"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
05/01/2018 at 13:16 • Filed to: Houselopnik, wiringlopnik, house wiring, diy, how not to wire, i want my money back
2
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"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
05/01/2018 at 13:16 • Filed to: Houselopnik, wiringlopnik, house wiring, diy, how not to wire, i want my money back | 2
| 30 |
So remember yesterday when I showed you why my basement lights weren’t working? Well last night I was in the middle of removing this cabinet to fit the fridge that’s being delivered tomorrow....
And found how the rope style accent lights that the previous-PO put in along all of them are wired...
See that outlet above and the the right of the microwave? Yeah, I thought they were just plugged in there too...
I found THIS above that corner cabinet next to where the fridge is going:
And THIS directly above it:
Moving to the OTHER side of the sink (the wiring runs behind a trim panel above the windows) the genius continues:
And turns the corner above the microwave to a true WHAT THE EFFING FUCK moment:
Yes, I unplugged the power strip before taking this photo
The... the microwave is plugged into an outlet box that’s just chilling back there, and the... the power strip was plugged into the switched outlet in the wall.... and... in the power strip.... are CUT OFF CORDS that are TAPED to wiring that leads to the LOOSE OUTLET BOXES that the rope lights are plugged into.
I think I’m having a minor brain aneurysm just looking that this again....
Now I don’t blame the inspector for not noticing this, nor the appraiser of the house, nor the PO’s who I think just used everything in the house as is, and were unaware what they were dealing with... or didn’t care/didn’t think it was an issue. Otherwise why would they have written a 3 page welcoming letter, and invited to chit chat on Facebook?
All this shit’s gotta go.
After the fridge and oven come. At least I unplugged it... except the microwave.
WilliamsSW
> Takuro Spirit
05/01/2018 at 13:32 |
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I would love to meet the moron who thought that all of that was a great idea.
“conduit is for pretentious assholes, it doesn’t protect anything, it’s just big gummint gettin’ all up in what I do to MY OWN HOUSE goddammit”
XJDano
> Takuro Spirit
05/01/2018 at 13:36 |
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Why else would you put crown molding on top of cabinets?
To hide the electric!
TorqueToYield
> Takuro Spirit
05/01/2018 at 13:37 |
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Ugh. All that mess just to power some rope lights? That seems nuts. Microwave should really be on it’s own circuit, but it’s not the end of the world if it’s not. I have an overhead microwave like that and in the cabinet directly above it is a dedicated outlet on it’s own circuit. Those floating outlet boxes are basically just home made extension cords but more dangerous and WTF why would you ever do that? It’d be safer to just replace them with real extension cords at the proper rating or put that romex in the wall where it belongs...
MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
> Takuro Spirit
05/01/2018 at 13:38 |
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Lovely. The POs are always idiots aren’t they?
vondon302
> Takuro Spirit
05/01/2018 at 13:38 |
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Well that’s creative, stupid but creative.
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Takuro Spirit
> TorqueToYield
05/01/2018 at 13:41 |
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The microwave is getting replaced by a proper range hood in the near future, but... yeah, I don’t even want to USE it anymore.
PartyPooper2012
> Takuro Spirit
05/01/2018 at 13:41 |
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to be honest, it could have been worse.
previous owner could have ran extension cord .... inside the wall. You would have never seen...when wires melted and started a small fire that burns down half a state.
While this is not ...ideal... yeah... no. It’s total bullshit. Get an electrician out there if you can’t figure this out. Please don’t leave it for the next owner.
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WilliamsSW
> MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
05/01/2018 at 13:49 |
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This is as set in stone as the ten commandments.
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TorqueToYield
> Takuro Spirit
05/01/2018 at 13:50 |
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A proper heavy duty extension cord rated for 15 amps (UL listed) would be safe . It’s not recommended to use them for permanently installed stuff or hide them since technically the outer jacket could abrade without you noticing, but romex is much worse since the outer jacket is even less abrasion resistant than heavy duty extension cord. I would just do that for the near term for the microwave if the cord can’t reach a proper outlet on it’s own.
Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
> Takuro Spirit
05/01/2018 at 13:50 |
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Seriously I would hire an electrician and just pay them time and materials to fix this shit. You don’t mess with electrical, that’s how your house burns down.
Cash Rewards
> Takuro Spirit
05/01/2018 at 13:53 |
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I don’t know what they want from me
It’s like the more outlets we come across the more problems we see
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Takuro Spirit
> Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
05/01/2018 at 13:55 |
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I have a friend that’s a certified electrician. Between him and me it’s been non stop SMH our heads all week.
I’m gonna pay him in many beers to help correct this, and any other issues I find.
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Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
> Takuro Spirit
05/01/2018 at 13:57 |
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Excellent! Beer economy is good.
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Takuro Spirit
> Cash Rewards
05/01/2018 at 13:58 |
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Cash Rewards
> Takuro Spirit
05/01/2018 at 14:06 |
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That was such a special time in hip hop
Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
> Takuro Spirit
05/01/2018 at 14:09 |
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ive seen enough property brothers to know that is totally not code! lol
functionoverfashion
> Takuro Spirit
05/01/2018 at 14:15 |
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I try to do things properly in my home, especially when it comes to electrical, plumbing, and things that can cause much larger problems if not done properly the first time. But I wonder what things I’ve done that the next owner would look at and just say, “what is this” - I can think of one area in the basement where I’ve fed a lot of wires from upstairs, like cat5 cables, speaker wires, coax, and RCA for various reasons. I’m sure they’re not all still in use, but it’s a bundle of wires.
Maybe I’ll neaten that up when I get home.
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Takuro Spirit
> functionoverfashion
05/01/2018 at 14:28 |
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I blame the cable companies. None of the pre-existing cable is ever good enough for them, so they run new cables and leave the old stuff behind. Last place I lived was a rental, and there were SO MANY dead unplugged cables, not to mention the old analog TV antenna on the roof.
I was able to piggyback a bunch of them when I ran my HD antenna but GOOD GOD MAN, there were so many bundles of coax criss-crossing the joists in the basement.
At least where I am now most are hidden under the drop-ceiling, or behind drywall...
shop-teacher
> Takuro Spirit
05/01/2018 at 18:42 |
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See now, I didn’t want to be that guy when you said this, but you totally jinxed yourself when you said there was nothing wrong with the house. How do you know a house has something wrong with it? It exists. They always have something wrong with them.
Monkey B
> Takuro Spirit
05/01/2018 at 20:44 |
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I found this mess pictured and 5 live wires in the (almost) finished basement of my GF’s house when I moved in...in a house children live in. Her ex-husband seemingly booby trapped this place with all sorts of treasures. He’s worked in every room but the kitchen, which I’m remodeling now. Every single thing he ever touched is 90% complete and done poorly...and poorly is saying it nicely.
When he found out about me he asked her if I was handy and could I finish the projects around the house because, you know, that electric in the basement is unsafe...you don’t say! O.o
it’s all mildly entertaining until I try to fix anything...it usually requires 200% more effort than it should have.
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Takuro Spirit
> shop-teacher
05/02/2018 at 10:43 |
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Did I say there was nothing wrong with it? I don’t recall. There was nothing visible that I, the inspector, or the appraisal came back with, besides some little issues, some that were fixed before closing.
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Takuro Spirit
> Monkey B
05/02/2018 at 10:46 |
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shop-teacher
> Takuro Spirit
05/02/2018 at 11:35 |
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You did at one point. There’s always something! I can tell from the pictures though, that your house is in a lot better shape than mine. We should’ve spent more money when we bought initially. We bought cheap, but fixing everything is proving to be way more trouble and time than it’s worth. Not to mention money!
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Takuro Spirit
> shop-teacher
05/02/2018 at 11:36 |
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Our first house we bought cheap, with plans to renovate... then the market crapped out.
This one we wanted to make sure we got a good one. And for the most part it is. Just needs little finishing touches.
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shop-teacher
> Takuro Spirit
05/02/2018 at 11:44 |
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We were fortunate in that by the time I finished grad school and had a job (2006), the housing market was already out of reach. I laughed in the mortgage brokers face when he told me I was approved for a 5-year ARM on a condo. The payment, taxes, insurance, and assessments would have totaled out to something like 60% of my take home pay. He couldn’t understand why I passed on such a great deal. I rented a cheap apartment and watched the world burn.
We bought in 2010. Not quite the bottom, but close. In hindsight we should’ve waited a year or two for people to stop holding out. We would’ve had a lot more to choose from. Oh well. Despite it’s many flaws, I like the house, and we don’t owe much on it. One of these days I’ll get it looking presentable. I’m redoing the kitchen this summer.
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Takuro Spirit
> shop-teacher
05/02/2018 at 11:49 |
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Yeah we bought in late ‘05 after our townhome owner was bought by a known slum lord from Chicago... they started upgrading all the units and grounds to justify pricing us out of it.
Back then what we were paying in rent made a nice mortgage payment. Then the banks decided to do what they did, BOA screwed up our loan, and by the time we had figured it out they had foreclosed and we couldn’t find a lawyer that would fight them.
So we cut our losses and went back to renting.
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shop-teacher
> Takuro Spirit
05/02/2018 at 13:37 |
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I imagine if I had been with somebody at the time, a double income would’ve meant we would have been able to buy something and then get screwed. But I was single, so it wasn’t happening. Just fortunate timing for me.
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Monkey B
> Takuro Spirit
05/02/2018 at 15:27 |
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there was more to see...took me and my electrician friend 2 days to sort it out. And it’s still confusing but works, safely we think. There are 32 4" recess lights that take 6 switches to turn them all on in an area around 8'x 40'. We could have wired the entire house with all that wire. Someday I’ll rid us of it all and put a reasonable 10-12 lights in there...but the ceiling is drywall so it’ll be one of the last things I tackle. Don’t get me started on the plumbing, but for reference my downstairs toilet fills with hot water...sigh*
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Takuro Spirit
> Monkey B
05/02/2018 at 15:58 |
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....its a bidet, right? RIGHT?!? lol
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Monkey B
> Takuro Spirit
05/02/2018 at 16:51 |
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me thinks that’s exactly what he’d say...