Skip to content

# What an Electrical Safety Inspection Should Cover

A room-by-room checklist of what gets inspected, what counts as a real finding, and when an inspection is worth paying for.

(833) 652-8933

## Service directory — California

MAIN 200A
Emergency electrician 24/7 Electrical repair 15A Panel upgrade 200A Rewiring 12 AWG EV charger installation 50A Generator installation 22kW Lighting installation 20A Outlets and switches 20A Commercial electrical 3Ø Smart home wiring CAT6
Every circuit answered by a live dispatcher, 24 hours a day.

Safety | Updated 2026-05-05 | Rupert Electrical Solutions

An electrical safety inspection is worth having at specific moments and mostly unnecessary in between. Here is what one should actually cover, so you can tell a thorough job from a sales visit.

## When to get one

- Buying a home, particularly anything built before 1980.
- Selling, so surprises surface on your timeline rather than a buyer's.
- After any significant remodel or DIY electrical work.
- Before adding a large load: EV charger, heat pump, hot tub, ADU.
- When an insurer asks about the wiring.
- Every ten years or so in an older home, or after a flood or fire.
- Any time you see warmth, scorching or smell something at a device.

## The service and panel

This is where most real findings are. A proper inspection covers the service size against actual load, the condition of the mast, weatherhead or lateral, and the meter base. Inside the panel: correct breaker sizing for each conductor, double-taps, tandem breakers where they aren't permitted, and the panel manufacturer.

Zinsco and Federal Pacific Stab-Lok panels get called out specifically. Both have documented histories of breakers failing to trip under fault, and that is a replacement finding rather than a repair one.

Also checked: torque on terminations, signs of overheating or arcing on the bus, water intrusion or rust, grounding electrode conductor and bonding, whether the neutral and ground are properly separated in subpanels, working clearance in front of the panel, and whether there is a legible circuit directory.

## Branch circuits and devices

Sampled room by room rather than every device: correct polarity, proper grounding, GFCI protection in wet locations, AFCI protection in living areas, physical condition of devices, box fill, and whether outlet counts and placement match how the space is used.

Loose back-stabbed connections are one of the most common serious findings, and they don't show up on a plug-in tester. They show up when someone opens the device and looks.

## Wiring methods

Accessible runs in attic, basement, crawlspace and garage get identified by type: knob and tube, cloth-covered, aluminum branch circuits, or modern NM-B. Also checked for proper support, protection where it passes through framing, junction boxes that are accessible and covered rather than buried in insulation, and any splices made outside a box.

## Specific areas that matter

- Kitchen: two small-appliance circuits, GFCI at counter receptacles, dedicated circuits for dishwasher and disposal.
- Bathrooms: GFCI, a dedicated 20 amp circuit, correct fixture ratings near showers.
- Laundry: dedicated circuit, proper dryer receptacle and 4-wire configuration.
- Garage and exterior: GFCI, weather-resistant devices with in-use covers, correct raceway.
- Smoke and CO alarms: placement, interconnection, age. Alarms expire, and most people never check the date on the back.

## What you should receive

A written report, photographs of findings, and issues sorted by urgency: immediate hazard, should-fix, and code-improvement-if-you-are-doing-other-work. That last category matters, because plenty of findings in an older home are legal existing conditions rather than defects, and a report that doesn't distinguish between them is designed to sell work.

You should also get a load calculation if you asked about capacity, and a repair estimate that is clearly separate from the inspection findings.

## Two limits worth knowing

An inspection is a sample, not a guarantee. Concealed wiring in finished walls cannot be fully assessed without opening them. And an older home will generate findings that are perfectly legal because they complied when built. A good inspector explains which is which instead of presenting every difference from current code as a hazard.

Rupert Electrical Solutions inspects across California and provides the written report with photographs. If findings need work, our electrical repair and electrical panel upgrade pages set out what each scope includes.

## Find an electrician in your city

We cover 482 California cities. A few of the busiest:

- Electrician in Los Angeles, CA
- Electrician in San Diego, CA
- Electrician in San Jose, CA
- Electrician in San Francisco, CA
- Electrician in Fresno, CA
- Electrician in Sacramento, CA
- Electrician in Long Beach, CA
- Electrician in Oakland, CA
- Electrician in Bakersfield, CA
- Electrician in Anaheim, CA
- Electrician in Santa Ana, CA
- Electrician in Riverside, CA
- Electrician in Stockton, CA
- Electrician in Irvine, CA
- Electrician in Chula Vista, CA
- Electrician in Fremont, CA
- Electrician in Modesto, CA
- Electrician in Oxnard, CA
- Electrician in Fontana, CA
- Electrician in Moreno Valley, CA

See all 482 cities we serve, or call (833) 652-8933 and we will confirm coverage for your address.

Previous: Recessed Lighting Layout: How Many Lights and Where

Next: Commercial Electrical Maintenance: A Practical Guide for California Businesses

All articles

## Book electrical work in California

Call and speak to a dispatcher now, or send the details and we will come back with a time and a price.

(833) 652-8933 Answered 24 hours a day, including holidays
Call (833) 652-8933 Request service