I appreciate you taking the time to read my post and offer any advice. Allow me to provide some back drop.
I performed a wind mitigation/4pt today for an out of state customer who is buying a home in Apollo Beach FL.
While inspecting the electric panel I observed single strand aluminum branch wiring. Please see attached photos.
Now I’m pretty sure this is aluminum wiring. Is there any way possible this could be any other wiring type?
The reason I ask is when brought to the attention of the Realtor, who was on site, and the home owner by phone they were shocked. Because the full home inspection they had done prior identified this as copper clad wiring.
Should this indeed be aluminum wiring my next question is how should I proceed with regards to the inspector who was hired to perform the new purchase home inspection?
This , without a doubt, is going to cause the ball to be thrown back in my court. I can see the questions from the Realtor, Homeowner and insurance agent coming now.
I just need some guidance as to how to handle this situation.
From the pictures, it does look like aluminum solid strand branch circuit wiring is present in the panel. Do your 4pt report as you would normally do. The ball will only be thrown back in your court if you allow it to. It would appear that the questions should be directed to the inspector who did the home inspection and apparently did not identify the presence of aluminum solid strand branch circuit wiring. If you are in correct with your identification of aluminum solid strand wiring, it should not be your problem.
Maybe the previous inspector was a Realtor Puppet or never even checked the inside of the panel. When you constantly find things that are obvious and were missed you really wonder. It looks like aluminum wiring to me and that is not insurable. Truth sometimes hurts:mrgreen:
That’s aluminum. Someone has some splainin to do. Pity what passes for a home inspector in these parts these days. There’s more bad inspectors in this area than I care to count.
It appears to be aluminum wiring. Have an electrician go out and verify what it is. At that point, I would walk away. Let the other inspector prove what was there. I suspect, he never pulled the panel cover.
Thanks for all the great feedback. I guess the pictures don’t lie. The customer is set to close on the 24th. Something tells me once he realizes he cannot obtain insurance without correcting the issue the deal will either fall through or be renegotiated.
I suspect a certain inspector will be receiving a very uncomfortable phone call.
Based on your photos, that is absolutely ALU branch circuit wiring. Aluminum was acceptable years back, and as long as it was installed by a licensed electrical contractor at that time, it is not illegal. Years later the dangers of using aluminum was exposed and is currently disallowed, and unfortunately for the homeowner, most insurers will run for the hills once it’s presence is reported. As an Inspector… stand your ground. You are only reporting on what you witnessed during your inspection, and have backed that up with some pretty decent photo evidence. Photos of a few pulled receptacles and switches would reinforce your finding even further.
Jim
There is not much you can do. Give the client your findings and try to stay out of it from that point on.
If it gets into a back and forth, defer the issue to an electrician. Tell the client something like: Since there is some descreptancy between the two reports, I recommend you have the panel evaluated by a licensed electrical contractor. I have to stand by my inspection, but you should consult the licensed contractor. Last thing you want is to be is in the middle of a law suit.
If the previous inspector is a INACHI member I will shoot him a message in alert him of the findings as a courtesy only. No need to hang him or create a big deal. You did your job the right way and you should report your finding the way they are. Maybe the previous inspector hit the wrong bottom when using his canned computer HI program…who knows… Keep up the good work!!
From my experience the only place I ever encountered tinned copper was as part of an armored cable assembly (BX) , never in non-metallic cable (Romex).
