*
So I’m rending and tearing my way through this cobled together collection of closet walls in order to open up the wall that has the
i great
view waiting to be seen, into which I’m gonna stick a double French door that cost more than my first two vehicles combined, when I find the back of an electrical box. Having already scouted the other side of this wall, and duly noted all the other electrical I could expect to run into, this
i new plug box,
nestled up to the d/wall surprised me. I checked the other side of the wall and sure enough, no plug down there!! Love those $/sheet drywallers!!
The wires running into it from the switch box above said it was
i live.
Various scenarios ran through my mind as I continued to work toward uncovering the other side of it. Musta been “capped-off”, or maybe the wires weren’t stripped and were just sitting there in space all these years (15?).
Well boys, not only was it
b not
capped off, it was stripped and the hot had been welded to the box, and the scorch mark on the back of the d/wall says it was-a-snappin big time for a while. By the time I got down to eyeball it the hot, with a nice ball of copper weld on it’s end was no more than the proverbial
i c hair
away from the side of the box and it’s mate of copper weld.The whole inside of the box had scorch stains. The vibration of the arc welding must have broken it apart just enough to stop the short.
All those years, through three owners, a fire was just waitin to start. And what about the
i sparky? The breaker musta kept popping. I wonder how many connections he checked and never found the problem?
Funny thing is, that particular plug was noted on the electrical panel. On a very incomplete list of circuits, “Plug at stair bottom” was precisely noted, and you’ll have to trust me, there is only one stair bottom in this house, and only one plug there, and it was written on the right circuit!!!
Ain’t life grand!!
-pm
Replies
*
Thats pretty spooky Patrick , and probably more common than we realize . I've run across a couple of mystery switches over the years while remodeling . Chuck
*I just finished framing an addition on a 12 year old house. I went inside to set up a grade stick to shoot the interior floor elevation. Through the bedroom window. The sash lock came off in my hand. "They all do that" she said."Really?" I replied.I shot the elevation, determined the footing depth to allow for concrete block, framing and subfloor.They start digging and demo-ing the brick.No pressure treated lumber between the foundation and the floor framing.1/2" subfloor."Well whatdaya know?" I think.No building paper or drainage plane at all behind the brick.No tar paper under the shingles.Going inside next week to open up some of those walls... Can't wait to see what I find there!I'm gonna keep an eye out for hidden outlets. There's been a funny thing going on with the exterior outlets whilst I was framing the addition.Thanks for the tip...Dan
*Patrick,Just four weeks ago I found two sconce boxes that had been mudded over in this lady's dining room wall. I figure they can't be hot. They were. They were in black conduit, the kind they used back in the 20's.I can't believe that some painter would just mud over them. Go figure.Ed. Williams
*When I was about 25 this new guy came to work and they paired me with him on a pretty big remodel. Guy was about 50, and he was FAST. I mean FAST. Old cowboy, 'bout 6'2"-thin and strong and he could out work any of the young guys. Wouldn't say 4 words to you all day. He's kind of a legend around here, I think he still frames (he's gotta be 70) BY HIMSELF!Anyway, there I am trying not to get embarassed every day, (guy would do stuff like only take 15 minutes for lunch so he could leave at 3:15) and I'm tryin' to watch what he's doin' and it turns out every time he has to move anything electrical - out comes the hatchet, across a stud goes the wire, and WHACK goes the hatchet through the wire! Then he'd just bury the wire!I don't know of anything burning down that he worked on, but I have often wondered about it. - jb
*Started a bathroom remodel last week on a '20's built balloon framed home. Opened up the walls and SURPRISE ..old knob and tube wiring very much alive and feeding the whole upstairs. Can you say 'extra'. The load center has mostly romex and some BX coming out of it, only one knob and tube circuit. Ya gotta wonder where all the tie in connections are hidden. I found one in the attic, No box, just friction tape and a prayer, laying on old dry plaster lath. My electrician is just SO happy...NOT.