Quote:
Originally Posted by Rallydrv
If buying a place over 30 years old. Can inspector check for asbestos and copper wiring etc?
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some of the trade guys here might have better insight, but afaik, they should be able to tell you what potentially has asbestos based on material used at the time of the age of the home (ceiling tile, duct tape, loose attic insulation, etc). but if you want certainty then samples need to be taken to a lab and tested to be confirmed.
there are diff time periods of electrical wiring, again based on age of the home: knob 'n tube, rope insulated wire, aluminum wiring, lumex, or BX/AC.
afaik knob 'n tube are like 100 year old homes. aluminum is in the late 60's to mid 70's. different ways to check for copper...all visual...You can visually inspect the type of wiring at the device or device itself...might be able to see by removing a cover plate...
or remove the cover of the electrical panel to see the wiring pulled to the breakers...unless the panel is in an unfinished area, not recessed behind drywall so the wiring is exposed. don't be taking off the panel cover yourself if you're not an electrician though. i doubt the owner would be cool taking panel cover off in the house though...
wiring with "Al" imprinted on it is aluminum...while Cu is copper. the concern of aluminum is encountering cold creep, not to be confused with RS creeps
. properly installed aluminum wiring is fine. still used today but only in larger feeder cable installations, not branch wiring.
i think the avg rate on a decent inspector is $500 to $550. if you need a referral PM me. the one i used on my current home was quite good. he does condos as well.