The inspection begins on the outside with the service entrance wires which may be overhead or underground. We are looking to ensure there are no safety concerns with the entrance wires and the proximity to roofs, roads, decks, pools, and driveways.

Next, we will inspect the outside to ensure there are no other safety concerns with the wiring like broken outlets, GFCI's that do not operate properly, and any other outdoor wiring that is visible.

Inside the home many of the important wiring details are not visible, however we will inspect panels, a select number of outlets, and switches looking to ensure the grounding is done correctly, and gfci's are located where they should be. If there is knob and tube or aluminum wiring in the house we will be looking to see if any updates have been attempted. Many insurance companies require the electrical safety authority (ESA) to inspect and certify that work has been done according to safety requirements before they will approve the home for an insurance policy.

Electrical distribution panels come with breakers or with fuses. At the present time fuse panels are not an insurance concern but upgrading to breakers is suggested. There may be additional distribution panels and shut off switches in your home or building which can also have breakers or fuses.

The next section of electrical is the wiring, most of which cannot be seen. The wiring which we do see is most often in the attic or basement, and the quality of the wiring in these two locations is not always an indication of the level of workmanship throughout the remainder of the home. There are a number of difficiencies that we find regularly. Loose wires, open boxes, hidden boxes, extension cords, connections, ungrounded plugs, miswired plugs and these are just a few. Electrical distribution wiring is a safety concern if it is not installed to the safety standards, and for this reason we suggest you always have a professional electrician do modifications in your wiring system for you.