[HJSO]

My son touched an electric plug (does not have a cover on during renos) with a metal rod which slipped while trying to use it to turn on the connected light switch. Huge spark which burnt a hole in the rod as well as left a mark on the metal near the light switch. Do not believe that the rod went into the plug , but may have touched some wires near/ behind. Does this imply some sort of open wires that may be in incorrectly or just the very obvious need to cover everything? I don't want to just cover it up to discover that we have missed something that may be wired incorrectly. The boy has received a HUGE talk re electrically safety, but other than a good scare is fine. Thank you.

[mike 165278]

Could be he just touched the side of the plug. BUT, in my house, with my kids, if I wasn't certain, I'd have it looked at by a qualified electrician. It won't cost much, but will give you peace of mind at the least, and possibly find a hazard. Is it worth $100? Could be any number of things. Poorly grounded outlet or box, defective outlet. Did the breaker trip? If not that should be looked at. A dead sort, and an arc of that size should've tripped the breaker.

[ballengerb1]

Does the receptacle still work? "touched an electric plug" I think you mean receptacle and not the plug.

[HJSO]

This did not trip the breaker and everything is still working.

[ma0641]

Could have caused serious injury. All covers should be on even during reno-only 2 small screws!

[tkrussell]

Have the outlet checked by a professional. Keep the children out of the reno area, and treat all live outlets as that, LIVE.

Any wiring involved and exposed during a reno should be shut off.

You may want to review a thread showing what electrical short can do:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/electr...on-690640.html