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- Feb 12, 2020
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As part of the project of moving/updating electrical for the renovations in my house, I know I need to figure out what breaker goes to which fixtures/outlets/switches and so forth.
I found some old sketches my father drew but I suck at following little lines and my brain is not wanting to process. Took me a hot minute to realize the ones with sideways = is for outlets and L is for light (in my defense, until I zoomed in on the computer I couldn't actually see what those markings were). I don't think his sketches were updated after he added a tool closet in the front room. We used to have a sliding glass door for the front and it was replaced with a regular 36" front door and a tool closet was put on the side. There is another closet on the opposite side.
I know there are at least two outside outlets (at least 220v)- one for a hot tub that is now broken and another for the air conditioner on opposite sides of the house. Those were not drawn in. I know there are wires going through the attic but no one has been up there in years. I haven't found a tall enough ladder to drag myself up there.
I didn't see him drawing in the kitchen outlets. I know there is at least one behind fridge/freezer. One above the counter near the doors to the front room. There's a GFCI to the right of the sink. And there is a 2-prong outlet on the adjacent wall above the counter. There are two outlets above the counter across the way (where the microwave is). I know that the microwave outlet's cable was pierced by a screw inside the pantry. There is an outlet on the opposite side of the microwave's outlet inside the pantry. There are no outlets in any of the hallways. I am uncertain of where outlets are near the kitchen table as right now it's a cluttered mess of boxes so I can't get to stuff to see. but I think there is at least one outlet above the counter over there. I'll have to come up with a better sketch of the layout.
There are only 2 outlets in my room and one in my bathroom. I think Mom's room has 3 outlets but 2 of them are behind furniture. Her bathroom has one outlet. My brother's room has two outlets (but one is tied to the light switch).
I don't think we have a grounding rod and using testers shows outlets are not grounded. Some show as having polarity reversed. The tenants messed with the wiring while we were gone.
At one point the stove's power was routed through the AC's power (not sure how, but that is what the AC guy said). He adjusted it after my father passed (so, not in drawings). So, the power to the outside AC unit is no longer properly marked. I think I figured it out- just flipped the nearest 50a off to be safe.
The water heater appears to have an aluminum cable.
The sketches (couldn't get scanner to work so I photographed)
My notes show the the outlet in the bedroom controlled by the light switch that also controls the ceiling fan, the 2nd switch for the ceiling fan in my room that was removed by tenants (they put a blind plate over the spot), and he put the light switches for the bathroom on the wrong side of the door in his drawing-- it's on the left instead of the right as you walk in. Several of the outlets and lights no longer work (including the ones in the tool closet).
This is a sketch he did of the whole house (rough approximation). I think he planned to put a door to the laundry room at some point). This was before we had the wooden part of the porch (that tenants destroyed) poured in concrete. He'd wanted steps on that side apparently.
I added notes about attic entry as well as marking lights in the house with orange stars. Each room has one central light except for the front room which has two lights but one is obscured by some shelves he built. He didn't think that out when he built it.
I wish I knew what RN and RS stood for. My best guess is Right North and Right South. DR I think is "Dave's Room". Writing on the yellow paper is too faded for me to read.
I know this is a mess and not easy to see. I'm trying to get my brain to wrap around it and come up with a sketch of which breaker goes to which thing.
My to do list:
So, any thoughts? Can anyone help me wrap my brain around this?
I found some old sketches my father drew but I suck at following little lines and my brain is not wanting to process. Took me a hot minute to realize the ones with sideways = is for outlets and L is for light (in my defense, until I zoomed in on the computer I couldn't actually see what those markings were). I don't think his sketches were updated after he added a tool closet in the front room. We used to have a sliding glass door for the front and it was replaced with a regular 36" front door and a tool closet was put on the side. There is another closet on the opposite side.
I know there are at least two outside outlets (at least 220v)- one for a hot tub that is now broken and another for the air conditioner on opposite sides of the house. Those were not drawn in. I know there are wires going through the attic but no one has been up there in years. I haven't found a tall enough ladder to drag myself up there.
I didn't see him drawing in the kitchen outlets. I know there is at least one behind fridge/freezer. One above the counter near the doors to the front room. There's a GFCI to the right of the sink. And there is a 2-prong outlet on the adjacent wall above the counter. There are two outlets above the counter across the way (where the microwave is). I know that the microwave outlet's cable was pierced by a screw inside the pantry. There is an outlet on the opposite side of the microwave's outlet inside the pantry. There are no outlets in any of the hallways. I am uncertain of where outlets are near the kitchen table as right now it's a cluttered mess of boxes so I can't get to stuff to see. but I think there is at least one outlet above the counter over there. I'll have to come up with a better sketch of the layout.
There are only 2 outlets in my room and one in my bathroom. I think Mom's room has 3 outlets but 2 of them are behind furniture. Her bathroom has one outlet. My brother's room has two outlets (but one is tied to the light switch).
I don't think we have a grounding rod and using testers shows outlets are not grounded. Some show as having polarity reversed. The tenants messed with the wiring while we were gone.
At one point the stove's power was routed through the AC's power (not sure how, but that is what the AC guy said). He adjusted it after my father passed (so, not in drawings). So, the power to the outside AC unit is no longer properly marked. I think I figured it out- just flipped the nearest 50a off to be safe.
The water heater appears to have an aluminum cable.
The sketches (couldn't get scanner to work so I photographed)
My notes show the the outlet in the bedroom controlled by the light switch that also controls the ceiling fan, the 2nd switch for the ceiling fan in my room that was removed by tenants (they put a blind plate over the spot), and he put the light switches for the bathroom on the wrong side of the door in his drawing-- it's on the left instead of the right as you walk in. Several of the outlets and lights no longer work (including the ones in the tool closet).
This is a sketch he did of the whole house (rough approximation). I think he planned to put a door to the laundry room at some point). This was before we had the wooden part of the porch (that tenants destroyed) poured in concrete. He'd wanted steps on that side apparently.
I added notes about attic entry as well as marking lights in the house with orange stars. Each room has one central light except for the front room which has two lights but one is obscured by some shelves he built. He didn't think that out when he built it.
I wish I knew what RN and RS stood for. My best guess is Right North and Right South. DR I think is "Dave's Room". Writing on the yellow paper is too faded for me to read.
I know this is a mess and not easy to see. I'm trying to get my brain to wrap around it and come up with a sketch of which breaker goes to which thing.
My to do list:
- Trace all of the lines back to breakers to know what is on each breaker
- Replace all old switches and outlets & make sure wires inside are not damaged
- Possibly replace wires if ground wire is not present and add a proper grounding rod somewhere*
- Replace or repair vent/light heaters in each bathroom
- Move ceiling fan from current laundry room to new laundry room & eliminate hall light (OR replace hall light w/ ceiling fan, keep heat/vent/light if it works & add move switch for it)
- Add vent/light/heater to guest bathroom ceiling (where old ceiling fan currently is- or possibly moved closer to center of room)
- Add GFCI outlet and vanity light to guest bathroom
- Add switch and vanity light to my bathroom
- Add LED vanity light above the window in mom's bathroom
- Add at least one outlet in the hallway to plug in vacuum
- Convert 2 prong outlets to 3 prong
- Move electrical for laundry room (detailed in thread on that reno)
- Replace aluminum wire on water heater
- Add whole house surge protector to box
- Replace broken porch light and get all outlets/lights that are defunct to work again
So, any thoughts? Can anyone help me wrap my brain around this?
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