During a remodel of a lower floor, the owner one day complained of thier DSL being down - 'you must of cut something...'

So after tracing it out, noticed this line was NEVER CONNECTED. Not that it had a bad connection, it never had one. Not punched on the jack, not punched at the board.... [Linked Image] I punched it and charged for my time...

A few days later, owner passes on to the GC that there are some outlets not working in the kitchen, and the landscape lighting is not working. 'you must of cut something...' So I quickly notice a GFI CB in the panel is tripped - "Hey, they're on now" But the landscape lighting is still out. 'you must of cut something...' This one puzzled me, two switches in the kitchen had no voltage on the line side, I even ask myself 'did I cut something?' I break out the tracer, and start thinking if I wired this I would have put a 3-way to the other deck entrance to the deck.... Low and behold there is a 3-way switch there, I flip it, and the lights go on.... Seems someone wired it as some sort of unorthodox master switch to drop power to the two dimmers at the kitchen [Linked Image] I go back to the GC and tell him, and that I am going to charge for my time for that.... And I ask how long have they lived in this house - 4-5 years, and I tell him that in the past I have gone out to service calls for an outlet with no voltage only to find it was a switched outlet that they never knew about for people who lived in thier homes for 20+ years and never knew what that switch did....

Then a day later the GC says the customer says one of the recessed cans is out... 'you must of cut something...' I go to the GC and tell him, if I go up there, and it is something stupid I am going to charge for my time for that....I go out to my truck and hand him a bulb - try changing it? WOW - it works....

Then the GC asks me to get an estimate for adding some switched outlets that the owner wants in the finished areas of the house - 'this one, and this one...' So I take a quick peek - Funny, all the ones she wants switched are already switched... I go back to the GC and tell him, and that I am going to charge for my time for that.... It was a quick install..... [Linked Image] [Linked Image]


Mark Heller
"Well - I oughta....." -Jackie Gleason