The Aftermath

Steadily through the course of this project we've cut off all the sources of light in the back hallway. First we lost the light in the back hall back in March, then we lost the outside light and the pantry light in June. And then finally we lost the light at the bottom of the basement 2 weeks ago when we started this project. Unfortunately, every step forward involves a couple steps back. As of last night the hall looks like this, but hey at least most of the lights work properly.

I made a small error with the 3 way switch that Chris corrected when I was at work Sunday afternoon I mixed up the common with one of the travelers.


Do you see the little yellow wire nuts in this picture? That cable will go to the light by the back door. Back when our house was built it wasn't necessary to have lights mounted to an electrical box now it is... I didn't forsee it but this has been one of the most problematic parts of the wiring project. I needed to find a 4" round old work box with tabs on the front to screw in to. All the old work boxes I was able to find locally were either too small or just had the wings attached to them. The wall is too thick for those wings to be a viable option. Fortunately I found one online but it has not arrived yet. I'm hoping it will arrive soon in time for installation next weekend.


There is also the matter of the light above the back door. The fixture that was up there was a porcelain bathroom sconce which still had all of it's original wiring and original socket. I removed the socket thinking that it would be simple enough to find a new one to complete the rewire. It's proving quite difficult as it is just a touch too narrow at the top to fit the modern sockets. So far I've gone to all of the major home improvement stores, an electrical contractors supply shop, a local hardware store, and a local antique dealer. I've also talked to an online vendor and so far nobody has anything that will fit it. If any one knows where I can find a socket that is slightly smaller than 1.2 inches in diameter please let me know. Here is what it looks like. I'd really like to make this work if it's at all possible.

Fighting with fishtapes

I did not make todays goal but I did have some progress I mounted the box for the ceiling light and ran wire to it and ran wire across the room to the outlet. Didn't get the outlet wire down to the box the fishtape and I had a falling out.


As I was attempting to let out more tape the tape began forming a loop outside of it's plastic enclosure. I was pretty exhausted and hot at this point and was not thinking clearly so I decided the best way to get it back in was to open the plastic enclosure and take out all of the tape and I could put it back in there properly. Turns out not such a good plan. We are strongly leaning towards just tossing the current tape out... it's so long I don't know how we'll ever get it untangled and back into the enclosure.

In the meantime I ordered these

Actually I ordered the slightly longer glow in the dark version but close enough I'm thinking these will be easier for me to handle. The tape was so large and unruly.

Tomorrow I will be taking a vacation from wiring to catch up on laundry and regain my sanity

The best layed plans

Last year as we were trying to balance both the office and the bedroom project we made a promise to each other that from now on we would work on one room at a time finish that room and move onto the next. As my dad and I tore out the bathroom ceiling Friday I thought of this and laughed. Sometimes it seems the house has other plans for us.

Friday we got the drop ceiling down, the plaster ceiling down, and the plaster off of the wall containing the plumbing runs to the upstairs and then hauled 268 lbs of plaster to the dump. We also got the bathroom and kitchen cleaned up hoping that a clean work area will make Chris and I more productive in the future.

Today, with the ceiling down it was time to start on the electrical. Poor Chris has been on a call for work ongoing since Friday so I've been pretty much been a one woman show. I've never done any electrical before, ideally it would have been nice to start on a nice easy room like a bedroom but what would be the fun in that :)

Prior to embarking on my own wiring project I was a bit hard on poor Chris. I'm dirty, exhausted, and about 100 bucks poorer and all I have to show for it is a larger hole in the wall and a solitary run of romex from the basement to that hole. Tomorrow I'm hoping to pick up the pace a bit and wire up the new fan plus the vanity and ceiling lights. Much to my dismay I will be putting the old fixtures back up I was hoping to find reasonably priced replacement fixtures but alas everything was too expensive or too ugly.

Hopefully tomorrow night I'll have a fully wired up bathroom.