RUTHless

On Monday the electricians came and replaced the main breaker panel, for a mere $2200. It doesn't add to resale value, but the old one was bad and would seriously lower the resale value. So while they did that I patched the ugly brick in the fireplace.

On Tuesday I began installing wiring for the jetted tub. I found an old unused 15 amp wire and figured out a way to tap into it, and I ran it to a new GFI receptacle. Only had to drill 5 holes in the floor, and tear two holes in the family room ceiling. Then I attacked the kitchen ceiling- it had a dropped ceiling with very illegal flourescent light fixtures. So down it came. And was horrified by what was left (see the post entitled "Kitchen Progress" for the details). But in addition to all the other stuff, it had miles of wiring from one end to the other. Very haphazardly arranged. And below where the new ceiling was going to be.

On Wednesday Ruth the Denver electrical inspector came to approve the electricians' work. She was very nice, but is known for being a hardnose. She got grossed out by the kitchen and told me I needed to have outlets every 4 feet, and that I needed to get rid of unused wires. Then she spotted the jetted tub and asked to see how it was wired. I was all proud of myself until she said that it couldn't be 15 amp and it HAD to be a separate circuit (ie: have a dedicated breaker). In other words, change what I had done.

She also helped me with the ancient alarm system. I mentioned that I couldn't figure out how to open it which she took as a challenge. She got out her tools and ripped into it and began moving wires around. Which set off the alarm horn. She then proceeded to snip wires until it shut off, and announced she had to leave for the next inspection.

Oh yeah, she also flunked the new electrical panel.

So on Thursday and Friday I worked on the wiring in the kitchen, and installed the new outlets and tried to raise as many of the old wires as I could. But the circuit is 20 amp and I could only find 15 amp Al-Cu receptacles at Depot and Lowes. After a morning trip to a specialty store, I learned that a 15 amp is OK in the kitchen because 20 amp kitchen devices use a different kind of plug. So I continued to work on it.

Friday at lunch I got sick and tired of working on the kitchen wiring and I reached the limit of my electrical competence, so I called the electrician. They will come next week to bail me out. As usual, that's not in the budget.

Good news: Harlan the haul-away guy got rid of all the debris. And since he also does flea markets, I gave him a ton of junk that the previous people had left behind. He has cost $440 of the $500 debris budget, and there's still plenty to go...