Ever run into bad house wiring?

[Daren Todd]

I still occasionally see knob and tube wiring in some old houses and ive seen where new romex was spliced off the knob and tube to feed something new.

And then theres this:
View attachment 74637

Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!!!!

 

[chim]

The main electrical panel in a house that #2 Son was considering a few years ago. He asked me to come along and comment.

Comment: RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN!

 

[leveraddict]

I was doing the final walk through of my house before signing the papers. The owners were told everything must go leave nothing behind! Well, they did leave trash behind including their clothes dryer complete with a 110-plug running it!!!! Not even a heavy duty but one of those thin ones used because your tabletop lamp won't reach the outlet!!! I imagine they only tumbled the clothes. Certainly, there was no heat? Some people...you gotta wonder...and this guy was a schoolteacher!!!!

 

[Bmyers]

I was doing the final walk through of my house before signing the papers. The owners were told everything must go leave nothing behind! Well, they did leave trash behind including their clothes dryer complete with a 110-plug running it!!!! Not even a heavy duty but one of those thin ones used because your tabletop lamp won't reach the outlet!!! I imagine they only tumbled the clothes. Certainly, there was no heat? Some people...you gotta wonder...and this guy was a schoolteacher!!!!

Just because you are a school teacher doesn't mean you are smart.

 

[johnjk]

Best one I was involved with was the in-laws moved in to a rental while their new house was being built. This place had about 5 additions and none were permitted. Whenever the AC would cycle on in the summer, the street light on the pole out front would dim or go completely out. Started to dig in to the electrical but it quickly became a bigger nightmare than what we were ready to deal with. There were at least 10 fuse/breaker panels in this place. They were there for 4 months and moved in to their new house. This place was never occupied again and is now a Casey’s gas and convenience store

The best was helping my Dad wire my grandparents old Victorian house in Cleveland. We had to shut off and remove the gas light fixtures and disconnect the piping. What little wiring in that house was done in gold and knob and tube. Panel was like 5 fuses. Ended up pulling it all and running a mix of BX and wire in conduit. And a new 100 amp service. Conduit bending is a skill I rarely have to use these days At the time we got around 300 for the gold wire. Grandparents were thrilled. I wonder how many other homes in that area still have gold wire or were demolished without knowing.

 

[lynnmor]

I never heard of using gold in old house wiring.

One of the worst wiring jobs I ever saw was a house sold by one of those house flippers that put lipstick on a pig. My nephew bought one of those, when I visited he said that it had new electrical. I looked in the new panel box, I saw one double and one single breaker. The double went to the old knob and tube system and the single went to a heater in the upstairs bathroom. When I went upstairs, a nail in the floor tickled my foot, the idiots drove that nail right thru the only new wire in the house.

In reference to school teachers, some I know are among the dumbest.

 

[NHSleddog]

I still occasionally see knob and tube wiring in some old houses and ive seen where new romex was spliced off the knob and tube to feed something new.

And then theres this:
View attachment 74637

He gets a ton of extra grounding with all those staples.

 

[Carharttmanxxl]

We went over to a friend's house to watch a basketball game today. While there he mentioned that the entryway ceiling light was out. He had already changed the switch but no love.
So I climbed up on his shitty stepstool and took down the fixture.
I would have taken a pic but was not too steady on that creaky thing. The previous homeowner had apparently installed it (at least 20 years ago). The wire connections were just overlapping bare conductors wrapped with duct tape. wtf? duct tape?
It took 20+ years until one of the conductors actually pulled free of the tape. There were scorch marks where it must have arced as it separated.
Just damn lucky it separated quickly or could have been a sad story.

Anybody else run into truly dangerous wiring?

My best friend bought a house 20 years ago. He wanted to add some new circuits. I kid you not, there were 2 outlets connected with fish hooks. And cheap indoor extension cord feeding the 2 outlets. It was later found out that the previous owner was growing weed in the area where the plugs were located.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Scary one, seen on TV show with Bryan Baumler... wire from one side of kitchen sink to other side was an 'interesting ' collection of Romex, Nomex, and single conductor wires(all same colour..grn)

NOBODY would ever have seen that unless the outside wall had been 'gutted'...

I assume ALL houses have bad wiring...even the brand new,remote inspected one, next door

 

[BruceP]

Anybody else run into truly dangerous wiring?

Have you ever seen "knob and tube" wiring? My 150+ year old house had some of it.

Each conductor is copper-like material with cotton insulation. The conductors are strung from ceramic "knobs" and pass thru drilled holes surrounded by ceramic "tubes". There are NO GROUNDS anywhere.

To add a switched light:

1. A wire is attached to one of the conductors near the switch and wired up to switch.
2. From the switch, the wire goes a light (perhaps on a cealing)
3. From the light, the return goes to the NEAREST conductor which is the opposite polarity. (often on a totally different 'circuit' in the attic)

Hence, there are no defined 'circuits'.... ANY conductor can be tapped to power whatever it needs and the return current is connected wherever it was handy to connect.

I still have a box of ceramic "knobs" and "tubes" if anyone needs them

... for another discussion, there is still a coal-fired "gravity furnace" in my basement. (heat moves the air UP thru tubes.... cold air makes its way into the basement to be heated)

 

[GreensvilleJay]

While 'knob and tube' is still building code legal here, you can't get house insurance with it ......I've seen safe knob and tube install than 'modern' wires......
Yes, I used to turn the 'klinker grates' when I was a tad younger....like 64 year ago....member when it was upgraded to oil...

 

[bucktail]

Have you ever seen "knob and tube" wiring? My 150+ year old house had some of it.

Each conductor is copper-like material with cotton insulation. The conductors are strung from ceramic "knobs" and pass thru drilled holes surrounded by ceramic "tubes". There are NO GROUNDS anywhere.

To add a switched light:

1. A wire is attached to one of the conductors near the switch and wired up to switch.
2. From the switch, the wire goes a light (perhaps on a cealing)
3. From the light, the return goes to the NEAREST conductor which is the opposite polarity. (often on a totally different 'circuit' in the attic)

Hence, there are no defined 'circuits'.... ANY conductor can be tapped to power whatever it needs and the return current is connected wherever it was handy to connect.

I still have a box of ceramic "knobs" and "tubes" if anyone needs them

... for another discussion, there is still a coal-fired "gravity furnace" in my basement. (heat moves the air UP thru tubes.... cold air makes its way into the basement to be heated)

My first place was built in 1910, added onto moved in 48 ish and converted to a duplex. It had knob and tube hooked to 2 wire and 3 wire. One of the runs in the first floor kitchen had 9 black and 9 white wire nutted together.

 

[shelkol]

Long time ago I lived in NJ. Got a permit and put in a new service entrance. Kept failing inspection so I figured it was just because I wasn't an electrician. Neighbor ( who worked for the town ) comes over and says he heard I was having issues getting it passed. He then said there was a dangerous connection that was done by the previous owner and it I fixed that, then all would be fine. I said I knew which one and would fix it. The PO had moved the electric stove, so in the cellar there was a piece of BX coming down the beam, alarge ball of black tape and a piece of Romex coming out - no box. Fixed it and it passed

 

[DustyRusty]

sure would have been nice if they just told you what needed to be corrected rather than just failing you.

 

[skeets]

An old gal my Ex knew had a problem with the light no coming on in her garage, the switch was in the kitchen by the door, and about a 30 foot causeway between the house and the garage. 1 check power to switch, ok check switch, ok check the other end in the garage,, nada,, now this means somebody has to crawl through the crawl space in the causeway celling, which was full of pink insulation,, OH and did I mention it was about 85 out side and sunny. So in I go ,with my tracer in hand crawling through a mountian of pink stuff, and it is singing quite cheerfully and then stopped about half way in the middle, so I start digging, figuring I ll find some place a where some critter chewed through things. And what to my wondering sweat filled eyes should appear ,,,, but a fuse box with a disconnect! Someone that built the causeway, ran out of wire and use it for a J box. However they didnt take out the fuses, just connected the wires, both positive and return to 15 amp fuses!!! Good thing I had a couple wire nuts and a roll of tape in my pocket cause I was figuring critters. Turns out her hubby wired the place, so I said nothing, I was picking fiber glass outa my hide for days

 

[shelkol]

sure would have been nice if they just told you what needed to be corrected rather than just failing you.

True, they said it was obviously old work and they couldn't ask me to fix it. But yes, they should have just told me. I was going to fix it right after I had every thing passed anyway.