A home inspection is required when you are selling a house. The inspection allows the buyer to confirm that their potential new home is not only safe but will not require continuous work throughout the future. This way, every party involved can avoid a costly hidden maintenance issue.
Home inspectors are trained to identify a multitude of issues, but oftentimes you may need an electrician’s assistance in order to pass your home inspection. With faulty electrical issues, it is often on the seller to fix any problems that will pose a threat to the buyer’s health or safety such as faulty wiring or fire hazards. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) electrical problems are the largest cause of property damage in home structure fires across the US.
Electrical Plus is a company that wants to work with you to give you a second opinion or resolve any issues a home inspector finds when it comes to your electrical needs and safety. Additionally, if you have a newly purchased home, we can update your lighting or wiring to fit your style or needs. Many electrical problems can occur in houses older than 40 years or after a major renovation. Make sure to be on the lookout for these potential problems.
Wiring
When it comes to having your wires inspected it is crucial to find out if the wiring is outdated. If your home’s wiring is outdated you may notice these signs: fuses that frequently blow, circuit breaker trips repeatedly, you use extension cords and surge protectors in several outlets. Take note of the following and see if your wiring needs to be adjusted.
Older homes have different wiring: you may need to upgrade your wiring system for safety reasons.
Exposed wiring and splices: wires spliced or taped together and not in a junction box; or an uncovered junction box, exposing the wires.
Double-tapping of circuit breakers: two or more energized (“hot”) wires run to one circuit breaker; often seen in older homes or homes with extensive remodeling.
Aluminum wiring: sometimes substituted for copper branch-circuit wiring because of cost from 1965-1973; becomes defective faster than copper because of the metal’s qualities, covering overheating and other hazards.
Outlets:
There can be a lot of issues causing your system to malfunction. You could be using the wrong extension cords, have a circuit problem, dead outlets, or outlet sparking. These are the most important things to look out for:
Paint in outlets: if there is paint in the slots of an outlet, this can cause overheating.
Ungrounded three-prong plugs: very dangerous, grounded outlets help prevent electrical shocks.
Reversed polarity: hot neutral and ground slots for a plug can get mixed up, this can cause damage to the electrical device in that outlet or cause a shock.
No GFCI protection: ground fault circuit interruptions (GFCI) are outlets that interrupt an abnormal current flow to reduce the chance of electric shock. Usually installed in kitchens, bathrooms, and other areas where the outlets may come in contact with liquid.
Lighting:
It’s so important to have your lights inspected so that lighting problems will not sneak up on you in the future. There will be a significant decrease in the risk of corrosion, frayed wires, or electrical problems that may form into dangerous hazards.
Missing knockouts in panels: round or rectangular shapes that are missing inside an electrical panel.
Improperly modified electrical panels: covers a range of modifications that result in signs such as switches or outlets working intermittently, hot ceiling fixtures, and flickering lights.
Outdoor lighting: an examination of outdoor electrical systems.
How Electrical Plus Can Help:
At Electrical Plus, no job is too small. We give 100% to every light bulb change just as we do to remodeling or requiring a project. Our technicians are licensed and have the skills and education to handle every job with expertise and professionalism: they are screened for knowledge, experience, and professionalism.
For a free quote, call us at (484) 459-4940 or email us at info@electricalplus.net, scheduling 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and upfront pricing.