Short answer
Electrical design-build means one contractor plans and installs the electrical system for a new home, addition, remodel or commercial space. It covers the service size, panel, circuits, lighting, data and special loads, worked out before walls go up so there are fewer surprises later. Select Electric handles residential and commercial design-build projects in Midland, Bay and Saginaw Counties.
Whether we are working on a small repair or a large design-build project we strive to provide professional and dependable service. Design-build work is where planning matters most. A wiring plan made early, with the whole project in view, avoids the most common complaints in new and remodeled spaces: not enough outlets, switches in the wrong place, circuits that trip, and no room left in the panel.
What We Build
New Home Design-Build
Service and panel sizing from a load calculation, lighting and switching plans, kitchen and laundry circuits, outdoor and garage power, smoke and CO alarms, and low-voltage wiring for data, TV and phone.
Remodel Electrical Wiring
Kitchens, bathrooms, finished basements and additions. Remodels often mean adding circuits to a panel that is already full, working with older wiring, and meeting current AFCI, GFCI and smoke alarm requirements for the new work.
Commercial New Construction and Remodel
Tenant build-outs, office and retail remodels and light industrial spaces: distribution, lighting, equipment circuits, controls, and phone and data cabling, coordinated with the other trades and your schedule.
Things Worth Deciding Early
- Service size and panel location. Sized from a load calculation, with spare spaces for what you may add later.
- Future loads. A standby generator, an EV charger, a heat pump, a hot tub or shop equipment are much cheaper to plan for now, even if they come years later.
- Lighting and switching. Where you'll walk in, which lights you want on together, and where dimmers and three-way switches make sense.
- Outlets where furniture and counters go. Including islands, TV walls, desks and garage workbenches.
- Low-voltage wiring. Data, coax and phone runs are easy with open walls and hard afterward. See phone, cable and data wiring.
- Surge protection and alarms. Whole-home surge protection and interconnected smoke and CO alarms.
How a Design-Build Project Goes
- Plan. We meet with you (and your builder or architect) to go over how the space will be used and what it needs to power.
- Design and quote. Service size, panel location, circuits, lighting layout and devices, with a written quote.
- Permit. We pull the permit and schedule the inspections where your city, township or the State requires it.
- Rough-in. Boxes, cable and conduit go in while walls are open, followed by the rough-in inspection.
- Trim and finish. Devices, fixtures and panel terminations after drywall and paint.
- Final inspection and walk-through. Everything tested and labeled, and a walk-through so you know where things are.
Our attention to detail, and commitment to quality, allows us to manage project deadlines effectively to deliver on-time first class solutions.
What It Costs
This work is priced per job, because the building, the distances and what's already in the panel are different every time. Ask for a written quote that lists the materials and everything included. For what drives electrical prices in general, see what electrical work costs.
Local Detail: Building and Remodeling in the Great Lakes Bay Region
Remodeling an older home is a different job from wiring a new one. In Bay City the median home was built in 1941, and in the city of Saginaw in 1949 (U.S. Census, American Community Survey 2020–2024), so many remodels start with a small service, an old panel and wiring from several eras. A remodel is often the right time to plan a panel or service upgrade. If an older home already has breakers that keep tripping, adding more load without planning will make it worse.
For new homes on rural lots in Midland, Bay and Saginaw Counties, planning often includes a long service run, a well pump, propane appliances and room for a standby generator.
To talk about a project, call (989) 835-3587.
Common Questions
What does design-build mean for electrical work?
It means the same contractor plans the electrical system and installs it. Instead of wiring to someone else's drawings, we work out the service size, panel location, circuits, lighting and devices with you (and your builder or architect, if you have one), then build what we planned.
When should the electrician get involved in a new home or remodel?
Early, before framing if possible. Service size, panel location, where the meter goes, lighting layout and any special loads (a generator, shop equipment, a future EV charger or heat pump) are easier and cheaper to plan on paper than to change after walls are up.
Do remodels require bringing the whole house up to code?
Generally, new work has to meet current code, and some changes trigger updates nearby, such as AFCI and GFCI protection on modified circuits or smoke alarms when bedrooms are added. The rest of the house usually doesn't have to be rewired, but we will tell you if we find something unsafe.
Do you work with general contractors?
Tell us who else is on the project. The electrical plan works best when it is coordinated with the builder, architect and other trades from the start, so rough-in happens at the right point in the schedule and nothing has to be torn out later.
Who handles permits and inspections?
We pull the electrical permit and schedule the inspections where your city, township or the State requires it. New construction usually has a rough-in inspection before walls are closed and a final inspection at the end.