No job too large or too small for Abbleby Electric
Phil Appleby went to college to become a teacher, but decided what he really wanted to do was be an electrician. So he returned to his native Northern Neck and got lots of experience.
“I think I must have worked for everyone contractor in the Northern Neck,” he said.
Then 13 years ago Appleby went out on his own, establishing Appleby Electric in Northumberland County, but serving the entire region. And with the new construction boom of recent years, he's stayed plenty busy.
“I would say that 90 percent of my work involves new residential construction, though I do a lot of custom wiring jobs as well,” Appleby said.
He handles small jobs as well as large. A small job might be replacing a faulty wall switch in a home. On the other side of the scale, he installed the wiring in Mason Lodge's new 9,000 square foot meeting hall in Kilmarnock.
Once he does a job for one customer, word gets out and he finds himself working for the customer's neighbors too.
“In one subdivision in Heathsville, I literally worked door-to-door, doing something for nearly all the houses,” he laughed.
When he's not installing the wiring in new homes, he can sometimes be found doing the wiring in renovation projects.
“A lot of people have taken over their parents old fishing cottages and they've wanted to update the wiring,” Appleby said.
Some of the favorite features include recessed lighting and extra circuits to handle computers and other appliances.
“Recessed lighting is very popular. I was once hired to install six recessed lights, but before I was finished the owner ordered 70 more lights,” he said.
Appleby handles most of the work himself, though he sometimes hires an assistant during especially busy times. He's also a fireman for the Fairfield Volunteer Fire Department, and he and his family live in Ophelia. For large jobs or small, you can call him at 453-5105.
