Electrical challanges
- Thread starter Alchymist
- Start date
My first house was an early 50's pipe and cloth wire jobber. Thankfully no one ever modified anything. Good luck, you got your work cut of for you. That old wiring does not like to come out, it swells and the fiber stays stuck in the pipe let alone all your half assed Romex ****.
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
The sad thing is, most of those repairs should only take 15-30 minutes each, even for a rank amateur ! Buy some black and white heat shrink tubing to replace the insulation that falls off inside outlet boxes.
sberry
Banned
My Bud just did a remod and found a wire hit with staple, all scorched in a huge area under the sheet.
bczygan
Well-known member
That reminds me.......I need to do some more half-assed wiring at my place!
acer66
Well-known member
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
bczygan
Well-known member
Oh!......You guys thought I was joking???
One of my projects from a few years ago:
It doesn't operate anything; No wiring goes to it. That should befuddle the next homeowners.
Also note......unclocked screws!!!
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wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
and the point in doing that switch that goes to nothing is? 
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Just thought I'd post some pictures of what we encountered when we bought our current residence. Took a lot of work to fix these.
Hmm, you must have had the same "Home Inspector" that my daughter used when she bought her house, he missed all kinds of things like you posted in your pics!! he sucked.
acer66
Well-known member
Also note......unclocked screws!!!
I can handle a lot but unclocked plate screws is not one of them.
Mickey O
Well-known member
Thanks for reminding me why I never never never never ever want another old house, unless it's been totally and correctly rehabbed by someone other than myself.
Hmm, you must have had the same "Home Inspector" that my daughter used when she bought her house, he missed all kinds of things like you posted in your pics!! he sucked.
Did he say that an inspector "missed" the wiring situation back in 2009?
Did he say that an inspector "missed" the wiring situation back in 2009?
Toothaker
Well-known member
The movie "The Money Pit" starring Tom Hanks and Shelly Long wasn't a comedy - it was a documentary. I know because some years ago I 'inherited' a house built in 1884. I am so very glad I don't own it any longer.
PelicanPines
ALLIANCE MEMBER
and the point in doing that switch that goes to nothing is?
It's easier than patching the wall.
ddawg16
Well-known member
Except for the unclocked screws, I'm not seeing what the problem is
No, just making a joke!!! my daughter bought a comparable house with issues and she did have a home inspector that the mortgage company made her use, he royally sucked.
P.S, I have bought worse, but I know that going into it.
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bczygan
Well-known member
and the point in doing that switch that goes to nothing is?
Well, it was supposed to serve a light in the adjacent closet.
Maybe it's time to buy a fixture and run some wiring...
It's funny.....I had completely forgotten I had installed it, until this thread reminded me that I wanted to do some wiring.
First thing I thought of was putting a light and switch for the closet. Thought I might put in a switch first.....until I went over there and found there already was one!
Bill
couch67
Well-known member
Funny thread. Here's a little surprise I found a few years back when reno'ing our kitchen. The screw was holding up a cabinet over the stove. By my estimate this was done about 30 years ago. Ohming the wire, the screw had contacted the ground but it was still intact.
I love how the guy took the time to install a protector plate over the wire (with an old gangbox plate), leaving the wire completely exposed right at the drywall surface. I guess he didn't have a drill to bore a hole through the stud or something.
Needless to say the kitchen was taken down to the studs and I rewired everything to the panel.
I love how the guy took the time to install a protector plate over the wire (with an old gangbox plate), leaving the wire completely exposed right at the drywall surface. I guess he didn't have a drill to bore a hole through the stud or something.
Needless to say the kitchen was taken down to the studs and I rewired everything to the panel.
reader2580
Well-known member
My house was built in 1980 yet it still had numerous electrical issues. Newer does not always mean better.
My Old Tools
Well-known member
I once bought a house built in 1910 and nothing had been updated. We paid $35k for 2700 SF two story. $140k later I sold it for $60k. Glad to see it gone.
rburke65
Well-known member
In 1970 I started to work for an electrical contractor and all we did was rewired old houses here in the Youngstown, Ohio area.....home of a lot of steel mills. The steel mill electricians .... many from Europe, could sure butcher some residential wiring. I have seen a lot of "OMG" wiring.
DanielC99
Well-known member
Well, it was supposed to serve a light in the adjacent closet.
Maybe it's time to buy a fixture and run some wiring...
It's funny.....I had completely forgotten I had installed it, until this thread reminded me that I wanted to do some wiring.
First thing I thought of was putting a light and switch for the closet. Thought I might put in a switch first.....until I went over there and found there already was one!
Bill
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I see things like this thread and get scared to death thinking about ever buying another house. Every idiot who gets HGTV thinks they can do it all.
We remodeled our whole house in 1993 and I was onsite every day walking the job and the architects, who acted as project managers, were on site weekly. I know what's in my walls.
We remodeled our whole house in 1993 and I was onsite every day walking the job and the architects, who acted as project managers, were on site weekly. I know what's in my walls.