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Just ran the numbers on my last 6 service calls and one thing jumped out
I was going through my invoices from the last three months and noticed something weird. Out of 24 service calls, 18 of them were for outlets that had come loose behind the drywall. I mean, I knew it happened sometimes but not at that rate. Found an article from the NFPA that said loose connections cause like 30% of residential electrical fires, which kind of made my stomach drop. Anybody else seeing this pattern with older houses?
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karenhenderson2mo ago
My buddy Mike was working on a flip house from 1968 and pulled out an outlet that literally fell apart in his hand. The wire had been rubbing against the metal box for years until the insulation wore clean through. He said he found three more like that on the same wall and now he checks every single box before he even screws the plate back on.
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patkelly2mo ago
Wait, did you check if these were all on the same circuit or breaker? I had a similar run a few years back and it turned out the whole neighborhood had aluminum wiring from the 70s. The outlets weren't just loose, the metal was actually expanding and contracting different than copper, making them work themselves out over time. That NFPA stat is no joke, I started putting torque screwdrivers on every outlet after that. Maybe look at the wire type too, not just the box age.
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