A 1971 build is 55 years old. This sits in the aluminum branch wiring window, which is the era that comes up in home insurance conversations more than any other. Here is what tends to be true at that age, what each one costs in 2026 Canadian dollars, and the sentence to say to the agent.
Ordered by what tends to matter most.
Homes built roughly 1965 to 1973 fall in the aluminum branch wiring window. Aluminum oxidises, the connections loosen, and loose connections get hot. It is a recognised hazard and it is one of the things asked about when a home policy is arranged.
Remediating it, which is the thing an insurer asks about, runs $2,000 to $5,000, to pigtail a typical whole home at $50 to $100 a connection, and $8,000 to $15,000 and beyond for a full rewire.
Aluminum branch wire has AL stamped on the jacket where it enters the panel. One straight on photo of the breakers and one close up of the label inside the panel door answers it. Remediation is separate work and depends on how many devices there are.
Say this to the agentIs any of the branch wiring aluminum, and if so has it been remediated by a licensed electrician, with paperwork?
Two panel brands from this period have a specific problem. Federal Pacific, sometimes badged Federal Pioneer or Stab Lok, has breakers that can fail to trip on an overload. Zinsco, common in homes built 1963 to 1981, has breakers that can fuse to the bus bar and not trip at all. Both are a replace rather than a repair.
Replacing the panel is $1,500 to $4,000, plus the Hydro disconnect and the ESA permit on top.
The brand is on a sticker inside the panel door. Federal Pacific breakers carry a small red stripe. Zinsco toggles are red, green and blue. One photo of the label and one of the breakers is enough.
Say this to the agentWhat brand is the panel, and what is the main breaker amperage?
Homes heated with oil before about 1975 often had the tank abandoned in place when they converted to gas rather than removed. A leaking buried tank is an environmental problem rather than a repair, and it is the single item in this list most likely to stop a policy being written until it is resolved.
Removal runs $1,800 to $3,000, to remove, with soil remediation commonly $5,000 to $15,000 and documented cases far beyond that.
Look for a fill pipe or vent stub poking out of an exterior wall, and for capped copper fuel lines at the basement wall. If the listing says converted to gas, the question is whether there is removal paperwork.
Say this to the agentWas this house ever heated with oil, and if it was, is there a record of the tank being removed and the soil tested?
This is what is typical for the year. It is not a finding about this house.
Photographs of the panel, the basement and the water heater would tell you whether any of it applies here.
Every dollar figure on this page comes from the Casaroo repair cost dataset, published openly with its methodology, version and licence. Each item links to the guide that lists its own sources. Figures are 2026 Canadian dollars and are ranges, not quotes.
That is what is typical for the year, and it is the part almost nobody walks in knowing. It is not yet what is true of the house in front of you. The next step is how you find that out.
The order to walk the rooms so you do not double back, what to photograph at each stop, what a bad answer sounds like, and the exact sentence to say out loud. Read it on your phone with one hand.
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Built from the Casaroo knowledge base in 2026. Ages on this page are counted to 2026.