Electrical Safety Inspection Across British Columbia
Buying an older house, or has your insurer asked about the wiring? The Wire Guys checks the panel, wiring and outlets in homes, rentals and businesses across British Columbia, and you decide what gets fixed.
4.7 stars across 137 reviews
Licensed Electrical Contractor
Licensed and insured in British Columbia.
WorkSafeBC Registered
Active and in good standing, with continuous coverage since 30 September 2019.
BBB Accredited
Accredited since 2023.
Canadian family owned, working across British Columbia since 2019.
Get a quoteWhat does an electrical safety inspection look at, and what do you get at the end?
Our electrical safety inspection is a close look at your home's electrical system, and it ends with an inspection report. We check the panel and breakers, the wiring, the outlets and switches, the shock and fire safety devices, and the grounding.
- The inspection is billed by the hour, at $135 an hour for a Red Seal electrician plus a helper.
- It is not the permit inspection, and it goes deeper than a home inspector's general report.
- Any repair that needs a permit gets one, and we are on site for its inspection.
What happens during an electrical safety inspection?
The standard checks cover five parts of your home's electrical system:
- The panel and breakers. The electrical panel inspection looks for worn breakers, heat damage and a panel with no space left, the usual reasons for replacing an old panel.
- The wiring. We note its type and age, which insurers and buyers ask about, and any brittle or cracked insulation.
- Outlets and switches. Loose connections, heat and a missing ground show up here.
- Shock and fire protection. We check for GFCI and AFCI protection where the code calls for it.
- Grounding and bonding. We check that the system is grounded and its metal parts are bonded.
No inspection sees inside every wall, so we report on the wiring we can reach.
What does a GFCI do?
A GFCI cuts the power fast enough to stop a serious shock when electricity leaks from a circuit, such as through a wet appliance. We can quote for adding GFCI outlets where they are missing.
What does an AFCI do?
An AFCI is a breaker that detects arcing, the small sparks from a damaged or loose wire. A regular breaker misses these common causes of electrical fires, so we note where AFCI protection is missing.
What are grounding and bonding?
Grounding and bonding give stray electricity a safe path to ground instead of through a person or a metal appliance, and we note where either is missing.
Warning signs
When do you need an electrical inspection? The signs to watch for
Call us if you notice any of these:
- Lights that flicker, or dim together.
- A breaker that keeps tripping.
- An outlet or switch plate that feels warm.
- A panel that buzzes or hums.
- A burning smell, or a scorch mark at an outlet or the panel.
These signs usually mean a fault. We trace the electrical fault at $165 for a 45-minute diagnostic, and our free estimate covers only work we can already see.
- The panel: buzzing, humming and heat marks
- The circuits: one breaker tripping again and again, lights flickering together
- Outlets and switches: warmth or a burning smell
A burning smell or a scorch mark cannot wait, so call our emergency electricians straight away.
Cost, permits and the usual reasons to book
What does a home electrical inspection cost?
Our electrical safety inspection is billed by the hour, at $135 an hour for a Red Seal electrician plus a helper. The flat $165 is for a 45-minute diagnostic that traces a fault and works out the fix. The estimate for any work we find is free.
Three prices people mix up
- A home inspector's fee covers a general look at the whole house.
- A permit fee covers one permitted job.
- Our safety inspection is billed for the time we spend.
The total depends on the size and age of the house, how many panels and suites it has, and what we find.
A safety inspection is not the permit inspection
In British Columbia, a permit inspection checks one permitted job against the Canadian Electrical Code. Our electrical safety inspection looks at the condition of your whole system, whether or not any new work is planned. The safety inspection is one you choose to book.
Where work needs a permit, it comes from Technical Safety BC in Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Mission, while Vancouver, Victoria, Surrey and Burnaby issue their own.
If the inspection leads to permitted work, we pull the permit and are there for the inspection. If an inspection does not pass on our work, we put it right, call the inspector back, and we cover the cost.
Electrical inspection for insurance: when the insurer asks about older wiring
Insurers ask most about knob-and-tube, the old cloth-covered wiring, and about aluminum wiring from around 1965 to 1973. They may want an inspection, an upgrade or a higher premium.
Ask your insurer to say in writing what they need, then show them what the inspection found. The decision on coverage is theirs.
If they want the wiring upgraded, we can quote for replacing knob-and-tube wiring or for aluminum wiring repairs. That work comes with its permit and the report from the inspection it passed.
Buying or selling a house? The pre-purchase electrical inspection
If the home inspection flagged the panel, the wiring or some outlets, have an electrician look before your offer goes firm.
For a buyer, we look closer at what the home inspector flagged and quote the fix in writing, so you have a real price to negotiate with. We can also fix missing GFCI protection or hardwired smoke alarms.
For a seller, the same visit gives your buyer a clear answer and a price for any fix.
Preventative electrical maintenance for your home
A loose connection only gets looser, and a planned visit finds it before something stops working.
We do maintenance checks for homeowners, booked when it suits you. Book one before renovation electrical work, or before adding an EV charger at home or wiring for a hot tub, so we can check your panel can carry the load. Landlords can book one between tenants.
Commercial electrical safety inspections
We inspect shops, offices and strata common areas, the same buildings we already do electrical work in.
Commercial inspections are booked and billed like a house inspection. Repairs are quoted separately as commercial electrical work.
Our electrical safety inspection process
First we explain what we will check. If we find anything unexpected, we talk it through with you and get your approval before any extra work begins.
- 01
You tell us why you want it. A sale, an insurer's letter and a renovation each call for a different focus.
- 02
We look over the system. We work from the panel through the wiring to the outlets and switches.
- 03
We show you what we found. We explain each item on site, in plain words.
- 04
You get an electrical inspection report. It is yours to share with whoever asked for the inspection.
- 05
You decide what gets fixed. Nothing is fixed without your approval, and repairs are quoted in writing first. A quote is priced on what we can see, so if the scope changes we tell you before we do it, not after.
If we do the repairs, a Red Seal electrician or a Field Safety Representative checks any apprentice's work, and we test it and show you it works before we leave.
What happens if something is wrong after we leave
If something we installed is not right, we come back.
We answer the phone at any hour.
Our guarantee terms are one year on new construction and six months on renovations.
Home inspector or electrician: who should do your home electrical inspection?
Home inspectors are licensed through Consumer Protection BC and do a general visual inspection of the whole house. If their report flags the panel or wiring, we look closer at those items and can fix them as part of our residential electrical work.
The Wire Guys Electrical Ltd. is a licensed electrical contractor serving Abbotsford, Vancouver, Victoria and communities across the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley and Greater Victoria, handling residential and commercial electrical work for homeowners, landlords and business owners in British Columbia.
A home inspector looks at the whole house, while an electrician looks deeper at the wiring and can fix what turns up.
What our customers say
We hold 4.7 stars across 137 reviews on our Google profile. Two of them, copied word for word:
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Just want to say thank you so much to Jaz and his crew. He took the time out of a very busy work day and personal schedule to come and assist me with my issues in my home. He made what could easily have been a much more traumatic electrical experience into a calm well thought out affordable plan His work was top-notch and I highly recommend The Wire Guys Electrical Ltd to everyone looking for an honest thorough good electrician. I will be calling the Wire Guys for future endeavours as I have a few projects. I’m looking at right now. Thank you again.
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Jas and His Team did an amazing job in My new to Me Home of installation of 220v power and exhaust to accommodate a dryer and solved some other electrical issues. So grateful for Their work and professionalism.
Frequently asked questions
If you are not sure which kind of inspection you need, call 778-708-0451 and tell us why you want one.
Any questions? Call 778-708-0451 What is an electrical safety inspection?
An electrical safety inspection is a check of a building's whole electrical system, booked by the owner and done by a licensed electrician. It is voluntary and not tied to a permit or to any one job. We do them on houses, rentals and commercial buildings.
How often should you have an electrical inspection?
No fixed schedule applies to a house in BC. Book one when you are buying a house, when your insurer asks about the wiring, or before a big new appliance or a renovation. Also book one after water damage or a fire, or when a warning sign such as flickering lights appears.
Do I need an electrical inspection when selling my house?
No. An electrical safety inspection is not required by law to sell a typical home in BC. A buyer, their home inspector, lender or insurer may still ask for one, especially on older homes. If your buyer asks, we can inspect and quote any fix.
How do I check an electrician is licensed and insured?
Ask the company to put its licensed-contractor status and insurance in writing. Ask who would take out the permit for any repairs, who would meet the inspector, and whether the permit is in place before work starts. Check its WorkSafeBC coverage, and read its Google reviews, which it cannot edit.
We have been covered by WorkSafeBC continuously since 30 September 2019. Ask any other electrician you invite into your home to show you the same.
Have this ready when you call:
- Why you want the inspection, such as a sale, an older house or a warning sign.
- Roughly how old the house is.
- A photo of the label inside the panel door.
- Whether it is a detached house, a strata unit or a rental.
- Any letter from your insurer that mentions the wiring.
Other electrical services we offer
Same licence on every one of them, with the permit and inspection wherever one applies.
Book an electrical safety inspection.
Call 778-708-0451 or ask us to call you back.