Home Inspection 101

If you’ve just purchase a home, there are a lot of important things that you’re going to need to do. Few of them are going to be more important than having the electrical inspected. An inspection will reveal any dangerous conditions with electrical in your home and it can better protect you if there do happen to be any issues. All of the different electrical components such as service drops, grounding systems, service panels, devices, wiring systems and fixtures will need to be a part of the inspection. Additionally, all electrical components should be inspected by someone who is a professional and has gone through the proper electrical inspection training.

Common Issues Found Through Electrical Inspection

There are a lot of different electrical issues that are commonly found in a house. Almost every house is different, which means an inspection is important to find all of those issues. Some of the more common issues that are typically found include obstructed entrance wires, damaged or missing GFCI outlets, issues with wiring, missing smoke alarms, and missing or burnt light bulbs.

The plus side of most of this, is that these repairs are typically easy to rectify. However, electrical repairs can be very expensive and costly, and it’s not something you really want to ignore as the problem can linger and get worse. The sooner you get an inspection and make sure you’re up to code, the better off you’ll be.

In the Seattle area, there is a strict schedule for inspections that you should follow in order to make sure that your house, or the house you’re purchasing, is completely up to code and will not give you any problems. The city of Seattle requires a three-step electrical inspection with each step necessary at a different point of the electrical installation. The following information details what happens in each step of the inspection and what you can expect.

Cover Inspection

The cover inspection is the very first inspection that should take place when you are installing all of your new electrical wiring. This inspection should be completed when all new circuits are wired. This includes boxes installed, wires being run, grounding conductor connected or made up and nail plates installed wherever they may be needed. Until the inspector approves your work, make sure you do not cover it with insulation, wall switches or receptacles. This inspection also includes underground installation, so don’t cover any ditches, trenches or slabs until they have been approved.

Service & Feeder Inspection

After you’ve passed the first part of the inspection (or updated all of the problems that were found in the original inspection), then it’s time to move on to the next inspection. This is known as the services and feeder inspection and is to be scheduled only after certain work is completed. This inspection should be scheduled once the service electrical mast, service panels, meter base, grounding electrode conductors and branch circuits installation is done in the house.

Final Inspections

Once you’ve completed and passed the first two inspections on the list, you can move on to the third inspection! Scheduling of this inspection should only be once all of the electrical work are complete. Everything should be complete as if you were ready to live in the house that day. For this inspection, make sure to cove the panel boxes. Installation, grounding and energizing of equipment and appliances are necessary.

After each inspection, you’re going to receive comments from the inspector if there are any problems. There are a number of reasons for electrical work rejection. This includes the inspector could not get on site. This can also be your work is not complete and there are code violations within your work. If for any reason you fail an inspection at any step, then you will have to repeat the inspection. You may face an additional fee with this.

Do you need an electrical inspection in the Seattle area? You can call the 24-hour inspection request line at (206) 684-8900. You can also go ahead and schedule your inspection online by visiting here.

Make a request before 7am , then request fulfillment will be on the day too. Well, on rare occasions this is not possible. Any requests put in after 7:00 a.m. will be on the list for the next day. In order to request an inspection, you will need your permit number handy.

If you have any questions on this process, please feel free to drop us a line. We’re happy to help!