Electrical Photos
I have found the electrical system to be the most target rich area of a home.  As tools, conductors, components, fixtures and how-to books are readily available from any hardware store or home improvement center, many homeowners feel qualified to perform modifications to an electrical system after a short glance at an electrical wiring book.  However, there is much more to an electrical system than black wire goes to the circuit breaker.  Some of the images in this section are downright scary.
One of my favorite photos, prized for its shock value (get it?). A bit hard to see, but an extension cord has been run from (or to... not sure which) the underwater pool light at this Santa Rosa home. What a stupendously bad idea.The next two photos show the little known line of Hamms landscape lighting. Homemade out of a couple of beer cans and rubber light sockets, this setup was attached to the perimeter fence of a Santa Rosa home. Clever, but NO.The owners of this Santa Rosa home are frankly lucky to be alive and have a home. These five photos show charred attic insulation and improper wiring connections that nearly resulted in fire.More charred lumber and insulation at this Santa Rosa home inspection site.The old redwood bark insulation was reasonably charred adjacent to this junction box in the attic. Any electrical splice should be made in an approved junction box.The wires should be fully enclosed and the box should have a cover.I believe that knob & tube wiring was used in this area up until the late 1940s, however the use did continue in some areas of the U.S. well into the 1960s. The wiring under this Petaluma home was more than a little scary for me personally. The next photo has a little more information. These hanging wires were energized and I received a little shock as I brushed against them. Got my heart racing a bit, I can tell you.Commonly used in the 1960s and even into the 1970s, the split bolt at the bottom of this panel has been used to connect the equipment grounding conductors together. However, split bolts are only approved to connect two wires. Obviously, this would have been designed for two rather large wires.Yes, I know this is an air conditioner. However, the electrical disconnect box is why I put this photo in this section. The disconnect box should be accessible. In this case, it would be necessary to reach over the A/C to disconnect the power. One or the other should be moved.This service panel was at the exterior of a Petaluma home that makes an appearance in the foundation photos. The poor ventilation in the foundation area had allowed water to condense on the interior of this panel. You can see the droplets at the top of the image. Not the easiest thing to see, but there is some incorrect, and potentially hazardous wiring in this panel. Many of the conditions seen in the photos in this section are pretty easy to identify as problematic. The conditions in this panel would need an experienced inspector to detect.They make those little plug thingys for a reason.While I am sure that there are a few people that find rodents to be cute and cuddly, when they infest a home, they can cause significant damage and even unsafe conditions. The nonmetallic sheathed electrical cable in this photo has been gnawed-on by rodents, leaving the copper conductor exposed.Ok, you just have to wonder "what were they thinking?" In this case, the hardwood floors were being refinished and the workmen had clipped their large floor sander directly into the electrical panel. I rather doubt that this is Cal OSHA approved. This one took even me by surprise. Terminated electrical wiring under a house is not unusual. Taping the ends with foil tape is. I thought it was common knowledge that aluminum will conduct electricity. Really, I don't make this stuff up.
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