She has spent 3 days on what should have been a simple light take-down, put-up, connecting to same wires, screw to toggle bolts in ceiling, no problems.
She has solved: 1) no power in garage…breaker replacement, switch re-do, 3 hours with bare hands in freezing cold.
2) antique basement wiring turns out to involve current-carrying white wire (ain’t s’posed to!—except—when returning from switch, apparently!) and a general mess. Seems when you wire a concrete basement that’s been finished, you come down from overhead for wall sockets, and we have a mess that has been worked on several times, starting with fiber-encased house wire, and graduating to more modern stuff)—if not for a multitester and things we didn’t believe when Jane tested them, we’d still be at it: read—3 days mostly on a ladder working overhead, and multiple installs. Multiple trips to hardware stores, various, and now an order in for some pieces to refurb a pair of never-used 1980’s halogen wall sconces into a modern pair of wall sconces, plus installing an intermediate line past wall studs on the stairway. Jane has figured out how to do this by carrying the line outside the wall behind a decorative molding and then going behind the wall to install the sconce, thus obviating a major destruction of all the sheetrock lining the stairs to the basement. Our source for the spare halogen bits is a company called Harrington, which seems to stock about everything electrical you would have need of. Including the bulbs. So essentially we’re gutting the old fixtures and installing new insulators and circuit, to take a more modern (and safer wattage) halogen.
Jane was so sore by yesterday evening she could hardly walk straight, and is spending the day in bed.
Aw, poor, poor jane. Tell her we hope she feels better soon.
In my fantasy house ALL the wires and plumbing are on the surface of the walls – and hidden behind removable covers.
I have been recently traumatized by having to fix a drain leak in a bathtub which entailed chopping into the wall at the back of a closed, and a portion of the floor. ( and the discovery that while the closet wall had been insulated, the outside wall behind the bathtub/shower wall had not)
Trying to get some insulation there broke the telephone wire that for some insane reason ran up that wall and zigzagged through the 5th dimension to another wall and somehow involved half the phones in the house -and the computer.
Owie-owie-owie! I don’t think even pulling the sink was this hard on Jane. The bit with the molding to hide the wiring was clever, though.
We haven’t done it yet—the bits for the halogens haven’t arrived, and being veterans of dIY, we want to be sure they work before going to mega-trouble!
Virtual hug and a couple of side-effect free painkillers for Jane! (Not that she doesn’t deserve a day in bed for all of that illuminating effort.)
After a long absence, I have returned. You didn’t miss me? Oh well, I’m here. My house that I rent has Romex (#14AWG 3-wire), fiber-wrapped wires with the old ceramic insulators, a mishmash of other types of wire, and from the pole a whopping 60 amps of service. I have an electric range/oven, electric dryer, electric water heater, electric oil pump and blower on the furnace, electric well pump, plus the outbuildings lights/garage door opener, etc. I have had an electrician over to repair a minor problem and he was mystified at first, and then when he figured out how and why it was wired the way it was, he rewired it correctly. His recommendation was at least 100 amps service from the pole, but the landlady checked with another electrician (who, btw did NOT come and evaluate the house), and decided that 60 amps was plenty based on the second opinion. By all rights, I should move out since the place is a fire waiting to happen. Except, I have no place to go where I could take all 3 cats. Most of the rentals in this town are NO pets, or ONE pet. And then, there are the honey bees.
Well, anyway, back on subject, I’m sure you were “shocked” to find the neutral was actually the hot wire. Whoever wired it up either was incompetent, ignorant, or just didn’t care as long as it worked. I swear, when we bought our second house, we had an independent inspector go over everything, including the electrical service. We saved a bunch by doing that, and what needed fixing in the house got fixed before we bought it. There’s always the thrill of getting your own house, even if it’s “used”, and I hope you don’t find any more nasty surprises like those.
Tell Jane to soak her hands in warm Epsom Salts solution, or put heat pads on her hands. Keep flexing the fingers and get the stiffness out of the joints.
Glad to have you back, Joe!
My son’s house, a real charmer, was built in 1927; he’s the third owner. Still had the original, never painted, woodwork, glass doorknobs, wood floors, and probably most of the electrical wiring. The light fixtures had been updated, perhaps in the 1950’s from the looks of them.
He had an electrician completely rewire the place, add lots of outlets, everything up to code and inspected last summer. Cost less than we expected, and he says it’s “very comforting” to know what’s behind the walls. We have before and after pictures, I think this link might take you to some of the old ones: http://s1094.photobucket.com/albums/i449/jesskendrick/old%20electrical%20wiring/ . (It might not, I’m not experienced at sending pictures except in email.)
My parents lost their house to fire in the 1950’s, shortly after electricity came to our isolated rural neighborhood; and I bet it wasn’t wired by an electrician. I’m definitely the “hire someone with a license” type, although some of you certainly sound knowledgeable (and some of you have had incompetent professionals, discouraging news!).
What about skating today??? See you there??
Yep.
I can only imagine the pain, poor Jane! Working on things over your head takes a big toll on the neck and upper back.
A good massage would really help. When I lived in a bigger city, our hospital offered outpatient massage therapy– no doctor’s orders needed. They made their examine room up with candles and music and a tabletop water fall. Maybe someone could come to your house.
What a nice idea for spring–a massage under the warm sun by the lovely resplendent pond….
Right now, the only thing our backyard is good for is ice therapy! 😉
We finally got smart after building our third house and being our own general contractors. After the wiring went in and before the drywall went up, I walked around the house and took about a hundred pictures of all of the electrical work after it was done. Now I no longer have to worry about hitting something when we hang things on the wall. Since we surrounded our timber frame with structural insulated panels with the wiring chases inside of them, we also have diagrams of all of the pathways in the exterior walls. I always have had a fear of fire in the home, I sleep much better knowing where everything is.
Very good idea!
My aunt and uncle built a home in Texas, they had a contract drawn up that specified every detail, especially the electrical wiring. Then, they rented an apartment nearby, and were at the jobsite every morning. Of course, the subcontractors were not pleased, but hey, you want to get paid, you do your job according to the paper you signed. If they caught someone “cutting corners”, they immediately addressed the issue. No matter if it was easier for the electrician/carpenter/plumber/rocker/roofer, it was done the way the contract specified or that particular person was off the job immediately. Of course, I did not mention that my uncle has been retired from 2 government positions, one as a Lt.Colonel in U.S. Army Special forces, and another as a civilian employee of the U.S. Government, so he had plenty of time and money to watch people work.
I like RuthMarie’s idea. A video camera might be nice, especially if you can also use it to take still pictures. If you transfer the video over to something more permanent like a DVD, it’s much easier to retrieve than looking through snapshots, especially if you have a running audio going at the same time that tells you where you are in the house.