.... It's goona required some serius work to rewire. The lady almost cried and told no cutting walls period.!!! ...
Question is or are:
1-How would you all handle this one.?
2-You all like my crawl space idea?
3-Are you all glad is me and not you??? :smile:
1-How would you all handle this one.?
I always figure I'm in the business of figuring out the most cost effective method to get the customer what they want - not telling them what they can and can't have. Generally, if they have the money, I can figure out how to build something that looks and acts just like what they asked for. From your responses, you're on the same track.
"Yes maam. I absolutely understand your love for this beautiful house. I have an excellent crew of highly qualified craftsmen and while we can't do perfection - we can get very, very close. The first thing we are going to do is sit with you both and plan this job out for minimum disruption. You want the look and feel you saw when you bought this house and that is what we are in the business of providing."
You can say that with a straight face - it's true after all. Get them involved in the planning. Don't promise perfection. Remind them the house has settled since it was built and sections could be under stress. Just the opening up of the boxes could cause a crack. And you are prepared to repair using period apropriate techniques.
So, here are a couple of things I have used in the past on similar jobs:
I have hired an old retired cabinet maker that couldn't work very many hours per day and over-paid him plenty to fix the wood trim I screwed up. It took him a while, but it looked right at perfect when he was done.
Low voltage switching (late 70s job): All the switch wiring was 3C-#20 thermostat wire. That really eased the wiring installation up the walls.
X-10 controls at the lights and fans (mid-80s job): switches were on a console - -I don't remember if there were any rf controls on that job or not.
Battery operated, remote rf switches in the walls - receivers at the lights and fans (late-90s job): I had to buy several brands to find the ones that were good quality. As I recall, I ended up with a Leviton that worked well.
2-You all like my crawl space idea?
yes
3-Are you all glad is me and not you???
Well, I don't do that kind of work for hire any more. But on the other hand, one good thing is you will have to be careful about washing your hands. I have heard there is alot drug residue on $100 bills these days and with any luck you will be making a lot of trips to the bank:smile:
cf