If your house in Glen Burnie, Pasadena, or Crofton went up between about 1965 and 1973, there’s a real chance the branch circuits behind your walls are aluminum, not copper. That single-strand aluminum was code-legal then and is a known fire hazard now, especially at outlets, switches, and the panel. David Williams Electric has spent 30-plus years making these homes safe by pig-tailing the aluminum to copper with UL-listed ALUMACONN connectors, working under Maryland license #11734 with up-front pricing and a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Why so many Anne Arundel County homes have aluminum branch wiring
The culprit is a stretch of the calendar, not a bad builder. When copper prices spiked in the late 1960s, residential builders across the country switched to solid aluminum for 15- and 20-amp branch circuits. That window lines up almost exactly with Anne Arundel County’s biggest housing boom: the subdivisions that filled in Glen Burnie and Pasadena off Ritchie Highway, the ramblers and split-levels around Severna Park and Arnold, and Crofton, which was platted and built out starting in 1964. If your home is a 1960s or early-’70s rambler, split-foyer, or colonial, aluminum branch wiring is on the table until an electrician confirms otherwise.
The metal itself isn’t the danger. The problem is what aluminum does over decades: it expands and contracts more than copper every time a circuit heats up, it oxidizes into a layer that resists current, and it works itself loose under the screw terminals of ordinary outlets and switches. Loose plus oxidized equals heat, and heat behind a wall plate is how these connections start fires. The CPSC found homes with this wiring far more likely to reach fire-hazard conditions at a connection than homes wired in copper.
The fix we actually use: copper pig-tails with ALUMACONN connectors
The repair David Williams trusts is pig-tailing. At every device and junction where aluminum lands, we splice a short length of copper wire to the existing aluminum using a UL-listed ALUMACONN connector, then land the copper on the outlet, switch, or fixture. The connector is built for an aluminum-to-copper transition: it uses an anti-oxidant compound and a torqued set-screw rated for the job, so the connection stays tight and cool instead of working loose the way a bare aluminum wire under a brass screw does.
We treat the whole house, not just the outlet that sparked. Receptacles, switches, light fixtures, the connections inside ceiling and wall junction boxes, and the terminations at the panel all get pig-tailed, because the next loose connection is the one you can’t see. Where a box is too crowded to add splices and connectors safely, we say so and size up the box rather than cramming it. You get a written, itemized price before any of this starts, so the number you approve is the number you pay.
Permits, inspection, and how the work goes in your county
Aluminum remediation is permitted electrical work in Anne Arundel County, and we pull the permit and schedule the county inspection through the Department of Inspections and Permits in Annapolis as part of the job. That inspection matters beyond peace of mind: when you sell, a Maryland buyer’s home inspector and the insurer both flag aluminum branch wiring, and a permitted, inspected remediation is the paperwork that clears the sale and often the one insurers will accept.
Most of these homes are on BGE service, and a single-family whole-house pig-tail is typically a one- to two-day job with the power down in zones rather than all at once, so you’re not living in the dark. We work across the county, from the older waterfront neighborhoods near Annapolis to the postwar grids of Glen Burnie and the planned streets of Crofton and Odenton, and we leave you with the inspection sign-off in hand.
Working with David Williams Electric
This is not a job to hand to a handyman or to fix one outlet at a time as they fail. Aluminum remediation is exact work, terminal by terminal, and the consequence of a shortcut is a fire. David Williams has been doing residential electrical work for more than 30 years under Maryland license #11734, and aluminum wiring in 1960s and ’70s Anne Arundel homes is squarely in that wheelhouse.
You’ll get an honest assessment of whether your home even has aluminum branch wiring (plenty of homes from that era were wired in copper), an up-front itemized price with no surprises, and a 100% satisfaction guarantee on the work. If we find aluminum, we’ll walk you through exactly which connections we’re treating and why before we touch a wall plate.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if my Anne Arundel County home has aluminum wiring?
The strongest clue is age: homes built roughly 1965 to 1973, common across Glen Burnie, Pasadena, Severna Park, and Crofton, are the prime suspects. You can sometimes spot the printing 'AL' or 'ALUMINUM' stamped on the cable jacket where it enters the panel, but the only reliable answer is an electrician pulling a few outlets to look at the actual conductors. We'll check that for you before quoting anything.
Do I have to rewire the whole house with copper?
Almost never. A full rip-out-and-rewire means opening walls and ceilings across the house and runs into five figures fast. Pig-tailing copper onto the existing aluminum at every connection with ALUMACONN connectors makes the wiring safe at a fraction of that cost and disruption, which is why it's the standard fix for these homes rather than a teardown.
Will this satisfy my home insurance or a buyer's inspector?
That's exactly what it's for. Insurers and Maryland home inspectors flag aluminum branch wiring as a hazard, and many carriers want documented remediation before they'll write or renew a policy. Because we pull the county permit and have the work inspected by Anne Arundel County's Department of Inspections and Permits, you get the signed-off documentation that clears underwriting and a sale.
Why use ALUMACONN connectors instead of the purple wire nuts from the hardware store?
The twist-on connectors sold for aluminum-to-copper are not a UL-listed permanent repair for this purpose, and they can loosen the same way the original connection did. ALUMACONN is a set-screw connector listed specifically for aluminum branch-circuit terminations, with anti-oxidant compound and a torque spec we hit on every splice. It's the difference between a connection that lasts and one that's back to heating up in a few years.
How long does the job take and will my power be off all day?
A typical single-family whole-house pig-tail in this area runs one to two days. We kill power in zones rather than shutting the whole house at once, so you keep the refrigerator and a few rooms running while we work circuit by circuit. We'll give you the schedule and the up-front price before we start.
Serving Anne Arundel County
David Williams Electric provides aluminum wire remediation throughout Anne Arundel County, including Annapolis, Glen Burnie, Severna Park, Pasadena, Crofton, Arnold, Odenton. Explore all Anne Arundel County electrical services or learn more about aluminum wire remediation across Maryland. Call (410) 781-4357 for a free, up-front quote.
