Ancient Wiring and New Outlets

Most of the house has the old two wire fabric insulated wire system with no ground wire. The outlets were worn out and plugs would fall out of the outlet creating a fire and shock hazard.

I replaced 12 outlets with new outlets specifically designed for systems with no ground. 

After some research I discovered a non-contact voltage meter and bought one at The Home Depot for about $22. It was money well spent. This one can detect which wire is the hot wire.

I found that the smaller hole in the outlets should be the hot wire. That hot is usually black and neutral is usually white. 

Three outlets had previously been replaced with three prong outlets none of which were grounded. One outlet was wired correctly as per the color but the wires going to the outlet were backward. Hot was white and black was neutral. 

I fixed all but one of these and replaced the three pronged outlets with two pronged outlets.

I discovered that the wooden encased fuse box does indeed control most of the original wiring but that the electrical outlets on the third floor are controlled by a circuit breaker. Even with that breaker tripped I was still getting a reading that there was some power to the outlets. I cut the main power to be sure that there was no power remaining in the wires.

I removed each fuse or pulled open the throw switch one at a time and tried to find what each controls and recorded this information for future use.

One strange thing that we discovered was that when I removed one fuse one of the lights in the house got much brighter. The fuses seem to work in pairs.

This increase in illumination does not seem to be a good thing. Once I restored the fuse the light returned to a normal level.

Some of the fuses didn't appear to do anything at all.

Using the new non-contact voltage meter I discovered that there are a few switches in the house that while the switches are not connected to anything still have power to them. This tool is neat because as the name implies you do not have to actually touch the wire in order to get a reading in most cases.

It is simpler and faster than a multimeter.

I found one outlet that was out I it a baseboard without an electrical box. That will be fixed soon.

I found out that three prong plugs can be put in with the ground up or down. According to my online research the electrical code does not specify which way to orient them but inspectors want it to be consistent in any given structure. It seems that commercial buildings tend to have them oriented with the ground up and residential buildings tent to have the ground down.

I did not find this out until well into the project. After I discovered this I oriented the remaining plugs so that the ground would be down if the outlet had a ground.

The wiring system is a long way from safe but is a little safer than it was. Rewiring the house badly needs to be done.

Light Switch Replacement

The light was flickering so it was time for a new light switch.

I replaced the old switch with a new 15/20 amp heavy duty switch from the local home-improvement store.

I didn't really need to use a heavy duty switch but since I am going to the trouble to replace something I tend to like to use high-quality components. The heavy duty switch was only a few dollars more than the regular switch. This is where do-it-yourself can be better than having a professional do it. Obviously, the professionals know what they're doing or they usually do anyway. However, the money saved in labor costs can be put into higher quality parts.

This is an old two wire electrical system with no ground wire so I left the ground screw in the switch disconnected.

The job probably took about 30 minutes from beginning to end. I simply turned off the power, tested to make sure the power was off, replaced the old switch, installed the new switch and plate, then restored the power and tested the light.

Floor Drain Archeology

The washing machine backed up which caused me to inspect the floor drain in the basement.

The strainer or cover was rusted through. I used tongs and ice cream scoopers to clean out the floor drain. 

I found a long lost dog ball, four marbles, and various nasty things in the floor drain.

The dog ball was originally blue or orange. The stick is under a filing cabinet so the water that got under there can dry out. 

I bought a replacement strainer at Lowes. There are no visibe threads and nothing to hook a strainer into that I could see so I got the one pictured.

This floor drain is not in a spot that gets stepped on so this strainer should work.

I flushed out the drain using several buckets of water. Without the dog ball in it the drain works well. I also added flushing out the drain to my home maintenance checklist to be done regularly.

Shifty Goes to the Big House

Shifty crossed the line on Saturday. Three  boys came running into the backyard startling the dogs. Shifty bit one of them. Fortunately he didn't draw blood or it would have been the end of Shifty.

He does not like boys and growls at them. We tried to work with him on that problem but I am no Cesar Milan.

Hopefully he will find a good home with no boys around.

 We took him to the big house yesterday and turned him over to the authorities.

A Tale of Two Jumpers

It is the best of toys. It is the worst of toys.

The house came with the trampoline. It is the children's favorite activity.

As with anything that is fun there is an element of risk. Every time children come over they all get on the trampoline and anytime more than two or three children are on the trampoline somebody gets hurt.

My daughter has hit her nose about four times and we will be taking her to the doctor after this most recent time. I don't believe this most recent event caused any permanent injury but her nose needs to be examined anyway. She was examined by an ENT a few years ago and the ENT informed us that she had suffered a broken nose previously. The first nose incident happened before she came to us. Our daughter is adopted and her birth mother severely abused her when our daughter was very young. A brain destroyed by drugs does not good decisions make.

My son suffered a broken arm on the trampoline long before we purchased the house.

Despite the broken arm he is the child that spends the most time on the trampoline.

The new commandment is:

Thou shalt have only one child at a time on the trampoline lest thy feet leave from only the ground as thy father shall remove thy trampoline far from thee.

A Family Control Center

Taking a cue from Don Aslett's book Make Your House do the Housework we put up a family control center.

This control center is the information hub of the home. On the left is a white board with everyone's name on it. The whiteboard will be used to communicate assignments and other information to the children and us.

On the right is the calendar.

The wire basket on the left has a slot for each of us and a spot for outgoing things.

The hooks are for bags to collect things that need to be taken to whatever activity each of us have.

The trashcan will be mounted on the wall with adhesive hooks. Drilling holes into plaster and lath walls is not a good idea. 

The items on the left replaced a long shelf with hooks underneath. The shelf was flat and therefore was piled with things every time I have seen it in all the years since it was put up.

The center will no doubt require some fine-tuning but it is a good start.

The whiteboard was $20 from Costco. The calendar was seven dollars from Staples. The rest of the items we had on hand.

I wanted some wall pockets instead of the wire basket on the left but I was not willing to pay the high prices.

IKEA has a wall file that will work for a reasonable price so I may pick one up the next time we are there.

A Washing Machine Passes

The They say timing is everything and in this case that turned out to be true.

The timer on the washing machine would not turn. 

Time for Mr Fix it (AKA me) to save the day.

I diligently searched the great internet resource, YouTube, and found a video about how to replace the timer switch.

I just had to pull off the knob, then remove the control panel, then unscrew and disconnect the timer. Replacement is just the reverse.

I pulled, and pulled,.... and pulled. Then I pulled with a little more force then a little more then... SNAP! the knob comes off.... along with the shaft...

Unlike the washer in the video, this knob screwed on. Now I definitely know that the timer is bad. It may not have been before my knob removal but there can be no doubt about its condition now. "It's dead Jim."

No problem. It was probably bad anyway. Then it was to the internet to find a replacement timer. 

I found several for about $135 each.

Hmmmm. This washer is quite a few years old and the safety lockout switch does not work either. That means that it spins or spun with the lid open or closed. In the old days one just needed to be careful but nowadays we have to have everything as idiot proofed as we can get it. My children could possibly throw the dog in to see if the washer would get him dry during the spin cycle. Probably best to shop around for a different washer.

The day, or week at this point, can still be saved.

Back to the internet via my phone. Sears, Home Depot, Lowe's, and others... The cheapest new washer I can find that is HE was $430 and they go waaaay up from there. Sears had one that looked promising for $500 plus setup if I don't want to haul the old one up the stairs and the new one down the stairs.

What about used?

I found a few on CraigsList for $150 or more. But then I have to call, go there, haggle, load it up, haul the old one up the stairs, the new one down the stairs, and take the old one to the dump. Maybe the machine lasts a day, maybe it lasts 10 years. No way to tell.

There are at least two used appliance stores in town so off we go. I priced the part at one and a washer as well. He had a top loading HE washer for about $385. They had a 90 day parts and labor warranty. For $385, I'll buy new. He also had some sets for $430 or so. However, the dryer still works.

I picked up my lovely wife and we made a date of going to the used appliance store. We got a large capacity Whirlpool for $200 and a used commercial freezer for $475. I was not planning on buying a freezer but she is the cook and wanted one. I didn't argue since I get to eat what she cooks. We have been without a freezer since the old one nearly killed me a few months ago. 

Project Review:

Objective: Get a large capacity washer quickly and as inexpensively as we can.

Objective Achieved? Yes

Things that went well:

Got a washer without a great deal of time invested at a good used appliance store.

Was able to fairly quickly determine what the problem was and determine that it was too much money to fix.

It was worth $30 to have the guys move the old appliances out and the new ones in. My back appreciates it.

Things that didn't go well or that I would do differently if I had to do it again.

Spend very little time looking at new washers. 15 minutes on the internet would have been enough to determine that used is a much better deal. I spent too much time shopping both in person and online. I would like an HE machine and were cash less of an issue I would buy one but cash is a very big issue and the cost savings are not enough to pay for the difference in price even over the long run. I would really like to conserve resources and save the planet but I need to eat. Make the price close and I'll go with the HE machine. In a few years there will be plenty of them on the used market.

Due to other priorities and distractions what could have been done in a day took me about a week. It was a very simple choice.

I was not counting on purchasing a freezer but my wife wanted it so we spent much more than I had in mind. All total we spent less than the cost of a new HE front loading washer.

Cost: $212 for the washer and $512 for a used commercial freezer plus a $30 tip to the guys for moving both appliances.

Summary: A simple project that could have been done in two days but took about a week due to distractions. The used appliance dealer cost me about $1,000 less than new.

Washing machine repair

Washing machine timer switch