House from Hell, electrical violations
Attn Homeowners: Take note of this post.
For those wanting background information do a search on the “melting coax” thread started around July 21.
In attempting to diagnose the coax problem we got into doing a lot of electrical troubleshooting. In so doing we uncovered a host of very bad issues that the tenants and in some cases, landlord, caused.
First, the tenant that moved in apparently has no idea what a GFI is. They painted the walls about 3 mos ago. Not only did they paint the walls they painted, with a thick coat, right over the GFI. The GFI tripped this weekend, probably first time it tripped since being painted shut. I the electrician was accused of doing something during my troubleshooting to cause the dishwasher to stop working. I didn’t. I had to troubleshoot the circuit and found the dishwasher is connected to the heavily painted GFI, as was the washing machine (which didn’t work either and I was accused of fowling that as well). This house was a jerry-rigging special. There are no dedicated circuits per code. I couldn’t reset the GFI, I had a frigging hammer on it trying to reset it, it’s painted shut like a window. I replaced it, all is fine of course.
The tenant installed a window AC unit. The plug was loose in the outlet. Loose not as in showing some of the prongs, but loose in its grip of the plug. For quite some time it was arcing while in use. The plug was a virtual black charred mess all over the prongs and some of the plastic around the prong had begun to melt. Another receptable was replaced. Sigh.
Powerstrips. LOTS of them in this house. Talk about overloading.
It’s an old house. Who ever renovated the house did one S**ty job. There is a main circuit that goes thru the house. Turns out it’s like THE only significant GP circuit in the house. Virtually anything you plug into the wall is on that ckt. It’s a 15A ckt. Tripping ALL the time. Add to that powerstrips, overloading, you get the picture.
This house has LOTS of short wires. You virtually CANNOT change out a receptacle, takes 3x as long.
No dedicated lines to the DW or Wash machine. One small appliance ckt in the kitchen, painted shut GFIs….this is the tip of the iceberg we saw. Oh and virtually every receptacle was backstabbed which I will INSIST should be outlawed in the NEC. Many of the receptacles are old, very old, little tension is on the prongs of plugs when plugged in. Whoever bought and renovated this house must’ve been trying to flip it for fast cash. Just deplorable wiring if I’ve ever seen any. Abandoned wires were just left strewn where they were formerly used. Ugggh, I”m not complaining, I”m just disgusted that people do this and don’t take care of their homes.
Edited 9/16/2008 6:57 pm ET by WillieWonka
Replies
I'm curious. In a situation like this, would you document everything that you found "wrong" (not up to code)? I would think that would cover you in case another situation arose of "oh the old electrician must have done that...".
Or do you report the violations to the city?
Wet. WetwetWetwet.
I dunno, I only documented the issues to the owner and billed them accordingly and informed them of the rest of the issues. I doubt I can do anything else. It's not illegal to use powerstrips and such. Not illegal to have loose receptacles, they're just hazards that result from wear and non-upkeep.If at first you don't succeed, try using a hammer next time...everything needs some extra persuasion from time to time. -ME
"This house has LOTS of short wires. You virtually CANNOT change out a receptacle, takes 3x as long."
For those the Ideal push on connectors are "ideal". Use them to extend the circuit. There is another brand of those, in fact I think that they orginated them, but I can't think of them.
The internal construction is much different than the receptacle backstabs.
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Yes you're correct, the construction is different and I have to tell you that that's exactly what I wound up using to change out some of the receptacles. I pushed them onto the short wire, then inserted an "extension" wire to hook to the outlet. I first saw those connectors on recessed can lights. First time I used them I had a bunch of can lights wired and ready to go with in half the time and said "these things are greater than sliced bread." Soon after I saw them available from Ideal.If at first you don't succeed, try using a hammer next time...everything needs some extra persuasion from time to time. -ME
"these things are greater than sliced bread."
Major time-saver and headache-reducer!!!The best reward for a job well done is the opportunity to do another.
I know that backstabbing receps and switches is not too good. What about the commercial line of receps that have the 2 holes in the back per screw? You tighten the screw and a plate tighten onto the wire? I like those. How do you like them?
"It is what it is."
I like them but they're more expensive. I think you get better contact with the pressure plate variety and stress the wire less when pushing back into the box. They're the next best thing after the push on Ideal connector blocks.If at first you don't succeed, try using a hammer next time...everything needs some extra persuasion from time to time. -ME
Do you have a pic or a link to the ideal thing?
"It is what it is."
No I do not. I get them at Lowes where the wire nuts are, though. It looks like a small clear block, sorta like an RJ45 phone jack plub. It has 4 holes in it where you insert a source wire and can insert 3 branch wires. They take up less space, too than a wire nut.If at first you don't succeed, try using a hammer next time...everything needs some extra persuasion from time to time. -ME
Ok, I think I know what you mean now. Are they code everywhere now? I am in NY.
"It is what it is."
Not sure what code says, but my elec inspector said they're just fine so I assume they're fine everywhere.If at first you don't succeed, try using a hammer next time...everything needs some extra persuasion from time to time. -ME
Thanks for the info. I noticed them for the first time last weekend, got excited, then thought i'd better ask here first how well they work. Gawd, i love this place.
Basically all of the "national" electrical codes work like this.First the "governemnt" (state, county, city, township) passes a law saying that they adopted XXXX NEC possibly with local amendments.The code it'self will say something like "using reconized and approved materials".Thus anything approved, for an application, by a reconized 3rd party testing labs is included in the code.The Ideal says that they are approbed by UL.AFAIK the Wango's are also, but you might need to get the full spec sheet.And mostly those local amendments are limited except in a few places like Chicago area..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
>>The code it'self will say something like "using reconized and approved materials
Listed is the descriptor word.
Means listed in the UL White Book. The book does not list individual products. Only the catagory title, catagory code, general information relating to use, and the UL mark requirements on the product.
Thank you gentlemen.
"It is what it is."
I wish that they made a style with holes in oposity directions.Often those boxes are also small. And to use those you need to have a U bend in one of the wires.If you can make inline spice it would take up less space in the box..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Here are the Idealhttp://www.idealindustries.comAdn the other company is Wango.http://www.wago.us/products/325.htm.
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.