Overheard a homeowner bragging about his DIY panel swap at a hardware store and it gave me chills

Said he watched three YouTube videos and figured $600 was too much for a permit, so how many of you have had to fix a panel that was never inspected after someone went cheap?

2 comments

2 Comments

eva_gibson16d ago

Three different times last year I rolled up to a job where the homeowner had done their own panel work and the main breaker was undersized for the load. Each time they had that dead giveaway melted neutral bar from aluminum wiring without Noalox. Told every single one of them a permit is thirty bucks in my county, and the inspection catches stuff that'll burn your house down.

the_phoenix16d ago

Thirty bucks for a permit" is the cheapest life insurance you'll ever buy, but folks would rather save that cash and gamble the whole house. I bet those melted neutral bars looked like modern art installations with a side of fire hazard. At this point, I half expect to find a roll of duct tape and a prayer holding the main lug on next time someone says they saved money on electrical work.