Poor Home Remodeling Creates Dangerous Attic Electrical Wiring
Plenty of people are afraid to go into their attic, it's
dark, dingy and after watching scary movies, can even be frightening.
Small animals like mice, rodents, raccoons and even birds make their
homes in these musty places, but every once in a while, you're going to
need to inspect this area to make sure there aren't any problems that
need to be repaired.
If you're not having any problems with your electrical system, there's a
good chance that you won't need to do any modifications or repairs to
it. However, if you live in an older home where someone has added a room
addition or done any remodeling work, you could have problems with your
electrical wiring and would never even know about it.
I'm not suggesting that you go into your attic and check everything out
today, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to grab a ladder, open your attic
access hole and shine a bright light into this area to give it a quick
examination. If you see electrical wires running in different directions
over the insulation, there's a good chance that your original home's
electrical system has been tampered with.
This might not be as big of a problem, but the areas where these new
electrical wires are connecting to, could be. Inexperienced home repair
contractors will often tie a new electrical fixture into an electrical
box that is already at capacity. In other words you now have a problem
with your home electrical system.
Often inexperienced remodeling contractors will cut electrical lines and
splice a new electrical line into it and never even use a junction box.
These types of connections will usually be exposed in your attic or
taped up, but the problem remains, these electrical connections aren't
done properly and could create problems in the future.
If you find electrical wires in your attic that are laying on top of the
installation or you can see the plastic connectors, it wouldn't be a bad
idea to call a local electrician to get some advice and see if there are
any problems that need to be repaired.
Professional home inspectors can also be used, if you believe that there
are problems with your home electrical system and other sections of your
house.