Master electrician inMontreal’s Southwest
We are based in Verdun and we work in the neighbourhoods around it: LaSalle, Lachine, Ville-Émard and Côte-Saint-Paul. It is our daily territory, the one where we have no bridge and no highway to take. These neighbourhoods share one thing: an older housing stock, built for electrical needs that have nothing to do with today’s.
- RBQ 5855-0849-01
- CMEQ 17468
The brands and suppliers we work with
A housing stock built
before the electric car
The Southwest is one of the oldest built up parts of the island. Workers’ houses, duplexes and triplexes dominate, with electrical installations sized for a stove, a water heater and a few outlets.
The result shows up every time an owner wants to add something. A service that was perfectly enough in 1975 no longer has room for an EV charger, a hot tub and radiant floor heating, and it is the load calculation that decides, never the look of the panel.
A service that was enough in 1975 no longer has room for what gets plugged in today.
Often original 100 amp services
In the older stock of the Southwest, upgrading to 200 amps is the way in for most add on projects.
Plexes everywhere
As in Verdun, the 1 to 5 unit building is the dominant format. It changes the way the load is calculated and it opens access to the RénoPlex program.
What we get asked
for most in the Southwest
The projects look alike from one neighbourhood to the next, because the housing stock looks alike.
Service upgrade to 200 amps
The most frequent request by call volume, and almost always the prerequisite for another project.
Electrical panel upgrade
EV charger at home
Parking in the yard or off the lane changes the cable route, and therefore the job. That gets looked at on site.
EV charger installation
Basements and bathrooms redone
Circuits, lighting and radiant floor heating are planned while the walls are open, not after.
Radiant floor heating
Permits,
declaration and connection in Montreal
On the City’s side
In Montreal, it is the boroughs that issue the permits, not the central City, and the rules differ from one to the next. The same project can call for a permit in LaSalle and not in Lachine.
The City itself says a permit is often needed for interior work, depending on the nature of the building, its use and the borough. The answer is given at the permit counter of your borough, and we tell you what your project involves on that side.
The RBQ declaration, and its two exceptions
In Quebec, it is the electrical contractor who declares the work to the Régie du bâtiment, never the owner. That declaration is our business, it is included in the work, and it is filed under our licence numbers.
Two situations exempt you from it, and they are precise. Work already covered by a connection request made to the electricity distributor does not have to be declared on top of that. Neither does work of 10 kW or less that requires no cable replacement and no cable addition. The RBQ sets those two exceptions, not us.
RénoPlex,
the rebate only the City of Montreal offers
An owner in the Southwest has access to a program his neighbour on the South Shore does not. RénoPlex covers buildings of 1 to 5 units on City of Montreal territory, and electrical work is eligible.
The rule to remember before any other: nothing must start before the application is accepted. The review takes several months, then you have 18 months to have the work done. Starting too early means losing the rebate.
Every program, with up to date amountsWhat changes the price
in Montreal’s Southwest
We do not post prices and we do not give them over the phone. We assess on site, then we quote.
The condition of the outside connection
In older stock, the mast and the meter base often follow the upgrade. The job then goes up to the roof instead of staying in the basement.
Access from the lane or from the front
The cable route from the service to the connection point depends on how the lot is laid out, and older neighbourhoods have every kind.
The number of circuits to move over
A twelve circuit panel and a full panel do not transfer in the same time.
The distance from our base
It is short: we are in Verdun, in the middle of these neighbourhoods. It is the part of our territory where we get around most easily.
A sense of the
price, before you even call
6 families of work, a few questions about yours, and the tool shows a range. It is an estimate to situate your project, not a quote: the real price is confirmed on site.
Questions in Montreal’s Southwest
Frequently asked questions
Nothing here promises a timeline or an amount: for that, we need to see the job.
The Southwest first: Verdun, LaSalle, Lachine, Ville-Émard and Côte-Saint-Paul. It is the area where we are based and where we travel every day.
That gets checked with your borough, because they are the ones who issue the permits and their rules differ. What does not change is the declaration of work to the Régie du bâtiment: it is on us and it is included in the work.
Sometimes yes, depending on what the house already draws. Only a load calculation can say, and it is done at your place before anything is ordered. In the older stock of the Southwest, the upgrade is frequently necessary, but it is not systematically necessary.
If your building has 1 to 5 units and is on City of Montreal territory, the RénoPlex program may apply and electrical work is eligible. Careful: the work must not start before your application is accepted.
Yes, from Châteauguay to Longueuil, by way of Brossard, Sainte-Martine, Beauharnois and Boucherville, all the way to Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.
Tell us about your project
Describe it in a few words, even if it is still just an idea. We assess on site what your installation can take, and you decide from there.
(514) 929-9963