ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Legal action?

Does she still use the same insurance company?
The city will have the paperwork since there was a permit.You would have to pay a realistate lawyer to search the deed.I think everyone would be off the hook except the city and inspector.The insurance companies in Ontario are currently doing home inspections and are giving 60 days to fix defects such as electrical,plumbing,roofs and even stair railings.I hate to say this but it may be better to bite the built on this since her insurance company can dump her a heart beat.Once her company writes a bad report it goes into a data bank that they all check when you reapply.This is Ontario so talk to a "realistate lawyer" first.I would not want to give them a heads up until all my ducks were in a row(if at all)if you know what i mean.
My wifes ex-husband had his whole house plastered and painted a month after it was done the his insurance company came calling for a home inspection.They found knob and tube wiring and some galvanized pipe.Forty receptacles and the plumbing Plus the patch work ran him $6000.
good luck

[This message has been edited by frank (edited 03-12-2006).]

Cross-sections of the wire show that it is aluminum. The kitchen was completely and totally gutted. It wasn't a matter of repairing it, it was a matter of replacing absolutely everything.

I believe that the wiring as is, installed after the fire, is dangerous. My grandmother doesn't want to lose insurance, that is one thing she brought up.

I briefly discussed with a cousin and an uncle the possibility of pulling down the drywall ceiling in the finished basement and taking a look at the state of things, possibly pulling some electrical out. If I can find a straight run from the attic down, I could probably run a few circuits.

Obviously, the ideal scenario would be to have whoever is responsible for this mess pay for the whole thing. If not, I guess I'll become acquainted with patching drywall.

How old is the house?What i find strange is it's aluminum wire that was installed in 1998?Aluminum was only used in residential in Ontario for a few years 1973 to 1978 then outlawed in Canada i thought.Wow they still used it up there in 98?The solid aluminum wire is really the type to watch for.Stranded is better but you only see it in pipe.I really wonder when and if it ever was banned in Nova Scotia.Easy way to date an installation.
cheers

I'd contact an attorney and find out what the statute of limitations are for this type of matter. If she still has time to file suit, I'd have the attorney send a letter to the electrical contractor that did the work and have him straighten out his work. If the contractor won't do it, file suit.

Frank,

The house is approximately 40 years old. It is a family community of duplexes and triplexes.

What I think happened was that old aluminum was left where was or that it was "salvaged" and reused. It is solid, rather than stranded. None of the devices are listed for use with aluminum. *Few* fixtures have copper pigtails.

HLCbuild,

That is a sound option. I'll help her look into that.