What's involved in fixing these home electrical problems?

Question

We're selling our home, and the buyer had a home inspector check out the house. He identified several issues, including:

*Open grounded outlets in some of the rooms.
*Four double-tapped breakers
* A wiring junction in  the attic that's not in a box.
*An improper termination in the attic.

How serious are these issues, and what is involved in repairing them?

Mr. G · Accepted Answer

pretty serious, you need an electrician who knows the building codes for your area

MVB · Answer

I'm not sure what the first one means. It could be trivial or it could mean that these outlets do not have a true earth ground (only hot and neutral wires). If so, that can be corrected but it will take some work.

The others are minor and quickly fixable -- an hour or two by a licensed electrician.

KILOWATT · Answer

The grounds may not be in the boxes if pre 1971 house.  Either change to ungrounded receptacles or GFI receptacles.  .75 hour each.
Use wire nuts to tie the wires together before connecting to breaker.  About .25 hour each.  
Install J-Box 1-3 hours.
Not sure, if box needed then .5 hour.

hiba · Answer

A certified electrician. the first issue is not hard to fix, but requires some knowledge to fix.the last three are serious issues and require an excellant electrician to fix them, to prevent a fire or sparking. A four double amp, should be changed to single amps that will carry the correct amount of voltage to each one. Example: not a double 25 amp fuse, but one 50 amp fuse,like for large appliances like 220 volt appliances.

Tom thumb · Answer

A electrician can correct the problems pretty quick,or someone with some experience in electrical work, I would suggest a electrician.

What's involved in fixing these home electrical problems?

5 Answers