"A Major Snag"

I was on the road when I received a phone call from Dad today.

"Andy, I'm over at your house, and we've run into a major snag.  Your house has aluminum wiring."

I had never even heard of such a thing!  The next few minutes were him explaining to me how bad aluminum wiring was as I Googled it at the same time...

It's actually a fascinating read.  I consider myself a pretty well-informed man in terms of houses, but I must say, this was a first for me.  I literally thought we went from knob-and-tube to copper romex, but I couldn't be more wrong!

http://www.nachi.org/aluminum-wiring.htm

"Between 1965 and 1973..."

"...55 times more likely to reach 'fire hazard conditions' than is a home wired with copper."

Well, this house was built in 1970, right in the middle of the escalating copper prices!  What I can't figure out is how the plumbing is all copper...and some 4" tubes at that!  But as a landlord, the LAST thing I need or want is an unsafe house.  And the more I read, the more I realized aluminum wiring does really look to be pretty dangerous stuff...or at least very needy and requires constant checking.  I have no desire for a lawsuit, and I certainly don't want to injure any tenant.  sigh.  It's amazing how quickly surprises can get ya.

Dad says at least four circuits are all aluminum as he confirmed that with the wiring itself (AL).  He says we have to re-wire all of those circuits.  What's fascinating is that he has worked on hundreds of houses, and this was the FIRST time he's seen aluminum wiring used.  Of course it would be a house I purchased!

We'll see just how difficult it is.  I imagine this could be a $4000 expense just like that to rewire the house.  Oh, the unknowns when you buy a foreclosure!!!

To add to to the urgency of the whole project, I also read that insurance companies sometimes drop you if you have aluminum wiring!  They see your house as way too big of a risk!  Oh, the joys of home ownership...