| There
can be real potential safety risks in the home,
and real estate is the biggest investment most people
make in their lives. Can you afford to buy without an
inspection?
Cheryl's Story
 We did an inspection
of a condominium in for Cheryl N of Redmond WA. When we
checked the electrical we saw several problems.
Serious safety issues noted on her
summary were:
Zinsco electrical panel -
see safety information on panel at www.hipspro.com.
Aluminum branch circuit wiring - more information
at Consumer
Product Safety commission.
Crack on main feed lug holder to panel. Possibly was
over tightened.
Missing smoke detector in bedroom.
We also verbally recommended
replacement of the Zinsco panel and repair the aluminum
wiring and noted it further in her report. See Cheryl's
actual electrical
detail report page here.
We
got a call 35 days after that inspection, the
recommended repairs didn't get addressed immediately.
She had an electrical fire in an outlet. Fortunately,
she was forewarned and was alert to the potential
hazard. She immediately recognized a dangerous situation
and called the fire department. Luckily she was home and
awake at the time of the fire and the damage was limited
to the outlet or this could have been very serious.
She worked with a reputable
electrician we recommend. JJ has known the guys at C&R
Electric for almost 40 years. When their electrician
first got to work on this job, the breaker box was
malfunctioning to the point of heating up the case. The
components inside must have been very hot to make the
whole enclosure so warm. He diagnosed the problem to be
an overloaded circuit which caused the outlet to catch
fire. Electrical current had exceeded the capacity of
the outlet and a faulty Zinsco
panel never turned off the power.
It is our opinion, when you take into account both the
aluminum wiring and the Zinsco panel, there is a
significant hazard. This combined with the risk
multiplier of a condominium with many units likely wired
the same way causes our greatest concern. We hope this
moves the homeowners association to investigate and
repair this condition in all the units.
Here is
excerpt from the US CPSC article Aluminum
Wire Problems and Solutions
Home
Inspections of Puget Sound
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