"Simple" doesn't mean easy to fix.

[Bubba1235]

So a buddy bought an older farm house that was freshly remodeled. House looked nice with new walls, paint, etc. he moved in last weekend and set up his computer room / office and has been having all sorts of problems so I grab the toolbox and go over.

Took all of 30 seconds to find the cause of the problems, the previous owner thought he was an electrician.... Half the outlets aren't grounded and another half have the polarity reversed. (Two conductors to the outlets, no ground lead at all.) My friend said, "Well that was easy to figure out". I didn't have the heart to tell him what it was going to take to fix it and instead said he should get an estimate from a qualified electrician. I feel for the guy...

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: "Simple" doesn't mean easy to fix.

Did he not have it inspected before he bought it? I have a hard time feeling sorry for someone that doesn't do there homework first. sorry for your friend Bubba.

 

[avenger79]

Re: "Simple" doesn't mean easy to fix.

Did he not have it inspected before he bought it? I have a hard time feeling sorry for someone that doesn't do there homework first. sorry for your friend Bubba.

he may not ask that you feel sorry for him. I purchased an older farm house that had some updates done. no inspection, didn't need to spend 3-500 dollars for someone to tell me it was rough at best. been in it almost 7 years now. yep it has needed a ton of work and still does. I don't mind doing what I can and paying for what I can't do. I bought it for the land and the location.
I've had a few surprises going in but that's just part of the game.

 

[gm280]

Re: "Simple" doesn't mean easy to fix.

If he can do the work himself he could get out a little cheaper, but he still should have his work inspected as well too. I wonder what he will say when he sees the price of 12/3 with ground copper wiring these days... He may faint... :faint2: :fear: :violin:

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: "Simple" doesn't mean easy to fix.

Won't happen, he is terrified of anything electrical. I offered to let him borrow my tools to check things out, even told him what to do but he really wanted me to come over. He's the sort that calls the power company to have all power in the area turned off before he'll change a light bulb.

Thats actually a good thing. If he is afraid of electrical, he shouldn't mess with it. Black to brass will only save your *** if all the wiring was done correct to begin with. Not sure about your area, but there are things he can go back on the seller but he would have to prove that the wiring was done illegally by him to begin with and the lawyer fees would probably cost mre than an electrician. Good luck to him. If he got a good deal on the property, maybe it will all equal out for him in the long run. Hopefully he doesn't have a fire issue there in the mean time.

 

[Fishing Dude too]

Re: "Simple" doesn't mean easy to fix.

May not be that hard to fix, if you can find where the wire leads come from.

 

[littlerayray]

Re: "Simple" doesn't mean easy to fix.

anytime i am doing electrical work and my wife is around i pretend to get zapped
the look on her face is pricelesse
i get her evertime

 

[captmello]

Re: "Simple" doesn't mean easy to fix.

Many houses don't have the third ground wire. they didn't use them until...I don't know exactly, 50s maybe. 12/3 is an uncommon wire used for 240v, or perhaps a 3 way switch on a 20amp circuit. Not having the wires on the correct side of the outlet is not good however and a sure sign it needs to be checked. Find an electrician who can tell him what "Needs" to be done, not one that is just going to tear all the walls apart.

 

[avenger79]

Re: "Simple" doesn't mean easy to fix.

not sure about there but in WI I have heard stories of people getting previous owners to pay for repair costs and with very little legal cost. Dpending on how long he has been there of course.

replacing new drywall would not be a fun thing. obviously wasn't in the plan. my house had been "drywalled" with paneling and duct tape when I bought it. LOL I had a notion I would be replacing walls. LOL

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: "Simple" doesn't mean easy to fix.

good time to point out to your friend that its time to upgrade while you are at it. If the sheet rock had to come down in the house then each room would get at least one internet cable the tv would have all the cables mounted behind it and conduits run up the wall for extras in the future the speaker cables would be in conduit to the back of the room etc etc. I would also make a walk around video at the same time so in the future i would know where everything is run inside the walls.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: "Simple" doesn't mean easy to fix.

just wondering you said it has no ground cable......are you sure its not grounded by the cable jacket (BX) or can you see that its romex

 

[tommays]

Re: "Simple" doesn't mean easy to fix.

It is common around here on old pre-ground wire houses to pull the floor molding off and snake grounds down from the outlet and around the room till you can find a place to bond it and then use the molding to cover the grounds

Its really not a problem because there and exposed solid copper cold-water ground running across the basement ceiling in ever house around here which gives you plenty of places to tie it in

 

[jigngrub]

Re: "Simple" doesn't mean easy to fix.

*yawn*