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Home improvement question

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Gomer, Jun 1, 2008.

  1. Gomer

    Gomer Active Member

    I moved into my house a month ago, and one thing the home inspector told me to do was fix the electrical sockets in the bathrooms upstairs.

    Basically, they're wired wrong and have to be re-done. I can't plug something in unless the lights are on, which is annoying since I have an electric toothbrush that uses the wall socket as a charger - and I don't like leaving my lights on 24/7.

    Is this something I could do by myself? Or should I hire an electrician? I've found a lot of things in the past month I have been able to do, but none of them involved potentially zapping myself.
     
  2. mike311gd

    mike311gd Active Member

  3. ArnoldBabar

    ArnoldBabar Active Member

    I'm not particularly handy in general, but electrical is one thing I'd never mess with myself. I'm too afraid of doing something that would eventually burn my house down.
     
  4. mike311gd

    mike311gd Active Member

    I'd get someone in there who knows what he or she is doing. My dad does the stuff when he's doing contracting work, but he knows what he's doing. I'd screw it up simply because of my ignorance. I think it's better to shell out a few bucks to make sure it's done properly.
     
  5. Gomer

    Gomer Active Member

    Actually, I take that back. I could've zapped myself when I added a secondary bell to my doorbell system. But yeah, I'm leaning towards hiring out this job.
     
  6. mike311gd

    mike311gd Active Member

    I hate how some of my outlets are wired -- the same way you do, Gomer. My vacuum won't work in my bedroom unless the light's on, and my living-room switch doesn't control the light because it's not in the "right" outlet. It's a pain.
     
  7. imjustagirl

    imjustagirl Active Member

    Some houses just have that. My parents' old house, anything plugged in the top outlet was controlled by the switch. The bottom outlet was good all the time.
     
  8. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    Changing the outlet to where it won't be on that switch will involve more than you should attempt. Hire it out.

    And I say that as somebody who rewired his own kitchen a few summers ago. But I had my licensed electrician FIL telling me what to do.
     
  9. ArnoldBabar

    ArnoldBabar Active Member

    The reason they do that is because at least at the time it was built, there's no overhead light in that room. So they set that up so you can plug a lamp into that plug and light the room with the wall switch.
     
  10. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    I have a lamp myself in my bedroom that only works if the light switch is on.

    And in all seriousness, GET A PROFESSIONAL to do the work.

    When I was a kid, my father was cutting out some insulation in a wall. He accidentally cut a wire. He immediately ran down to our basement and turned off the electrical system, then told me to get out of the house and called the fire department.

    Fire chief comes, he and my dad go down to the basement to check out the fuse system. I, being 8 years old, get curious and come back into the house and watch my dad and the fire chief talk. All of a sudden, chief yells out "GET YOUR FAMILY OUT OF THIS HOUSE NOW!"

    I immediately jumped, and my dad told me to leave. Eventually, fire trucks came, and helped fix the wiring.

    Had my father not turned off the fuse box, our house would have burned down.
     
  11. 93Devil

    93Devil Well-Known Member

    You should have never moved in until they were fixed.

    How much did they compensate you for this wiring mess?

    Oh, get a pro.

    Electricity can kill you and/or burn your house down.
     
  12. trifectarich

    trifectarich Well-Known Member

    Call a licensed electrician NOW.

    You ever watch that show . . . Holmes on Homes, I think it is, perhaps on HGTV? He's a little too wrapped up in his own self, but that's beside the point. You don't need the worry of going off to work one day and wondering if wiring done wrong is going to send your place up in flames.

    Do NOT mess with this.
     
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