the lowest bidder who may use cheap parts and cut corners? Will that lowest bidder guy be around when things stop working? Both Tom and Julian live and are raising families in Palo Alto. They are established and community-minded people. I like knowing they will be around years from now.

I heartily recommend them for all your electrical needs.