What We Do

• Electrical work (commercial and residential) -- design, installation, upgrades and troubleshooting;
• Telephone systems (commercial and residential, analog and digital) -- configuration, installation, upgrades, troubleshooting, system programming;
• Local Area Networks (LANs) -- design, configuration, installation, upgrades, troubleshooting;
• Commercial sound systems -- design, configuration, installation, upgrades, troubleshooting; over 20 years experience, primarily live sound.

  The owner of COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS has more than 20 years experience in audio systems,

  • as the former owner of Audio Alley (a San Francisco stereo component store which also contained a small recording studio where he was the chief engineer),
  • as manager and "sound man" for several bands,
  • as chief audio engineer at two San Francisco nightclubs,
  • as technical advisor at a well-known San Mateo Coastside jazz venue,
  • as designer for the new sound systems at two major San Francisco nightclubs (as part of major remodeling), and
  • as the audio troubleshooter for several other nightclubs in the San Francisco Bay Area and for a repertory theater in San Francisco.

• Electrical Code inspections,*
• residential remodeling,**
• commercial remodeling,**
• framing carpentry,
• finish carpentry,
• drywall work,
• minor plumbing repairs, upgrades, and expansion,
• sprinkler system repairs, upgrades, and expansion
• window repair/replacement (consistent with building architecture, not just "what will fit");, and
• other typical small contractor and handyman work.

 * unofficial; official inspections only done by "Authority Holding Jurisdiction" (local Building Dept., etc.)

** When required for Permit, we team up with an experienced, reliable, General Contractor (and personal friend) who is as adamant as we are about doing all work to-Code or better, using current best practices.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Please click here.

About Us

In mid-2002, in response to shrunken opportunities in the owner's main business due to America's faltering economy, COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS™ was established as a part-time, handyman venture by Bruce Grant, an ex-IBMer, and President of COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS InfoTech, a technical consulting firm founded in 1983 and incorporated in 1989.

Since early 2002, COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS has expanded into a full-time business.  We have acquired considerable additional expertise in carpentry and electrical work.  Our focus has changed to Electrical Contracting.  We continue doing carpentry and handyman work to fill in or for a change of pace.

Licensing and Responsibility

Due to the current, long-running Recession, we do not yet have any type of Contractor's License, but we intend to obtain the appropriate licensing from the California Contractors State License Board once we can afford it.  We will eventually be licensed as a General Building Contractor ("B"), but will first obtain a License as an Electrical Contractor ("C-10"), as that is our specialty.  Currently, our only real problem in getting a License is its high initial cost (license fees, application fee, test fees, insurance, etc.).  For projects larger than what we are legally allowed to do without a License, we partner with a Licensed General Contractor who has been our owner's good friend for over 30 years, since he, too, believes in doing only top quality work.

Quality

Every project we perform is fully guaranteed because we do things right the first time.  Top quality work at reasonable prices and cost-effective solutions to client problems are our primary goals.  We are proud of our A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, possibly because all our work is always to Code or better, unlike the work we have seen by many others (including some Licensed Contractors who merely paid some "school" to train them only to pass the licensing tests, but not how to really do things properly).

All our work is of the highest quality -- our many satisfied customers prove it.

Better Business Bureau

Cost-Effective Solutions was an Honor Roll Member of the Better Business Bureau from 2005 thru 2008.  We discontinued our membership in 2009 when the BBB Accredited Member dues were raised to more than we could afford, but we may eventually rejoin when the economy improves.  Meanwhile, we are still rated "A+" on the BBB website, their highest rating for any business.  To our knowledge, they have never received any complaints about us.

Cost-Effective Solutions
"Solving homeowner & business problems properly"

Our Clients and Their Needs

Geographic Territory

COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS is in Belmont, California, located midway between San Francisco and San Jose on the San Francisco Peninsula.  We primarily service clients in the mid-Peninsula, but will work elsewhere as required (for example, in the first 5 months of 2005, we also did electrical work for large commercial clients in San Francisco, Palo Alto and Oakland).  In 2006, one of our clients owned a vacation cabin in Mendocino County and allowed us to use the cabin for a week after completing the job, so sometimes our geographic reach can be extended beyond the Bay Area (Does anyone reading this own property in Hawaii? [hint, hint]).

Typical Client Projects

Although we serve large, commercial clients, most of our Clients are homeowners and small, local businesses, but with varying needs:

• Major Electrical project: MCC (3-letter Client Code)
• Minor Electrical project: CAR
• Major Electrical project: HOO
• Major Electrical project: ZUC
• Minor Electrical project: FOS
• Carpentry – window repair: SCC
• Multiple skills project (electrical, carpentry, and plumbing): SCC
• Telephone system wiring (small business): PCK

• MCC - Major electrical work replacing all knob-and-tube wiring in a 4-bedroom, 2-bath home built in 1953:
  • Designed a replacement, fully upgraded, electrical system meeting current Electrical Code requirements
  • Added a new load center (subpanel) to expand the total number of circuits;
  • Designed and installed wiring and procedures for switching between utility power and an emergency generator;
  • Completely replaced a dangerous, not-to-Code, extremely overcrowded junction box installed by a previous electrical contractor with a large, full-size junction box;
  • Added several NEC-required new circuits;
  • Added 4 new 3-way-switched lighting circuits;
  • Added two exterior, weather-protected pairs of GFCI receptacles;
  • Completely replaced and rewired 2nd floor deck exterior lighting, including upstairs (interior) 3-way switch and stair-bottom, waterproof, 3-way switch;
  • Added a new, 230V-60A circuit and two receptacles for use by a TIG welder and an industrial-size compressor;
  • Split several older circuits into separate circuits to conform to updated NEC requirements;
  • Identified and clearly labeled, at the panel, all existing and new circuits;
  • Replaced all under-counter wiring in kitchen for disposal and dishwasher;
  • Replaced all in-wall wiring for all switches, receptacles, and ceiling fixtures;
  • Installed GFCI outlets and AFCI circuit breakers where required by Code;
  • Installed basement wiring for a future sump pump, plus a duplex GFCI receptacle near the basement entry door.
• CAR - Replacing a defective kitchen light dimmer switch in a 3-way circuit, then correctly rewiring a hallway 3-way lighting circuit that had not worked properly since the house was built (The original Licensed Electrician either didn't notice that the two 3-way switches were different brands or didn't realize that switches from different manufacturers aren't necessarily of the same terminal configuration.  Obviously, the original installation was either never properly tested or the original Licensed Contractor was not willing to spend the time to troubleshoot the problem, then never mentioning it to the buyer)
• HOO - Major electrical work during a new homeowner's remodeling before moving into a house built in 1930:
  • Designed a replacement, fully upgraded, electrical system meeting current Electrical Code requirements
  • Relocated the main electrical panel to a safer, more convenient location, installing a new Main Panel;
  • Completely replaced the dangerous and outmoded, cartridge-fuse panel with a modern, circuit breaker panel;
  • Gutted the old circuit box and converted it into a junction box for safely connecting some of the remaining old wiring to the new panel via added wiring to the new location;
  • Added several NEC-required new circuits;
  • Removed a no-longer-needed 230V-50A circuit and its receptacle;
  • Split some older circuits into separate circuits to conform to updated NEC requirements;
  • Identified and clearly labeled, at the panel, all existing and new circuits;
  • Installed under-counter wiring in kitchen for disposal and microwave oven;
  • Installed GFCI outlets and AFCI circuit breakers where required by Code.
• ZUC -- Major electrical work during another homeowner's remodeling of a previously much-modified, 1950's-era house:
  • Relocated a large EMT conduit from a visible location to inside walls and ceiling;
  • Removed a no-longer-needed 230V-40A dryer circuit and its receptacle;
  • Wired a large number of recessed lighting fixtures in the new kitchen ceiling;
  • Added NEC-required new circuits for new electric range top, kitchen appliances, and extra lighting;
  • Wired 4 separate 3-way lighting circuits;
  • Resolved several long-standing electrical problems;
  • Split some older circuits into separate circuits to conform to updated NEC codes;
  • Installed under-floor conduit and wiring for new kitchen work island, including 230v-30A rangetop and multiple duplex receptacles;
  • Installed GFCI outlets where required by Code.
• FOS -- Working in both the attic and dining room, relocated a dining room ceiling light 8 feet from its previous location, also correcting a minor Code violation found in the attic during that work.
• SCC -- Rental cottage: replaced 6 broken sash cords in 4 old-fashioned, double-hung, wood-frame windows.
• SCC -- 1950's-era Apartment:
  • replaced bathroom sink and dual faucets with new pedestal sink, single-arm faucet, new supply lines, and new drain with pop-up plug;
  • Installed under-counter switch and wiring in kitchen for new garbage disposal;
  • Discovered and corrected improper wiring of 2 electrical receptacles (Hot & Neutral wires reversed);
  • Installed GFCI outlets and grounded (3-prong) outlets where required by Code.
• PCK -- Saved a small business more than 40% of the cost of installing their 4 telephone lines in their new location (the telephone company brings lines only to the primary connection point for each building; wiring from that point is additional and very expen$ive).  Extra time was scheduled for this project to allow for removal and/or correction of pre-existing, defective telephone wiring.
  [NOTE: We typically charge about 50% of AT&T's rates for interior wiring, and we will do a neater, more professional, fully guaranteed job.]
• and many other projects ... (Ask us.)

Contact Us

Cost-Effective Solutions™
website	www.costeffective.us		Workshop / Warehouse	240 Harbor Blvd. Belmont, CA 94002-4022
e-mail	solutions@costeffective.us		snail mail	1179 Broadway Belmont, CA 94002-3748
phone	650-595-5961 (preferred) or 650-453-8030 (Google Voice: rings both main and cell phones)		fax	[unpublished]

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