Here's a list of questions to ask an electrician who you are considering for installing recessed lights. Sadly most of these I only realized after the job was done and mistakes were made.
Are you a licensed electrician? Ask for proof.
What brand of lights and trim do you use? It matters. The premier brands are Juno and Lightolier. Elite, Home Depot (Halo/Cooper) and several other makes are perfectly good. If you don't specify you might get some Chinese knockoffs. I do not recommend the Halo ALL-PRO trims that use bands instead of springs to secure the trim against the housing -- they are a pain to install/remove and the finish quality is not great. Remember trims, not housings, are what you'll see, so you might opt for something that has a quality finish. If you are particular, you should look at the trims in person. They can differ in color, finish, texture etc. from a catalog. Put model numbers, color, and quantity in the contract!
How do you make cuts for the cans? They should use a hole saw. If they cut them with a keyhole saw I'd run. The hole saw produces a perfect circle to fit snugly around the light housing. My electrician used a keyhole saw and produced holes that were not so round. The problem here is there is drywall cuts exposed around the trim, ugh, and the cans are not tight.
How do you ensure there is sufficient space for a can before cutting the hole? If they cut a hole and discover a pipe or other obstruction then you got an extra hole in the ceiling. They should use a wire thing to probe up there to determine if there's clearance.
Do you use a flex bit? An electrician on a fixed bid is incentivized to produce lots of holes in your walls/ceilings since they can work faster. Of course this sucks for you. Some electricians use a flex bit to minimize holes. Some will say flex bits are dangerous since you are drilling blindly and could hit a pipe or something bad. In either case you want an electrician that is experience in remodel, knows the tricks, and can produce the least number of holes.
How do you determine light placement? Some use lasers to align lights. Mine turned out pretty good in terms of placement and he only used a measuring tape. Placement can be highly subjective so I recommend you walk through and markup all the light placements if you're particular.
Do you use plastic tarps to protect furniture/etc from dust debris? Drywall will still find it's way through your house but insist on drop clothes.
Do you cleanup? Most probably won't and it will just take some vacuuming.
Are you going to haul away the debris? If you are replacing lots of old fixtures, you'll end up with a pile of junk to take to the dump. The electrician should take it with him.
And remember to put ALL the details in writing, in the contract!
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