Capelles Electric

Keith came out on short notice when half our houses electric was out. His prices were affordable. He was honest and knowledgeable. He made us feel comfortable as first time home owners and patiently explained things clearly. He was very professional. Would highly recommend
Jun 20th, 2024

Our 1960s era, Rochester starter-home, is being prepped for sale. We knew going into this, that there was one glaring fault with the electrical system: a cracked power mast through which the overhead power lines are routed down into a small basement bathroom where the fuse box was located. We contacted Keith Capelle on 4/18/24, and he was able to come out and look at the project the very next day. That was our first indication he was quick to get things going. The scope of the work needed turned out to be far in excess of what Id originally anticipated. I naively believed it was as simple as replacing the power mast and power meter, for what I had hoped would come in at under $900. Alas, changes to the electrical codes from 1963 to the present, meant that virtually everything in our original electrical service needed an overhaul / update. The proverbial first domino to fall was that a deck had been built below the incoming overhead power lines. Current code requires a minimum distance between overhead power lines and deck structures. It's to prevent a person from ever contacting the power. A taller mast could have been selected, but that required re-wiring through the power-meter and fuse box. Re-wiring to the fuse-box raised a red-flag because newer code does not allow a fuse-box to be located in a bathroom. That meant we had to relocate where the service panel was placed. And if you are going to move the service panel, it makes sense to convert from a fuse protected panel to one equipped with modern day circuit breakers. And if youre doing all that work, why not upgrade from a 150 Amp service to a 200 Amp one to prepare for the day when new home owners want to add a charger port for their EV? The end result was that we ended up having Keith and his crew trench in a new higher capacity line from the base of the utility pole to a new circuit-breaker based service panel. One that incorporated both Ground Fault detection and Arc Fault detection. Consequently, Keiths estimate for the entire project was an order of magnitude higher than what I initially thought it would be. But Ill say he was very good at explaining why every decision was either required (due to code and the physical layouts of water and HVAC lines in our basement, plus our deck location) or recommended (due to future-proofing the service). Keith knows his electrical codes, and knows what hes doing. And his pleasant demeanor made this bitter pill ($$$) a lot easier to swallow. I need to be clear here, yes it was an expensive project. But at no point did I think he was over-charging for his services. There simply was a lot of work involved in bringing a 1960's house up to today's standards. Keith was also great at making suggestions that hadnt even crossed our minds. For instance, Call up Metronet and Charter/Spectrum to arrange for them to come out and lay their current overhead Fiber and Coax lines into the still open trench after we first lay the power cable and have partially refilled the trench. That one idea opened up the entirety of our backyard for a big tree, as there are now no overhead wires of any sort. Work started on Monday April 22nd. Primarily just getting the exterior junction box with integrated power meter mounted to the house and the interior circuit-breaker panel mounted in the basement away from water lines and HVAC duct work. Tuesday was trenching. I will note that Keith and crew were as careful as they could be to avoid churning up our lawn anywhere other than where the trench was cut in. Work finished by late in the afternoon on Thursday April 25th. There was a lot of additional smaller activity. Keiths crew of Brian and Kyle did the bulk of the actual hands-on labor. Both were friendly and able to communicate to us exactly what they were doing and, more importantly, why they did it that way. Really appreciated their professionalism including simple things like cleaning up at the end of their shift. We would definitely hire Capelle's Electric again.
May 16th, 2024

GREAT SERVICE,EXPLAIN THE JOB HE WAS DOING.FINISHED IN TIMELY MATTER.CLEAN UP AFTER WORK WAS DONE.Very through.
Apr 24th, 2024

In 2022, I needed an electric disconnect box for my food concession business and I wanted an estimate and this company was one of the first that I called. I had an disconnect box for my first set up and this was for the second set up that I was building. The company that built the first electrical box was no more around, so I was trying to see if someone else can build it up for me. The cost in 2014 was $1,300. I headed to the google address but it looked like a farm house so I drove away and decided to call. I called them and described what I wanted and I said I will email some additional information so we could start that way. And they agreed. I emailed the drawings and requirements from the MN state website and I attached the photo of my first disconnect box with the note to call me back when they are able to look into it. A couple days went by and no call back so I decided to call them again. I talked to Keith and he said he could not open any of the attachments, so I said I will try again, with a different format. I emailed it again and I emailed it to myself on a different computer. I was able to open the photo of my first disconnect box as well as the attachment from the MN state license website. I called Keith again and he claimed he could not open anything, which might me true. I am not denying that. The thing was that he appeared disinterested (both times I called) in considering a job and he did not offer any other solutions, like Hey stop by in person so I could look at. Nor he said that he is busy now and really dont have time with my disconnect box. In the end, I bought a manufactured disconnect box, per Hicks Electric advise. I am really puzzled how could this company have 4.7 stars. I will give them 2 stars because they answered the phone. Some others like Winkels Electric, never even bothered to call back, nor I could speak to electrician. I could speak with secretary only.
Apr 20th, 2024

Keith and his team are great to work with. I called on a Monday and by Thursday the same week, the job was complete. They were friendly and worked quickly. Not only did they complete the job but it looked really nice and professional as well. I would call on them again in a heartbeat!
Apr 12th, 2024