submitted by Alan Nadon:

that would be a fun panel to work on. and they need a pee gaurd on the water heater.

I'd put money on the fact that this failed it's inspection.
I can't find any other non-expletive words to describe this.

This looks like an old recycled FPE panel. Notice all the extra missing KO's, the "Stab-Lok" buss and the plaster ring. I'd be willing to bet that the panel cover is long gone, though that's certainly among the least of the problems here. I'm trying to figure out what's going on with that cartridge fuse cutout at the top. It looks like some kind of afterthought that someone tried to cobble in there.

"Horrible" doesn't begin to describe this garbage .

Mike (mamills)

I can't even imagine walking away from a job like this and thinking that it was finished / done well. There are so many problems here you might as well just start over. on a side note, that looks like PVC going in and out of the water heater.

I second that motion.

Let's see, a leaking electric water heater (Notice the top in pic #2), a circuit breaker sitting in the water on top,(Probably the "'mergency spare"") and the can of puked wire and FPE parts.

Alan, please tell us you ordered an immediate disconnect of this mess!!

The PVC plumbing is probably the only good thing, as when it fails from the heat of the soon-to-happen electrical fire, it will help to put out the flames!

Well, this appears to be a general Code-Enforcement nightmare.
Asside from the plethora of electrical hazards (not just violations; hazards!):
The ceiling looks like the one with the bootleg incand. luminous ceiling lighting in another post.
The paneling directly over painted studs is another sign of a bootleg room addition in probably a garage or basement.
THe water heater does not appear to have a press. & temp. relief valve or drain --that's a nice bomb!!!
The unsupported and exposed PVC water lines, the layered floor covering. Makes me wonder where the waste goes when you flush the WC; couldn't have been part of a permitted plumbing job, when everything else points to bootleg.
My call: red tag the room as unsafe to occupy, and look closely at whatever the rest of the structure is, with an eye to protecting the property owner from himself.

A clear cut instance of "Spontaneous Construction"

What makes it a bathroom? I don't see any sink....

A little poem:

Me thinks I see,
A place to go pee,
But despite no sink,
'Tis a bathroom me think!!

The one area I strongly disagree with the wording of the NEC is here, because if there is a toilet (or water closet for our overseas friends) then it's a bloody bathroom!!

The NEC isn't perfect, but c'mon!!

Why? There could be a sink to the right of the toilet!

Sure, Tex... or, just take the "cover" off the "sink" right behind the toilet seat!

FWIW the water heater DOES appear to have a T+P valve. Located top center between the 2 PVC pipes. Whether it would let go before the pipes do is anyone's guess.

What IS missing is a pipe from the T+P valve to direct the discharge outside or at least down onto the floor. The way it is, it will spray out horizontally, right about at face level!