As an electrician in North Carolina a significant part of my business has been related to fixing things that others before me have done incorrectly. No matter where I go, I can consistently expect to find problems linked to work done by lazy electricians, professional dabblers (handymen) and DIY homeowners. I have found that this can be the case with both new and older homes. It’s not to say that I’m ungrateful for the opportunities this creates for my business but I do think that it’s important for potential home buyers to be aware that they could be in for some nasty surprises once they move in.
I see the problem as having multiple causes. It’s not necessarily just that people in NC are hiring unlicensed handymen to do their kitchen renovations on the cheap. A big issue with the current real estate market (2021-2023) is that the competition among buyers is causing people to try to get an offer in and close on it as soon as possible, often simply buying a house as-is and without opting for a home inspection prior to closing. And since sellers can get away with disclosing only the defects they (provably) knew about, this will often leave the new owner holding the bag for problems that weren’t apparent during the tour.
Another problem seems to be that even when a home inspection is done, there can sometimes be a large disparity between the repairs listed on a home inspection report and what actually needs to be done. More often than not (in my experience) home inspectors end up providing a somewhat superficial assessment of a home’s potential problems. Generally when I come into a house to work on a home inspection repair list I end up doubling the list with items the inspector missed. Maybe the inspectors are not always as familiar with the electrical system and codes as they may be with other aspects of home construction. In any case, this information deficit can often be misleading to homeowners who are trying to understand the potential scope of repairs and what they will cost.
Based on the things I’ve noticed tend to be overlooked or inadequately explained on home inspection reports, I wanted to provide some detail on a few of the top issues of concern related to a home’s electrical system and what can be involved in resolving them.
Aluminum Wiring
Aluminum wiring is found in almost every home I’ve ever worked in or wired. You’ll typically find aluminum wire used for larger circuits like electric ranges or furnaces. It’s very common to use aluminum conductors for the utility service wiring from the street. This is normally done because the larger gauge wire needed for big appliances is more affordable in aluminum than in copper and easier to work with in terms of weigh and flexibility.
Generally there is no problem with using large gauge (#8 or larger) stranded aluminum wire in these applications so long as the installation was done by a qualified professional. However, the use of aluminum wiring that can very well become problematic is seen in cases where it is used for smaller branch circuits in a house such as lights, outlets and smaller appliances. There was a time in the U.S. when the price of aluminum vs. copper was so much lower that it became more popular to use it for everything in a house and the wire that was used for smaller circuits was typically 12 or 10 gauge solid aluminum conductors. The problem is that because aluminum is so much softer than copper, it’s more greatly affected by temperature changes which cause it to expand and contract. Aluminum wire is also more prone to oxidization problems in humid environments.
Most problems with aluminum wire are found at terminations where the wire is attached to a switch or receptacle. Thermal expansion can cause the connections to loosen and the wire can also become brittle to the point where it can snap off. Many times these loose or broken connections will cause intermittent or partial power loss in certain areas of the house. The real danger, however is that these scenarios can cause arcing at the point of failure which is a potential fire hazard.
Many home inspectors these days will probably flag aluminum wiring on their report if they see it in the breaker panel or fuse box but this isn’t necessarily going to give a homeowner a good idea of what is involved in resolving the issue. Most cases will not necessitate a total re-wire of the house but there are a couple of minimum steps that should be taken to minimize potential safety risks which can also end up being fairly expensive.
The first thing I generally recommend is to install arc-fault protection on all the potentially problematic circuits. I won’t go into a full explanation of what an AFCI does in this article but, in short, it is a device designed to detect the kind of problems that can occur when a terminal connection is loose or broken and trip off to protect the circuit before it causes a fire. Replacing existing circuit breakers with AFCI’s is the best first step to take for protection against dangers posed by aluminum wiring as they will help determine fairly quickly if there are already problems in the system. Taking this first step will be fairly expensive from the onset as the AFCI breakers are generally about $65 to $80 a piece. Things can get more complicated and expensive depending on whether your breaker panel has the space for all the breakers that need to be replaced. Some homes may have a power distribution panel that doesn’t accept modern breakers at all, such as an old fashioned fuse box or out-of-production brands like Federal Pacific. In those cases the entire panel would need to be replaced in order to install the AFCI breakers
Once AFCI protection has been installed it may be acceptable to call it a day as long as the new breakers hold and no other problems have occurred. However, if the AFCI breakers start to trip it will be necessary to start looking at replacing the existing switches and outlets, especially if they are original to the house. Replacement of all the devices in a home can be costly mainly because of the time it will take but also because, to be done properly, electricians need to use splicing methods that are specifically rated for making connections between aluminum and copper wire. This is due to the lack of availability of aluminum compatible devices that are also compliant with modern code requirements. Most of the devices on the market that are allowed to be installed in a home today are only rated for use with copper wire and would, therefore, need to be installed via copper leads that then are spliced with the existing aluminum wire in the house. This extra step adds time to the overall upgrade process and the cost of the splicing devices will add up to a significant increase to the cost per device installed. The wiring connections in all light fixtures will also need to be upgraded with proper connectors.
It’s also important to check devices that are newly installed or not original to the house, which may have been installed during a renovation. I’ve come across numerous instances in which modern switches or receptacles where installed improperly on aluminum wire and others where copper wire leads where improperly spliced with aluminum wire using the wrong type of connector. Copper and aluminum wire that is spliced together will have a corrosive effect; particularly on conductors that are carrying current. This type of illegal connection method can cause the same problems with loose or broken connections as well as heat damage from increased resistance on a corroded wire.
The overall cost of mitigation when it comes to aluminum wiring issues will vary widely depending on which steps are taken but can easily end up costing several thousands of dollars. The good news is that these measures can usually be done in steps as necessary to spread out that cost over time. I’d advise anyone buying a home that was wired with aluminum to seek information or an estimate from an electrician before closing on the house if possible so those costs are known up front. A major repair such as this may be something the seller will be willing to help cover or lower the selling price on the house to compensate.
Thanks for taking the time to read this installation of my blog! I’ll have another chapter coming up soon to discuss another major issue that comes up in older homes that potential buyers should know about.
Obsidian Electric 
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