dangerous electrical installation: Even One Lonely Cable Needs Protection - 04/05/12 02:03 AM
Electrical cable installations and their connections come with rules. One of the rules is that even one lonely cable needs protection.
How are they protected? They are made less vulnerable to being pulled or caught on, damaged or cut by being secured with such things as staples and plastic conduits, and properly terminated inside boxes and connected to those boxes with a clamp.
There are rules for a reason! The reason is safety.
So, when I saw these two unprotected installations on a house, I was reminded of a song.
Picked up and popularized by a band called "Three Dog Night," … (15 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: Wiring An Outdoor Shed For Lighting And Making Sure It's Safe - 03/05/12 03:18 AM
Wiring an outdoor shed and making sure it's safe is something most homeowners should not try to undertake.
Whenever I go into an outdoor shed and see that there is wiring, I am careful to examine what they have done and make sure that how the power gets to the shed is done properly and safely.
This shed proved so interesting it inspired a song... You've heard it before. Please, sing along.
Yooooouuuu
light up my liiiiiiiffffe.
Yooouuu give me hoooooopppppe
… (34 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: Bug Zapper, Human Zapper - 02/28/12 02:52 AM
Consistency counts. If you want to zap something, zap everything!
Looking up into a back yard I noticed a bug zapper on a tree. I don't see those very often, but they are fun!
They are electric so they have to be plugged in.
What they plug in to is important though. And not dangerous!
Oh well.
Another day, another fun installation!
This outlet came from an unknown source.
It has a missing cover and a broken lower receptacle.
And it is dead.
Well, no wonder! It's broken! That cord is from the bug zapper just above.
It was not … (27 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: Mr. Jay's Neighborhood - How (Not) To Electrify An Outdoor Shed - 02/09/12 06:02 AM
It's a wonderful day in my neighborhood!
A wonderful day for a neighbor,
I need you to be,
I'd like you to be,
I'd LOVE you to be my new neeeeiiiighbor!
Hi boys and girls!
Mr. Jay here! Welcome to Mr. Jay's Neighborhood!
It's a beautiful day in my neighborhood and I am so glad we can be together today!
In today's we are going to talk about how to electrify an outdoor shed! It's important for a shed to have power!
Can you spell electrify? E-L-E-C-T-R-I-F-Y Sure you can!
Remember boys and girls, safety is always first. … (18 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: "New Attic Fan Controlled By Thermostat" - 11/23/11 06:12 AM
"New Attic Fan Controlled By Thermostat" At least that is what the features list said.
And it was true. There was a new attic fan and it was controlled by a new thermostat.
I see so many things when looking at this wiring.
First, all of the wiring used for this new appliance is old. Who knows how long the other attic fan was that needed to be replaced. Let's assume 20 years. It may have been much older!
And who knows if that one was wired correctly!
But this one is not.
New wiring for new appliances in an older … (17 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: Has It Been Like This Since The House Was Built? - 08/12/11 07:18 AM
The seller has been in the house since it was built in 1963. She is alone and "moving on." She would be unable to answer a question such as I would ask. As regards the service cable, has it been like this since the house was built?
This is the main service cable and was brought into the furnace room, through an opening in the floor, and connected to the panel box.
The protective plate does not appear to have ever been nailed on as there are no other holes in the wood.
The service cable has insulation which is placed … (20 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: Dangerous Receptacle Installation - "That's How They're Doing It Now." - 07/08/11 07:33 AM
If something has always been done a certain way for decades, either through common sense, best practice or because of codes, and suddenly it changes because someone thinks "that's how they're doing it now," then we need to rethink sanity. Who makes these changes?!
This is new construction, again (!), and here is the view under the kitchen sink.
Something might spring out at you. Yes, the disposal receptacle.
Is that under the drain and disposal? Yes!Is it facing up and ready to receive a drippy leak? Yes!Is the box metal? Yes!Was this intentional? Yes!How do I know - because the … (31 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: The Seller Laughed At My Report - 06/10/11 07:52 AM
I think one of the amazing and less-thought about aspects of home inspections is what they do for the seller of the house being inspected. Without realizing it, items found on a home inspection, that are repaired properly, actually protect the seller from harm and future repercussion.
This was found on a recent inspection and duly noted on my report.
I see it all the time.
There are two problems here.
1. This indicates unprofessional work. If it was done here unprofessionally, work was likely done elsewhere unprofessionally too.
I can see this and note it! But this makes me concerned … (43 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: A Sinking Into The Ground, Fault Interrupter - 05/18/11 04:59 AM
For a few days now I have been anticipating doing a home inspection on a flipped property. Unfortunately Mr. Jay, of Mr. Jay's Neighborhood, was otherwise occupied and could not make it today.
I CAN TELL YOU HE WOULD HAVE HAD A BLAST ON THIS HOME INSPECTION!
One reason I was looking forward to it is that I had understood this particular flipper had pulled permits. There had not been a final inspection yet. He was waiting for me to look at the property so see what I came up with. To me, that's not a good sign. A builder confident … (22 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: How Tight Is Too Tight? - 01/05/11 09:01 AM
Be a home inspector and look at this photo and tell me everything you see that you think is a problem:
1. It is in a vulnerable place, and outdoors.
2. It is a cable not made for an outdoor application.
3. Hard to tell in this photo, it is not a grounded cable.
4. What you can't see it that it comes out of a light fixture, traveling as you see here, and goes into and services another light fixture.
Yikes!
This home inspector was very close to the cable and noticed something else.
The cable is stapled … (21 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: Technically Speaking - 12/23/10 04:57 AM
Listing agents can be funny. Some like to show up at the end of a home inspection on their listing "just to answer any questions." Sometimes they also feel the need to give me a little history, just so I know.
I have been doing this long enough to be able to translate all that. What the agent is really saying is, "I know there's going to be a list and I want a head's up now before the report actually comes out." And, "This homeowner lived here a long time and did a lot of work himself. He is very … (66 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: At Your Service - 11/12/10 07:01 AM
My friend Flipper does things that are truly laughable, if they weren't so sad!
He is a creative fellow!
On this house he decided to really spruce it up. He decided to replace the siding, which was cement asbestos and probably pretty cracked up with new vinyl. Then he covered the fascia boards with an aluminum covering. That was fine, until he painted the vinyl siding, but that is a different story.
However, he also got the idea to upgrade the electrical service from what was likely a 100amp fuse box to a brand new 200amp breaker box. That is … (62 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: Sometimes Late Is Better Than On Time - 10/01/10 06:55 AM
When things are done quickly to meet a deadline, or simply to get something done quickly, it lacks quality. And often it can lack safety! And its unprofessionalism can stick out like a sore, well, thumb would be too small...
This water heater replaced the one that was still sitting in another part of this basement!
The other heater was much taller than this one is. And you can tell from the wiring, maybe 8" or so.
That blue plastic thing is a connector clamp. It should be secured into a hole on top of the unit into which the wiring … (48 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: The Gaggle Caused A Giggle, Until Later... - 08/07/10 12:38 PM
It seems to me that there are two reasons for short sales -
1. The house has decreased in value so much that it is no longer fun to pay for an asset worth so much less than its current value. And who knows when it will regain its former value!
2. Something has happened to the finances and the seller can no longer afford the mortgage.
There may be many more reasons, but those seem like the two most prominent to me.
As soon as I walked into the house I saw this gaggle of wires beside an enormous TV!
… (24 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: A Mish Mash Of Old Wiring - 07/27/10 08:04 AM
They say to never say never, and never say always. Well, when I do inspections on old homes, I almost ALWAYS have a mish mash of wiring! And why not? Things changed over the decades and certainly the first, and really old product, cannot survive forever. This particular house is just over 100 years old.
This is a knob from the old "knob and tube wiring." Made of porcelain (essentially glass) the knobs were non-conductive and provided a safe base for the wiring which extended throughout the house. And you can see a little sleeve through which the wiring was … (20 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: "Uncle Bob" Wires Another House! - 06/21/10 07:51 AM
My phrase for improperly-wired stuff is that Uncle Bob came over to help out. And he always wires things the way he used to do it when he served during "the big one." Uncle Bob my term for unprofessional work.
Such was the case on a recent inspection. From the back yard I noticed three spot lights and three exterior lights over a deck. From there these lights all looked fine. A closer look was needed.
When I went under the deck I saw where the wiring came from. Inside the house, and through a hole drilled into the deck's ledger … (17 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: "You Not Licensed Electricity" - 05/12/10 07:32 AM
I get a lot of interesting phone calls, some with valid questions that need explanations. This particular call was interesting to say the least, but with a different intent. This call was from the listing agent of a property I inspected a few days ago. The purpose of her call was to try to get out of making a repair asked for by my clients. I could hardly understand her, but it went like this:
"Jay, I Mumbledeefum, and I listing agent at (address). You licensed electricity?" I think I understood the last part.
I am a licensed home inspector. I … (143 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: I'm Sorry, Sir, But Clearance Is Required - 04/20/10 05:49 AM
I inspected a property with a "newly renovated basement apartment."
It was a very nice-looking place. Usually though, with remodels, you see signs that things were not thought out quite clearly.
Take the example here. This is the furnace closet. It was tucked away in the only place they allowed for it. They didn't think it through in two ways.
First, because of the depth of the closet, the heat pump is situated the only way they could. Which would be fine, except that
1. Only about half of the filter can be removed from its slot and
2. There … (17 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: My Chinese Fortune Cookie Was True! - 03/21/10 06:27 AM
I had a fortune cookie the other day that said, "You discover treasures where others see nothing unusual." Gee, that happens to me every day! That's my job!
The other day was no different. The house information listed a new cook top. Being 25 years old that would not be unusual. And this is one of the treasures I discovered:
You will notice a couple of things. The cable which serviced the old cook top is large and protected with metal. The cable that came with the new unit is … (24 comments)
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dangerous electrical installation: Peek A Boo Wiring - 10/15/09 04:00 AM
Anytime you have to find a hiding water heater, there are going to be other hidden surprises.
Here is one.
When I can’t see wiring, and other things I have seen around a house that give me pause, if not fright, I wonder about them, and want to know. I’m like that. So when I saw this cable duck under things stored in a kitchen cabinet, I wanted to see what I could. So I moved stuff out.
And, after I moved out a bunch of stuff, this is what I found!
Look carefully. Tucked away in that little cavity in … (16 comments)
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