NOTE: This review was written about month after the work was done, so I can't remember all the details perfectly, and as such am giving the electrician the benefit of the doubt where appropriate. ;-)
I contacted them and clearly specified that I wanted to have the following installed:
- a new ceiling fan/light fixture, with a dimmable light/remote to be connected to it
- two new ceiling lights, with a new dimmer wall switch to be installed for each of the two new lights
When I made the appointment, I asked if I could get Mo, Warren or Eugene, and...surprise, surprise, I was told that '...it all depends on who's available on that date... we'll have to see...however all our people are pros...blahblah' (though Yelp reviews here suggest otherwise...)
I forget the name of the guy who came...maybe Eugene(?). I just know that it was not Mo, Warren or Randy.
The guy who came was nice and personable enough, and was clearly experienced However there were a few small things...
Regarding the ceiling fan that has a single light fixture (completely encased under a slippery glass 'dome'...horribly designed, and now impossible to remove, should I ever want to change the bulb.... Argh!) ...anyway, the lighting which I wanted to be dimmable.... I was told in advance that I'd need to purchase a remote intended for use with a ceiling fan, and that would work with a dimmable bulb. I'm not an electrician, so I don't expect to understand how the light/fan/bulb/remote should intersect with one another or how they should be installed. That's why I hired a professional electrician. But at the very least, I know that I purchased the appropriate remote to work with a ceiling fan and a dimmable bulb.
Net, net, it turns out that apparently my particular ceiling fan/light only works with CFL bulbs, and as it also turns out....CFL bulbs are more or less Not Dimmable(?!!) So.... after my spending all that money for a dimmer, it turns out my light is ultimately NOT dimmable. In retrospect, it's unfortunate that the electrician didn't know this after reading all the installation directions...after reading the lighting fixture specs??... it's unfortunate that the company didn't forewarn me or inform me that installing a ceiling fan/light, and wanting it to be dimmable, is even more complex than I originally realized??
Once the electrician finished installing the ceiling fan/light, he then moved on to installing my two new ceiling lights. He started installing the new light in my living room area (...I was nearby working on my computer), and I looked up to see that.... he had simply taken a guess as to which light I wanted in the living room, without actually checking with me first. Thankfully he hadn't gotten far in the process, so I was able to stop him and tell him he was putting the wrong fixture in the living area ceiling.
The company had told me in advance that if I wanted new dimmers installed, it would be best if I purchased them myself in advance, as it would cost more $ if they had to purchase them FOR me. So I went to Home Depot, and picked up dimmer switches for the wall. Unfortunately, as I later realized, dimmer switches are essentially just the electrical component of the dimmer.... they don't come with 'wall plates' to cover up the rest of the area around the dimmer switch itself. (Never having bought dimmers before, and also buying multiple dimmers at Home Depot...multiple LCD bulbs to try out etc.... why would it have occurred to me that I'd also need totally new wall plates...that my existing ones would no longer work?
So... after the work was all done, I had to make another trip to HD to purchase wall plates. It would have been nice if the company had mentioned this to me when they first suggested I purchase my own dimmer switches. Like I said, I'm not the expert here... I've never had electrical work like this done before...so why would this detail have occurred to me?
Net, net, they accomplished what I wanted for the most part. I now have a terrific ceiling fan over my bed. It's installed evenly, and the moving blades are totally silent.
As for my two new ceiling lights, they look so much nicer than the old-school NYC rental apartment ceiling lights that my cheapo LL had put in. AND they both dim! Beautiful!!