Electrical Inspections for Sarasota-Bradenton Properties
Whether you're buying a house, selling one, renewing your insurance, or just want to know what's going on behind your walls, an electrical inspection gives you the facts. Not guesses, not "it looks fine" — an actual assessment of your wiring, panel, grounding, and safety devices by someone who knows the NEC code and Florida-specific requirements.
I'm Donny McGuire, Master Electrician and Florida State Certified Electrical Contractor. I do residential electrical inspections across Sarasota and Bradenton — including the 4-point inspections that Florida insurance companies require for older homes. I tell you exactly what I find, what needs to be fixed, and what's fine the way it is.
Call (941) 539-8892
Types of Electrical Inspections I Perform
Florida 4-Point Inspection (Electrical)
If your home is more than 25–30 years old, your insurance company almost certainly requires a 4-point inspection to write or renew your policy. The "4 points" are roof, plumbing, HVAC, and electrical. For the electrical portion, the inspector — or in this case, me — checks the panel brand and age, the wiring type, the condition of the service entrance, grounding, and whether there are any known safety hazards. Federal Pacific panels, aluminum wiring, and lack of GFCI protection are the most common flags. If your home fails the electrical portion, I can usually tell you on the spot what the fix will cost.
Home Buyer Electrical Inspection
You're under contract on a house. The general home inspector flagged some electrical concerns but couldn't dig deeper because they're not an electrician. That's where I come in. I open the panel, check every breaker and connection, test outlets throughout the house for proper wiring and grounding, check GFCI and AFCI protection, look at the service entrance condition, and inspect any visible wiring in the attic, garage, and crawlspace. You get a written report you can hand to your agent or use in negotiations.
Pre-Sale Electrical Inspection
Selling your home? Get the electrical inspection done before a buyer's inspector finds the problems. I check everything a buyer's electrician would check, and I give you a prioritized list: what needs to be fixed before listing, what's cosmetic, and what's actually fine. Fixing known issues before listing avoids the back-and-forth negotiation that delays closings and kills deals. Some of the most common fixes — missing GFCI outlets in kitchens and bathrooms, double-tapped breakers, open junction boxes — are quick and cheap to address.
Code Compliance Inspection
Maybe a previous owner did their own electrical work. Maybe an addition was built without permits. Maybe you just bought a flip and want to know if the rewiring was actually done right. A code compliance inspection goes circuit by circuit and checks everything against the current NEC and Florida Building Code. I check wire gauge for the load, breaker sizing, proper grounding and bonding, required arc-fault and ground-fault protection, and workmanship. If there are code violations, I document them and can quote the repairs at the same time.
A Detailed Walk-Through of What I Look At
Every inspection I do covers the same core checklist, whether it's for insurance, a buyer, or peace of mind:
The panel. Brand, age, amp rating, condition of the bus bars and breakers. I check for signs of overheating, corrosion, double-tapped breakers (two wires on one breaker terminal — very common and a code violation in most cases), and proper labeling.
The service entrance. The mast, weather head, meter base, and the cables from FPL's transformer to your panel. Damaged service entrance cables are a fire and shock hazard, and FPL won't fix the homeowner-owned portion.
Wiring type and condition. Copper, aluminum, or mixed? Romex, knob-and-tube, or cloth-wrapped? I check accessible wiring in the attic, garage, and any exposed areas for damage, improper splices, and code violations.
Grounding and bonding. Is the panel grounded to a ground rod? Is the water pipe bonded? Are all outlets on grounded circuits actually grounded? I test for this at every accessible outlet.
GFCI and AFCI protection. Current code requires GFCI outlets in kitchens, bathrooms, garages, outdoors, laundry rooms, and near any water source. AFCI breakers are required on bedroom circuits. I check that these are present and functional.
Smoke and CO detectors. I check that they're present, properly located, and working. Florida requires hardwired smoke detectors in most homes built after 1992.
Need an Electrical Inspection? Get It Done Right.
Whether it's for insurance, a home sale, or your own peace of mind, I'll give you a thorough, honest assessment. Call (941) 539-8892 to schedule.
