Bowie Electric Service

If you are looking for a fair priced, small business that delivers superior quality, this is the company for your electrical needs. I was impressed with Bowie's quote for a complete rewire, a few upgrades, and replacing  my electric heaters (they did not take advantage of the market and gave an honest quote for the work). The final price matched the original quote to the penny.

Chuck came out to assess the work that needed to be done and handled everything leading up to the job. He answered all of my questions promptly and in detail for weeks following (I had a lot of questions).

Craig and Garrett did the work over the course of a week and a day. They were extremely professional and took care to clean up after themselves after each day.  I was impressed with how few holes they drilled in the drywall to do the rewire. They really took the time and care to do things the right way and do as little damage as possible in the process. We had an exterior plug added and I was very concerned that the older cedar siding might be damaged, but they did an incredible job.

I cannot recommend this company enough. I am extremely happy with every single step of the process and the final product delivered. Thank you so much Bowie Electric!

We've had two interactions with Bowie -- they replaced an electric heater that died, and did a fine job so far as we can tell, were prompt, diagnosed the issue, and our new heater works fine. But this review is really for my recent experience -- we are switching our stove from gas to electric and thought we needed to get a new 240 outlet installed. I talked to Rick, who gave me a very rough ballpark of costs and asked me to send a photo of our panel. After looking at the picture, Rick explained that it looked like we already had 240 and I should pull out the stove to take a look. Lo and behold, there was a 240 outlet! Thanks to Rick for his patience and saving me the expense of a service call! We'll definitely use Bowie again.

We needed some electrical work done in preparation for a new washer and dryer. Companies I called, including Bowie, were scheduled several weeks out due to labor shortages. However, Bowie put me on a wait list and was able to come out and do the work sooner when they had a previous job that finished early. I greatly appreciated that!

My job was relatively simple but more complicated than anticipated. Not only did I need to have an old 3-prong receptacle replaced with a new code compliant 4-prong outlet, but we discovered that the old electric circuit did not have a ground wire. Bowie replaced the circuit, installed a new wall-mounted box and outlet on the wall, and reconfigured the wiring in the panel box.

The electricians clearly explained the work, and we talked about alternate routes for the circuit. The work was very professional and the electricians were friendly and respectful. I would definitely use Bowie again.

Another side note. The work was done by a licensed electrician accompanied by an apprentice. I appreciate that Bowie hires apprentices that will lead to an increase the number of licensed electricians.

Cory at Bowie Electric is exceptional. Our new house was a bit of an electrical mess and Cory's knowledge and expertise really showed. He did an amazing job addressing our electrical issues and went above and beyond to make sure all of our needs were met. He was on time, friendly, and courteous. I highly recommend Bowie Electric and we will absolutely be requesting Cory for any future electrician needs!

Terrific business.  Simply the best. You can't find anyone who does a better job.  My family have all used Bowie Electric over the years and each and every time they have been professional, good, and bonus: really nice.  Prices are reasonable and commensurate with work done.  I don't bother getting other quotes now.

Bowie electricians, Craig and Garrett just finished rewiring our old house, so we spent five days with them. They were very efficient, thoughtful and thorough. I would highly recommend them. It was surprising how little mess it made, despite our lath and plaster walls.

We had an electrical issue that we wanted to get checked out. Like all other shops in Seattle, Bowie was pretty booked up but they took our contact details and within a week, when they had some time available were able to come out. The electrician that showed up was great and was able to solve the issue quickly and professionally. I will be calling Bowie again for sure.

I used to think of Bowie as an honest company but my experience this past year has been disappointing to say the least. Three highlights:

1) they greatly underbid the job and Chuck admitted to it on the phone
2) they didn't complete all the work as discussed and ended up having to pull additional permits = additional cost
3) they just sent me a bill for $210 for the 15 minutes I spent with an electrician to discuss the work they didn't complete
3) I find out a year later that no inspection was done for my permits.

I was able to get a tech out to my home within 10 days, it was not an issue that was threatening my health and welfare, in my home. BOWIE came out sooner than anticipated, solved my minor issue, quickly, and the tech called me to let me know what he did to solve my electrical problem.
I would recommend BOWIE ELECTRIC to any homeowner in need of electrical servicing. Drew

I've had Bowie Electric in a few times and had a great experience every time. They are friendly, courteous, and do a great job! This last time they installed a ceiling lamp - went up into the attic, had to put a switch on the wall, etc. and it all went very well, including cleanup, and really great handling of my dogs.

Fantastic experience working with Bowie. Cory not only went above and beyond to wire in a new 220 outlet for the electric car, they also let him come back the next day to fix a mistake of mine (I had not specified the right outlet). Very fair price too - $400 less than another quote. We will definitely be using them again.

Bowie Electric is our most trusted electrical contractor whom we refer our clients to steadily. Integrity, advocacy, experience, proficiency sum it up. We're thankful that we have someone as skilled to put our clients in front of. Part of our reputation depends upon our ability to refer to quality and reputable service providers, and we always know that we'll hear back positive feedback from our clients with Bowie. They've done work for countless of our listing preparation projects and I am always impressed. You're in good hands!

The electrical work performed was excellent.  There was one oversight with wire placement that my general contractor had to fix.

What is unacceptable was that on the last day the electricians were on the job for finish work, they did a significant amount of damage to our new wood floors.  By almost every outlet, there are gouges in the wood from their tools/boots.  It was mostly from the younger worker left behind by the more senior electrician.  When I came home from work and found this, I was amazed.  The extent of the damage would be so much to fix.  I will not use Bowie again.

Adaptable, friendly, speedy and reliable. Had someone come by today for some concerns with a couple of fixtures, and not only did he check them out, he took the time to explain the systems and show me examples (like - don't put normal lightbulbs in cup/recessed lighting because thermal switching happens*, the modern standards of half-hot installations, etc) which I really appreciated. As much as I really don't want any electrical issues with my house to happen EVER, if I need work done or an issue fixed, I'm glad to know these guys are around.

* ...no I didn't do this. But it was good to know exactly why you shouldn't! I didn't know they had thermal catches! Did you? I BET YOU DID NOT AND NOW YOU DID. And we both are enriched by the experience!

Excellent customer service and timely communication. Sometimes, this really does make all the difference. Asked the right questions of us to ensure that all the needed parts were available for the service. Talked us through the options and arrived at the right solution for our needs. Prices are reasonable with respect to other local electricians and are explained thoroughly up front.

We had Bowie do a two floor knob and tube retrofit on our 100 year old house. We got quotes and bids from four companies. We went with Bowie because they had the best price (by 15% to 50%) and had the quickest scheduling. Their work was absolutely excellent with minimal intrusion and exceedingly high professionalism. The care that Bowie's electricians went through to rewire our house notwithstanding the complexity was top-notch. We really couldn't be happier with the work.

The work might be OK, but their communication is poor and they don't accommodate any special requests. They offer their thing and you can take it or leave it.

You know, they did a really awesome job!

Obviously experienced, knew what they were doing. The prices were competitive. The electricians were pleasant to work with.

Overall, I definitely trust them and I would use them again... so why only 3 stars? Because we had multiple scheduling snafus that cost members of our family (especially me) work time.

First someone told me they'd email me Friday but hadn't done so by Tuesday, so I had to nudge again. Then they wanted to schedule it for the end of the month, when I'd already stipulated that it would have to be earlier to beat a competing offer. (They fixed this, and everything went fine in the end... but communication could have been smoother.) Then they flat out spaced on an appointment...

Bottom line, they are super busy (probably because they're so good) and they NEED to hire a full time office manager in charge of scheduling. Once they do that, I would be happy to recommend them and update my star rating.

This company's owner has asked me to edit my initial review. I have done so. The guy who answered the phone was curt, unhelpful and was dismissive enough in multiple ways that I was prompted to write a rare negative review. They are booked six weeks out. It's one thing to be busy, it's another to let you know your business isn't really of interest. Despite assuring me everyone else was booking out the same timeframe (because the owner says they have been told so by many of their customers), the very next electrician I called got me in this week and was refreshingly pleasant to work with, so it all turned out fine.

As they did with Amani, when I called Bowie, the man I talked to asked me lots of questions and then gave me some homework to do (a few things to run around and check on myself), with instructions to call back if that didn't fix the problems.  

It didn't, so they sent one of their guys out within two days.  He was very nice, got the work done quickly, and also advised me of a few things that I could do myself to make our house safer, electrically.  I really appreciated that they weren't interested in taking advantage of me and helped me trouble-shoot first.

If you like your electricity done correctly, use these guys.  They have been in Ballard since 10 minutes after it was invented.  Their staff will sell you what you need, and probably rescue a puppy from a sewer pipe if the moment calls for it.  They are a busy shop, so plan ahead.  When you are that good, it happens.  If you need immediate assistance they will be there promptly.  I have had residential and commercial work done by them, and have been impressed every time.  I know a thing or two about the craft so I feel like my opinion matters, unlike when I review Yugoslavian slasher movies (take those with a grain of salt).  
If you need it wired, call these guys.  In the meantime, keep the hair dryer out of the shower.

We have uswd Bowie Electric for years on our rental proprties. They always deliver great work with their experienced technicians. Big or small jobs not a problem. They are good about getting the job done right and fast, ultimately saving cost.

They are great at converting fuse boxes to breakers as well. They get the required permits and finish the job with a final inspection from the city.

This is a very experienced company and highly recommended.

I called Bowie last week in need of an outlet installation over my fireplace. After promising not to schedule during overtime hours (I am not going to pay overtime for a quick job, especially if it is knowingly scheduled into overtime on their end) I had an appointment for a couple days later. The electrician showed up right on time, after calling ahead. We ended up having a rat problem in our attic that this gentleman discovered. He was not phased and finished the work quickly and without complaint, I certainly wouldn't have gone back up there! The outlet ended up being installed a bit too high after a math error on his part, and was cut before I got back in the room to check, but it ended up working out beautifully. He apologized and offered to move it, but we decided to leave it where it was.

They lose a star for making me haggle to get the work scheduled during straight time and for the math error, but really those are small things. In the end, the courteous service, bravery to mingle with rodents, and neat, clean work that hasn't blown any fuses makes me a fan.

I hired Bowie electric for work in my Capitol Hill Anhault and they did excellent work, finishing in time and within budget. They were also able to accommodate me earlier than planned with another customer rescheduling their work. I would hire him again.

Excellent service, we called 7 am in the morning and they were able to send the electrician to my home right away. The electrician is very professional, able to identify the problem after a few test. The price is reasonable ( I actually know the part price that he change out ...walk in Lowe and Home Depot enough times ). Highly recommended.

I am pleased to recommend to you Bowie Electric. We are very impressed with their interior and exterior work at our commercial building, Max's expertise on products and lighting placement, their detailed estimate, and Jim's professionalism on the job (which included meticulous clean up) sold us on hiring them for future jobs. Good pricing and scheduling flexibility. You will not be disappointed!

A senior and junior electrician installed ceiling lighting for us.  They did an excellent job.  Careful, efficient work.  Great communication.  Highly recommended.

I think the difficult part of writing a review is really where to start.  I mean, I suppose I could start with the electrician dropping his heavy duty flashlight through a recessed light fixture from the attic down into our new $500 sink which had already been installed under the granite.  But no, I think that's too easy of a starting place, especially when confronted, he said, I don't care, I don't have to pay, it's my company's insurance that will pay.

So let's scratch that and start with one of the electricians drilling too far through our kitchen and blowing out a hole through the sheet rock in the adjacent bathroom.  Our handy man fixed it for him which we paid for, but you know, I don't think I'll start there either.

Wait, I got it, I'll start with us giving them all the information for all the fixtures and lighting for our kitchen and them not listening and installing completely different hardware.  They even put flip switches without dimmers for the main ceiling lights.  I mean, who in their right mind would do a kitchen remodel, only to top it off with some flip switches to brighten things up 100%.. or off.

Or how about I start with one of the electricians leaving a pile of cut up wires in my attic right next to the door?  Thanks for that, I appreciate it, I always love a pile of wires, seriously, I do.

At this point, I don't think I'll even start this review, somewhat of a moot point.  Maybe just ending is better since the above is only half of my complaint list.  Bottom line is that it does no good talking to the electricians at Bowie since they don't listen and/or write things down.  Plan on paying 25% more on your invoice which I've seen in other reviews as well.  

Doing the job yourself and getting electrocuted 3-4 times is less painful than going with Bowie.

IN RESPONSE TO BLAKE:  Blake, this review IS true, the events DID happen, your reply hits on everything except for the fact that your electrician (2nd) had no idea what he was doing nor cared.  If you're not willing to improve your service, maybe the BBB will help you,  case: 22353462.

I'm giving two stars instead of 1 because the work they did was great, and the electrician that came out was courteous and professional.

I'm giving them 2 stars because when I hired them to do the service the final price they quoted me was TWICE the amount of their estimate. I understand prices vary from estimate to installation, but the difference of twice the cost is very unprofessional. When I asked the electrician if extra material or work was involved he said no. He was also confused as to why there was a price difference.

BE WARY OF PRICE GAUGING!

Note: 2/15/2012
I'm disappointed that the only communication from Bowie came to me today over my Yelp account. Apparently they don't really care about customers until they write reviews. When I had emailed them to let me know why there was a drastic change in the price they never got in touch with me. They never got back to me until today. Through Yelp. And I still stand by my above review. I was told no additional work was done, and the price was roughly twice the quoted amount.

For a more professional company I recommend Kemly. I've since shifted to them, and I have been very happy..

Well, they fixed my problem (stuff don't work! me not know why?), but it took a couple of weeks. Ostensibly this is because they had to order a fuse, and initially this was supposed to be a two day turn around. I waited five days then called... and then waited a few more days and called again... and finally the fuse came in, and then it took three or four more days after that before they could finally get here. I'm not mad about that. I know how it goes. But boy, they could have picked up the old telegraph and tap tap tapped me over a message with a more accurate picture of what was going on. That said, the only charged me for one visit, and they were quick. And the dude that showed up was super friendly. So in the end I'm satisfied. And I don't have to cook in the dark!

I called these folks last week when our entire kitchen circuit went down. A brief conversation, I choked down the idea of it costing $60 for the guy to come to the house and $90/hour in 15 minute increments. oof.

However! The man I spoke with was super nice and walked me through troubleshooting the circuit myself, and it turned out to be an easy fix! Holy cow!

I am a customer of these folks for good. Honest people who aren't out to just turn a quick profit. They very well could have come out to my house, charged me the money and told me they did some hocus-pocus, but instead they explained to me a little about electrical circuits and helped me learn! I love them. The next time something goes awry in this old house, I'm calling Bowie first.

When we were ready to put the final bid in for our house, it desperately needed electrical work - about $5,000 worth. We needed to replace a very old and scorched Zinsco panel, have the outside wire/pole from the roof replaced, and needed to update some outlets in the kitchen. Additionally, because of all that work, in scenic Mountlake Terrace, any electrical work over $1,000 requires a permit, inspection AND hardwired smoke detectors in every room.
We had been told that the 'Cadillac' of the local Electric service companies was Bowie, so we had them bid the job.
We ended up getting the owners to pony up from their proceeds to pay for the work (thanks to our awesome real estate person) - so we had the $$.
They were accurate in their appraisal of time, $ and came out to do the job even in a bad storm. I would use these guys again, because I feel they are honest and excellent at what they do. In this case, you get what you pay for!

Responsive, extremely personable, professional and knowledgeable (and great value), I would strongly recommend Bowie Electrical to anyone in need of such services.  I also appreciate they're flexible payment options, accepting American Express -- which is unusual.

I have to agree with Chris M.

The electrician who showed up was wonderful to deal with personally but the bill ended up being TWICE the estimate! No small thing when trying to keep a project on budget.

The project in question was an electrical hook up for a gas fireplace. I explained via phone to the folks at Bowie Electric Service that I wanted the gas fireplace hook up and two electrical outlets installed in other parts of the house. They told me I was looking at 2 hours work at $100/hour plus a $60 trip charge.

The electrician arrived right at 10am and I presented him the installation manual to make sure things went as efficiently as possible. The project seemed to throw him from the start so I called the fireplace company in hopes the folks who installed the unit could talk him through how to hook it up. Four hours later he had the fireplace electrical hooked up and one of the two extra electrical outlets completed. (He wasn't able to do the other one since he had somewhere else to be). Even though he left here right at 2pm I was hoping there might be consideration for the on the job training he seemed to need.

Unfortunately when the bill arrived there was an extra quarter hour listed in the time column and no consideration for the learning curve. I called the company to discuss the bill and was told I had to expect fireplace hookups could be time consuming.

I guess I thought I covered that base when I called to explain the scope of the project and get the estimate that guided my decision.

I also wanted to know how 4 hours in my house turned into 4.25 hours on the invoice. This time the office manager insisted the techs are always accurate with their time and I must be mistaken. I was not.

No big deal. An extra quarter hour just equalled an extra $25.

Still the conversation did not make me want to keep Bowie Electric Service in the rolodex.

Also when the fireplace installers came back to trim out the fireplace, I asked how long it should've taken to wire the unit electrically. The installer said since the electric source was just two feet away and didn't require a run, it should've take an hour MAX.

Wow. Just wow.

If anyone has a primo electrician to recommend for future work please let me know because great customer-based electricians are like gold.

i shopped my work around & bowie's quote was the lowest of the 3 highly rated electricians.  

they not only showed up early, they were very professional (but still friendly), got the work done quicker than i expected & did an outstanding job of communicating/consulting with me.  

& fyi: their quote was basically exactly what i paid, which was a relief.  

the only reason i didn't give them 5 stars is because they were a bit messy (which i guess i should expect) & there was a bit of damage to one wall (which hey warned me was a possibility, was completely understandable & really couldn't have been avoided but still).

i'll definitely use them again.

I had them replace 20 outlets, 15 light switches, 3 thermostats and install 4 GFCI breakers in the kitchen and bathrooms in my condo. They were there right on time at 8am as they said they would be, and the work was completed within half an hour of the time they said it would take.  They also give a discount on the labor if you pay the same day the work is done!  

I am very pleased with the work they did and I would definitely use them again!

I used Bowie Electric Service because they were recommended to me by the prior owner of my home.  They were expensive and not that professional.  Instead of cleaning up after themselves they stated that it would be less expensive for me to clean up the mess they left - it would keep them from billing me for additional time.  Unfortunately they worked pretty slowly doing the job so it still turned out to be very expensive.  I would not use them again.

Had these guys do two jobs. Quite a good experience but too large of a company for my taste.  

You can count on them. But you can also find more personalized service from smaller companies.

Great price. Easy to get a hold of. Offered up suggestions on how to do the job diffrently then we first thought and saved us a bunch of money. They added a sub panel to our existing panel. They make sure they get a permit and it passes inspection. Would never use anyone who didn't do this. It wasn't even a questions with Bowie. Will use them again and recommend to friends who need electrical work.
Thanks Bowie!

I strongly recommend these guys!!! They were courteous, professional, and aweomse. Their rates were also extremely reasonable. I actually chose them because of what I read on Yelp, and I am super happy I did! Finding a good, honest, solid electrician is a BIG DEAL if you are a homeowner.

We just bought our first house and needed to replace our electrical panel as it was a zynco which is known to catch a flame so we decided to make the upgrade. Bowie electric was great from start to finish. They set an appointment for the estimate came on time and quoted us exactly what we paid. Other electrician we got in didn't show up on time or the estimate was not written out very well or gave us vague estimates.  The work was done quickly and properly. The electrician was a super nice guy, really respectful and made sure the place was cleaned up at night and kept us informed.

Amazing.  I had a circuit breaker for my kitchen go bad one evening.  I went on the Bowie website at 10pm to request service.   Got a call at 7:30 the next morning and a fellow came out by 8am.  That problem as well as another minor issue were resolved by 9am.  Elapsed time....11 hours.  Amazing.  

Cost - about what I expected for a service visit - not cheap, but not outrageous.  

OK - I was lucky, they had a cancellation.  

But I would use Bowie again any time.   Cudos.

We lost power to half of our building in the South Lake Union area. This outage affected 3 businesses. It took us a while to determine that we needed a professional electrician to look at the problem.I spoke to Rick about the problem. They sent Jim out pretty quickly and he determined that we had a  breaker in our main service that had failed. Because the panel was originally put into service in 1966, it was an odd breaker that  to be special ordered. Jim came back out and got us back in service in the time they had told us they would! I have worked with Bowie in the past which is why I called them first. I have always had good experiences with these guys and highly recommend them!

I used Bowie when we first moved into our house. We had several issues, which I did my best to explain over the phone. Once they arrived, I showed the electrician all of the issue at hand. He was only able to fix one problem (fixing a light bulb). He didnt want to get into the crawl space to check out one of the issues because his back hurt and it was dirty. He said we would have to get another person for that...Not impressed.

my experience was the same as Betsey S. ... they gave me homework and told me that they would rather not charge me $100+ for something I could do on my own... the man was very friendly and told me that if it didnt work they would send someone out right away... needless to say, it worked and I kept $100 bucks in my pocket! I would highly recommend them!

Bowie Electric is awesome, they came and switched my circuit breaker panel and replaces a bunch of outlets for me. THey were on time, cleaned up after themselves and the guy they sent even offered to remove his shoes. Their price was comparable to another company I got an estimate from, and their plan was much less of a pain than the other company, who told me I needed something unnecessary.

Bowie Electric is abolutely a top-notch company. Not only were they professional, polite, and trustworthy, their quality of work was untouchable. I would recommend them to anyone that is looking for a repair or an alteration in their home. We added 14 recessed lighting cans, added an outlet for a chandelier, moved an existing fixture, and altered switches as requested. From top to bottom, they were what you dream of in an electrician company. Highly recommended!

I've used Bowie to fix problems in 2 different houses and they've been great both times.  On time.  On budget.  Scheduling can be a challenge, but I guess that comes with success.

Rude.  Uneducated.  Perhaps handy with very easy fixes but not someone i'd want in charge of making my home safe.

I just had a great experience with Tim from Bowie Electric!  I had what we feared was a very complicated electrical problem in my house.  I called this morning to have someone come and take a look and they were great on the phone and Tim showed up right when they said he would be here.  I knew right away that he was going to be honest with me about the problem and the cost.  I am a stay at home mom and know nothing about electrical wiring etc.  After one hour of running all over my house checking every conceivable combination of outlets on and off we were both starting to get worried as it looked like he'd have to start really tearing things apart to find the problem.  As we checked the last few outlets again he found it!  He replaced an outlet in my living room that is never used but when he pulled it out you could see where it had been overheating and was black.  He was great and the price was fair - thanks Tim, I feel you saved me so much time, worry and MONEY!!!  You can't go wrong with these guys.