Beware: Hairy Homeowner Does Electricity

That is not a typo. In this case, when I say Hairy Homeowner, I spelled hairy the way I wanted. This is one of the more bizarre things I have seen in the last couple months. This was in an older home where the owner had done much of his own wiring. In this case, he took an old 2-prong outlet and wired it for 220 volts, now called 240V. I knew from my non-contact tester that the circuit was hot, so I got the old Fluke meter. Sure enough that baby had 240V to it. Someone who did not pay attention to the "220" written near it, or did not know what that meant, would have had quite the startling, or shocking, realization by plugging in a standard trouble light, a tool, the TV, etc. It is, for reasons like this, that the careful home inspector states that electrical wiring should be repaired, and evaluated, by licensed electricians. There are a number of homeowners who are brighter than this, but there are a whole lot of Hairy Homeowners who do hairy wiring, so beware.

Thanks for stopping by to be energized.

Steven L. Smith

bellingham home inspector

www.kingofthehouse.com