Day Six--More Electrical

Every focus is on completing the tedious electrical work.  On my flights across the country, I have been trying to be productive and map out my house in terms of the electrical outlets.  I did it for two reasons:  one, to get a game plan for how the house is wired (and how we need to unwire and re-wire it), and two, to provide some inspiration or at least knowledge of how close (or not close!) we are to finishing.

Here's the first wiring diagram from nine days ago:

The first wiring diagram with the two circuits we have completed thus far.

Today we focused on the circuit that covered the three bedrooms.  We only had a few hours to work in the morning due to my niece having a birthday party, but we had a goal:  complete the bedrooms!  Dad had already set up the groundwork for this by installing junction boxes in the crawlspace.  So I spent much of the day in the crawlspace feeding wire up to my brother and Dad while they wired the three bedrooms.

I also had some great help from my brother and nephew!

Gabe helping out Pa-Pa on one of the outlets.

Gabers giving instructions to Pa-Pa on how to best wire the outlet.

Gabe helping out Daddy.

Gabe cleaning up Daddy's messes from patching the drywall holes in the wall.  He was adamant about doing it on his own, dragging the wet/dry-vac all around the house with him, asking us to plug it in for him!

After the party, Dad and I headed back over around 4:30 P.M. I spent more time up in the attic with the wires on the same circuit up there, as well. That place really is a bear to work in. I'm often on my stomach straddling the rafters trying not to fall through the ceiling while trying to roll back the numerous amounts of insulation hiding the wires.

We started wiring the main bathroom.  We were both ecstatic to learn that the wires were easily accessible behind the walls by removing the bathroom mirror.  Here is the old aluminum wiring hanging out of the wall.  It will all be new copper soon enough!  Notice the old two-prong receptacle from 1970.  This will be a brand-new GFCI three-prong receptacle!

The aluminum wire behind the main bathroom wall.

We were able to track down the main bathroom coming from that bedroom closet junction box, and we assume the other bathroom is also powered from there, but it shall remain a mystery until tomorrow.

I am happy to report that we now have the main bathroom wired, too.  That was way more than we expected to get done!

The day was certainly not without its frustrations. I was trying to wire the old bathroom fan but could not figure out how to open it from the attic. It was maddening!!! I had purchased a brand new fan, but when the cashier asked me, "Would you like a two-year protection plan in case it breaks"? I figured it was best to keep the very dependable and more-than-likely better-built 45-year-old one already installed.

I also dropped a pair of pliers from the attic all the way down to the floor between the two bathroom walls. So it wasn't a perfect day at all. But that's to be expected.

Look at those pliers down there!

Below is the updated wiring diagram from today. The electrical work switches from borderline simple to absolutely aggravating. Finding the wire can be easy when it's in the middle of the house (and thus in the middle of the very open attic). Or it can be very frustrating when it's tucked underneath four inches of pink insulation and six inches of blown-in insulation on the very outer wall of the house (and thus where only one foot exists between the ceiling and roof).



Today's updated wiring diagram.

Day by day, the work moves forward. Sometimes slowly forward, sometimes excitingly forward, but each and every day, the work moves forward. As can be seen in the following diagram, we have saved anywhere between $2220-$5735 depending upon who would have done the work. It sure is work, but those numbers are so encouraging. AND the house is getting safer, too! And as an even added bonus, the house is actually getting more user-friendly in that the outlets are now all three-prong. It really is a win-win.

We were tired and had to call it a day.  I did make Dad stay an extra 45 minutes, though, as I tracked down and ran some wire in the attic.  I wanted to set us up well for the next day, and although we were very beat, I knew that this would put us in a good position for our next circuit.

Little by little...but we knocked out a HUGE portion of the house today!  We're getting there!!!