General guidelines to inspecting the wiring in a house 34 years old ?

Are you a homeowner, buyer, inspector?

Homes built circa 1978 generally were wired with Romex or BX. Some local areas may be different, such as Chicago area.

The wiring should be in good condition, depending on the original installer, and any changes done after.

An inspector should be familiar with NFPA 73-Standard for Electrical Inspections for Existing Dwellings

This can be reviewed online at :

NFPA 73: Standard for Electrical Inspections for Existing Dwellings (http://www.nfpa.org/aboutthecodes/AboutTheCodes.asp?DocNum=73&cookie%5Ftest=1)

Ground fault devices were just coming out then, if I recall correctly, I wired many homes back then, more than I can count.

Should check with the local inspector, I believe he will want GFI devices in bathrom, kitchens, outdoors basements, and garages, which is a good idea for safety of current occupants.

Changing to GFI protection is relatively simple by changing standard receptacles to GFI receptacles. The inspector may want Arc Fault protection, while this may be a good safety measure, can be expensize, and may not be possible for some existing circuits that use a shared neutral.

Confirm the service is of adequate size for the existing home, to include any new appliances that have been added over the years and service not upgraded to handle.

Check above surface mounted light fixtures, such as kitchen, as the heat from light bulbs can cause insulation on wiring in the outlet box to become brittle.

Read through and follow NFPA 73.

Thank you for the info and reply.

I am a home buyer.
In fact the home was built in 1978.

Do the breakers in the panel go bad... is that something I should consider changing ?

Breakers do fail, but under normal conditions, especially residential, can last indefinitely.

They can be changed as they fail, or changed out all at once. Have an electrician check all connections in the panel, to include breakers, neutral bar connections, Main feeders to Main Breaker, etc.

What brand is the panel? Some older brands, such as FPE, Zinsco, parts can be achallange to find, and I may suggest changing the panel to something more popular.

Not sure what brand panel at this time, will look into it.

Thanks

I would be equally be concerned if the existing service is large enough to handle the load in the home, thinking electric appliaces were added over the years, hot tub, etc.