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Color Coordinating...

By TeamCHI - Complete Home Inspections, Inc.

Home Inspector with Complete Home Inspections, Inc. TN Lic#050

February 14, 2012 07:14 AM

Color Coordinating...
Every now and then I run across a home owner who likes to color coordinate. While Painted Over GFI Devices color coordinating is okay, there are some things, such as outlets, that should be left alone. This is definitely not a good idea and especially when it comes to GFCI outlets. When these are painted over, the paint will often jam the mechanical test and reset buttons. If the buttons are jammed, the device may fail to trip resulting you going z-z-z-zt, which is not a good thing! I consider these a safety hazard and I recommend replacing the device.

This posting and the contents herein are the intellectual property of Michael Thornton of Complete Home Inspections, Inc. providing home inspections for Brentwood, Nashville, Davidson and Williamson County TN. This post is a contribution to the ActiveRain Real Estate Network.

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Joetta Fort

The DiGiorgio Group - Arvada, CO

Independent Broker, Homes Denver to Boulder

Oh great - so my husband is right again! From now on I'll just buy new ones in the right color. Someday, I know I'll be doing everything right. Someday.

Feb 15, 2012 10:29 AM

Laura S. Baker

First Weber Inc - Lake Mills, WI

Realtor (920) 728-4118, First Weber Inc

Oh good golly, that's not color coordinating. That's just laziness! And oh so dangerous.

Feb 15, 2012 01:15 PM

Rob Thomas

Prestige Homes of The Tri Cities, Inc. CALL....423-341-6954 - Bristol, TN

Bristol TN-VA & Tri Cities Agent, ABR, GRI, e-Pro

Michael ....congrats on the feature ....I see this all time ...thanks for the input ...you do a great job!

Feb 15, 2012 02:00 PM

William Johnson

Retired - La Jolla, CA

Retired

Hi Michael, Sure makes a lot of sense. Congrats on the feature. I have never liked the look of paint on pastic plates and switches anyway. Best to just leave well enough alone.

Feb 15, 2012 02:15 PM

Sandy Acevedo

951-290-8588 - Chino Hills, CA

RE/MAX Masters, Inland Empire Homes for Sale

Hi Michael, where is your sense of color? No, really, totally agree with you. The things some people do, boggles the mind.

Feb 15, 2012 06:11 PM

Marshall Brown

Mid America Inspection Services, LLC - Fargo, ND

BSEE, CHI

Have you ever thought about how much money homeowners save by not buying and using masking tape. Sometimes you have to weigh cost versus risk.

I do call it out on GFCI's but must admit unless they flooded a regular outlet I usually don't. I may change that, because you're right, it could get inside and cause a poor connection when appliances were plugged in.

Feb 16, 2012 02:06 AM

Al & Peggy Cunningham, Brokers

RE/MAX West Realty Inc., Brokerage - Brampton, ON

Our Family Wants To Help Your Family!

Nothing gets by you Michael, guess that is exactly what the Buyer wants and expects. Good Job.

Feb 16, 2012 02:16 AM

Lyn Sims

Schaumburg, IL

Real Estate Broker Retired

Are you sure this isn't just a sloppy painter? Some people don't even know what those red buttons are for in the kitchen outlets. It's not coordinated it's just being lazy.

Feb 16, 2012 02:18 AM

Rachel Tipton

KingOne Properties International - Pawleys Island, SC

Yikes! Thanks for sharing Michael. That looks pretty dangerous AND ugly. I am currently painting my own foyer and you will be pleased to know that I removed the oulet covers and did NOT paint over the plugs.

Feb 16, 2012 02:22 AM

Elisa Uribe Realtor #01427070

Golden Gate Sotheby's International - Berkeley, CA

Opening the Doors to California Homes -East Bay

Not just dangerous but so unatractive. When I moved in to my home, which was a "fixer", every light switch was even painted over. To make it worse, the color was avocado green from the 70's!

Feb 16, 2012 02:34 AM

Sylvie Stuart

Realty One Group Mountain Desert 928-600-2765 - Flagstaff, AZ

Home Buying, Home Selling and Investment - Flagsta

We see this a lot, it seems like it's usually wild colors, too. I never thought about it as color coordinating, that's a great way to spin it!

Feb 16, 2012 02:49 AM

Craig Rutman

Helping people in transition - Cary, NC

Raleigh, Cary, Apex area Realtor

You just have to love those DIY'ers! It's a good thing your clients had you looking out for them before they go "zzzzt", as you so eloquently put it!!!

Feb 16, 2012 03:11 AM

Kimo Stowell

HI Pro Realty LLC RB-21531 - Honolulu, HI

REALTOR Associate® RS-76763 - Honolulu Hawai'i

Aloha Michael,

Thanks for sharing this tip. The lovely brushed nickel face plate doesn't do anything for the bad paint job either. It's like putting a top hat on a garbage can.

Peace,

Feb 16, 2012 07:29 AM

Linda Jamail Marshall

Linda Marshall,Houston Texas, Linda Marshall, Realtors® - Houston, TX

Broker, ABR,QSC,RECS,ACRE - Innerloop Houston, Tex

what a great suggestion

Feb 16, 2012 11:07 AM

Bob Miller

Keller Williams Cornerstone Realty - Ocala, FL

The Ocala Dream Team

Hi Michael, great points, especially about painting over the GFI.

Feb 17, 2012 06:05 AM

Fred Carver Real Estate Consulant

Retired BC Realtor - Victoria, BC

Accredited Real Estate Consultant

Hi Michael....Congratulations on your feature. I'm sure consumers will be glad to find this recommendation, to bad I'm sure the home owner thought it was cool to Colour match his plugs.

Feb 17, 2012 08:34 AM

Christine Donovan

Donovan Blatt Realty - Costa Mesa, CA

Broker/Attorney 714-319-9751 DRE01267479 - Costa M

Michael - I hadn't considered that the paint could jam things in the outlets. It's a good point.

Feb 17, 2012 11:12 AM

Joe Daniels, Broker, Appraise

Personal Service Realty - Leesburg, FL

Michael,

Did they keep a hammer handy to make the plugs fit into the outlets that were blocked by the paint?

Feb 17, 2012 02:26 PM

Wayne B. Pruner