More homeowners are choosing to tackle home renovation and maintenance projects on their own. While DIY is a great way to save money and learn new skills, some jobs are best left to the professionals. Residential electrical work is one of them.

Photo Credit: Fused Power

While you might feel confident to tackle your home’s electrical system after watching some detailed how-to videos on YouTube, leaning on the expertise of Electricians in Edmonton is still a smarter idea. The main reason for this is safety.

If you do something wrong while attempting DIY electrical work you could get electrocuted, which can cause severe injury and even death, and/or start a house fire. Saving a few dollars on doing it yourself is just not worth the risk to yourself, your family and your home.

“There’s nothing wrong with homeowners trying small projects, like repairing drywall or maybe even a backsplash. But electrical wiring is never DIY. Period.   …But unfortunately, too many homeowners think they can do their own rewiring. In Ontario, it’s about 75 percent–that’s alarming. If you mess up a tiling job, the worst that can happen is water damage and potentially mould. But if you mess up electrical wiring, you can cause short circuits, electrical fires—heck, you can kill yourself! Is that really worth saving a couple hundred dollars? I’ll tell you, nothing is worth that.” – shared Mike Holmes from Holmes Makes It Right on his blog.

Faulty wiring is the number one cause of electrical fires in Canada. DIY electrical can’t take all of the blame for this. Sometimes faulty wiring is caused by age, wear and tear and improper installation. Here are some key signs that your wiring could be in trouble:

• There is a burning smell in certain rooms or coming from appliances.
• You have outlets that spark when you plug things in.
• You’ve noticed discolouring on the wall near certain outlets.
• Switches and outlets are hot to the touch.
• You have flickering lights.
• Your breaker continuously trips and there are fuses that always seem to blow.

According to the Holmes article, 20 per cent of all fires in Canada are electrical fires. Learn more about how you can prevent electrical fires at home.

If you are viewing a home for sale, it’s a good idea to check for these signs of faulty electrical work. In some cases, these issues can come up in a home inspection, but a home inspector won’t remove any drywall to visually inspect the wiring. If it’s an older home that has been renovated a few times over the years by who-knows-who, you will never know what is lurking behind the walls until you rip them out.

If you see these warning signs of bad electrical work or you need an electrical upgrade in your own home, you should contact a Master Electrician right away. The longer you wait the more you are putting your home and safety at risk.

Holmes actually suggests in his blog that if a home is more than 15 years old, you should bring in a licensed electrician to inspect the wiring, especially if the basement has been finished after initial construction.

Not only will hiring a licensed electrician ensure the job is done correctly and safely, it can also save you a lot of time and potential repair costs. During electrical installation, things can go wrong and if you are doing it yourself, you will be responsible to pay for those repairs. If something goes wrong with a licensed electrical company, their insurance will pay for those damages. This is yet another layer of peace of mind that comes with leaving it to the pros.