During a recent San Jose home inspection, this is what greeted my eyes in an old one car garage wall. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words… the discolored wall is a sign of an electrical overload… over-heating.

Electrical circuit overloads happen when more amperage (a measurement of how much electricity is flowing) is put across an electrical wire than it can handle. Electrical wires come in different sizes and can only handle so much electricity.

Electrical overload can occur for a number of reasons: loose connections, too many lights and appliances being used on a single circuit, or water getting into the electrical panel.