Calling all electricians!!

I have flipped a few homes. Most with decent wiring.
The one I'm working on now did not have decent wiring. The wiring was circa 1950. I removed everything that even resembling wiring.

I rewired it, exceeding code. I am competent when it comes to wiring. I however am not a professional... Which is why I am asking this question....

How should I test the wiring before having the power hooked up??? I would like to make sure the wiring is sorted before I get power hooked up.

This house has no power coming to it right now. The walls are completely unfinished. Just studs and wiring.

Could I backfeed the breaker panel from a generator? to test breakers/circuits????

In theory, yes. Wire a temporary gen receptacle at the panel and go one circuit at a time. Just make damn sure you remove it before anyone sees it as such a connection is quite illegal once the house gets utility service.

However, does your area have code enforcement? Typically, if you are rewiring a house a permit is required along with rough-in and final inspections.

I'm currently going through the above for an addition/remodel.

you could probably pay an electrician to come in and do the final test.. I am competant with wiring like you, I am even an electrician.. however I am a STAGE electrician.. so my power needs and abilities are a lot different from household use

I am not a licensed electrician. I am a licensed builder.

I have done a lot of wiring, and have a very good understanding of it.

I am not aware of any area in the US that permits the power companies to hook power to a house without an inspection from Code Enforcement. If that is the case, you have to get a permit.

If you have to get a permit, you will have to be a licensed electrician, unless you are working on your own primary residence. You can't do electrical work on a house that is not your own residence, even if you own it. So, you would need to hire an electrician to buy the permit and confirm your work.

I wouldn't use a generator. Why not do it the same way electricians and code enforcement officials do it? Visual inspection, followed by a circuit by circuit check after the power is hooked up. Start with all the breakers off, and proceed from there.

One more note...

Be aware that smart electricians are hesitant to pull permits for DIYers. By pulling the permit, they are accepting responsibility for the whole job. If you have pinched a wire with a staple or overloaded a circuit that later causes a fire, they could be held responsible.

Power it with a low voltage dc transformer clipped to the main lugs and check all the polarity at all outlets and light fixtures to ensure you didn't reverse a neutral. Make sure every single ground is wired and if you used metal boxes, make sure they have a ground lead too. If you have an outlet that isn't powered go looking for the staple you hammered in too far. Then, have an inspection done. You either did it right or you didn't. Just because it is wired electrically correct does not mean you pass code but there is no way around this step. Here in PA the township or city has an inspector on payroll (or subs to the power company) so you are not asking a contractor to assume responsibility on his insurance. With paper in hand, just call the power company and schedule the connection. If you don't have confidence in your own work though, you probably should not have gone that far down the rabbit hole w/o consulting a pro somewhere in the beginning for advice. Maybe have one look it over for his opinion before you ask the inspector to bless it.

Good luck.

EDIT: For future reference - when I have something like this - I'd get a permit for a new service installation and have the inspection done and power hooked up at that point. Then, you can do the entire rest of the house one circuit at a time without any more need for 3rd party involvement.

In our town, they want to see and test the electrical before you sheetrock the walls. It's better to get the whole thing permitted, we went through all kinds of grief when we went to sell our last home because they wanted proof that the basement was finished with the rest of the house when it was built in 1979. The only records our town had in terms of the structure itself was the exterior dimensions, no mention of how many stories, home type, etc. The inspector came out, saw that it was a raised ranch, and signed off that all the permits had been pulled correctly.

The lawyer and bank on the other side of the transaction were the ones pushing for all the permits, I guess the banks in particular have gotten burned with non-permitted work (especially in CA).

If you're looking to flip, better to avoid the hassle later on and pull the appropriate permits for everything you do.

I am a licensed electrician. If you did it right you don't need to check it. SVreX has the right answer.

If you know what you're doing there is no need to check it. I'm licensed as well. Wiring is not a hobby. Hire someone.

Thanks for all the replies!! I got some great advice as usual.

I did a full wiring diagram prior to starting.

I think my next step will be to hand over the wiring diagram to an electrician. I will pull the staples and remove the wiring from the junction boxes and receptacles. Then let them decide whether to reuse the wiring.

Why?

Undoing the connections is just putting unneeded stress on the wires, which could lead to failures later when re-twisted. Pulling the staples will make potential problem spots less obvious. Pulling it all apart will make the electrician's job much harder.

Hire the electrician and let him do his job from here.

The wiring diagram will probably not be any help. Electricians don't use them.

You said you are competent, and that the job exceeds code. If that's true, the electrician will have no problem.

I have an electrician that does work on the side. He is having me mount all the boxes and running all the conduit for some extra lights and recept's in my garage. Then he steps in and pulls all the wire and wires it all up.

He likes this and I save money and it's done right.

SVreX wrote: The wiring diagram will probably not be any help. Electricians don't use them.

This is why I don't like to hire electricians, actually. Being a military electrician, power plant operator, and power system dispatcher I live and die by wiring diagrams and can't imagine not using them.

Besides, if I want it done my way, and I'm paying for it, then it had better be done my way.

SVreX wrote: Why? Undoing the connections is just putting unneeded stress on the wires, which could lead to failures later when re-twisted. Pulling the staples will make potential problem spots less obvious. Pulling it all apart will make the electrician's job much harder. Hire the electrician and let him do his job from here. The wiring diagram will probably not be any help. Electricians don't use them.

With additional thanks to "oldopelguy""SVreX" and "Datsun310Guy " Again thanks for the advice!! Since I have not touched anything yet. I will leave it and see what an electrician thinks, before doing anything...