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Most electrical problems
give you warning first
Almost nothing fails without a sign. Breakers start tripping, an outlet runs warm, lights dim when the air conditioning kicks in. None of that is normal, and all of it is cheaper to deal with before it becomes the reason you are calling at midnight.
This page is not here to frighten you. Half of what people worry about turns out to be fine, and we would rather tell you that for free than sell you work you do not need. The other half is worth knowing about early.
What your house is telling you
Six things worth paying attention to, and what each one usually means.
A burning smell
A hot plastic or fishy smell near an outlet, a switch or the panel means something is arcing or overheating right now. Turn off the breaker for that area if you can do it safely and call. Do not wait to see if it goes away.
Warm outlets or switch plates
Cover plates should be room temperature. Warm means a loose connection generating heat behind the wall, which is how most electrical fires start. Stop using that circuit until someone has looked at it.
A breaker that will not reset
A breaker that trips and resets is doing its job. One that trips again immediately, or will not reset at all, is telling you there is a fault on that circuit. Repeatedly forcing it back is the worst thing you can do.
Lights dimming or flickering
A brief dip when a big appliance starts is normal. Regular flickering, or dimming across the whole house, usually points to a loose neutral or an overloaded service, and the fix is often smaller than people expect.
Two prong outlets
No ground pin means no ground, which matters for anything with a metal case and for surge protection. Sometimes there is a ground already there and the outlet just needs replacing. Sometimes there is not, and that is worth knowing.
No GFCI near water
Kitchens, bathrooms, garages, laundry rooms and anything outdoors should have GFCI protection. If those outlets have no test and reset buttons, they are not protected. It is a small job and it is the one that saves lives.
What actually gets checked
Around ninety minutes on site, then a written report. Ten areas, in this order.
The panel
Breaker sizing against the wire it is protecting, double taps, corrosion, heat damage, and whether the panel is one of the brands that has been recalled or is no longer considered safe.
Grounding and bonding
Ground rod, water pipe bonding, and continuity back to the panel. This is the part nobody thinks about and the part everything else depends on.
GFCI and AFCI protection
Where code requires it and whether it is actually there and working. We test every device rather than assuming a button means it functions.
Outlets throughout
Polarity, ground continuity, tension in the contacts, and any that are warm or discolored. Loose outlets are the most common thing we find and the quickest to fix.
Visible wiring and junctions
Attic, crawlspace, garage and basement. Open splices, missing box covers, wire run where it will get damaged, and anything that has clearly been added by someone in a hurry.
Aluminum branch wiring
Common in houses built between 1965 and 1975. It is not automatically a problem, but the terminations need checking and there is a proper remediation if it is.
Smoke and CO detectors
Placement against current code, interconnection, and the manufacture date. Detectors have an expiry and most people have never looked at it.
Exterior and service entrance
Mast, weatherhead, meter base and any outdoor fixtures. Weatherproofing, corrosion, and whether the drip loop is doing its job.
Load balance
How the circuits are distributed across the panel, and how close you are to the limit of your service. This is what tells you whether a car charger or a hot tub is realistic without an upgrade.
Previous unlicensed work
Anything added without a permit, done to a different standard, or clearly not by an electrician. Common in older homes and worth knowing about before you sell.
Three categories, no upselling
You get a written report the same day. Everything we found is sorted into three groups so you can see at a glance what actually needs money spent on it and what does not.
We quote the urgent items and leave the rest with you. There is no pressure to book anything, and plenty of inspections end with us telling you the house is in better shape than you thought.
Bring the report to a realtor, an insurer or a buyer and it does the job. It is a licensed contractor's written assessment, not a checklist someone ticked in a doorway.
How the report is laid out
When an inspection earns its keep
Buying a house
A general home inspector checks that outlets work. They do not open the panel or test grounding. If the house is older or has obvious additions, an electrical inspection before closing is the cheapest negotiating position you will ever buy.
A house over forty years old
Wiring standards have changed several times since then, and most homes that age have had work done by at least one person who should not have done it. Worth a look even if nothing seems wrong.
Before a remodel
Find out what your service can carry before the kitchen is designed rather than after. Discovering you need a panel upgrade halfway through a remodel is expensive and it delays everything behind it.
Landlords and rentals
A documented inspection protects you if something goes wrong at a property you do not live in. Annual is sensible, and the report is what an insurer will ask for.
After storm damage
Lightning, flooding and surges do damage that is not visible from a wall plate. If water reached any outlet, any panel, or the service entrance, it needs checking before the power goes back on.
Adding a big load
EV charger, hot tub, workshop, air conditioning, pool equipment. All of it depends on what your panel and service can actually carry, and a load calculation is the honest way to find out.
Safety inspection, $225 flat. Around ninety minutes on site, written report the same day, photos included. If we find urgent work and you book it with us, the inspection fee comes off that invoice.
Not sure if it is worth worrying about?
Describe what you are seeing and we will tell you straight, including if the answer is that it sounds fine. Booking an inspection is one option, and it is not always the one we recommend.
- Free estimates, written and upfront, with no callout charge to quote
- Emergency response nights and weekends when the power is out or something is unsafe
- Safety inspection $225 flat, deducted from the work if you book it with us
- Every job inspected and signed off, because the shortcut always costs more later
