Your general home inspector checks a little of everything and a lot of nothing. This guide shows you what to look for electrically before you buy — the panel, the wiring, the warning signs — so there are no five-figure surprises after closing.
Jason Mohoska · Owner-Operator, JS Power LLC
Licensed Pennsylvania Home Improvement Contractor · PA HIC #PA166735
Serving Pittsburgh & Western Pennsylvania
Chapter 1
What a general home inspection misses
Your general home inspector is a mile wide and an inch deep. They'll note 'recommend evaluation by a licensed electrician' — which tells you something might be wrong, but not what, how bad, or what it'll cost. This guide fills that gap.
What a standard inspection typically covers electrically: they flip a representative number of switches and outlets, look at the panel with the cover ON, and test a few GFCIs. That's it. They don't remove the panel cover, they don't check torque on lugs, they don't map circuits, and they won't catch a bootleg ground or a buried junction box.
What they routinely miss:
Double-tapped breakers (two wires under one lug — a fire risk)
Aluminum branch wiring (common 1965–1975, needs special handling)
Bootleg grounds (neutral jumpered to ground to fool a tester — dangerous)
Overloaded panels with no open spaces
DIY additions wired without permits
None of this means your inspector is bad at their job — electrical is a specialty, and a 3-hour whole-house inspection can't cover it deeply. It means you need to know what to look for, which is exactly what the next chapters teach.
Your pre-offer edge
Chapters 2–9 give you the panel read, the wiring decoder, the 10-minute outlet check, the flip-house warning signs, the exact questions to ask the seller, and a printable walkthrough checklist. Read it once before your next showing.
The rest is yours for $19 $13
Chapter 1 is free above. Everything below unlocks when you order — launch sale ends Sunday night, October 4.
🔒 Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Reading the panel: age, size, and brand red flags
🔒 Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Wiring types: knob-and-tube, aluminum, and what they mean
🔒 Chapter 4: Chapter 4: GFCI and AFCI: the 10-minute check
🔒 Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Grounding: the two-minute check that matters
Sale ends Sunday night, October 4 — then back to $19.
Jason answers directly · Licensed PA HIC #PA166735
About the author
Need an electrician? Call JS Power LLC.
I'm Jason Mohoska, owner-operator of JS Power LLC (Licensed · PA HIC #PA166735), serving Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. 20+ years in the trade. When you call, you deal directly with me: I quote the job, I do the work, and it's done to code.
Licensed Pennsylvania Home Improvement Contractor · PA HIC #PA166735
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Hard-to-find smart & LED gear — supplied & installed.
Most stores don't carry the good stuff — or they sell it without anyone to install it right. I source new-age electrical products (smart switches, dimmers, LED retrofits) and install them to code. One call, one flat price, working before I leave. Have a specific device in mind? Ask — if it's legit and listed, I'll get it.
3 Kasa HS220 WiFi dimmers, supplied & installed, scenes & schedules set up
Smart Home Starter Kit
$149
4 smart plugs + 4 color bulbs, delivered & connected to your WiFi
LED Retrofit 6-Pack
$549
6 recessed LED retrofits, supplied & installed, dimmable
New Recessed Room Pack
$899
4 new wafer lights for one room, supplied & installed
LED Security Duo
$349
2 dusk-to-dawn LED security lights, supplied & installed
Custom LED Sign
from $499
Your name, logo or artwork built as LED neon & installed — man caves, bars, businesses
Unique imports — global smart tech, hard to find in US stores
Innovative gear from established overseas makers (Aqara, Govee, SwitchBot, Lumary, Treatlife, Sonoff) — I stick to UL- or ETL-listed devices, installed to code. Ordered new-in-box for your job.
Smart Recessed 4-Pack
$949
4 Lumary color-tunable smart canless downlights, supplied & installed, app + voice set up
Smart Switch Swap 4-Pack
$399
4 Treatlife WiFi switches with flush snap-on plates, supplied & installed, no hub needed
Energy Hog Hunt
$99
4 Sonoff energy-monitoring smart plugs, set up with a usage review to find your power hogs
No-Rewire Retrofit Kit
$149
SwitchBot button-pressers + hub — makes dumb switches smart with zero wiring, mounted & connected
Presence Automation
$199
Aqara FP2 mmWave presence sensor — lights that know you're still in the room, mounted & integrated
Permanent Eave Lighting
$799
100ft Govee permanent RGB outdoor lights + dedicated outlet, mounted & installed — never hang holiday lights again
GHome in-wall fan speed + light dimmer combo, supplied & installed to code
Fingerprint Door Lock Install
$299
GHome biometric smart lock — supplied & installed, codes & app set up for the family
Unique electrical tools & home essentials
Hard-to-find diagnostic tools and must-have electrical products — pro-grade gear I put to work in your home, or boxed up for you to keep.
Thermal Panel Inspection
$199
Pro thermal camera scan of your breaker panel — finds hot, failing breakers before they burn up
Circuit Mapping & Labeling
$149
Every breaker traced, mapped & labeled with a pro circuit finder — no more guessing at the panel
Homeowner's Safety Tool Kit
$129
Non-contact voltage tester + outlet tester — the same test gear I use, with a quick-start safety card
Smoke & CO Detector 3-Pack
$249
3 10-year sealed-battery detectors, supplied & installed, tested before I leave
Whole-Home Surge Protector
$399
Panel-mounted surge defense for the entire house, supplied & installed
GFCI Outlet 3-Pack
$299
3 GFCI outlets for kitchen, bath & outdoor — supplied & installed to code
Pro tools — the pro-grade lineup
Professional-grade hand tools and test gear from established brands — Klein, Fluke, Amprobe, FLIR, Ideal. The same class of equipment electricians carry on service calls.
Klein 11063W Katapult Stripper
Self-adjusting wire stripper/cutter, 8–22 AWG — tool only
Klein D213-9NE Lineman's Pliers
9″ high-leverage lineman's pliers, New England nose — tool only
Klein 32500 11-in-1 Driver
11-in-1 screwdriver/nut driver — replaces a whole pouch — tool only
Klein D203-8N Long-Nose Pliers
8″ long-nose pliers with side cutter — tool only
Klein 1005 Crimper
Insulated crimping/cutting tool — tool only
Klein 11045 Wire Stripper
Everyday stripper/cutter, 10–18 AWG — tool only
Klein 11061 Self-Adjusting Stripper
Auto-grips any gauge, no dial — tool only
Fluke 117 Multimeter
True-RMS electrician's DMM with AutoVolt & LoZ — tool only
Fluke 325 Clamp Meter
True-RMS 400A AC/DC clamp + temp/frequency — tool only
Fluke 1AC-A1 II VoltAlert
Non-contact voltage tester, CAT IV 1000V — tool only
Fluke T+PRO Tester
Voltage/continuity tester with GFCI trip test — tool only
Fluke 62 MAX+ IR Thermometer
Dual-laser infrared thermometer, 12:1 spot ratio — tool only
Amprobe ST-102B Socket Tester
6-function GFCI receptacle tester — tool only
Amprobe BT-250 Breaker Tracer
Finds the right breaker on live circuits — tool only
Amprobe BT-250/KIT Combo
Breaker tracer + GFCI tester in a hard case — tool only
FLIR ONE Edge Pro
Wireless phone thermal camera — no connector hassle — tool only
FLIR TG267 Spot Camera
Handheld thermal camera for job documentation — tool only
Ideal 74-001 Bender
1/2″ EMT ductile iron bender, complete with handle — tool only
Ideal 74-002 Bender
3/4″ EMT ductile iron bender, complete with handle — tool only