New construction electrical for Spokane builders and homeowners.

What we do

Common jobs we handle

When to call an electrician

How a new construction job runs

New construction electrical is a sequence, and every step depends on the one before it. Here's the real order of operations.

1. Step 1

   Plan review and load calculation

   We read the plans, size the service to the real load, and flag conflicts before they become change orders.

2. Step 2

   Temporary construction power

   A permitted temporary service so the trades have power on site from the start.

3. Step 3

   Service coordination with Avista

   Overhead or underground, sized and routed, scheduled against your build calendar.

4. Step 4

   Rough-in

   Boxes, home runs, and circuits installed after framing and mechanical rough, before insulation and drywall.

5. Step 5

   Rough inspection

   The inspector signs off on the rough before anything gets covered.

6. Step 6

   Trim-out

   Devices, fixtures, panel work, labeling, and testing once the finishes are in.

7. Step 7

   Final inspection and energizing

   Final inspection, then Avista energizes the permanent service.

Temporary power

Temporary construction power is a permitted service that gives the site real power before the house has a permanent one. We install the post, mast, conduit, meter base, and conductors. Avista sets the meter and makes the connection: the service conductors and the meter are theirs, everything from the meter socket in is yours.

For an underground temp or service, 811 locates come first. That's not a formality; it sets the schedule, so we start it early.

Planning the electrical before drywall

Every electrical decision is cheap on paper, moderate during rough-in, and expensive after drywall. That's the whole reason we walk the framed house with you before we pull a single wire. Standing in the actual rooms, you'll catch things no plan set shows.

• Outlet and switch placement, room by room
• Lighting layout: general, task, and accent
• Dedicated circuits for appliances, offices, and shop tools
• EV-ready conduit to the garage
• Conduit and capacity for future solar
• Structured wiring for data and networking
• Exterior and landscape power
• Panel location, capacity, and spare spaces

Building for loads that are coming

The house you're building will probably pick up loads it doesn't have on day one. Sizing the service and leaving capacity now is the difference between adding a circuit and paying for the same service work twice. The NEC minimum service for a single-family dwelling is 100 amps. What your house actually needs comes out of the load calculation, not a rule of thumb.

Working with builders

What builders need from an electrical sub is fairly simple: show up on the day you said, leave the site in a state the next trade can work in, and communicate when something changes. We schedule against the framing and drywall calendar, coordinate with mechanical and plumbing so the rough doesn't collide, and tell you early if a date is slipping rather than on the morning of.

Permits and inspections on both sides of the line

In Washington, the electrical permit and inspection come from Washington State Labor & Industries everywhere in the Spokane region except the City of Spokane, which runs its own electrical program. The separate building permit comes from the city or the county.

Washington is currently on the 2023 NEC, effective April 1, 2024. In North Idaho, every electrical permit starts at the state DOPL portal, which routes the job to whichever authority covers the address; see our North Idaho service area page for how that side works.

What drives the cost

• Square footage and number of circuits
• Service size and overhead versus underground
• Temporary power requirements
• Fixture, device, and can-light count
• Detached shop or garage feeds
• Structured wiring and low-voltage scope
• EV and solar readiness provisions
• Permit and inspection fees

We publish real price ranges for the jobs we can price, and new construction is not one of them. A square-foot number would be misleading here: the fixture count, the service size, the number of circuits, and whether there is a shop, a heat pump or an EV charger in the plan all move it more than the square footage does. Bring us the plans and we will price them. Our published ranges for everything else are on our costs page.