Every time I open a j-box on a remodel, someone has crammed 4 orange wire nuts full of 12-gauge into a shallow pancake box even though the code says you need 22 cubic inches. It took me getting stuck on a knob-and-tube swap in a 1920s bungalow to realize half my callbacks were just from overheating joints that barely fit. Have you ever found a box that made you wonder if the last guy even owned a tape measure?
I always just twisted the wires together with the nut and called it good. Never had a call back so I thought it was fine. Then this older guy watched me do a ceiling fan and goes "you're gonna get a loose neutral in 6 months." He showed me to pre-twist the conductors with linesmans before the wire nut goes on. Tried it and the connection felt solid in a way I never felt before. Made me wonder what else I've been doing half right for years. Any of you guys ever get caught slipping on something basic like that?
Last Tuesday I was waiting at the counter at Platt in St. Louis and the guy next to me was complaining about a Fluke meter that was off by 4 volts on a 277 circuit. I laughed it off until he showed me his calibration sticker was expired by two years. I got home and checked my own Klein meter against a new one my buddy brought over and mine was reading 1.2 volts low on a standard 120 outlet. That little difference could have been the reason I chased a ghost issue on a lighting circuit a month ago where everything tested fine but lights flickered randomly. Now I'm gonna send mine in for calibration every year no matter what. Has anyone else had a meter drift on them without noticing?
I was putting off a big job at an old warehouse in Birmingham because I kept burning up my regular drill on 3/4 inch holes through studs. Finally bit the bullet and got the Hole Hawg from the supply house. First day on site I knocked out about 50 holes in under 2 hours without any binding or smoke coming out of the tool. My helper was laughing at me for spending that much on one drill but he stopped when he saw how fast we got through the framing. Thing is a tank and I wish I had bought one years ago. Has anyone else had a tool that was pricey but totally worth the money on a big job?
I've been using push-in connectors for about 6 months now on new construction, but last week I had to pull a wire in a jam box and the connector popped right off. I'll stick with wirenuts for anything that might need troubleshooting later, they just hold tighter.
Back in 2016 I was on a crew doing a full rewire at the old courthouse on Main. The GC was this cranky guy, probably 65, saw me struggling with a 90 on some 3/4 EMT. He walked over, grabbed my bender, and showed me this trick with the star mark instead of the arrow. Never looked back. Now I cant even watch guys line up the arrow without cringing. Anyone else have a random old timer drop knowledge on them like that?
I used to swear by metal boxes for everything, thought plastic was just for cheap resi work. Then I did a 40-unit apartment complex on Elm Street last summer where we had to pull wire through 200+ plastic junction boxes. I figured we'd have a ton of failures but we had zero issues the whole job. Anyone else find plastic boxes hold up better than they expected in commercial settings?
I took on a panel swap at an old house over on Maple Street last month and hit nothing but issues with rusted conduits and undersized wire. Managed to get it done yesterday without any callbacks or pulling my hair out. Has anyone else had a job that just fought you the whole way?
I was swapping out a ceiling fixture in a 1920s house over in Maplewood and found the old cloth wiring still live. Someone had just buried the junction box behind drywall, no cover plate or nothing. Had to trace the whole circuit back to the panel and disconnect it proper. Anyone else run into old knob and tube hidden in plain sight?
Last Thursday I was at a supply house and this young guy was bragging to his buddy about swapping out a dimmer without killing the breaker, and all I could think is how one loose neutral or a backstabbed outlet is the difference between a quick job and a call to the fire department, anyone else run into homeowners who think they know better until they fry a device?
I was pulling wire in a new office building last month and an older sparky named Dave watched me fighting a 3-point saddle for 10 minutes. He walked over and said I was overthinking it and showed me how to use the star on my bender instead of the arrow. Turns out I had been using the wrong reference point for offsets for like 5 years. I tried his method on the next run and shaved 20 minutes off my time. Has anyone else had a senior guy correct a basic thing you thought you had down?
Just finished up a service call in an old house where a bedroom circuit kept tripping randomly. Took me forever to find it because it wasn't tripping right away. Pulled apart every box, checked every splice. Finally started opening up the walls where I could see a shadow in the insulation. Found a staple right through a 14/2 romex about 4 inches above a switch box. Barely touched the hot. Anyone else run into this where the staple gun just barely nicked the wire?
I grabbed the Klein because it was cheaper and fit in my pocket better, but after 2 weeks and 3 false readings on a 3-way switch circuit, I swapped to the Fluke and havent looked back, anyone else regret cheaping out on testers early on?
I got a call about a flickering light in the living room. Figured it was a loose connection, maybe a bad switch. I show up and the whole place still has knob and tube wiring buried in the walls. Then I open the panel and there's like 6 different circuits tapped onto one 15 amp breaker with no labels. The homeowner just wanted me to swap the dimmer and leave. Took me 3 hours just to map out what was live and what wasn't. Has anyone else dealt with a house that old where the previous guy just kept adding wirenuts like it was nothing?
Was cleaning out my van last week and found a panel schedule from a house I wired near Springfield in 2018. Back then I was labeling everything with a sharpie and tape, now I use a label maker on every job. Has anyone else gone back and seen how much sloppier their old work was?
Back when I was rewiring my cousin's basement in Pittsburgh, I had to choose between running EMT conduit or just pulling 12/2 Romex through the studs. I went with Romex because it was way cheaper and quicker at the time, like $200 less in materials and a full day faster. But now every time I'm down there helping him with something, I see those staples and think about how much cleaner conduit would have looked. The Romex works fine and passed inspection no problem, but there's something about that old school pipe work that feels more solid. Has anyone else gone the cheap route and then spent years second-guessing it?
I've been doing residential service calls for about 12 years now and around 2018 I started seeing a lot more apprentices skipping the sharpie and using those little handheld label makers instead. Back in the day you'd just write on the panel cover with a fine tip and call it done. Now these kids are printing out these tiny font labels that peel off after a few months in a hot garage. Had a callback last week where the homeowner couldn't find the main shutoff because the label fell off and got stuck behind the dead front. I get that it looks cleaner but the durability just isn't there yet. Any other old timers noticing the same thing with their crews?
I was doing a panel swap last Tuesday on a house built in 1978 in Portland. Someone had used the wrong size wire nuts on 12 gauge copper, just twisted them on without pre-twisting the wires. I broke three joints apart with barely any effort during my inspection. Has anyone else seen this kind of lazy work causing loose connections and fire hazards?
Last Tuesday I had three service calls in a row where every single outlet cover screw was stripped or painted shut. Took me 20 minutes just to get the first plate off a 1970s ranch house in Phoenix. Then the next house had backstabbed receptacles that would not let go of the wire no matter how I wiggled them. By the third call I was ready to retire. Anyone else have a day where the hardware just refuses to cooperate?
He was jamming a flathead into the gap between the deadfront and the can. That's how you crack the plastic or hit live bus bars. Am I the only one who keeps seeing apprentices do this instead of just using the proper panel key?
Old timer told me I was wasting time jamming three wires into a single nut when a Wago lever would do it faster and cleaner. Switched to the lever nuts for lighting circuits and cut my trim-out time by about 20 minutes per house. Anyone else had a senior sparky change your whole approach like that?
Last week I had a service call at a house built in 1987 over on Maple Ave. The owner said the breaker kept tripping. I opened the panel and found about 6 circuits doubled up on one breaker plus some old aluminum wiring that was never properly pigtailed. Took me like 4 hours to sort it all out safe. Anyone else run into a panel that just keeps giving you problems?
Was swapping out some old wiring at a 1950s house in Oak Park. Pulled the old three-way apart and the red traveler was completely fried. No continuity on anything after I cut the old cloth wire back. Had to re-pull a whole new 14-3 through conduit that was packed with old paint and rust. Took me 4 hours just to get the new wire through without nicking it. Boss wasn't happy about the time but what else could I do? Anyone else run into nightmare switch loops in these old places?
I was tightening down a 200 amp main breaker at a job site in Portland last Tuesday. Used my new torque screwdriver set to 50 inch-pounds like the manual said, and the plastic terminal block cracked clean in half. Turns out the old GE panel I was working on had brittle 1990s plastic that couldn't take it. Anybody else run into torque specs that ruin older gear?
I ran about 200 feet of Romex in the first half of my basement project and then switched to BX for the second half after the inspector made a comment. The BX was way easier to pull through tight holes and I didn't have to staple it as much since it holds its shape better. Anyone else find one type way easier to work with in tight spots?