Continuing story of the "joys" of owning an old house:
I'm waiting for the electrician. Why, you ask? Well, let me tell you: I had the bright idea to (1) put a light on the one ceiling fan I have, and (2) install a ceiling fan with light in place of a plain old light in the other room. Well, my tenant, who is a carpenter and pays part of him rent in work, was installing said lights/fans for me. He was taking down the one ceiling fan I had, got his screwdriver near the fan, and noticed electricity arcing out to his screwdriver. Hmm. He took the little electricity sensor thing that all good home-repair folks have, ran it around the area, and saw electricity dripping off everywhere. Alas. So that led to the discovery that at least part of my house contains old, cloth-insulated wire, which is not well insulated at all. Which means it's the sort of thing that could burst into flame. Sigh. hence, the electrician.
I like to think that I've got a little bit of homeowner machismo -- hey, I fixed a leak under my bathroom sink (I am woman, see me plumb!) -- but I tend to shy away from dealing with things that (1) could burst into flames, and (2) could blow up. My friend Rob, who is working on an old house in Boulder, had this to say about that:
Ah, the wonderful world of electricity. I am very familiar with the pulling of wire and the hanging of ceiling fans and the taking it in the hinder from the city inspectors. Good f-ing luck. The best thing we did when we re-wired was have them wire all appropriate overhead fixtures for ceiling fans. It leaves a dead switch if you don't put one in, but then it's soooooo easy when you do. Anyway. This has been Goddamn Yankee Workshop, with Rob Vila.
Thank you, Rob.
Rob and his wife, Tami, by the way, have infinitely more homeowner machismo than I do. Not only did they deal with the potentially buring/exploding bits themselves, but they also lived in the house -- cooking on a hot plate and such -- while they did it. I bow down before you, Rob and Tami. now, if you ever want a nice, relaxing vacation in Chicago, I need to do some work on my bathroom.....
I'm waiting for the electrician. Why, you ask? Well, let me tell you: I had the bright idea to (1) put a light on the one ceiling fan I have, and (2) install a ceiling fan with light in place of a plain old light in the other room. Well, my tenant, who is a carpenter and pays part of him rent in work, was installing said lights/fans for me. He was taking down the one ceiling fan I had, got his screwdriver near the fan, and noticed electricity arcing out to his screwdriver. Hmm. He took the little electricity sensor thing that all good home-repair folks have, ran it around the area, and saw electricity dripping off everywhere. Alas. So that led to the discovery that at least part of my house contains old, cloth-insulated wire, which is not well insulated at all. Which means it's the sort of thing that could burst into flame. Sigh. hence, the electrician.
I like to think that I've got a little bit of homeowner machismo -- hey, I fixed a leak under my bathroom sink (I am woman, see me plumb!) -- but I tend to shy away from dealing with things that (1) could burst into flames, and (2) could blow up. My friend Rob, who is working on an old house in Boulder, had this to say about that:
Ah, the wonderful world of electricity. I am very familiar with the pulling of wire and the hanging of ceiling fans and the taking it in the hinder from the city inspectors. Good f-ing luck. The best thing we did when we re-wired was have them wire all appropriate overhead fixtures for ceiling fans. It leaves a dead switch if you don't put one in, but then it's soooooo easy when you do. Anyway. This has been Goddamn Yankee Workshop, with Rob Vila.
Thank you, Rob.
Rob and his wife, Tami, by the way, have infinitely more homeowner machismo than I do. Not only did they deal with the potentially buring/exploding bits themselves, but they also lived in the house -- cooking on a hot plate and such -- while they did it. I bow down before you, Rob and Tami. now, if you ever want a nice, relaxing vacation in Chicago, I need to do some work on my bathroom.....
posted by SAJ at
7:46 AM
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