# old houses



## s.kelly (Mar 20, 2009)

Worked on a project today that our one of the guys in our local coordinates the electrical for today. All sorts of people get out and help some usually older people in older neighborhoods with problems at their houses.

The one I went to was a classic you can do it we can help place.
Original work was done in 1928, and looked good for its age. Pulled out a couple push button switches still working. Was going to take a picture, but I can't find the camera.

Ceiling fans with the canopy on the fan, lights hanging in the basement from their wiring. Lots and lots of electrical tape since you cannot trust your own wire nut joints.

The best one was not one the house I worked in. They found a sub panel that was laying up against the wall, with a 100 amp main, fed with a #10 romex!
Insulation was burned back and the works... gotta love homeoners and $10 handymen!


----------



## gilbequick (Oct 6, 2007)

Old houses are fun. You never know what you're going to run into because you've got 50+ years of repairs/additions/upgrades going on and have no idea about who did what when and how or more importantly why so 90% of the work is in your head trying to figure it all out. You've gotta pull off every trick in the book trying to fish in wires without tearing up the plaster and make the lights space evenly even though the ceiling joists may not even be the same width. Nasty NASTY crawl spaces and rock wool insulation in the attic....good thing about most attics is that they were built with a fair amount of room above to work, not like the newer engineered trusses where you've got to belly crawl and pray to GOD you aren't going to take half your arm off on a 6 inch high razor sharp truss staple.


----------



## chris856 (Jun 12, 2009)

A suprise in every box.


----------



## Rudeboy (Oct 6, 2009)

This thread is useless without photos... and pretty old too.
:whistling2:


----------



## BryanMD (Dec 31, 2007)

Rudeboy said:


> ... and pretty old too.


how about that petey? and marc and nathan too?

we don't have to erase these dead threads; they can still be searched and copied from... but nearly a year since a single reply was made qualifies on at least two standards for an auto lock. 

What arbitrary thresholds won't pizz off too many?
three months? 
three months *and* less than 10 posts?

six months? 
six months *and* less than 50 posts?


----------



## egads (Sep 1, 2009)

What's it to ya? Don't care? Don't click


----------



## BryanMD (Dec 31, 2007)

egads said:


> What's it to ya?


Because as most people who use forums do... 
I start by pressing the "New Posts" button. 

What then pops up are in fact new posts but also (in 99% of instances) in new or at least fresh threads. That's a good thing but that high order of incidence also creates an expectation it will always be so.

It isn't until AFTER you click one open that you have the chance to see just exactly how old and dead the thread really is... and that date is rarely looked at until it is pointed out by someone. Why is that you might ask... Well,

Because as most people who use forums do... 
I start by pressing the "New Posts" button.


----------



## Toronto Sparky (Apr 12, 2009)

I once saw a light switch in a washroom wired with station Z wire. 
And on top of that it seems it was added so they could turn the light off from the tub.


----------

