415-682-7582About Chasov Electric
Chasov Electric is a San Francisco electrical contracting company founded by Michael Chasov in October 2000. The company works with general contractors, property managers, homeowners, and businesses throughout the Bay Area.
The company today
Types of work and service area
Chasov Electric works with general contractors on kitchen, bathroom, and whole-house remodeling, residential additions, multifamily projects, and commercial and tenant improvements. The company also works directly with homeowners, property managers, and businesses.
Electrical panel replacement and knob-and-tube rewiring make up a large part of the company’s current work:
- Electrical panel replacement: Replacement of outdated, defective, or damaged electrical panels and old fuse panels, including work to address insurance requirements. The work includes Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Stab-Lok, Zinsco, Sylvania-Zinsco, Challenger, Pushmatic, and Bulldog panels. Recommendations are based on the specific equipment, its condition, and the insurer’s requirements.
- Knob-and-tube rewiring: Investigation and replacement of old knob-and-tube wiring in San Francisco homes and multifamily buildings, including rewiring for insurance requirements, remodeling, and whole-house electrical updates.
Other electrical work includes:
- Electrical service upgrades: Residential, multifamily, multi-meter, and commercial services, including PG&E applications and project coordination.
- Lights, switches, and outlets: Recessed lighting, fixtures, dimmers, lighting controls, switches, and electrical outlets.
- Home electrification: New circuits and capacity planning for electric ranges, heat pumps, water heaters, dryers, and EV chargers.
- Ethernet cabling and low voltage: Home and office network wiring, patch panels, labeling, testing, and cable certification.
- Electrical assessments and insurance documentation: Electrical condition reports, insurance letters, correction documentation, and assessments for buyers and property owners.
- Condo conversion and 3R corrections: Electrical corrections and legalization work associated with San Francisco property records and condo conversions.
- Troubleshooting and electrical repairs: Diagnosis and repair of power outages, dead outlets, lighting problems, malfunctioning switches, and tripping circuit breakers.
Service area
Although much of the work shown on this website is in San Francisco, the company serves the wider Bay Area: north to Novato, south to San Jose, throughout the East Bay, and farther inland.
For jobs more than 30 miles from San Francisco, the estimate includes one-way travel time. This is discussed before the work is arranged.
First contact and the site visit
New inquiries come directly to Michael, who usually responds by phone. He asks about the project or electrical concern. Some straightforward questions or problems can be resolved during that conversation.
For planned work, Michael typically visits the property, discusses the requirements, and considers how the installation can be carried out. He takes measurements and photographs and, when useful, prepares sketches. These become part of the job record.
He then emails an estimate. Customers can discuss alternatives, ask questions, and revise the scope with him before accepting it.
The electricians and project communication
All of the company’s electricians are full-time employees. Many have electrical-engineering education or previous experience in the electrical industry. Others have learned the trade within the company, working alongside experienced electricians before taking on independent responsibility.
After an estimate is accepted, Michael introduces the electrician or lead electrician assigned to the project. The assignment depends on the work involved and crew availability. The electrician receives the approved estimate, photographs, measurements, and other project information.
From that point, the assigned electrician coordinates directly with the customer. Experienced leads can discuss installation choices and prepare smaller estimates or changes for approval. Michael remains available for questions and retains overall responsibility for the business.
The company aims to keep the same lead throughout a project and on future work. Returning customers often contact their electrician directly. If a customer would prefer a different electrician, they can discuss that with Michael.
Estimates, options, and changes
Estimates are itemized by room, area, or type of work. A hallway, bathroom, or bedroom, for example, would have its own section listing the circuits, outlets, lights, and switches.
Customers can see what each part costs, adjust quantities, or divide the work into phases. Additions and deductions are tied to specific line items.
Michael and the electricians explain which work is necessary, which improvements are optional, and what could wait or be combined with a later project. They discuss the benefits and costs of each option.
When existing conditions are uncertain, the estimate explains what remains unknown and gives a possible cost range where practical. Additional work and its price are agreed upon before proceeding. Changes on larger projects are documented in written change orders.
If Michael leaves something out of the estimate that is needed for the agreed scope, he takes responsibility and honors the agreed price.
Working in homes and occupied buildings
Before work begins, the electricians coordinate access and discuss how the installation will affect the people using the property.
For planned power interruptions affecting tenants or other occupants, the company arranges 48-hour notice through the property manager or directly. Before disconnecting power, the electricians also knock or ring the doorbell to alert occupants.
Drop cloths and plastic protect the immediate work area, and crews vacuum afterward. Wall openings can release fine dust beyond the protected area. Before starting, the electricians discuss additional protection for furniture and belongings that would be difficult to clean.
In older buildings, the electricians plan wiring routes and access openings to avoid decorative woodwork, curved ceilings, and other finishes that are difficult to repair. Years of working in these buildings have also led them to develop their own techniques. For example, one senior electrician found a way to install new wiring and a fan-rated box for a chandelier without disturbing the original ceiling rosette.
Coordination, schedules, and inspections
On construction projects, the electricians work directly with general contractors, designers, customers, and other trades to resolve electrical details and coordinate the sequence of work.
With multiple crews, the company can assign more electricians when a project needs them. Scheduling can also accommodate tenant availability, changes in construction progress, and work that needs to take place at night. Those arrangements are discussed for the particular job.
The company coordinates permits and inspections and works with PG&E on service upgrades. The scope is discussed during planning.
Within the company, electricians share methods and keep one another informed about code changes, inspection requirements, equipment, materials, and tools.
Completion and follow-up
When the work is complete, the electrician submits the job information to accounting, and the customer receives an invoice.
Customers can contact their assigned electrician or Michael about a question or problem afterward. If the company makes a mistake, it takes responsibility for correcting it.
The company provides a one-year warranty on workmanship and on the items it supplies and installs. If an item fails within that year, the company replaces it at no charge. After the first year, customers normally pay for the replacement item and labor.
License and customer feedback
CSLB #785830, C-10
The company has been Diamond Certified since January 2009. Customer survey responses and the company profile are available through Diamond Certified.
Company history
Before the company
Michael Chasov immigrated to the United States from Kyrgyzstan in 1992. He had studied electrical engineering, specializing in hydroelectric power generation, and gained some hands-on experience at one of the early private companies there.
In January 1993, Reed Francis hired him at Reed Francis Electric in San Francisco. Michael spoke little English, but remembers the bigger adjustment as learning unfamiliar materials, tools, construction methods, and codes.
Within a few months, he was going out on service calls. Customers explained what had stopped working, and he worked through the problem. Reed wondered how he could manage those visits with so little English. Michael’s answer was direct: “They did not invite me to converse with them. They invited me to troubleshoot and fix it.”
He learned from Reed and from the other electricians, including Jay, Linda, and Scott. Scott became a close friend, and the friendship continued after he left for union work.
Over about eight years, Michael’s responsibilities grew. He began writing estimates and running jobs. Along with the electrical work, he was learning how a contractor organized the business, dealt with customers, and kept projects moving.
Starting out
When Reed announced that he planned to retire, Michael decided to start his own business. He studied for his contractor’s license, obtained it, and registered the business in October 2000.
His interests at the time covered three areas: electrical installations, voice systems, and data cabling. During the first dot-com boom, he had installed substantial amounts of Cat5 cable while working for Reed. Telephone wiring, phone systems, and intercoms were another familiar part of the work. Those three areas were reflected in the original company name.
While Michael was still with Reed, Reed had asked whether he knew other immigrants with a similar approach to work. Michael helped bring several people into the company. When Reed finally retired in 2002, the Russian-speaking electricians came to Michael and asked where they should go to work.
He remembers the humor of that question, but also the pressure that followed. The years from 2001 through 2004 were among the most difficult: he was learning to run his own business while finding enough work for the people who had joined him.
As the electricians gained experience and the workload became steadier, running the company became easier.
The recession and recovery
The financial downturn after 2008 interrupted that progress. By 2009, Michael had reduced the company to three core electricians. He sometimes prepared estimates with no profit to keep enough work coming in to retain them.
As business recovered, Michael rehired every helper he had let go. He recalls the company returning to its earlier size around 2010.
The downturn, and later disruptions during the COVID pandemic, reinforced his decision to keep the company involved in different kinds of work. Electricians rotated through residential, multifamily, commercial, and service work. The variety helped the business respond to changes in demand and gave the electricians experience they could use across projects.
The people and the work
Over the years, the team has included people from Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova. Many joined through connections in the Bay Area’s Russian-speaking community. Some arrived with engineering education or experience in electrical work; others learned the trade after joining.
Several of the electricians have been with Michael almost from the beginning and are still with the company today. They have shared the busy years, the difficult periods, and much of their lives. Over time, those relationships have come to feel like family. People who joined later have become part of that same group. They bring their own experience, learn from their coworkers, and soon feel that they belong. For Michael, these relationships are an important part of what the company has become.
Michael has also helped former employees establish their own electrical businesses. He considers them related businesses within the same professional community, and those relationships have continued after they left.
For the electricians, the work offers variety and a degree of independence. A new job brings a different building, a different problem, or a different way to carry out an installation. Michael still misses the satisfaction of doing that work with his hands. Running the company now takes most of his time. He recognizes that the electricians doing installations every day have become more skilled at that work than he is.
That is part of why he gives the crews responsibility for their projects. He knows the people and their work, and trusts them to make decisions and speak directly with customers.
Relationships over time
Ian, a general contractor, began working with the company in 2003. It started with drawings, an estimate, and a job to complete.
More projects followed. Ian found that he could send his clients’ electrical questions directly to the electricians. They would explain the alternatives, help the customer make decisions, and carry out the work without requiring him to handle every electrical detail.
As Ian’s business grew, he kept asking whether Chasov Electric could take on more work. The company supplied the people needed for those projects. Over time, the relationship extended beyond the jobs themselves. They began inviting each other to company gatherings, and the electricians and Ian became friends.
They continued working together until his retirement. When they looked back, they remembered the projects, but also the people, the jokes, and the time spent together.
Michael describes something similar with customers the company has served for 20 years or more. Both the electricians and the customers have grown older during those relationships. Returning to the same homes and working together through changes has become part of their lives.
He is proud that the business has become part of San Francisco in that way. He came to love the city, built his working life here, and has continued to work with many of the same people over the years.
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