Nice to see you, Beagles. Yes, I would take advice from your trusted electrician.

Perhaps a really good (thorough) home inspector would be helpful--what do they look for?

Also was the home inspected and signed off by local building inspector? Do you or the builder have that sign-off sheet of inspections?

And we pay inspectors for what exactly?

We had a similar issue related to our septic system; had to have it completely redone to the tune of $30k. Fortunately, that was the only problem we've had but still....

I would do as Lucille suggested and talk to a few well respected electricians to learn what your options are.

The home was inspected and signed off on when we got our occupancy permit in 2012. I don't know how they allowed these chandeliers to be signed off on.

We don't have faith in home inspectors b/c the home inspector for our FL house missed a number of serious problems that cost us a lot of money. We're definitely getting our electrician that we trust to come.

The issue is, I feel like the electrician is going to present me w/ options but not really tell us what to do as far as whether we should tear open walls or ceilings. B/c it's kind of a subjective thing, you know -- like, there's no obvious active problems right now that we know of since the 3 apparent chandelier issues were corrected -- so how do you know how much to do as a precaution?

I absolutely will be contacting him as soon as possible (we have to wait until my husband goes back from FL to PA so someone is there at the house).

I had a similar situation.

During my renovation, I had new electrical in the addition, as well as updating some of the old. I found a few issues with the work the contracted electrician did, so I called in someone else.

The new electrician found no grounding in some outlets, issues with new dimmer switches, and issues with two-way switches (which is what led me to call someone in). I was fortunate to have a good person, who was honest. He didn't try to sell me on anything; he didn't have an attitude about criticizing the previous guy; he didn't charge me as much as I expected.

He did some research for me about my underfloor electric heating -- I had asked for a thermostat, like I had in my previous home. The electrician installed an on/off switch. The new guy researched what needed to be done to convert after the fact, looking at the wiring beneath the house. It would have required too much expense to run what was needed. He even called the manufacturer of my underfloor heating coils. He didn't charge me for the research.

It's worth the peace of mind!

My guess, based on the fact that the inspector passed the rough inspection and the walls were open for that, is that the wiring is okay in the walls and the problems are at the fixtures. When my kitchen was inspected for the rough electric (complete rewire), the inspector looked at everything pretty closely. I would probably check the connections at random switches, plugs, etc. and the other chandeliers, too, given that you've had problems with three already. But I'm not an electrician ...

You could post your question on the remodeling forum and maybe get some more "expert" opinions.

Call your electrician and tell him the problem without mentioning hiring him, & flat out ask him what he'd do in your situation. Because this sounds extremely serious with fuses blowing for no reason. The electrician who worked on your house obviously cut corners and I bet the builder had no idea. Or maybe he did. ;)

When we needed to replace our hw heater for the first time after building our house, which was about 5 years later, the electrician came to me and said he couldn't believe one of us hadn't been electrocuted yet. The electrician who worked on the house didn't ground the water heater! My kitchen sink at the time was stainless steel!

Be prepared to pay because it will be well worth it. Keep us updated, this is quite interesting.

I echo the advice above to consult with the electrician and I personally would go for the full meal deal because of what you have said about the fuses blowing. It will be a hassle but it’s not likely that he will have to cut many holes Because the wiring between the fixtures is probably a straight run and it’s the hook ups at the fixtures and at the panel that are likely to be the problem.

I agree with just about everything that’s been said. It will likely be costly but then it’s your home and will be worth your peace of mind and sleeping at night to have all your electrical work inspected. As someone mentioned, maybe not all the wiring in the walls, but starting with the main electrical panels, the major appliance connections, and then the plugs, switches, and of course the light fixtures that concern you. Lay out all your observations and issues you’ve experienced and ask what your trusted electrician would do and where he would start. Then ask for an estimate.

I would then discuss with your builder if you think he (or in this case his hired electrician) was responsible for shoddy work, based on the outcome of the electrical survey and the estimate. Perhaps some compromise can be made with the builder. You get to decide who does the work.

Good luck!

What you can do yourself (with an assistant and an intercom or two phones): plug a light into an outlet. Turn the light on. Have your assistant at the circuit breaker box turn the circuit breakers off and back on until you find the one that is connected to the outlet. If there are two outlets , check both. They may not be on the same circuit. Repeat for all the outlets you can access. You may find that there are too many outlets on the same circuit. It is a big job, but once you do it, and you record which outlet is on which circuit, and you post that in the circuit breaker box, you'll be glad you did it.

Regarding, "My major fear is that the dogs will be home alone in the house and a fire will start and won't be able to get out," recommend getting an alarm system that directly calls 911. If I did that, my cats may have survived my house fire.

Holes don't have to be cut in walls to inspect fixtures. The junction boxes which are located directly behind the fixture will be reveled when the fixture is removed. I am assuming this is a new build, therefore you have circuit breakers not fuses. I am not trying to be picky but there is a huge difference. A qualified electrician can quickly assess if you have grounded fixtures and outlets, enough service to the house, correctly amped service to appliances and if you have overloaded circuits. You can buy a ground tested at any hardware store and see if all your outlets are grounded yourself. Occasionally switches and/or fixtures are faulty, even new ones. Especially if they are builders grade quality. Circuit breakers can also be faulty. Not only are your issues annoying they can be dangerous. Get an independent evaluation and then present the findings to your builder. If he is good and honest he will fix the issues, if not you can fix it yourself and go after him in court. But don't take chances and wait to see if the issues keep occurring. Good luck.

Sorry to hear you are having this problem with your fabulous home. I have nothing more to add that hasn't already been said. Hope you get it solved soon.

If the builder accommodated re-wiring the one chandelier, maybe ask him to check them all...AND hire your own electrician or inspector to witness the work. Just paying an inspector won't work because the electrical is hidden and hiring your own electrician to check and re-do is like handing him your checkbook.

When there was a shout out to you, Beagles, I was reminded of your beautiful home.

Check the outlets, the plugs, the boxes for all the fixtures and the circuit breaker box.

Ask the electrician what your steps should be. Can you hire an electrical inspector privately?

In addition to the good advice you have gotten here, I would post this on the Home repair forum. It's a different group of posters there with a lot of expertise.

I just remembered something that may or may not help. Years ago when we got had a new hvac unit installed I noticed when it kicked in our lights would dim just a bit. The installer said it was okay. When we replaced the unit during a remodel I told the builder about it. He said something's wrong because lights shouldn't dim when hvac turns on. The electrician fixed it but I have no idea what the cause was.

Have the electrician also look at the wiring to all of your hvac units.

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice! I've made a list of the things I want to specifically ask my electrician to do based on this thread and sent it over to my husband too so we can decide with the electrician what needs to be done. We'll be calling him as soon as we can get him there when we're able to be there (and having the inspection done before we get home from FL for the year!)

I was going to say what HMorton said. They won’t cut holes and will be able to figure it all out via the boxes and outlets.

The part you mention about the fuses and how things randomly just go out, is what would concern me. I’d definitely have the new electrician confirm that the electrical box is large enough and the circuits are set up correctly to manage all of the demands you have on them.

There are also simple devices that are sold in the hardware store to check your plugs (receptacles). You plug it in and it will light up in a specific pattern. It will tell you immediately if the outlet is not wired correctly. And a fixture is easy to check just by removing the cover plate and pulling down the wires.

I remember your house construction and cringed at some of the stuff your builder put you through. I guess it never ends.

edited to add that I am not saying you should inspect the chandeliers but that nothing needs to be torn up by an electrician.

No advice but I totally understand your fear re: your dogs. I have had to turn around and go back home if I can't remember clearly, specifically, with absolute certainty, that I unplugged the iron, or my flat iron, or turned off the stove. I've actually started talking to myself mentally "it's Wednesday.... flat iron is off".....