Full home electrical inspections · Toronto & GTA
Full home electrical inspections in Toronto and the GTA
Buying an older house, renewing insurance, or just want to know what's behind the walls? We check your electrical system from the service entrance to the last outlet, and tell you plainly what needs attention now, what can wait, and what's fine.
Why inspect
What a general home inspection can miss
A home inspector looks at the whole house in a few hours: roof, foundation, plumbing, heating and electrical. They'll often flag that a panel "should be reviewed by a licensed electrician", and that's where we come in. An electrical inspection goes deeper on one system, with the panel cover off and a meter in hand.
That matters in the GTA because so much of the housing is older than it looks. A renovated semi in Toronto can still have original wiring above the plaster. A 1950s bungalow in North York or Scarborough may be running a 2020s household on a 60 or 100 amp service. A newer home in Vaughan can have DIY basement wiring that was never permitted.
Good times to book one
- Before you firm up an offer on an older house, or right after you take possession
- When your insurer asks about the panel, knob-and-tube or aluminum wiring
- Before a renovation, so the plan accounts for what's already there
- Before winter, when space heaters, block heaters and holiday lighting add load
- After a flood, a fire nearby, or work by someone who wasn't licensed
- When a home has been rented out for years and you're taking it back
What we look at
The checks that matter most
These are the items that most often decide whether a system is safe, insurable and ready for more load.
Service and meter base
Condition of the service mast or underground entry, the meter base and the main disconnect, and whether the service size fits how the home is used.
Panel and breakers
Panel make and age, signs of heat or corrosion, double-tapped breakers, missing knockouts, and whether breakers match the wire they protect.
Grounding and bonding
The ground connection at the panel, bonding to water and gas piping, and the condition of grounding conductors. It's easy to overlook and it matters.
Wiring types
What kind of wiring the house has: knob-and-tube, early ungrounded cable, aluminum branch wiring or modern copper, and the condition of any we can reach.
Outlets and protection
A sample of outlets tested for polarity and ground, GFCI protection near water and outdoors, and arc-fault protection where it's expected.
Unpermitted work
Signs of amateur work: open splices, cords run through walls, overloaded power bars doing a circuit's job, and basement wiring added without a permit.
Know which inspection you need
Three inspections people mix up
| Home inspector | Our electrical inspection | ESA inspection | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who does it | A home inspector | A licensed electrical contractor | The Electrical Safety Authority |
| What it covers | The whole house, electrical at a glance | The electrical system in depth, panel cover off | Only the work done under a specific permit |
| When | Before buying | Buying, insurance, renovation planning, any time | After permitted electrical work is finished |
| What you get | A general report | Findings sorted by urgency and a quote for any repairs | A Certificate of Acceptance if the work passes |
What happens after
Most inspections end in one of three places. Often the system is in reasonable shape and only needs a few small fixes, like replacing a scorched outlet, adding GFCI protection in a bathroom or correcting a double-tapped breaker. Sometimes the main finding is capacity, and the conversation turns to a panel upgrade before you add an EV charger, heat pump or basement suite. And occasionally we find wiring that needs replacing, which is planned as a rewiring project, room by room or all at once.
Whatever we find, the repair is a separate decision. You get the findings first, then a written price for anything you want done, and you choose what to do and when.
- A walk through the house with youTell us about breakers that trip, outlets that don't work, or anything that worries you
- Panel cover offBreakers, conductors, connections and labelling checked
- TestingA sample of outlets checked for polarity, ground and GFCI function
- Plain findingsWhat needs attention now, what can wait, and what's fine
- Repair pricing on requestA written quote for anything you'd like us to fix
How it works
How an inspection runs
Booked like any visit, at a time that suits you or your real estate timeline.
Book and tell us why
Purchase, insurance, renovation or peace of mind. The reason shapes what we focus on.
On site
We start at the service and panel, then work through the house, basement to attic where accessible.
Walkthrough
Before we leave, we show you what we found and answer questions on the spot.
Findings and options
You get our findings, sorted by urgency, with repair options where needed.
Repairs, if you want them
Any work is quoted, permitted with ESA and inspected.
Questions
Full home electrical inspections: common questions
Is this the same as an ESA inspection?
No. The Electrical Safety Authority inspects work that was done under a permit and issues a Certificate of Acceptance when it passes. A full home electrical inspection is a condition check of the whole system as it stands today, done by us. If it turns up work that needs fixing, the repair is permitted and inspected by ESA in the normal way.
How long does a home electrical inspection take?
A typical detached house takes a couple of hours on site. Larger homes, homes with a basement suite, or homes with several sub-panels take longer. We give you a time estimate when you book.
Will you open the walls?
No. We inspect what can be reached without damage: the service entrance, meter base, panel interior, visible wiring in the basement and attic where accessible, and a sample of outlets, switches and fixtures. If something points to a hidden problem, we explain what it would take to confirm it.
My insurer asked about knob-and-tube or aluminum wiring. Can you help?
Yes, an inspection is the right first step. We look for the wiring types and panel models insurers ask about and tell you what we found, so you can answer accurately. If it needs replacing, we do that too: see knob-and-tube replacement and aluminum wiring repair.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. Marrast Contracting is a Licensed Electrical Contractor, licence ECRA/ESA 7016430, and every job is led by Shaldin Marrast, a Master Electrician. You can check our licence on the Electrical Safety Authority's contractor lookup at esasafe.com.
To price your job, send us
- The address and rough square footage
- The age of the home
- Why you want it: a purchase, insurance or a safety concern
- Any known problems or past renovations
Where we work
Full home electrical inspections across the GTA
We serve homeowners, builders and businesses across Toronto and the GTA.
- North York
- Toronto
- Forest Hill
- Etobicoke
- Scarborough
- Mississauga
- Vaughan
- Richmond Hill
- Oakville
- Caledon
- King
- Barrie
- Markham
- Aurora
- Newmarket
- Brampton
- Alliston
- Wasaga Beach
- Collingwood