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| Lighting not properly installed (loose) and wiring old, not done properly or to code. |
It doesn't matter what time of year it is — electrical problems are usually never welcomed. But it sure is a great way to wreck your holiday, week, or weekend! Unfortunately, many home owners will use the "ostrich approach," where you duck your head in the sand when faced with an electrical problem. It's one thing with knowing something isn't all right versus not knowing you have a problem in the first place!
Many of you may have your home remodeling done for the year or maybe you're about to remodel your house. Rather only be concerned with which paint or tile swatch to go with, this could be the perfect opportunity to check if your electrical is safe and fully functional.
LISTEN TO YOUR NEIGHBOR.
We cannot tell you how many times we find — in even fairly new homes — electrical problems that should have never been created in the first place. Let's just say if you moved into a new neighborhood and your neighbor mentions your prior owner was "handy" or did "handy work," the first thing you want to do is see if there is an electrical, plumbing, or general contracting license associated with him / her. We can already tell you that most of the time, this "handy" person wasn't so handy. A lot of times, do-it-yourselfers will handle electrical work and end up not installing properly or even to safety standards! The materials used may be incompatible! For example, there is a difference in how you control voltage. Most houses run at 120V or 220V but if you're wiring incorrectly, you can blow your line, your appliances, and even potentially cause a house fire!
LOOK FOR SOMETHING LOOSE.
If your light, switch, outlet, ceiling fan or other fixture appears loose, there may be some other problems lying beneath the surface. Take the photo above: the home owner wanted us to fix a loose lighting fixture...turns out there were many other problems besides that.
REMODEL? TREAT IT LIKE AN AUDIT.
Rather simply remodel your house, do a self-inspection to see if something doesn't appear to be right. If you're not comfortable, it would be wise to hire an inspector not affiliated with whomever is doing the work in your house. Take this photo below, for instance. You can see that there is incorrect wiring, the heater isn't working, partly due to the fact the wire was damaged, and the switches and outlets weren't properly installed into the unit or the wall, which left loose and exposed wiring.
IN SUM — NIP IT IN THE BUD!
The best thing to do when you know you have an electrical problem is to bite the bullet and have a qualified electrician address all the problems for you. Otherwise, as time goes by, the electrical problem will only get worse, i.e. you end up losing appliances due to a surge, fixtures and the contents within corrode to the point of needing full replacement, or even worse. If you don't know if you have a problem, we wouldn't expect you to tear your house apart (unless you wanted to) unless you're remodeling your home. If you are remodeling your home, please take the time to have a thorough inspection. You may not have another opportunity to really make positive changes in your house that will leave you sleeping better at night.
With that being said, Modern Electric is your certified, licensed electrician in Wilmington, MA, serving the Merrimack, Massachusetts area as well as Southern New Hampshire. If you would like us to help design a better solution for you, please never hesitate to give us a call at 978-658-7200, send us an email at info@modernelc.com, or visit our website at http://modernelc.com/.
Modern Electric is Licensed and Bonded. MA Contractors License #21583A; NH #13399M.
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