An inspector notes aluminum branch wiring. The best further-evaluation language pairs the referral with:

A referral is only as useful as its specificity. Aluminum branch wiring is not repaired by tightening connections — that is the intuitive response and it is actively counterproductive, because aluminum creeps under pressure and a retightened connection loosens again. The recognized remediation methods are particular: connecting a short copper pigtail using a listed connector rated for the aluminum-to-copper transition, or complete replacement of the branch circuits. Both require an electrician who knows which connectors are listed for the purpose and how to install them correctly, since using an unlisted twist-on connector is a common and dangerous shortcut. Naming that experience in the referral is what turns a generic recommendation into one the client can act on without re-creating the hazard.

Aluminum branch wiring requires specific approved remediation methods, and an electrician experienced with them is the appropriate referral. Naming that experience keeps the client from hiring someone who will apply an unsuitable repair.

Solid aluminum branch wiring is associated with connection overheating due to creep, oxidation and differential expansion. Recognized remediation includes copper pigtailing with connectors listed for the application, or replacement of the affected circuits.

Pigtail or Replace — those are the remedies. Tightening is not a repair, and watching it with a camera is not a repair either.

Know why tightening fails: aluminum creeps under sustained pressure, so the joint relaxes over time. That mechanism is the reason the specific remedies exist.

• •Recommending connection tightening as the remedy
• •Referring branch-circuit issues to the utility
• •Substituting periodic monitoring for remediation