Purchasing a home in Victoria in today's market is a major accomplishment. When shopping around for houses, you will probably consider factors like the age of a home's roof, or how much life is left in the hot water tank, furnace, or other appliances. In order to make an educated and informed decision about a home's electrical system, you should arm yourself with some information. Here’s our list of electrical items to be aware of:

• The age of the electrical system. Homes built before 1960 were wired with Knob and Tube wiring. You can read more about Knob and Tube here. This type of wiring is unbonded and presents greater fire and shock hazards than modern wiring. Some homes have been completely rewired but the old wiring has been left in place, which can make it confusing to tell what is going on. Other homes may have been partially rewired and might still have active Knob-and-Tube wiring. The best way to determine if the home has dangerous wiring is to have an electrical inspection completed. You can read more here.

• Homes built in the 1970s often have aluminum wiring. Determining if a home has aluminum wiring often requires taking a closer look behind devices such as switches and receptacles as well as the electrical panel. Aluminum wiring presents a greater fire hazard than modern wiring and home insurers will often ask for it to be declared prior to providing coverage. You can read more about aluminum wiring here.

• DIY electrical work. This is one of our customers' main concerns when purchasing a home in Victoria. DIY electrical work is often poorly and cheaply done. Finding DIY electrical work usually signals a general lack of home maintenance and should not be ignored. Make sure your home inspector photographs all wiring that is of concern. Having photographs will enable one of our skilled electricians to provide you with a solution to get it corrected.