You've been in my house? My old house was built around 1790. It's chestnut log with creek mud and horsehair for chinking. The electric appeared to have been originally installed around 1925/30. I found everything you described in the house. Through the years I've eliminated it all as I remodeled. Come to find out, many houses in the area are wired like you describe, even the old stick built ones. The only answer I've come up with is T&M billing. I tell the owner this up front and each time I run into some real "piece of work" I show it to the homeowner and explain the prob. Most people appreciate this approach but some have told me to not fix a prob or two. I just note that on the ticket.
