I'll be upfront and tell you I'm not an electrician. I am a home owner, business owner and own several rental properties. The current house I'm living in was hit by lightning on the 9th of April 2011. The insurance company has been here for the claim. I have insisted the wiring be inspected and they want it inspected. We currently have black scorch marks around outlets and lighting switches. I have some breakers that I have not even switched back on. The main was blown as was several more breakers and light bulbs that were not on were blown also. Fried every computer in the house and tripped all surge protectors.
So the question is, what is the proper method for testing? I had read a megger is the answer, however after reading in these forums I find that it may not reveal wiring faults from a lightning strike. Visual seems to be the answer.
That said, I had called just about every electrician in this area to find someone who could perform a proper inspection. The insurance company wants the electrician to sign off on the wiring. I read a thread in these forums where the same thing occurred to a member here. Liability is the issue here, the insurance companies want the liability assumed by the electrician performing the inspection. I couldn't find anyone to do it so I put it back to the insurance company to find someone. One day an electrician called to set up an appointment to inspect the wiring, I asked what he was intending to use for testing and if he owned a megger. The response was no on the megger and he intended to only look at the wiring in the main box and nothing else. Every electrician I have called does not own a megger and I have contacted some pretty large firms in the area. The insurance company does want a report in amps and volts from the testing, not certain if they really want a voltage drop test done or what. Adjuster is not clear on it.
So I have basically two questions. One, is there any organization or any way to find someone qualified to perform the inspection I need? I've told the insurance company that I don't care if the person has to come from over 100 miles away, we need to get someone fully qualified to do this.
Second, what methods should be employed for testing purposes? I had informed the insurance company it may just be cheaper to rewire the whole house, I had rewired it from the knob and tube 12 years ago and fished the whole house so it wouldn't be that difficult to simply pull new wire. My brother in law works for Square D in testing and has told me that finding faults in electrical wiring after a hit by lightning is very difficult. The wire could go at any time.
This house will be getting sold and on the market within one year as I am moving. But I also don't want someone coming back 2 years from now and claiming I sold them a lemon when my insurance should be covering it all. I'm also concerned about being able to market it, this is a small town and people know it has been hit so it could hurt the ability to even sell it.
Any suggestions and answers to my questions would be greatly appreciated.
So the question is, what is the proper method for testing? I had read a megger is the answer, however after reading in these forums I find that it may not reveal wiring faults from a lightning strike. Visual seems to be the answer.
That said, I had called just about every electrician in this area to find someone who could perform a proper inspection. The insurance company wants the electrician to sign off on the wiring. I read a thread in these forums where the same thing occurred to a member here. Liability is the issue here, the insurance companies want the liability assumed by the electrician performing the inspection. I couldn't find anyone to do it so I put it back to the insurance company to find someone. One day an electrician called to set up an appointment to inspect the wiring, I asked what he was intending to use for testing and if he owned a megger. The response was no on the megger and he intended to only look at the wiring in the main box and nothing else. Every electrician I have called does not own a megger and I have contacted some pretty large firms in the area. The insurance company does want a report in amps and volts from the testing, not certain if they really want a voltage drop test done or what. Adjuster is not clear on it.
So I have basically two questions. One, is there any organization or any way to find someone qualified to perform the inspection I need? I've told the insurance company that I don't care if the person has to come from over 100 miles away, we need to get someone fully qualified to do this.
Second, what methods should be employed for testing purposes? I had informed the insurance company it may just be cheaper to rewire the whole house, I had rewired it from the knob and tube 12 years ago and fished the whole house so it wouldn't be that difficult to simply pull new wire. My brother in law works for Square D in testing and has told me that finding faults in electrical wiring after a hit by lightning is very difficult. The wire could go at any time.
This house will be getting sold and on the market within one year as I am moving. But I also don't want someone coming back 2 years from now and claiming I sold them a lemon when my insurance should be covering it all. I'm also concerned about being able to market it, this is a small town and people know it has been hit so it could hurt the ability to even sell it.
Any suggestions and answers to my questions would be greatly appreciated.
