From Ian, TheElectricKid:

The first pic is the all-too-common unanchoredm unprotected Romex:





Then there is the classic manner of hanging a light:





Things aren't much better inside the home:





Finally, our usual fine range receptacle install:

Thanks John, fitting title!

And before anyone asks, yes that is zipcord on that attic light. And yes, it used to go to a non-deadfront plug. (Since replaced with a modern, compliant one. At least until it goes to scrap.)

And yes, that old redwood 2X4 gets warm when the light's on for a few hours of work.

Ian A.

The flying splices are the icing on the cake.

I guess it might be the lighting (HAHA!) but it looks like there was a previous fire in this attic...if not give it time - we have fires all the time from people hanging light bulbs next to wood siding, wood posts, curtains, plastic shutters, clothing, etc.

i can only imagine what the service for this fine residential installation looked like...

Mike (mamills)

Except for the range receptacle, that could almost be pictures from this side of the pond as well.

What's the gray in the first photo Ian? (Looks as though the plant pot would be hanging on it if the ceiling gave way!)

Is that more unsecured Romex, or is it something like SE?

Ian, get a clamp-lamp. It is a self contained socket-reflector-clamp good for clamping onto timber and using for a temporary work light. I had one I religiously used, but it got mangled to death somehow.

Believe or not, no flying (frying?) splices in these pics, just old raggedy NM! That dryer cable was replaced due to one though. I'll get pics of that when the drywall comes down in the garage.



Close, but not quite. See those metal straps in the background? The handyman installed a modular fireplace in the living room and put the chimney through the garage attic and roof. He must not have lined up the sections well enough, be cause they separated, and the nice hot smoke discolored all the wood, and burned a nice hole in the plywood sheathing.



John, more pics headed your way!



That's more Romex. It goes to the handyman's fireplace's fans, which no longer work. It comes off an ungrounded circuit somewhere...



Unfortunately the closet light "has to do" (said my father) until (more like if) the garage gets rewired.

Ian A.

Here are pics of the service to this house:

Back when I was a Firefighter, we had a house fire call. Upon arrival the second floor was well involved. After we put the fire out, we interviewed the homeowner. He stated that in the closet where the fire started, it had a pull chain cord connected light. It was wrapped around a nail. In his words "It had been sparkin for weeks every time you turned the light on" The closet was filled with his teenage girls gowns. (he tried to put it out with a cooking pot before he called us. He was a lawyer. Real smart!

Ian, a clamp lamp only costs about 5 or 6 dollars if you get it at a Walmart or some similar big-box mega-lo-mart. Your dad's being a skinflint.

When I was a 12-year old kid (many many many many moon ago), I used to drape a piece of old extension cord with a bulb socket at the end over a nail, just like that. When we moved out of that apartment, I had left a burn-mark the size of a quarter on the wallpaper.

P.S. You still got the old plug? Trade you for the clamp lamp if you can't score a cheap one. Hehehehe

Reminds me of the Harlem building fire a few days ago. It was caused by a gas leak, according to authorities.

Apparently people had smelled town-gas in that building for weeks...but nobody had ever called the gas company to report it!!!

Tell me about it. It turns out the garage will get one new circuit, without a permit (yes I lost the war), and the old stuff stays.



Deal!

Ian A.

OK,just leave me a message with the PO Box or address to send it if you need it.

Sure, 'cause when you call the company they'll turn off the gas and charge helluva lot of money to have it fixed, so just ignore it

Gas trouble is pretty rare here since gas plumbing is about the most restricted trade in building here, but the gas incidents that happen are usually blamed on incompetent DIYers or unskilled laborers who mess with pipes. Like the fatal leak that blew up an entire apartment building in 2000... construction worker saw the need to use an angle grinder to cut through a live gas line. Or another in 2005 that almost ruined a nice old house... improper use of bottled gas. Or the guy who tried to disconnect his own gas range and blew himself up...

Hehehe...yeah. That's just it. The gas company here doesn't charge for coming into your house if you report a gas leak.

Six years ago, we had a stove put into this flat. The guy from the store who delivered it unhooked the old stove and put in the new one to the town gas line.

When I got home I smelled gas. We rubbed liquid soap on the pipe and there was a bubble coming up from the leak. Gas company man was there in about 20 minutes with his big wrench to tighten the pipe.

Here they don't do or charge anything. They just say: "If you want it turned on again you need to have it inspected. And we won't inspect it until you had a licensed plumber fix it." Or just: "Get a plumber." And in an old house a gas leak usually turns into a full plumbing job. Old town (coal) gas contained a lot more water vapor due to its production than natural gas, so the joints sealed with hemp fibres dry out and start leaking a little. Not enough to smell gas or pose any danger but enough to fail a pressure test. So as soon as you touch anything you're most likely in for epensive new pipework and lots of dirt.

OK, it turns out the grey cable is a piece of 1950s, Levitt-installed NM. Gotta love tract houses. That cable disappears under a seam in the tar-paper, to a receptacle in my room I assume (my room is on the other side of that tarpaper.)

However, I still haven't figured out where that old fireplace cable (dark brown one) goes. I have a feeling the previous owner/handyman had an outlet in the way of said fireplace, ripped it out and thought "why not install some fans for my new fire-hazard..."

Ian A.