TENANT IMPROVEMENT ELECTRICAL
Tenant improvement electrical contractor for commercial build-outs
WHAT WE OWN ON A TI
The electrical scope on a tenant improvement, start to finish
A tenant improvement is a remodel inside a building that is already energized, and that changes what the electrical work actually is. You are feeding a new suite from a service someone else sized, through a meter bank or house panel you share with other tenants, under a landlord work letter that spells out what you may touch and when you may shut it off.
We take that scope end to end: verifying the available capacity, designing or reviewing the distribution, releasing the long-lead gear, roughing in power, lighting and low-voltage, coordinating the ceiling with mechanical and plumbing, and carrying the permit and inspection sequence through to final sign-off.
The work we do before the first box is mounted is what keeps the job on schedule. Load calculations, panel space, lighting power allowances and the equipment schedule all get confirmed against the drawings first, because any one of them can change the gear — and the gear is almost always the longest lead item on the job.
What comes with the contract
- Site walk of the suite, electrical room and meter bank
- Load calculation against the existing service
- Line-item estimate with allowances called out separately
- Panelboards and switchgear released off preliminary drawings
- Full inspection schedule, rough-in through final
- Panel schedules, as-builts and closeout documents at turnover
SCOPE OF WORK
What a TI electrical contractor is responsible for
Capacity and service
Confirming what the existing service, meter position and feeder can actually deliver, and planning an upgrade or a new meter when the new load does not fit. This is settled before anything else is priced.
Distribution and panels
New panelboards, transformers, feeders and disconnects sized to the load, with room left for the growth the tenant has told us about — and labeled panel schedules that match what is actually installed.
Branch power
Receptacles, dedicated equipment circuits, workstation and furniture feeds, and floor boxes laid out to the furniture and equipment plan rather than a generic spacing.
Lighting and controls
Fixtures, emergency and exit lighting, occupancy and daylight controls, and the dimming the energy code requires, commissioned so the controls actually work on day one.
Low-voltage and data
Pathways, backboxes and cabling for data, voice, access control, security and AV, coordinated with the tenant’s IT vendor so nothing is roughed in twice.
Permits and inspections
Plan submittal, response to plan-review comments, and the inspection sequence from rough-in and cover through final — tied to the certificate of occupancy date.
HOW THE JOB RUNS
The order the work goes in
01
Walk the space and verify the service
02
Run the load and price line by line
03
Permit and long leads in parallel
04
Rough-in and cover inspection
05
Set gear and make the tie-in
06
Trim, energize and final
COMMON QUESTIONS
Tenant improvement electrical questions
Both. On smaller suites we often contract with the tenant or landlord directly. On larger build-outs we usually work as the electrical subcontractor under a general contractor, with a written scope letter and submittals on the specification’s schedule.
We find that out at the start, not at rough-in. If the existing service or feeder cannot carry the new load, we lay out the options — a larger feeder, a new meter position or a service upgrade through the utility — with the cost and schedule of each.
Panelboards, transformers and switchgear are built to order, and lead times move with the market. That is why we release them off preliminary drawings once the load is confirmed, rather than waiting for the permit.
Yes. Shutdowns, tie-ins and any work that affects other tenants are scheduled outside business hours with the notice the building requires. We carry that cost in the estimate rather than raising it later.
Yes. Commercial energy codes limit lighting power and require occupancy, daylight and time-based controls in most spaces. We design or verify the lighting against the code your jurisdiction has adopted and commission the controls before final.