When you hear the word service, it doesn’t just mean customer service… Service is what our main line of work consists of but we also work in other areas of electrical work. Service is a type of work being performed. In the electrical industry there are a few terms that will help you differentiate the types of electrical work you may need to have done. Service (sometimes referred to as Service & Repair), Remodels, Tenant Improvement (T.I.), and New construction.

When you hear someone say they’re a Service electrician that usually means they are at the top of their trade in knowledge and capabilities. Service work often requires one to have the ability to troubleshoot and think outside of the box. Service technicians are usually fixing problems, correcting issues, and adding things after the fact. Say you needed something added to your facility, like a new dedicated line for a piece of equipment… This would be considered service work as it is being added to an existing building. Unlike New construction where the walls are open and there are blueprints to follow, the Service tech will need to find their own way to get the work done working around walls and ceilings.

Remodels and T.I.’s are very similar as they are either changing or adding to an existing building. This could be as little as changing lighting layouts, moving a couple of walls, demolishing a major portion or all of a building to make way for something new. New construction also varies a little from Ground-ups to Shells. The difference is a Ground-up is just that, starting from scratch turning into the finished product. Shell work has different variations as well, Grey or Vanilla? Grey is where there is just the shell of a building and Vanilla is where it has just the basics and the potential for a T.I. with the new tenant/owner.