jjquantz
Full time employment: Posting here.
Because we have a lot of DIYers on this list, I thought this topic might appeal. What are some examples of just downright weird, goofy, or almost implausibly shoddy home repairs that you've come across? I know that none of you would have perpetrated any of the examples, but you might have come across some. I'll lead off with 3.
1) We bought an old farmhouse with much of the original knob and tube wiring in a functional state. Apparently, one of the previous owners just ran extra circuits by peeling back the insulation and wrapping new wire around the (now exposed) old conductors. The job was completed with massive amounts of electrical tape.
2) During the inspection of our current home, we pointed out that there was a wire running up the outside of the house that wasn't rated for interior use. During the walk-through we noted (to our satisfaction) that the wire was no longer in place. Fixed, we thought. Fast forward a couple of years and I'm wondering why the attic exhaust fan isn't running when it gets hot. I go up in the attic and there is no current at the fan. Why? I trace the wiring and find it neatly cut at the end of the attic where it would have gone outside and down the wall.
3) And the best for last. Also in our current house. We wake up one frosty January morning and hear water running. Oh, oh. Turns out a pipe had burst. What pipe, you ask? When the house was re-sided, the previous owners had decided they did not need a house bib on the back patio (fair enough). So they capped at the wall (OK, but maybe not the best choice). They didn't turn off the cutoff valve that fed ONLY that pipe (really dumb!). And finally, they dry-walled over the cutoff valve so that you couldn't find it (you've got to be kidding me!) Surprisingly the damage was pretty minimal, but I was not a happy camper!
1) We bought an old farmhouse with much of the original knob and tube wiring in a functional state. Apparently, one of the previous owners just ran extra circuits by peeling back the insulation and wrapping new wire around the (now exposed) old conductors. The job was completed with massive amounts of electrical tape.
2) During the inspection of our current home, we pointed out that there was a wire running up the outside of the house that wasn't rated for interior use. During the walk-through we noted (to our satisfaction) that the wire was no longer in place. Fixed, we thought. Fast forward a couple of years and I'm wondering why the attic exhaust fan isn't running when it gets hot. I go up in the attic and there is no current at the fan. Why? I trace the wiring and find it neatly cut at the end of the attic where it would have gone outside and down the wall.
3) And the best for last. Also in our current house. We wake up one frosty January morning and hear water running. Oh, oh. Turns out a pipe had burst. What pipe, you ask? When the house was re-sided, the previous owners had decided they did not need a house bib on the back patio (fair enough). So they capped at the wall (OK, but maybe not the best choice). They didn't turn off the cutoff valve that fed ONLY that pipe (really dumb!). And finally, they dry-walled over the cutoff valve so that you couldn't find it (you've got to be kidding me!) Surprisingly the damage was pretty minimal, but I was not a happy camper!