Turkey day is upon us, when relatives and friends descend from near and far to gobble stuffing, watch NFL football and reflect on the things they are thankful for. In the spirit of the holiday, make sure that by the end of the day you can still be grateful for your family's continued health and prosperity by following these Thanksgiving safety tips.

Careful with the Deep Fried Turkey 

Who needs a roaster? Adventuresome chefs who want to create a memorable Thanksgiving are turning to the deep fryer to cook the turkey. The process involves gallons of hot oil, so take precautions if you decide to use this method to prepare your bird:

With some prudence and awareness, you can enjoy your crispy bird safely. 

Beware Open Flames

Candles are a great way to provide atmosphere, but make sure they aren't close to any curtains or other flammable materials, and aren't in danger of getting knocked over. Never leave a burning candle unattended. The same goes for your gas burners. 

Clean up Your Clutter

Your guests might not be familiar with the idiosyncrasies of your house, like the children's cars scattered about the living room. Make sure any power cords and extensions cords aren't crossing the floor or walkway and posing potential trip hazards. 

Mind the Children

We expect adults to practice common sense, but children may not be so prudent. If you aren't used to having kids around, be aware that knives, candles, hot foods, liquids, matches and stoves might all prove irresistible to a curious youngster. Keep anything dangerous out of reach, and make sure the kids are supervised.

If you have recently decided to go into business for yourself, you understand that your new company is going to take a lot of work. As you have probably already discovered, the paperwork alone is enough to scare many people away from opening a small business. Additionally, your business needs a space from which to operate, and for many people, that means renting a commercial space. However, not every space is immediately ready to handle a business, and every small business has unique electrical demands. If you are setting up your first commercial space, a commercial electrician can help your business get started on the right foot.

Whether you are starting a bakery or a law firm, your new company is going to need electrical services. By calling an electrical contractor, you can be certain that your new office space is equipped to handle everything your small business will need. As Des Moines’ Top Rated Local® electrician, Electrical Gurus can help you in powering up your new office. Will your new business require industrial appliances? We can help with the electrical installation. Will your new company need to power computers, copiers, and other office fixtures? We can help with the wiring. Have you considered specialty lighting? We can design lighting for your office space as well. Additionally, as you prepare your new company headquarters, a commercial electrician from Electrical Gurus can help make sure your business is energy efficient, too.

When starting a business, there are an incredible amount of things to consider. Let Electrical Gurus help by having us handle the commercial electrician issues. As a local electrician you can trust, you can spend your time focuses on your business goals and let us worry about the electrical services. Contact Electrical Gurus online today to see how we can help get your small business up and running.

Whether it has to do with a simple home improvement or a more in-depth renovation, a permit for electrical work is required to obtain permission from the governing authority to go forward with the project. Permit pulling—requesting a permit from a governing authority, which could be State, County or City —can be challenging for homeowners who are not familiar with electrical plans. but the process of pulling permits for electrical work is fairly straightforward if you understand and meet all requirements for electrical contractors.

Each city, county and state can have varied building codes, so it is important to use a professional who is versed in navigating this process. Permit pulling requires first submitting an official application that includes a schematic of what electrical work is going to be done. There will be a permit fee involved to cover the application cost, the review and the inspection. Once a plan is approved, a permit will be issued, and work can begin. On-site inspections will be conducted to ensure that all of the work conforms to the permit as well as building codes and plans. Depending upon the size of the project, there may be more than one inspection, usually a rough and final or possibly partials of either. These inspections serve to protect homeowners from faulty or possibly hazardous work. A code official will come by at the project end in order to provide all required documentation. Final approval will only be given once full code compliance is met which could mean NEC, UBC or IBC regulations. If the homeowner is completing the electrical work as a do-it-yourself project, it may take multiple visits from the code official before a final approval is provided, depending upon the skill level of the homeowner.