Tales From The Front Lines?
Perhaps not the funniest "Help Me!" call I've received; but the play-by-play below is from a relatively recent call to my Friends & Family Freebie Help Line (aka "1-800-DIY-OOPS") that I received. I think some of you may get a (sympathetic) chuckle out of it.
Step 1)
Next door neighbor, a high level computer technical person for the Army Tank Command, bought a ceiling fan & light for a bedroom because the room gets far too hot to sleep in.
Step 2)
He took down the old fixture & caused arcing which shot black smoke all over his bedroom ceiling.
Step 3)
Neighbor's 92 year old mother suggested perhaps taking out the fuse before continuing would be wise.
Step 4)
Neighbor determinedly continued taking down the old fixture, cutting soldered tee-splices while disconnecting every wire in the ceiling box.
Step 5)
Neighbor went to install new fan and found that the ceiling box wasn't strong enough and that it came out of the ceiling, taking some plaster with it.
Step 6)
Neighbor went to Home Depot & discussed project with the electrical aisle expert. He bought a fan box. (Yay! Something went correctly- well, almost correctly.)
Step 7
Neighbor hung fan/light and was confused how to wire it because every conductor was black. (Knob-and-Tube)
Step 8
Neighbor called me and asked for a favor. (No troubles. Happy to help.)
8A) Sent neighbor to the store to get the proper box, etc. Despite the expert at Home Depot, plastic single gang switch box isn't quite right.
8B) Traced & labeled the 18 (yes-18) #12 wires in the standard depth octagon box that he disconnected.
8C) Installed framing lumber in his "attic" (a 2-1/2 foot gap between cathedral ceiling and roof, which was filled with hay) in order to mount a larger & deeper fan rated box for the bee's nest of wires- plus a side 4-11/16 for some more.
Step 9
Life is good. Time to hang the fan. Yay! (Not so fast with the champagne toast...)
Step 10
Life is not so good.
Bedroom cathedral ceiling = Ceiling box to floor is 6' 1" Box to bed beneath it is 45".
Fan rod alone is 24" long and not adjustable. (Don't sit up in bed?)
Ceiling pitch is such that- if the fan would be 5/1/2' from the floor-, blades longer than 6" will hit the sloped ceiling.
Step 11
Put old fixture back, Suggested re-thinking the fan; telling him I'd be happy to install a new fanless light fixture for him.
Step 12
Received a call next day: Would you mind "helping" me install a mini split air conditioner in the room we worked in yesterday?".
My Reply: "Sure- If you don't start the project before I get there!"
Paul
PS: Not working residential as a job, although I do get Rescue Me calls from friends and family, most of my "what was that person thinking" calls are from maintenance "electricians" who tangle with control centers motor starters and correction capacitors. At least most of them stay out of the primary voltage switch gear and primary side of transformers. Most of them...
Most important to me is not to scold, but to gently instruct for the person's safety. Lots of people like to learn.
