Doing the gut-and-remodel I'm doing, this had to be corrected:



Observe the wire flying through the air with the greatest of ease. (Though, given the hack job they did on framing that wall [look left], one can perhaps understand the airborne shortcut.)

Ok, so that wall stud to the left had to come out and be re-done properly, and the wiring corrected. Since there was enough extra wire upstream to easily pull it through and route it correctly, t'would be easy. Except...



... it was solidly trapped between these two wall studs on the adjacent wall. How they managed that is unclear to me. Out came the multi-tool. Cut it between the two studs and pulled it out.

That's when I thought "Waitaminute! This isn't 12 ga." Went upstairs, looked at the breaker I'd switched off, and...



Checked some of the wiring upstream on that branch. Also 14 ga.

Switched out the breaker, rebuilt the wall, fixed the wire routing.



Yeah, what I did is straight and plumb. That bit to the left is not. I wasn't about to rip that out, too. If I was to go though and correct every brain-dead thing the original owners did, I'd be at it until the end of my days. Bottom line: If it could be done poorly, that's invariably the way they did it.

Well done!

I also live in a house where I constantly say WTF? about the electrical among other things that have been done.

Well, you didn't put a staple in above the box. A minor but yet a code violation, believe it or not.

I think you're just being picky. Just sheetrock that sucker and be done with it.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
I think you're just being picky. Just sheetrock that sucker and be done with it.

Definitely picky, but the trained eye cannot unsee the obvious.

Just run those extension cords in the wall and call it a day!

quote:

Well, you didn't put a staple in above the box. A minor but yet a code violation, believe it or not.

Yep, around here a staple within 8" of the box is required to meet code.

How about some more explanation for the large number of us who have no idea what you are talking about.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
How about some more explanation for the large number of us who have no idea what you are talking about.

Wire lacked required supports and was in a location subject to physical damage.

Took me a while to find it and I do this for a living. Look near vacuum.

quote:

Originally posted by RAMIUS:
Well done!

Thank you!

quote:

Originally posted by yanici:
Well, you didn't put a staple in above the box. A minor but yet a code violation, believe it or not.

Not if it's horizontal through bored holes and clamped at the box

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
How about some more explanation for the large number of us who have no idea what you are talking about.

If you look at photo #1 you'll see the wire cutting kitty-corner across the space to the left of the furnace. If you look at the last photo you'll see how it's supposed to be done.

It's easier to see in the last photo because I replaced to old cloth-covered wire (gray) with newer NM (Non-Metallic [indoor]) cable (white).

Better!

Forgot to mention above. Though it's a small thing, I love how clean you keep the work area. Just a huge pet peeve of mine.

^^^But then how will the new owners in the future find flat top beer cans in the walls? It's a peeve of mine as well.

What's with the wire run between the drywall and studs? Is that the thermostat wire?

So rather than just put a piece of drywall on the inside of the wall where the vacuum cleaner is, you chose to tear off all the drywall, replace two studs, and the wire. Seems like more work.

Oy.

You never know what you'll find when you crack open the walls of your home.

We sold my wife's house a couple of years ago, many complaints in the subdivision of wonky electrical issues. Had a bedroom light and fan that wouldn't come on, by sheer luck I figured it out.

Replaced a hallway light bulb, which was burned out and magically it completed the circuit to the bedroom light switch

Did the codes for breaker size for 14 ga wire change at some point? I've been hearing an awful lot of stories lately of 14 ga wire on a 20A breaker, which makes me wonder if it was permissible in the past.

Has anyone seen Bubba’d up Knob & Tube wiring?

That’s some fun stuff to see!

Excellent job, if your gonna do it, do it right.

In the first pic, Is that speaker wire trapped under the drywall on the far side? HTF does that happen?

My first house was built in the late 1940' or early 1950's, the county has no record exactly when. I found soup cans used for junction boxes.