Sometimes you have to look carefully to see where duct tape and electrical panel boxes meet.
First glance you might not notice it!
When I first opened the panel box door, both of them actually, I didn't see this either.
Then, before I took the cover off, I saw them.
Two covers were different, each indicated with a yellow arrow.
There was another smaller one in the other box. Perfectly placed, exactly the right color.
Touching one I felt the familiar stickiness of, of,
DUCT TAPE!
Well, you kind of knew that was coming. And why not? Duct tape has the perfect width for the job! Everyone knows duct tape can be used anywhere and everywhere!
This unfinished basement had 15 receptacle boxes hanging half way down the walls, all hot, and all coming off one light fixture! Apparently this "contractor" was going to install a few more circuits to cover the basement, but found it easier to just bum electricity off a light.
Well, easy works, right? Why bother with the extra expense of new circuit breakers, and all engage in all that work to put in new circuits, when the builder generously provided one right there in the ceiling!
And since you are supposed to cover unused holes in a panel box, so, well, why not use some CAREFULLY PAINTED duct tape to do the trick! This guy spent more time matching the color, going to the paint store, and buying paint, and carefully painting the duct tape than he did wiring the new hanging receptacles all over the basement!
And, by the way, all this is incorrect -
from the phony circuit(s),
to the hanging receptacles,
to the duct tape covers - incorrect!
My recommendation: when possible, uncover what is blocked; look to the opposite place of where a homeowner tries to direct your attention; open doors; move unusually placed items when you can; and remember, remember to open the electrical panel box doors (and take the cover off if it can safely be removed)! You never know what there might be waiting for you to see!
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