When were AFCI first required

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JDB3

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San Antonio, Texas
The son of a builder that I wire houses for is involved in the sale of a house built in 1995.
The inspector is requesting that AFCI breakers be installed where necessary. When were AFCI protection first required?
Also the smoke detectors are hard-wired -not- interconnected. The inspector has said the wireless interconnected smoke detectors need to be installed (2 story house). Would "you" take down the existing ones & replace them with the wireless { } or just add the wireless ones [ ] ? :?
I have no experience with the wireless interconnected smoke detectors at all.
Thanks, :happyyes:
 
I thank both of you very much & for the quick reply. I am going to send a copy of the charts to the realtor so that they may have a reference in the future. :thumbsup:

Thanks again:D
 
JDB3 said:
The son of a builder that I wire houses for is involved in the sale of a house built in 1995.
The inspector is requesting that AFCI breakers be installed where necessary. When were AFCI protection first required?
Also the smoke detectors are hard-wired -not- interconnected. The inspector has said the wireless interconnected smoke detectors need to be installed (2 story house). Would "you" take down the existing ones & replace them with the wireless { } or just add the wireless ones [ ] ? :?
I have no experience with the wireless interconnected smoke detectors at all.
Thanks, :happyyes:
Click to expand...


Wireless, definitely. I have used them on several jobs and they are great.
 
JDB3 said:
The son of a builder that I wire houses for is involved in the sale of a house built in 1995.
The inspector is requesting that AFCI breakers be installed where necessary. When were AFCI protection first required?
Also the smoke detectors are hard-wired -not- interconnected. The inspector has said the wireless interconnected smoke detectors need to be installed (2 story house). Would "you" take down the existing ones & replace them with the wireless { } or just add the wireless ones [ ] ? :?
I have no experience with the wireless interconnected smoke detectors at all.
Thanks, :happyyes:
Click to expand...

I have to assume this is a home inspector and not an AHJ inspector?

Worst case with them is that they should just make a suggestion that it may need AFCI but you then need to consult someone more qualified to actually determine if it really was required. But even then it is nothing more then a bargaining tool between buyer and seller, none of the HI's observations actually are required to be dealt with, they are just pointing out possible problems the new owner may want to be aware of.
 
The problem with trying to determine what was required on a given date isn't as simple as saying, "The house was built in 1985, so use the 1984 NEC." It well could have been the AHJ was still using the 1981, or the 1978........ or even an earlier year.

Local amendments may have been made, and if so, what were they?

Or some AHJ's simply did not, and some still never have, adopted the NEC. Instead, they use their own local Code.



And 'back then', there may have simply been no adopted code or enforcement or permitting process in place.
 
480sparky said:
The problem with trying to determine what was required on a given date isn't as simple as saying, "The house was built in 1985, so use the 1984 NEC." It well could have been the AHJ was still using the 1981, or the 1978........ or even an earlier year.

Local amendments may have been made, and if so, what were they?

Or some AHJ's simply did not, and some still never have, adopted the NEC. Instead, they use their own local Code.



And 'back then', there may have simply been no adopted code or enforcement or permitting process in place.
Click to expand...


+1
 
kwired said:
I have to assume this is a home inspector and not an AHJ inspector?

Worst case with them is that they should just make a suggestion that it may need AFCI but you then need to consult someone more qualified to actually determine if it really was required. But even then it is nothing more then a bargaining tool between buyer and seller, none of the HI's observations actually are required to be dealt with, they are just pointing out possible problems the new owner may want to be aware of.
Click to expand...

In most cases all the HI can do is make suggestions.

Anything beyond that is a just a point of negotiation between the seller and the buyer.

The seller can refuse to do these repairs and buyer can still purchase the home if they choose too. (If there is a lender they may have a say as well)
 
Do you guys in other parts of the country have 4 point inspections requested (mandated) by insurance underwriters for buildings > 50 years old?

IIRC it's Roof, Elec, HVAC & Plbg. I haven't done one since before my neighbor who owned an insurance agency died in 2007, and even then, I only did the ones where he could not find someone qualified or willing.

The main concern back then on Elec was whether it's screw in Buss fuses or conventional circuit breakers. I never had one question AFCI's, GFCI's, smokes, etc.
 
mgookin said:
Do you guys in other parts of the country have 4 point inspections requested (mandated) by insurance underwriters for buildings > 50 years old?

IIRC it's Roof, Elec, HVAC & Plbg. I haven't done one since before my neighbor who owned an insurance agency died in 2007, and even then, I only did the ones where he could not find someone qualified or willing.

The main concern back then on Elec was whether it's screw in Buss fuses or conventional circuit breakers. I never had one question AFCI's, GFCI's, smokes, etc.
Click to expand...


I had never heard of a four point inspection until I read about it on a forum. AFAK it doesn’t exist here in NJ.
 
JDB3 said:
The son of a builder that I wire houses for is involved in the sale of a house built in 1995.
The inspector is requesting that AFCI breakers be installed where necessary. When were AFCI protection first required?
Also the smoke detectors are hard-wired -not- interconnected. The inspector has said the wireless interconnected smoke detectors need to be installed (2 story house). Would "you" take down the existing ones & replace them with the wireless { } or just add the wireless ones [ ] ? :?
I have no experience with the wireless interconnected smoke detectors at all.
Thanks, :happyyes:
Click to expand...

iwire said:
In most cases all the HI can do is make suggestions.

Anything beyond that is a just a point of negotiation between the seller and the buyer.

The seller can refuse to do these repairs and buyer can still purchase the home if they choose too. (If there is a lender they may have a say as well)
Click to expand...

Texas Health and Safety code title 9, chap 766 covers this.

Some abbreviated takeaways straight from the horses mouth:

In Tx, All dwellings must have smoke detectors in accordance with whatever building code is in effect for the area in which the dwelling is located- if smokes aren't present/do not comply w/ local codes (all of Tx does have at least some sort of building code- IRC, IBC, IEBC for houses is the minimum in areas in which there are no locals afaik) and if a permit is pulled for any type of home repair, smokes are required to be installed. When you sale a house, if the buyer is/ has an individual who is hearing impaired, the seller can be required to install the smokes. B & S agree to certain factors about what type, who will pay for them, etc
 
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I still occasionally get requests to change out a fuse box because the owner can't get insurance until it is gone. But that is usually the only item the insurance has an objection to, yet outside of 30 amp fuses protecting 14 AWG conductors in most cases I often look at many other things that get my concerns up on safety, and this before even before thinking about GFCI or AFCI requirements in later codes.
 
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