Howson Inspections continues to serve Marble Falls, Kingsland, Granite Shoals and all Highland Lakes District and nearby areas in Texas, and we have recently expanded with a location in Newhall.
In this series of articles, we have already devoted some attention to the roof, and now we will take up one of the most beneficial and important safety aspects of the home, the electrical system. Having electricity in the home is taken so thoroughly for granted these days, that it is very easy to overlook the fact that it must be constructed and installed right in any structure for that “granted” status to warrant a “rest at ease” frame of mind.
A quality electrical system is not only a great functional asset in a home, it is also a key component which itself lends value. It can last the life of the home when done well. For someone wanting to enhance their home, upgrade it or looking to buy, one has to have the ideal vision of the place to measure against so that anything lacking can be easily seen. The key aspect of this for the consumer of electricity in the home is of course the availability and placement of electrical outlets and fixtures adequate to the functioning needs of the home and within it. Behind this of course is an electrical panel designed for that ideal and a breaker and wiring system which then completes the system.
The other end of the spectrum would be a wrongly installed system which can go as far as being a fire hazard, a danger to the home and anyone in it. Possibly one has seen the construction reality TV. shows where the horrors of substandard construction and wiring can be blatantly evident. Where they open the wall of some unsuspecting house and find the wiring done wrong or done without a permit. There are many other examples on record of electrical lines vastly overloaded beyond code, or left undone and waiting to spark a fire within the wall itself.
A home inspector will look through the electrical system and determine its overall condition. This not only includes the layout and the standard of the system, but the condition as influenced by age and usage.
The end result of this aspect of such an inspection is a contributing picture which can then help the prospective buyer or the homeowner determine a course of action, whether estimating costs for repair, exposing or validating the true value of the home or giving a good idea of the investment and projecting its return.
