Elliott Electrical Services

Lighting, service calls and the small renovation wiring that old townhouses ask for — that is the work Elliott Electrical Services is built around. A permit-data site describes the Charles Street shop in Beacon Hill as covering that neighborhood along with Back Bay, the North End and Bay Village, with over 35 years of experience downtown, and the Better Business Bureau lists 27 years in business behind its A+ grade. The company's footprint also shows up in Boston's permit filings. openpermitdata.com counts 52 building permits filed under Paul Elliott's name since 2011, primarily electrical; it rates 50 of them, puts the close rate at 46 percent — four points under the city's 50 percent median — and counts 28 permits still open. On Google, the business carries a 5-star average across three ratings. For a lighting swap, a service call or rewiring inside a Beacon Hill or Back Bay apartment, this is a shop whose work is concentrated in exactly those buildings. Settle up front who pulls the permit and who sees it through to final inspection, and get the scope and price in writing before anyone starts.