Eddie702
Licensed Electrician
- Location
- Western Massachusetts
- Occupation
- Electrician
My late BIL was a builder and wouldn't touch a wire and made sure all his sons knew that he always hired electricians. Sometimes that electrician was me. Wired a few houses for him back in the 80s
I owned an old lake front property with him and my sister back in the 80s.
After we bought it, I pretty much rewired the whole place. One of the issues with it is it dates to around 1900-1920 and believe it or not some of the outside walls are framed with 2 x 2s and the floor joists are 1 x 6 spaced every foot. Probably should be bulldozed but its lasted 100 years and still standing.
Because of the 2 x 2 walls the original wiring was all BX and the receptacles were installed in the floor. I ripped all those out and put them in the walls back in the 80s but you have to use shallow boxes due to the 2 x 2s
At that time 2 #14/2s in a box with a receptacle was ok but tight but it wouldn't pass now, but I ended up with a lot of J boxes in the crawl space below back then.
After a few years I had a falling out with my sister and I sold my half to them and when they added stuff they called other electricians.
Now that they have both passed on my nephew owns it and asked me to fix a few issues. Good job for an old, retired guy LOL
He had an electrician out last year who installed a light by the back door and a kitchen ceiling light and he tied into the SABC!! xxx
He added a spotlight and a couple of porch lights and he grabbed power from one of the "shallow box receptacles" I had installed in the 80s. After he did this he couldn't get the recpt back in the box with the added wire and wire nuts so he left it half in and half out. Could have added a Wire mold box extension.
I found he used sheetrock screws to mount a shallow switch box and put the screws through the back of the box (3/4" wood paneling on the other side so ok) but he grounded the box by wrapping the #14 bare around the SR screw. xxx
But when I looked in the panel he had attempted to install an AFCI breakers on the circuits he extended. OK
One of them much to my surprise had the neutral pigtail from the AFCI not connected and hanging in the air xxxx but I had 120 on the H & N coming off the breaker!!! And the circuit worked
I also had continuity between N & G with the wires pulled off the breaker and the Eg disconnected in the panel which is why the circuit 'worked"
So I followed the circuit to the end after going through 4 receptacles and came to a SP switch and the wire or load on downstream of the switch is the issue. I disconnected that cable and hooked the breaker up correctly with the pigtail and it worked fine and tested ok.
I ran out of time and don't know what the switch feeds (maybe a ceiling fan) my nephew will know so I couldn't contact him so it can wait.
One of my points is that many are lazy. With the shallow boxes you end up in a short dirt floor crawl space tracing wire and troubleshooting with a bunch of J boxes down there. Is it fun....NO
I didn't care for the crawl space when i was 30 years old and rewiring the place and I care for it less now that i am 72 but I spent the afternoon down there anyhow.
I owned an old lake front property with him and my sister back in the 80s.
After we bought it, I pretty much rewired the whole place. One of the issues with it is it dates to around 1900-1920 and believe it or not some of the outside walls are framed with 2 x 2s and the floor joists are 1 x 6 spaced every foot. Probably should be bulldozed but its lasted 100 years and still standing.
Because of the 2 x 2 walls the original wiring was all BX and the receptacles were installed in the floor. I ripped all those out and put them in the walls back in the 80s but you have to use shallow boxes due to the 2 x 2s
At that time 2 #14/2s in a box with a receptacle was ok but tight but it wouldn't pass now, but I ended up with a lot of J boxes in the crawl space below back then.
After a few years I had a falling out with my sister and I sold my half to them and when they added stuff they called other electricians.
Now that they have both passed on my nephew owns it and asked me to fix a few issues. Good job for an old, retired guy LOL
He had an electrician out last year who installed a light by the back door and a kitchen ceiling light and he tied into the SABC!! xxx
He added a spotlight and a couple of porch lights and he grabbed power from one of the "shallow box receptacles" I had installed in the 80s. After he did this he couldn't get the recpt back in the box with the added wire and wire nuts so he left it half in and half out. Could have added a Wire mold box extension.
I found he used sheetrock screws to mount a shallow switch box and put the screws through the back of the box (3/4" wood paneling on the other side so ok) but he grounded the box by wrapping the #14 bare around the SR screw. xxx
But when I looked in the panel he had attempted to install an AFCI breakers on the circuits he extended. OK
One of them much to my surprise had the neutral pigtail from the AFCI not connected and hanging in the air xxxx but I had 120 on the H & N coming off the breaker!!! And the circuit worked
I also had continuity between N & G with the wires pulled off the breaker and the Eg disconnected in the panel which is why the circuit 'worked"
So I followed the circuit to the end after going through 4 receptacles and came to a SP switch and the wire or load on downstream of the switch is the issue. I disconnected that cable and hooked the breaker up correctly with the pigtail and it worked fine and tested ok.
I ran out of time and don't know what the switch feeds (maybe a ceiling fan) my nephew will know so I couldn't contact him so it can wait.
One of my points is that many are lazy. With the shallow boxes you end up in a short dirt floor crawl space tracing wire and troubleshooting with a bunch of J boxes down there. Is it fun....NO
I didn't care for the crawl space when i was 30 years old and rewiring the place and I care for it less now that i am 72 but I spent the afternoon down there anyhow.
