spinoff w/ Poll - Did your inspector check every outlet when your home was inspected?

Goldi's post and Ophelia's response got me curious.

Did your inspector check every outlet in your home when you had your home inspected? Please answer poll and elaborate if you wish.

And another ? - what did your inspector do to check your electrical in your home?

Ours took the electrical panel off and looked at all the wires going into the circuit breaker box. Looked for melted or frayed wires. I don't think he did much more than that, although I could be forgetting something.

In addition, if anyone knows what an inspector is truly SUPPOSED to do or obligated to do re electrical, during an inspection, can they please post this info? I am curious to know. Thanks

Message edited 8/9/2011 11:06:39 AM.

Re: spinoff w/ Poll - Did your inspector check every outlet when your home was inspected?

The home inspector's job is really to examine what he can see (without tearing apart the house) and flag defects or possible defects (as well as recommend areas for improvement, even where there are no "defects"). While I believe the home inspection is very important, and I would never advise a buyer to waive it, it is not the be-all/end-all that some buyers thing it is. It's not a guarantee that the home is perfect. The limitation is that the home inspector can only comment on what is VISIBLE to him.

That being said, in my experience, inspectors generally examine the electrical panel and check all of the outlets in each room by using their plug-in device (to make sure they are all working). Then, if they see anything that is or COULD BE an issue, they flag it and recommend that an electrician come in for further investigation.

For example, in a recent home inspection, the home inspector noted that it looked like at one point, there was water in the electrical box, but he couldn't tell if the corrosion was old or if it was an ongoing problem. He recommended that an electrician come in to check it out. Given that the electrical system is a major issue, the sellers agreed to have an electrician come in to inspect the electrical panel, and it turns out there was no issue (it was an old problem that had been corrected, and the electrician provided written certification of that).

Also, on a recent home inspection, the inspector pointed out aluminum wiring in the home (common in the 60s and 70s, but a huge fire hazard), and pried off one outlet cover to see whether the appropriate fix had been made (I think you can put copper at the ends or something). He saw that it had in that one outlet, but didn't have time to check every siongle outlet, and recommended the buyer look into it further. So the issue was raised, if not definitively addressed.

Bottom line - I think the home inspector's obligation is to look at what he can during the inspection, explain the limitations of his inspection to the buyer, and flag any potential issues to be checked out further by an expert.

Re: spinoff w/ Poll - Did your inspector check every outlet when your home was inspected?

Message edited 8/9/2011 11:59:31 AM.

Re: spinoff w/ Poll - Did your inspector check every outlet when your home was inspected?

my inpsector checked every outlet but the house was vacant during showings

Re: spinoff w/ Poll - Did your inspector check every outlet when your home was inspected?

No, but we had my dad with us and he did.

We knew that we had to pig tail all of the outlets and get a new box through the inspection.

Re: spinoff w/ Poll - Did your inspector check every outlet when your home was inspected?

no not every outlet and honestly i don't think he checked any outlet at all. He just pointed to the box and said i suggest you upgrade it and get some of this wiring replaced.

Re: spinoff w/ Poll - Did your inspector check every outlet when your home was inspected?

I don't remember if he did, it's been awhile, but I know I did.

I walked around with an alarm clock plugging it in.

Re: spinoff w/ Poll - Did your inspector check every outlet when your home was inspected?

The engineer I used checked every outlet he could find and photgraphed it with the tester thing plugged in.




He documented everything that was a concern with photos. The home we were looking at had a few electrical problems as you can see. We were both verbally and in writing warned about the rust in the electrical box. I know the engineer also spoke to the listing agent privately so she could notify the homeowner to warn them that water was getting into the electrical box.

Re: spinoff w/ Poll - Did your inspector check every outlet when your home was inspected?

Our inspector checked, and my husband did as well. The inspector noted that many of the outlets were old (our home was built in 1950), so before we moved in, my husband went in and replaced them all/checked the wiring to make sure everything was ok. It took a while, but I'm so glad he did.

Re: spinoff w/ Poll - Did your inspector check every outlet when your home was inspected?

Our inspector did not test outlets blocked by furniture.

Re: spinoff w/ Poll - Did your inspector check every outlet when your home was inspected?

In my experience, they will test the outlets that are accessible (i.e., not blocked by large furniture). In a vacant home, it's easy to test all.

The inspectors don't like to move anything that can be damaged. In a recent home inspection, the electrical panel was in a bedroom and was covered by a large wall mirror. The inspector called the listing agent in to remove the mirror.

So, no - I would not expect a homeowner to move large furniture around a room to see if outlets are blocked and then test those outlets. But I would expect them to test those that are accessible.

Re: spinoff w/ Poll - Did your inspector check every outlet when your home was inspected?

The outlet that burned out in my house had been blocked by furniture during inspection.

Re: spinoff w/ Poll - Did your inspector check every outlet when your home was inspected?

I said "other". I don't remember if he checked every single outlet, but my DH did bc he's an electrician. The inspector checked the panel as well but DH knew right off the bat that it needed to be changed out just by looking at it.

eta: our house was vacant

Message edited 8/10/2011 10:01:11 AM.