Spent a full day on a three-way switch that wouldn't work right

Turns out the old traveler wire in the wall was broken about six inches back from the terminal (you know, the kind of thing you only find after checking everything else twice). Has anyone else had a hidden break like that in an older house?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_oscar26d ago

My last house had knob and tube wiring that was more patch than original wire. I spent a whole Saturday tracing a dead outlet back to a junction box in the attic, only to find the old cloth insulation had just turned to dust and the wires weren't even touching anymore. It's like the house was held together by hope and a few bits of electrical tape.

graydavis26d ago

But isn't that old wiring a testament to how well they built things back then? It lasted decades longer than anyone expected, which is pretty impressive. Maybe the real problem is we just expect everything to be perfect and new now.

the_linda24d ago

Wait, the wires weren't even touching? That's terrifying. Graydavis, I get the charm of old stuff, but that's not building things to last, that's just pure luck. My whole kitchen could have gone up in smoke from a problem like that.