For most owner-occupied homes, no rule tells you when to have the wiring inspected. Once a house passes its final inspection after it is built, nobody checks it again unless someone pulls a permit for new work. That means the schedule is up to you, and the right answer depends on the age of the house and what has happened to it since.
As a general rule, we suggest a full inspection about every five years for a newer home in good shape. For houses 40 years or older, every three years is a better rhythm, because older cable insulation turns brittle, connections loosen and past owners have had decades to add circuits of their own.
Times to schedule one sooner
- Before you buy a house, or before you list one
- Before adding a big load like an EV charger, hot tub or heat pump
- After a flood, a fire, a lightning strike or a nearby power surge
- When you find wiring a previous owner clearly did themselves
- When breakers trip often or lights dim for no clear reason
A general home inspection during a sale is not the same thing. That inspector looks at the whole house in a few hours and usually removes the panel cover for a quick look. An electrical inspection goes deeper. We test outlets for correct polarity and grounding, check GFCI and AFCI protection, look for loose or overheated connections in the panel, confirm breakers match the wire they protect, and note anything that no longer meets current code.
You get a written list of what we found, sorted by what needs attention now and what can wait. Nothing on it is a sales pitch, and plenty of homes come back with only minor items. You can read what our electrical inspection covers or book a visit through our contact page.
If it has been more than a few years since anyone looked at your wiring, call Northgate Electric at (720) 555-0142 to set up an inspection.
