Tenant build-outs, retail renovations, and office reconfigurations. Cliff handles the electrical scope from demo to final inspection — on schedule with the GC or direct with the property owner.
Every upfit starts with an electrical plan review and ends with a signed inspection card. Here's what happens in between.
Review the architect's drawings, calculate the tenant's electrical load, and size the panel or sub-panel accordingly. If the drawings don't have an electrical plan, Cliff draws one.
Match the panel to the tenant's actual load — not just what's there now, but what they'll need when they're fully operational. Restaurants and salons pull more than most people expect.
Map out every circuit for the new floor plan. Dedicated circuits for equipment, general power for outlets, and separate circuits for lighting zones. Everything labeled and documented.
LED retrofits, recessed cans, track lighting, under-cabinet lighting. We match the lighting layout to the space — retail needs different foot-candles than an office or a restaurant.
POS systems, kitchen equipment, server rooms, salon stations, HVAC units — each gets its own dedicated circuit with the right wire gauge and breaker size. No shared circuits on commercial equipment.
Fire alarm circuit coordination, emergency lighting, illuminated exit signs, and sign circuits for exterior signage. All required by commercial code in New Hanover County.
Cliff works alongside the plumber, HVAC crew, and framing contractor — coordinating rough-in timing so nobody's waiting on the electrician. Forty years of commercial work means he knows the sequence.
Rough-in, trim-out, final — on your schedule
Upfits between tenants, code updates, metering
Kitchen circuits, hoods, walk-ins, POS
Display lighting, sign circuits, POS power
Workstation power, data, conference rooms
Every commercial electrical upfit in Wilmington and New Hanover County requires a commercial electrical permit. This isn't optional — the city inspector signs off on the rough-in and the final before you can open. Cliff pulls the permit, schedules the inspections, and makes sure everything passes the first time.
Electrical scope on a typical upfit runs 2–6 weeks depending on the size of the space and what's going in. A small retail shop might be two weeks. A full restaurant build-out with kitchen equipment, hoods, and a walk-in cooler is closer to six.
Cliff handles commercial electrical upfits across the Wilmington area — from tenant build-outs at Mayfaire and downtown storefronts to new commercial spaces along Military Cutoff. We've wired retail in Porters Neck, restaurants near Wrightsville Beach, and office suites in Carolina Beach and Kure Beach.
Leland has been growing fast on the commercial side — new strip centers, medical offices, and restaurant pads going up along Highway 17. Hampstead is catching up with new commercial development along US-17 north. We also cover Monkey Junction, Myrtle Grove, and Figure Eight Island for any commercial work that comes up.
Whether it's a restaurant kitchen that needs dedicated equipment circuits, a retail space that needs sign circuits and display lighting, or an office that needs workstation power and data runs — Cliff handles the electrical scope from panel sizing through final inspection. One contractor, one permit, one phone number: (910) 431-8227.