[caplinger]

Power in 2 bedrooms went out. The rest of the house is fine. Checked the breaker. Switch. Didn't bring back power. What's the problem?

House is 15 years old. Some of the electrical outlets are loose... meaning you plug in a computer and the plug falls out.

Thanks Carol

[hkstroud]

Turn breaker off. See which outlets and switches work and which don't. Remove one of the non-working outlets. See if the wiring is connected using the "quick connect" holes in the back of the outlet. If so remove and put wiring under the screw terminals of the outlet. Do all outlets and switches on that circuit.
The "quick connects" are know to develop bad connections over time.
The bad connection can be at the last working outlet or the first non-working outlet.

Replace any outlet that the plug "falls out".

[caplinger]

HKstroud:

Had an Electrician come out and $1400.00 later fixed the problem.

There were lots of "quick connects" installed in the house. He suggested replacing all the Plugs and switches, which is what he did.
All the breaker switches had voltage going to them.

He said that over a period , it's a good idea to replace the plugs and switches. I had a few dimmer switches but these were fine and he replaced those anyway.

He said that the 'Problem" must have been somewere in the wall between the 2 bedrooms....but not sure what the problem was exactly.
He did say that a few of the outlets that he replaced just "Popped out".

I thought this might be over kill for the service he was doing. Some of the plugs we don't use at all. He said its just best to replace all at once.

Thanks for your help.

[hkstroud]

Thanks for the feed back. That was a lot of bucks for a relatively simple task. Although it does take some time. Quite sure the problem was the "quick connects".

He said that the 'Problem" must have been somewere in the wall between the 2 bedrooms... but not sure what the problem was exactly.

That doesn't sound like a very professional assessment to me.

[hfcarson]

So maybe you live somewhere in downtown Manhattan... or Alaska... where everything is expensive and $1400 was a good deal...
Wherever, it's always a good idea to price multiple contractors and when you find a "good" one... hold on tight...

[Stratmando]

The price sounds high? I am betting he use the old style, over Decora style, this will allow him maximum profit, If he changed to Decora Style, it would have been a Very Good thing, as it makes the House appear much newer.
What style was used?

[hkstroud]

when you find a "good" one... hold on tight...

That's certainly a true statement, no matter what the trade.

Just as an aside, I was looking through Craig's List recently and saw several adds where people who claimed to be licensed electricians were looking to barter their trade. Times are tough for a lot of people.