Inspector J.D. Grewell of J.D. Grewell & Associates in Silver Spring also advocates the COPALUM repair. Some electricians "will say that pigtailing is as good as a COPALUM splice, but it makes it worse," he said.
Seeing Is Believing
Ellicott City homeowner Hannemann, who just made the repairs after 18 years, said the cost put him off for a long time. "People are funny about this kind of thing," he said. "It's a lot of money to spend on something you can't see."
For More Information
Tyco Electronics Corp. of Harrisburg keeps lists by state of electricians that it trains to use its special COPALUM connectors. COPALUM is the only repair system for aluminum wiring approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. To find nearby authorized providers, call 800-522-6752.
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When he finally saw some of the burnt wire nuts, he said, he thought the six-day retrofit was time and money well spent.
The COPALUM connectors, which have to be installed at every junction box in a house, cost about $35 to $62 per junction, according to local authorized installers. The average single-family house has about 100 junction boxes.
The CPSC would be happiest if homeowners eliminated all the aluminum wiring and replaced it with copper. But the regulators recognize that the cost of doing so is considered prohibitive in most cases.
Because the national electrical code requires that aluminum wire be stapled every few feet inside the drywall, it can't just be pulled out and replaced, said Brian Smith, owner of All Things Electric in Dickerson. Replacing the wiring means not only a hefty price tag for the electrical work but also thousands more for new drywall.
Rewiring might work in houses where major renovations are already planned or where the wires are easily accessible, local electricians said.
"If you have a rambler with an unfinished basement, for instance, that would be ideal to rewire," said Jeff Smith of Electrical Wiring Limited in Kensington, a COPALUM installer. But he said most homes don't have that kind of access.
"A lot of times people ask me for an estimate on rewiring," said Bob Krebs, vice president of Hawkins Electric Services in Hyattsville, another authorized COPALUM installer. "But I won't even give them one 'cause you might as well tear the whole house down."
Not all homes built during the period when aluminum was used are automatic candidates for a problem, said home inspector Stephanie Bowman of HouseMaster Inc. of Rockville. Some builders never abandoned copper.
"I've seen it the most in Bowie," Bowman said of aluminum wire. "There's like a 50-50 chance that we'll see it there" when the company inspects houses built in that time frame.
Bowman said most homebuyers are surprised when she mentions the aluminum wiring, and some seem to be interested in remediation. But she thinks "quite a few just live with it, and every couple years have it reinspected to see if the connections are tight."
Joe Huff, an agent with Llewellyn Realtors in Rockville, said some of the neighborhoods where he works are also filled with aluminum-wired houses. When a home inspector finds the wiring, he said, the sellers will usually pay to fix the problem as the CPSC has urged. If they balk, Huff said he tells them that it might smooth the way to quick settlement, particularly because the issue, now that it has been identified, would have to be disclosed to any other potential buyer.
Sellers might insist on splitting the cost or on making the buyer pay for the repairs, but "generally I have persuaded my sellers that it's a pretty small price to pay to make sure a deal goes through," Huff said.
The CPSC's booklet, which includes information on the repair it recommends, is available via the Internet at www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/516.pdf or from the commission's toll-free hotline at 800-638-CPSC; TTY 800-638-8270; Maryland TTY 800-492-8104.
