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Labels: Cost of Rewiring a House, Cost to Rewire a House, Electrical Inspection, Electricians

Handling electricity can be a dangerous thing if you don't know what you're doing.

Whenever you need installations or repairs to your electrical components, it's best to hire a professional electrician and not your cousin Bob. However, some are really good at doing their own wiring projects - they manage to get the light or ceiling fan installed with no problems.

But it can be a good idea to have a pro come in to at least inspect your work (especially if permits and official electrical inspections are involved) or do some of the final stages of the project to make sure it all works well.

Another thing to keep in mind - someone may be handy with electricity but not be aware that they are overloading a circuit by adding new fixtures or outlets. When the electrical components are initially installed during construction, there could have been a faulty design to begin with and adding a new problem will only make things worse. It could be something as simple as making lights dim when an appliance starts or it could even damage an expensive fixture or appliance. Even worse, it could start a fire. Professional electricians are trained to be able to look at the whole picture of your electrical layout.

The purpose of our company, ConstructionDeal,com, is to help match you with a local electrician. It's a free service and it's very easy to use. Simply tell us about your requirements and we'll send out the request to electricians in your area. If they're interested, they'll contact you and bid on the job. And you can choose how many you want to call you.

If you do try to find an electrician on your own, make sure you contact several of them and have the electricians come out to review the project before they bid on it. Multiple quotes means you have the best chance of getting the best rate to complete your project.

Labels: Electrical Inspection, Electricians, Find an Electrician

Here's some information from the Walters Forensic Engineering company on how electricity can cause fires, "The three main groups of fire causes are accidental, natural and incendiary. Of the accidental fire causes, electricity often plays a major part. Electricity can also be involved in incendiary and natural causes.

Fire investigators are faced with difficulty in determining the cause of a fire, they have often relied on the phrase 'the fire was electrically caused' as a 'catch all' to avoid the more appropriate phrase 'the fire cause was undetermined'. In fact, it is actually quite difficult to start a fire with electricity.

Three elements must be present in order for a fire to initiate. These are oxygen, fuel and heat. Not only do these elements have to be present together at the same time, but the fuel must be conditioned in a way that the heat source can initiate an exothermic oxidation reaction. Electricity can play an important role in this process by providing the heat source.

Short Circuits

"One example of an electrical heat source is a short circuit. There exists two main types of short circuits; a dead short circuit and a limited short circuit."

If the circuit is not fused properly, the current can continue to pass through the wires causing them to overheat - which can ignite surrounding combustibles causing a fire.

In the case of the limited short circuit, "Wires come in contact such that the volume of material through which the current flows is smaller than the fusible link. This will create a spark or flash and result in melting of the copper of the wiring. This situation can also cause ignition of combustibles provided the mass of the combustibles contacting the heat source is small enough that the heat source can cause it to reach ignition temperatures and initiate a self-sustaining exothermic oxidation reaction or fire. Cotton products, sawdust, wood chips and combustible gases can be ignited."

Overloaded Circuits

"Over fusing of a circuit can result in high current flow through the wires overloading the circuit. Although electrical wiring is designed to carry current at much higher than its rated capacity, increasing current above this rated capacity causes the wire to generate excess heat. if the wire is enclosed within a small insulated space, such as the holes through which wires run through floor joists in a home, the heat in these areas may not be able to dissipate as quickly as it is being generated. As a result, the surrounding combustibles can pyrolyze and eventually ignite, causing a fire."

Leakage Current

"Fires can also be caused electrically through what is called leakage current. Leakage current occurs when water is in the presence of electricity. Exposed wiring, which exists primarily at connectors and switches, can come in contact with water. Since water conducts electricity, a current will flow through the water between contacts or from the live to ground or common."

Electrical Contacts

"Electrical contacts can also fail resulting in uncontrolled heating. Each time a contact is opened or closed, a small spark is generated. This causes degradation of the surface of the contact."

Check out the rest of the article that discusses how the investigators must assess liability.

A great way to insure the protection of your home or business is to have regular inspections by an electrician. And, as a backup to regular inspections and maintenance, you might want to consider adding fire sprinklers - it can reduce damage and lower insurance costs, as well as protect your family or employees. If you need to find a local sprinkler company, check out our blog on Fire Sprinkler Installation for more details.

Labels: Electrical Inspection, Electricians, Fire Safety

If you've recently experienced any flooding conditions, you've probably already got a lot on your plate. But safety is always a major factor and water and electricity do not mix very well. If your home's electrical systems have gotten wet, due to a flood, it might be a good idea to find a local electrician to inspect your wiring and panel box.

Here's some information from the Toolbase Services:

"In the majority of cases, wiring will not need to be removed and replaced after a flood. However, before making that determination, a thorough inspection by a qualified electrician may be required. First, stand on a dry spot and use a dry wood stick to disconnect the main electrical switch and all circuits at the panel box. If there is no main switch, turn off all circuit breakers or remove all fuses.

Unplug all appliances that have been flooded. As soon as possible, remove all standing water from the structure, and dry out the interior as much as possible. Also, remove interior wallboard 12 inches above the maximum flood water height, remove any water-soaked insulation, and dry out wall cavities to preclude any water in the walls from continuing to soak into wiring and receptacles.

Then, have a qualified electrician do the following:

• Remove cover plates from all electrical outlets, receptacles, wall switches, and breaker or fuse boxes to inspect wiring and terminal connections.
  

• If the main box got wet, clean and check it.
  

• Check switches and outlets and their boxes for mud and dirt, which can cause a short or overheating.
  

• If there is a lot of mud, dirt, or salt water corrosion in switches or outlets, replace them. Look for broken electrical fixtures or exposed wiring.
  

• Replace all dimmers and electronic implements such as ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCI), and arc-fault circuit interrupters (AFCI). Smoke detectors and thermostats that were immersed should also be replaced.
  

• Check the condition of wires that go to each switch and outlet. Replace any fabric-covered wire. Any aluminum wiring that has been flooded by salt water should be replaced.
  

• Have a qualified service technician inspect water heaters, furnaces, heat pumps, air handlers, water softeners, and all appliances and HVAC equipment. In many cases all such items should be replaced.
  

• Flush out boxes with clean water or air pressure; dry out and spray with cleaner/lubricant.
  

• Check continuity and grounding of all circuits, and check for electrical shorts. Check to ensure that all terminal connections are tight.
  

• Turn on each circuit, replace each fuse one at a time, and test each circuit. Make sure all ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) and arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCI) are functioning.
  

• Test the operation of all smoke detectors and of the heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems."
  

If you've had a flood problem in your area, you can find an electrician to inspect your home with ConstructionDeal.com. We've got a complete network of master electricians to review and catch any problems your home might have.

It's the safest thing to do to protect yourself, your family, and your biggest investment. It's free to find a qualified pro on our site!

Labels: Electrical Inspection, Electricians

Do you need a home electrical inspection? Good question. If you've lived in your home and there hasn't been an inspection of the house wiring in more than 10 years, or if you've never had one, it would be a good idea. If you're moving into a home that is 30 or more years old, bringing in a licensed electrician would be a good idea.

Faulty or old wiring can be anything from an annoyance to a deadly fire hazard for a homeowner. Making sure that your house is safe from frayed wires or overloaded circuits is always a great idea. It's something people don't see on a regular basis and tend to take it for granted.

What are some signs that you should have your home wiring checked, and possibly re-wired?

• Your lights are constantly flickering
  

• Your breaker trips on a regular basis
  

• Electrical outlets are not working
  

• Lighting or power runs dim or brightens
  

• If you're receiving even a slight shock from an outlet or switch

The problems can be anything from tripped breakers, to blown fuses, to faulty wiring coming in to the house or within the house itself. If you're not sure how to handle any of these issues on a reasonably confident basis, find a local electrician to come check out the problems.

If you do handle any of these issues yourself, please make sure you never do any work to a live circuit. There should be no power coming to the device, outlet, or electrical component you're working on. Again, if you're not sure if there's power, leave it to a professional.

When you're ready for a home inspection by a master electrician, keep ConstructionDeal.com in mind. Our network of electricians are ready to help diagnose any problems you might have with your home's wiring system.

Labels: Electrical Inspection, Electrical Safety